I hope you're safe, have power today, and are able to enjoy this unexpected day off of school. I wanted to let you know that due to No School today and Halloween tomorrow, we have decided to not have Spelling or Reading Log homework this week. I hope that the children continue to read nightly, but won't be required to record what they have read. We will have our regular math homework throughout the week.
We are excited to celebrate Halloween tomorrow. We will have a Harvest Party in the afternoon. Thank you to everyone who has donated items! The children are welcome to wear their costumes for the party. We ask that they bring them to school in a bag labeled with their name. We will give them time to get dressed before the party. If possible, it would be helpful if the students can just put their costumes on over their clothes rather than changing in the restroom. It is school policy that the children don't wear face paint, masks, or have weapons as part of their costumes. Thanks for your help!
I look forward to seeing the children back at school tomorrow. Stay safe today!
Monday, October 30, 2017
Friday, October 27, 2017
Weekly Update 10/27
It's nice to finally see the sun back out! I hope you have some fun plans for tomorrow, as the weather looks great!
We have been having a blast in Second Grade the past two weeks! During our writing blocks, we have been working on a couple different types of writing. The students have begun their second personal narrative story which is the story that they brainstormed for at home. Thanks for your help! The students have written their beginnings and are currently working on the middle of their stories. I love watching their stories come to life! With Halloween around the corner, we have also spent some time doing a creative imaginary writing where the students got to create a friendly monster! I am sure they will be excited to share them with you!
During math, we finished up Unit 2 and have begun Unit 3. Unit 3 focuses on Fact Strategies. The children wrote subtraction number stories and generated related addition and subtraction facts. We also discussed the "Think Addition" strategy when solving subtraction facts. The children have learned that they can turn subtraction into addition by starting at the smaller number and counting up to the bigger number. This is a strategy that many second graders find helpful as subtraction tends to be more difficult for many students. We also spent some time discussing "fact families" and generating related number models for the families.
Fact Triangles were sent home with your child. It is important for the children to be practicing their addition and subtraction facts to 20. If they practice for a few minutes each day, it really helps their automaticity with these facts. Thanks for your support!
We are about half way through our Science unit on Plants and Animal Survival. The students learned why plants and animals live in some places and not in others. We visited three habitats- Polar, Desert, and Rainforest. We described each habitat and identified plants and animals that belong and do not belong in each place. Then after getting an overview of each of the habitats, we spent some time visiting the rainforest on a pretend rainforest trek. The students watched short clips along their journey and are now in the process of writing their own "blog" about their trip!
Our Language Arts blocks are continuing to go very well. The children are enjoying all of the components of Daily Five and are very independent at this point. This allows me to meet with students in their small reading groups. The past two weeks, we have been focusing on the skill of retelling a story. This is often done through a 5-Finger Retell which consists of telling about the characters, setting, problem, important events, and solution to the problem.
Upcoming Events:
October 31st- Harvest Party
The students are welcome to wear their Halloween costumes during the party. We ask that you send them to school in a bag labeled with their name. Due to the large amount of students, it would be helpful if your child could just put their costume over their clothes rather than changing in the bathroom. Also, there is no face paint or weapons allowed at Robinson School.
November 8th- Field trip permission slips due
November 10th- Author Renata Bowers visits Robinson
November 11th- No School for Veterans Day
November 16th- Field Trip to the Concord Youth Theatre to see Beauty and the Beast
We have been having a blast in Second Grade the past two weeks! During our writing blocks, we have been working on a couple different types of writing. The students have begun their second personal narrative story which is the story that they brainstormed for at home. Thanks for your help! The students have written their beginnings and are currently working on the middle of their stories. I love watching their stories come to life! With Halloween around the corner, we have also spent some time doing a creative imaginary writing where the students got to create a friendly monster! I am sure they will be excited to share them with you!
During math, we finished up Unit 2 and have begun Unit 3. Unit 3 focuses on Fact Strategies. The children wrote subtraction number stories and generated related addition and subtraction facts. We also discussed the "Think Addition" strategy when solving subtraction facts. The children have learned that they can turn subtraction into addition by starting at the smaller number and counting up to the bigger number. This is a strategy that many second graders find helpful as subtraction tends to be more difficult for many students. We also spent some time discussing "fact families" and generating related number models for the families.
