I was so excited to see that many of you are willing to volunteer some of your time this year in our classroom. I will be in touch in the next week or two to let you know about volunteer opportunities and will check in about scheduling times for volunteers.
Here is the update on this past week...
Reading: There was a lot of excitement in reading this week with the opening of our classroom library. Second graders filled their book bags with just right books and will have a chance to trade in their books each week. We are now up to reading 17 minutes of focused silent reading time!
Writing: We began our first official writing unit- Small Moment stories. These are stories that take place over a small period of time. We talked about using “great beginnings” and trying to catch the reader’s attention- some options were to use a sound effect, ask a question, describe an action, or use dialogue.
Math: A big focus this week was on skip counting and using the number line. We also worked on the problem solving strategy “look for a pattern” to solve various problems. Everyone worked hard to explain their thinking and describe their problem solving strategies.
Science: This week was focused on the changes that occur in a tree over the course of the year. We used watercolors to paint these changes across the four seasons.
Fundations: We have continued to work with closed syllable words and short vowel sounds. We are also practicing words with digraphs- two consonants that make one sound.
Second Step: In a whole class activity we sorted various problems and decided if they were a big problem or a little problem. We talked about how kids need adult help for big problems and little problems can be solved independently.
Conversation Starters:
What are the five digraphs? Can you tell me a word with each digraph?
What type of story beginning did you use for your small moment story?
What comes next in the pattern 3, 6, 9, 12? How do you know?
Why is making a mistake a little problem?
Dates to Remember:
Monday, September 22- Scholastic Book Orders Due
Thursday, September 25- No School