Holiday Party

We are having a low key holiday party tomorrow, Wednesday, December 21st from 2:00 - 2:45 in Room 9.
Everyone is welcome to attend!  We will be eating yummy food and reading a holiday book.  If you can't make it to the party, I hope you and your family enjoy a restful vacation and a happy new year!!

Gingerbread Houses

I have learned over my 13 years of experience that foam houses work much better than actual graham cracker houses (at least for me!).  So last Friday, we made foam gingerbread houses and ate some candy on the side! This was a wonderful way to end our unit on comparing gingerbread stories!  The houses were amazing and you should be able to use them year after year! (If things start to fall off, just use a little bit of tacky or foam glue to stick it down!)  We listened to holiday music and just relaxed! This is one of my most favorite activities of the year!  Enjoy the pictures!

Gingerbread Fred

We have been busy reading various versions of the Gingerbread Man tale.  You wouldn't believe how mnay variations there are!!  One of the major educational objectives of this unit is to introduce a Venn diagram to compare two stories.  Have you seen these coming home?    We have talked about the difference between a big story component such as how the fox gets close to the Gingerbread Man.  In one story the fox pretends to be deaf to get close to the Gingerbread Man while in the other story the fox helps the Gingerbread Man cross a river.  A small story component is that one Gingerbread Man had lots of icing clothes while the other Gingerbread Man had only buttons and a face.  The big story components make a difference in our understanding of the story while the little story components add detail to make the story interesting.

We also have a loveable friend named Gingerbread Fred who has been busy traveling to different homes in Colchester every night.  He has enjoyed staying with each and everyone of you!  We are making an amazing book out of all of these tales.  We will end our gingerbread study this Friday with an amazing activity (which we are trying to earn with good behavior).  We are building foam gingerbread houses while we eat candy!  What more could a second grader ask for!!  Here is a picture of some of gingerbread books and our bulletin board!  I hope the holidays are filling your house with yummy smells!

Nutrition with Little D!

Our science theme the last three weeks has been all about nutrition.  We have been talking about the 5 food groups with a loveable character named Little D!  Little D is a dragon who has gotten sick and doesn't understand why he isn't feeling well.  We have talked all about the diary, meat, fruit, and veggie groups.  Tomorrow we are tackling the grain group!  Your child should be able to name all of the food groups as well as tell you how each group helps their body.  They should also remember to tell you that the magic "ingredient" in dairy foods is calcium and the all foods in the meat group contain protein (and not all food in this group comes from animals!).  Next week, we will talk about how exercise and sleep help our body as much as eating healthy food!  Here is a picture of Little D with scales that the students have cut out listing their favorite food in each group.

NED Assembly

We had a wonderful assembly to lead us into Thanksgiving week!  The NED assembly teaches kids all about doing their best, not giving up, and encouraging others.  Here are a few pictures from our assembly.  It was a really great, motivational, age appropriate show!  By the way, Ned is the boy in the poster, his friend is presenting and using a yo-yo to make his point!  Very cool!!

Burnham Memorial Library Visit

On Tuesday, November 8th, we walked with Mrs. Davis' class to the Burnham Library!  It was a beautiful day for a walk and we had a wonderful time.  We met with Hannah, the children's librarian, and she talked to us for an hour. We learned all about the history of the Burnham Library, how to look up books on the computer, we took a tour of the children's section, and then we had some time to just browse the books!!  Here are some pictures from our adventures!!

 We walked safely with our partners to the library.

All the second graders fit in the story nook to learn about the history of the library. 

 Hannah is telling us about all of the books that the library has!

Hannah asked, "What is your favorite book?" 

 Look at all of the polite listeners!

 Hannah showed us how to use the computer to look up book titles and authors.

Hannah read us a great book called "The Library". 

 After our tour, everyone found a book that they wanted to look at.

We decided to take a class picture to remember our field trip to the Burnham Memorial Library!

We had a great time!!!

Library Visit Tomorrow!