Fact Triangles were sent home with your child. It is important for the children to be practicing their addition and subtraction facts to 20. If they practice for a few minutes each day, it really helps their automaticity with these facts. Thanks for your support!
We are about half way through our Science unit on Plants and Animal Survival. The students learned why plants and animals live in some places and not in others. We visited three habitats- Polar, Desert, and Rainforest. We described each habitat and identified plants and animals that belong and do not belong in each place. Then after getting an overview of each of the habitats, we spent some time visiting the rainforest on a pretend rainforest trek. The students watched short clips along their journey and are now in the process of writing their own "blog" about their trip!
Our Language Arts blocks are continuing to go very well. The children are enjoying all of the components of Daily Five and are very independent at this point. This allows me to meet with students in their small reading groups. The past two weeks, we have been focusing on the skill of retelling a story. This is often done through a 5-Finger Retell which consists of telling about the characters, setting, problem, important events, and solution to the problem.
Upcoming Events:
October 31st- Harvest Party
The students are welcome to wear their Halloween costumes during the party. We ask that you send them to school in a bag labeled with their name. Due to the large amount of students, it would be helpful if your child could just put their costume over their clothes rather than changing in the bathroom. Also, there is no face paint or weapons allowed at Robinson School.
November 8th- Field trip permission slips due
November 10th- Author Renata Bowers visits Robinson
November 11th- No School for Veterans Day
November 16th- Field Trip to the Concord Youth Theatre to see Beauty and the Beast
Friday, October 13, 2017
Weekly Update 10/13
I hope you all enjoyed the long weekend with your families. Every Monday (or in this case Wednesday!) the children write their "Weekend News" in their journals. I love hearing them talk and write about all the fun activities they do on the weekends. It was nice to hear that many of you got away for the weekend or enjoyed some fall fun around Westford. It's always nice to have an extra day or two to re-charge!
Here is an update on what we've been doing in the classroom over the past two weeks:
We have really gotten into our Science Unit, which is called "Plant and Animal Survival". We are conducting an experiment in the classroom to see if Marigold plants can survive without either water or sunlight. The children have made some great predictions, and in a few weeks we will have some evidence to prove what this type of plant actually needs to survive. Another fun lesson we did in this unit allowed the students to become engineers! We pretended that bees did not exist, so we had to create a tool that could do a bee's job of moving pollen from one plant to another. The kids worked in small groups and were given a bunch of materials with which to build their "pollinators". All groups were able to successfully engineer a tool.
In Reading we have been meeting with our groups on a consistent basis now that all of our Daily 5 routines are in place. Last week we focused on the skill of Making Connections. This is a strategy readers use to help comprehend the actions and/or feelings of the characters in the story. If we can connect something in our own lives to what's happening in the story, then it helps us know how the character might be feeling or reacting so that we can then better understand the story. This is an important comprehension skill we will practice throughout the year. Our strategy focus this past week was identifying story elements (characters, setting, problem, solution).
During our math sessions we have been talking about various addition strategies we can use when we don't know the answer to a fact automatically. Some of the strategies we discussed were Near Doubles, Turn Around Facts, and the Making Ten strategy. The idea is to use something we know (such as doubles) to help us solve an unknown fact. The strategies are introduced quickly, so it's common for children to get a little mixed up at this point. Over time we will go back to each of the strategies and practice them more in depth. Other lessons we completed in Unit 2 looked at Even and Odd Sums and Name Collection Boxes.
Thank you for helping your child complete the homework assignment this week, which was to bring in a photo of something your child has done recently. We will be using the photos and the details provided to write our next Personal Narrative story in class. Spelling Tic Tac Toe, Reading Logs, and Math homework will continue as normal next week.
I'm looking forward to our first class celebration, our Harvest Party, which will be on October 31st. We are lucky to have 2 parents helping to organize the celebrations for us this year. If you have any questions about parties, please contact Jonathan mom or Oliver's mom (all of the contact info is on the Friendship List sent home at the beginning of the year).
** Reminder that next Tuesday, October 17th is Grade Two School Store!
Thanks for all you do and have a wonderful weekend!
Friday, September 29, 2017
Weekly Update 9/29
We have had a busy couple of weeks in Second Grade!
