The past two weeks we have really settled into many of our routines, and we are working nicely as a classroom community. Below are some highlights I’d like to share…
Daily 5 is off and running great! The children now have 4 choices to make during our language arts blocks. Those choices include: Listen to Reading, Work on Words, Work on Writing, and Read to Self. We are doing 3 “rounds” each day, each lasting 15-20 minutes. It’s neat to see kids working on a variety of tasks independently for such a lengthy amount of time. Now that we have our Daily 5 routines down we are excited to begin reading with our reading groups! This week I met with all students at least twice. Our groups focused on making predictions in our reading.
At this time they have 2 choices for kids to make during Listen to Reading: Raz- Kids and Epic. Hopefully you all received your login information for Raz-Kids. This is a great program to use at home because it is tailored to your child’s reading level. Also, the kids can use their Raz-Kids time towards their 15 minutes of reading for their reading log. Epic is another wonderful program that offers a variety of books for the kids to listen to, but is not geared towards their individual levels. You can also use this program at home, however it does require a monthly fee to sign up: https://www.getepic.com/
We have been talking about Personal Narratives during our writing time. We learned that these are true stories about things that have happened in our lives. The students are currently writing a personal narrative of their choice as we learn about the structure of personal narrative stories. They have learned how to "hook" the reader with an Opening, use transition words to tell the important events in order, write a Closing, and editing our stories. It's always a good idea to talk to your child about what they could write about, as they sometimes forget all the fun things they do outside of school!
In Math we wrapped up Unit 1 and began Unit 2 this past week. We having been using our math rotations during most of the lessons. The kids are excited to have 3 different activities during the math block. The various activities are: Teachers Choice, Technology, At Your Seat, Hands-On, and Math Facts. "Teachers Choice" is when small groups of kids working on a similar skill level meet with me. For "Technology" the kids have the choice of Dreambox or Games on the Everyday Math website. "At Your Seat" is typically math journal pages that reinforce the day's lesson. Finally, "Hands-On" is usually a math game that is part of the Everyday Math program.
We are also currently working on the first science unit of the year, Plant and Animal Survival. We took a Nature Walk outside around the school to look for living things. We also worked in groups as engineers, creating a "Pollinator" tool that could pollinate flowers if bees were no longer able to do so. Each group shared their design with the class and demonstrated how the tool picks up the pollen and carries it to another plant. Every group had a successful design! We are now discussing various habitats and why certain plants and animals live where they do. We took a virtual "trek" through the rainforest this week. It was fun to see some of the plants and animals that call the Rainforest its home. The children used what they learned from this experience to write a travel BLOG of their adventure. So fun!!
Upcoming Dates:
Tuesday, October 1st- Grade 2 School Store
Wednesday, October 2nd- Picture Day
Monday, October 14th- No School, Columbus Day
Tuesday, October 15th- No School, Professional Development
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