This is just a friendly reminder that we are walking to the Burnham Library tomorrow after lunch!  Please make sure your child has a jacket and appropriate footware!  We are going to meet Hannah (the children's librarian),  tour the library, and hear a few great stories!  Everyone is super excited!!

Harvest Celebration!

This past Friday, October 28th, we had a Harvest Celebration.  We ate some delicious goodies, visited with our friends (because there is never enough time to sit and just talk!), and we read a fantastic book!  It was a very low key event that was attended by many parents. I want to extend a special thank you to all of the parents who donated food or paper products for this party.  If you weren't contacted this time, you will be contacted to help with a future party! I hope that everyone had a safe and fun Halloween!  Enjoy the pictures!

Writing 101

We have been very busy getting into the "Second Grade Writing Groove".  We spent the first few weeks learning why writers write.  After much discussion, we decided that writer's write to express themselves and we found that there are many ways to do this! For example, writers can make a list, write a letter or postcard, or write a story.  Last week, we changed our focus.  Each student had to write about their best friend!  We did some brainstorming, then we used a rubric to guide our writing.  We worked hard to make sure that the reader learned all about our best friend using interesting details and good sentences.  At the very end, we also made a portrait of our best friend.  Everyone brought their masterpieces home last week. I hope you enjoyed reading them!!  Here are some pictures of a few authors hard at work on their writing!!

We are now starting to write "small moments" which is a snapshot in time.  Ask your child what they have been learning!

News From Mrs. McCleary

Here is an update on what Mrs. McCleary has been doing in our classroom!  Enjoy!

Guidance with Mrs. McCleary

The second grade students have just finished a guidance unit on introducing the concepts of social thinking.  Social thinking is understanding that we have thoughts about how other people behave and that they have thoughts about how we behave.  (That’s how opinions are formed.)  We talk about two types of behavior:  EXPECTED and UNEXPECTED.  Expected behaviors give people good thoughts and unexpected behavior give uncomfortable thoughts.  The more good thoughts people have about what we are doing the more comfortable they are being with us. 

We have also used the terms “too much”, “too little” and “just right” to bring awareness to behavior.  An expected behavior can become unexpected if it is “too much” or “too little”.  An example of this is raising your hand. 

·         If it is “too little” your hand may not be visible or raised long enough for the teacher to know you want to say something. 

·         If it is “too much” your hand and body are moving a lot and you may be using your voice.  The teacher will not call on you.

·         Raising your hand in a “just right” way, calm hand and quiet mouth, will produce good thoughts by the teacher and peers and an enjoyable learning environment (and you have a better chance of being called on!).

During our next unit on Cooperation, we will continue to use these terms and ideas!

No School!

This is just a reminder that there is no school tomorrow, October 21st.  This is a teacher in-service day.  I will see everyone back at school on Monday, October 24th!  Have a great weekend!

Busy Week!

We have had a very busy week in Room 9!  Let me apologize first for not having pictures to go with this post.  I usually do all of my blogging at home so that is where my camera usually resides unless I remember to bring it to school.  Obviously, I kept forgetting to bring it all week!!  Anyway, even without pictures, I am sure you will enjoy reading all about our adventures this week!

Flynn Theater:
On Monday, October 17th, we went to the Flynn Theater to see Slyvester and the Magic Pebble.  (The students were very excited to leave school and have an adventure!)  The performance included live actors, puppets, dancing, and music.  Everyone behaved wonderfully and really enjoyed the show.  We sat up in the balcony which became half the fun.  It was a sold out show and well worth the trip.  When we came back to school, we talked about the performance and everyone told about his/her favorite part.  I love the Flynn Theater and I hope your child did too!