During our Daily Five blocks, the children have been introduced to two more components of Daily Five which are Listen to Reading and Work on Writing. It has also been very exciting to begin reading groups! The groups worked on making predictions before reading and enjoyed reading books at their individual levels.
During Listen to Reading, the children use an ipad to listen to stories. They do this through either RAZ Kids or Tumblebooks which is offered through the JV Fletcher Library Website. The purpose of Listen to Reading is to model what fluent and expressive reading sounds like. RAZ Kids also allows the children to answer comprehension questions about the stories they are listening to in order to help with their comprehension skills.
The children have many different choices for Work on Writing. They can write a personal narrative story, a make-believe story, or choose one of our many Work on Writing Task Cards which include fun activities such as: making a postcard, writing a letter, making lists, poems, and many other exciting writing choices. We are encouraging the kids to slow down and focus on quality writing rather than quantity.
In math, we finished up Unit 1 which was a great review of skills the children learned in first grade. The children took their Unit 1 Assessment, which was sent home for you to review with your child. If you haven't sent it back signed, I would appreciate if you can do so. We also began Unit 2 which focuses on Fact Strategies. The children have learned about grouping by tens, how to write number stories, and how to use doubles and combinations of ten/making ten to help them solve addition problems more efficiently.
We also finished up our Apple Economics unit. The children enjoyed performing plays which really helped to bring the idea of economics to "life." We also had the opportunity to learn about other types of goods and how they are produced. Each child choose one of the following to study: Sheep to Sweater, Milk to Cheese, Clay to Bricks, or Wheat to Bread. It was a great culminating activity as it allowed the children to discuss who the producer, consumer, good, etc were for these products as well along with the apple products we discussed throughout the unit.
During writing, the children are working on their first draft of their first personal narrative stories. We have spent time talking about ways to begin their stories. Some examples include: a detailed setting, quote, sound word, or a question. We also worked on writing the middle of their stories and making sure that they told the story in sequential order using transition words to help them move from one event to the next. Their stories are really coming out great! Next week we will talk about endings, revising and editing, and hope to have some time to share their stories with the class.
We also had a wonderful trip to the Living Lab! It was a great introduction into our first Science Unit "Plant and Animal Survival" that we began this week as well. The children had a chance to visit the Reed Brook and observe the plants and animals that live in that habitat. Inside we learned about various living things and how they depend on one another for survival. Finally, the kids got to learn about frogs and how they adapt to their environment. We learned about the various types of feet they have (webbed, digging, sticky) and how they use camouflage to help them survive in their habitat. We look forward to going back to the Living Lab in the Spring!
WOW, what a busy couple of weeks!!!!
Upcoming Dates:
Wednesday, October 4th- Picture Day
Monday, October 9th- No School for Columbus Day
Tuesday, October 10th- No School for Professional Development
During our Daily Five blocks, the children have been introduced to two more components of Daily Five which are Listen to Reading and Work on Writing. It has also been very exciting to begin reading groups! The groups worked on making predictions before reading and enjoyed reading books at their individual levels.
During Listen to Reading, the children use an ipad to listen to stories. They do this through either RAZ Kids or Tumblebooks which is offered through the JV Fletcher Library Website. The purpose of Listen to Reading is to model what fluent and expressive reading sounds like. RAZ Kids also allows the children to answer comprehension questions about the stories they are listening to in order to help with their comprehension skills.
The children have many different choices for Work on Writing. They can write a personal narrative story, a make-believe story, or choose one of our many Work on Writing Task Cards which include fun activities such as: making a postcard, writing a letter, making lists, poems, and many other exciting writing choices. We are encouraging the kids to slow down and focus on quality writing rather than quantity.
In math, we finished up Unit 1 which was a great review of skills the children learned in first grade. The children took their Unit 1 Assessment, which was sent home for you to review with your child. If you haven't sent it back signed, I would appreciate if you can do so. We also began Unit 2 which focuses on Fact Strategies. The children have learned about grouping by tens, how to write number stories, and how to use doubles and combinations of ten/making ten to help them solve addition problems more efficiently.
We also finished up our Apple Economics unit. The children enjoyed performing plays which really helped to bring the idea of economics to "life." We also had the opportunity to learn about other types of goods and how they are produced. Each child choose one of the following to study: Sheep to Sweater, Milk to Cheese, Clay to Bricks, or Wheat to Bread. It was a great culminating activity as it allowed the children to discuss who the producer, consumer, good, etc were for these products as well along with the apple products we discussed throughout the unit.
During writing, the children are working on their first draft of their first personal narrative stories. We have spent time talking about ways to begin their stories. Some examples include: a detailed setting, quote, sound word, or a question. We also worked on writing the middle of their stories and making sure that they told the story in sequential order using transition words to help them move from one event to the next. Their stories are really coming out great! Next week we will talk about endings, revising and editing, and hope to have some time to share their stories with the class.
We also had a wonderful trip to the Living Lab! It was a great introduction into our first Science Unit "Plant and Animal Survival" that we began this week as well. The children had a chance to visit the Reed Brook and observe the plants and animals that live in that habitat. Inside we learned about various living things and how they depend on one another for survival. Finally, the kids got to learn about frogs and how they adapt to their environment. We learned about the various types of feet they have (webbed, digging, sticky) and how they use camouflage to help them survive in their habitat. We look forward to going back to the Living Lab in the Spring!
WOW, what a busy couple of weeks!!!!
Upcoming Dates:
Wednesday, October 4th- Picture Day
Monday, October 9th- No School for Columbus Day
Tuesday, October 10th- No School for Professional Development
Friday, September 15, 2017
Weekly Update 9/15
It's been a pleasure meeting all of the children over the past few weeks! I can already tell that it's going to be a great year! We have been very busy in room 7, so I wanted to share some of the things we have been doing. Along with continuing to get to know one another, we have also begun establishing routines in many of our academic areas.
We have spent most of our reading blocks reviewing the Daily Five structure. For those new to Robinson or those unfamiliar with Daily Five, it is a literacy structure that allows for differentiation in the classroom and provides consistency. It is an integrated literacy instruction and classroom management system that is used during our literacy block. While I am working with small groups for Guided Reading, the other children have literacy “tasks” that include: Work on Words, Work on Writing, Read to Self, Read to Someone, and Listen to Reading. It takes a few weeks for me to assess all of the children and to determine their reading levels and while I am doing that, the children will build their stamina in each of the "task" areas. So far we have begun practicing Read to Self and Work on Words. Next week, we will be adding in Listen to Reading.
In math we are off and running with Unit 1. This unit does a lot of review of concepts learned in first grade and allows time for us to establish math routines in the classroom. We focused on number scrolls and number grids this week as tools to help us solve addition problems.
I also had a chance to assess the children on the 100-second grade high frequency words. This is done periodically throughout the year to see what words your child needs to practice. These words will become part of their weekly spelling words that they will practice at school and home. Hopefully your child shared their first spelling list with you this week. Spelling will be a weekly homework routine from this point forward. Please help your child practice their spelling words at least 3 times per week. There is more about homework at the end of this post.
"Star of the Week" was introduced to the children last Friday. Each week one child will be chosen to be our "Star" for the week. That child gets to bring in photos and other special items that tell about themselves. We will display those items for the entire week, and the child will get to present their items to the class on Fridays. It is a great way for us to learn about one another and practice speaking in front of the large group. Last week I got to be the 'Star"!! It was a fun way to demonstrate what "Star of the Week" might look and sound like.
Finally, we began our first social studies unit on "Apple Economics." In the first lesson, the students learned about the apple tree and the "goods" that come from the tree. We then discussed some important vocabulary words that go along with our unit. Ask your child to tell you about these words: economics, goods, services, consumers, producers, and community. The children also enjoyed watching a video about apple production. The video showed the steps necessary in order for the apples to get to the markets for consumers to buy. Finally, we had a chance to put the vocabulary words into context by performing some plays for each other. This was such a great way to see some kids really shine!
**Homework: Please check your child's folder daily for homework assignments. We started this past week with only the Spelling Tic-Tac-Toe routine mentioned above. Your child will be expected to practice their spelling words at least three nights per week. The Spelling Tic-Tac-Toe sheet will have a variety of choices for your child to pick from in order to practice their words. Please return the Tic-Tac-Toe to school each Friday.