Fire Safety:
October is Fire Safety Month!  We had 2 firefighers visit us on Tuesday, October 18th.  We had a 45 minute discussion on fire safety.  The students asked some really insightful questions and they were wonderful listeners.  Here are some quick points that everyone learned:

• If you think there is a fire, feel the door. If it is cold, open it and peek outside. Stay low to the ground and get out of the house. "Get low and Go" was the phrase that the firemen kept repeating.   If the door is hot, don't open it! Go to a window, open it up, and yell loudly for help until someone hears you. Keep yelling until you are rescued.
• Call 911 if you think there is a fire. It is important for the students to know their address so they can tell the dispatcher. We realized that many students in Room 9 didn't know their address, so this is something you can practice with your child.
• We saw one of the firemen get dressed up in his full firefighting gear.  He explained each piece of clothing and why it is important.  Once he was all dressed up, he sounded a little like Darth Vader.  He talked alot about not being scared of him, he is there to help.
• Lastly, we had a chance to go outside and get a "tour" of a real fire engine.  We saw all of the tools, lights, and hoses on the truck. We all even had a chance to sit inside the fire truck!

We had a great time and I want to send a special thank you to the Colchester Center firefighters!!

Reading Workshop

We are all finally in the groove of reading workshop!!  Each hour and 30 minute reading block starts with a whole-class read aloud  that I then use to teach a mini lesson.  The last few weeks we have been working on making connections, identifiying a favorite part, and I have introduced the major story components of main character, setting, problem, and solution.  We have also started using complete sentences!!

Anyway, once the mini lesson is complete, the students go back to their desk to work on the concept that I just taught.  When they finish that, they have a worksheet to complete independently that reviews a spelling or reading skill that we have been working on.  This week, the worksheets have included short vowel review, complete versus incomplete sentences, the "h" brothers, and and rhyming. 

Students then go to their reading club of the day. I have five clubs, one for each day!  Students will visit the book nook once during the week, as well as use the computer, create an art project, and complete activities centered around working with words/writing and fluency skills.

I also meet with reading groups while all of this is going on!  There is often a busy hum in our room as everyone does their jobs!  I had the chance to take a few pictures this week to showcase some of our reading workshop time!  Enjoy!

Here are some students working hard right after a mini lesson.  They are writing about the main character, the problem, and the solution to the first half of the story Justin Time, Amber Brown.

 Miss Pigeon is working with a reading group on comprehension questions using the book Beef Stew.  This is a tough skill to learn in second grade and they did great!!

 I couldn't get my pictures to switch order so they are a little jumbled now!  This student is working on his fluency club using the poem Cookies.  Students read a poem several times, answer questions on the poem, and then put the poem in their poetry folder.  Students then practice their fluency (pace, expression, pausing at punctutaion, and phrasing) as they reread all of the poems in their folder!

 This student is working on Word work.  He is writing about his all about his Halloween costume using describing words.

One of the favorite clubs is the computer club.  Students play reading games on the computer to enhance their reading skills.  Some common websites that I use are abcya.com and starfall.com.

These students are creating pumpkin glyphs during art club.  They are following directions to create a special pumpkin that tells other friends all about him/herself.

In the book nook, students can find interesting books to put in their book box, use the ABC magnetic board, use the tubaloo, and read for fun!

This picture was supposed to be first!  This is a picture of my reading club board. Each week I post the assignments on the board so students can see what I expect!

Open House 2011

This is the slideshow that I will be showing at open house.  I look forward to seeing everyone.  (oops Ms. Pigeon name is spelled wrong but she has forgiven me)

Learning in Many Ways

For the last week and a half, we have been busy learning how to work in second grade.  We have talked about how learning happens in many different ways!  Take a look at some of the "action shots" I was able to capture during the last few days!!

Students practice using classroom materials appropriately.

 Students use teamwork to create a pattern block design.

 Students complete a worksheet to practice a skill. 

  Students play games to reinforce skills that we are learning.

 Students play a cooperative game to reinforce a skill.

 Students respond in writing to a story that they heard.

 Students converse about a story we just read.

 Students create bookmarks to use during silent reading time.

 Students buddy read together.

Students practice picking books that they can read and will hold their interest.

There are many exciting things happening in Room 9!! We can't wait to show you everything we have been doing at Open House next week (Oct.6th)!!  See you then!!