In addition to spelling, most night's your child will have a math worksheet that reviews a concept taught that day in class. This should be a quick, independent activity. All math assignments are due back the next day. If your child feels frustrated or doesn't seem to understand a certain concept, please send the homework sheet back with a note letting me know.
Lastly, second graders are expected to read for at least 15 minutes per night. Your child will record what book they read and the number of minutes they read on their weekly Reading Log, which will be sent home this Monday. There is also a place for parent initials. The Reading Log should be passed in each Friday.
Thank you for your help and support on homework.
Upcoming Dates:
Tuesday, September 19th is Grade Two Curriculum Night from 6:00-6:45. This is a night for parents only as we will spend time sharing the second grade curriculum and routines. Robinson is providing childcare for children who currently attend Robinson or Crisafulli. If you're unable to make it, I will send home a folder with all the handouts on Wednesday with your child.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Monday, September 4, 2017
Weekly Update 9/5
I hope you had a wonderful Labor Day with your friends and families! We had a great first week of Second Grade and I truly enjoyed getting to know each of the students a little better. Last week we spent time doing activities that allowed us to get to know each other, discussing classroom routines, and talking about expected behaviors. This week, the students will be taking some pre-assessments, will continue with our first unit in Everyday Math, and will begin our first Social Studies unit which is Apple Economics.
I wanted to give out some extra information regarding our "Apple Free" classroom. We do have a child in the class who is allergic to apples so we need to be careful about the snacks that are sent into the classroom. Please don't send whole or sliced apples, applesauce, or juices that contain apple. The nurse gave me a list of SAFE juices- All Honest Kids except for the actual Apple Juice one, Hi C Fruit Punch and Poppin Lemonade, and V8 Fruit Fusion. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me or the school nurse. You may send apple products for lunch, just not for our classroom snack. A reminder that all classrooms are Nut Free at Robinson as well. Thank you for your help and consideration in keeping our classroom safe for all students.
I am looking forward to another great week! As always if you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to ask!
I wanted to give out some extra information regarding our "Apple Free" classroom. We do have a child in the class who is allergic to apples so we need to be careful about the snacks that are sent into the classroom. Please don't send whole or sliced apples, applesauce, or juices that contain apple. The nurse gave me a list of SAFE juices- All Honest Kids except for the actual Apple Juice one, Hi C Fruit Punch and Poppin Lemonade, and V8 Fruit Fusion. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me or the school nurse. You may send apple products for lunch, just not for our classroom snack. A reminder that all classrooms are Nut Free at Robinson as well. Thank you for your help and consideration in keeping our classroom safe for all students.
I am looking forward to another great week! As always if you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to ask!
Monday, August 7, 2017
Welcome!
Hello and welcome to my class website/blog! I am very excited to be your child's classroom teacher! We are going to have so much fun growing and learning together this year. I've had a wonderful summer with my family. We vacationed in Rhode Island, visited the Cape and took lots of day-trips! I feel refreshed and ready to begin a new school year with you and your child!
Here is a picture of me with my two daughters enjoying the 4th of July parade!
I hope you consider following this blog by typing your email in the "Follow by Email" box. This allows you to get an email when I have made a new post. My goal is to update the blog at the beginning of each week. This will help you know what your child will be going in school that week. I also like to share games, websites, and links with you throughout the year that you might find helpful exploring at home with your child.
Our first day of school will be on Tuesday, August 29th. The Second Graders will meet their teachers in the gym. We will spend the first few days of school getting to know one another, exploring our classroom, and discussing expectations and routines.
I look forward to getting to know your child! If at any point you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at kfrazier@westfordk12.us
Here is a picture of me with my two daughters enjoying the 4th of July parade!
I hope you consider following this blog by typing your email in the "Follow by Email" box. This allows you to get an email when I have made a new post. My goal is to update the blog at the beginning of each week. This will help you know what your child will be going in school that week. I also like to share games, websites, and links with you throughout the year that you might find helpful exploring at home with your child.
Our first day of school will be on Tuesday, August 29th. The Second Graders will meet their teachers in the gym. We will spend the first few days of school getting to know one another, exploring our classroom, and discussing expectations and routines.
I look forward to getting to know your child! If at any point you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at kfrazier@westfordk12.us
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)