Newsletter 3/31/17

Hello 2D Families!

It has been an extremely busy week in our classroom as we prepare for the upcoming wax museum

Please remember that our wax museum is this coming Friday, April 7th from 9:00-10:00 for families!  The school will have a viewing afterward! We can't wait to have you in our classroom for this exciting event. The students have prepared what they are saying and beautiful murals for your viewing. They are so excited. Students should come to school in character (if possible). I can help girls with hair pieces, or you can come a few minutes early to help them get settled! Students should bring a change of clothes for the afternoon. The variety show is also on Friday- if you are a member of Twist and Sprout, please remember to wear dark clothing and arrive by 6:15 to the music room. the show is at 6:30! Conferences begin next week- I look forward to meeting with all of you and discussing your child's progress! 

Reading

We have been focusing on our Fairy Tale unit and learning about how key components of fairy tales such as magic, good vs evil and villains. We have been looking into what fairy tales can teach us and how they can be related to life. The students have been looking into the life of villains and what has made them the way they are. We talked about how villains are the heart of the story- without them, there would be NO story! We've been working so hard and it will be clear when you hear us at the wax museum!

Writing

Our poetry unit has taken off much quicker than expected. The students have shown such an interest in poem writing and have become the authors of their own poetry books. We have also been experimenting with "picturing writing" a technique where you use artwork to inspire your poetic writing. The dragonflies have recently published two books in poetry that use this technique. They each have hand panted artwork in their book, that have inspired their words, in the topic of a researched animal and their fairy tale character. These books are so impressive and a lot of fun to look through!

Math

We ended our geometry unit and everyone did so well! This unit was full of shapes, partitioning and even multiplication! The students started experimenting with arrays and grouping. They worked with array riddles, which are complex word problems. We have been focusing  a lot on what these problems are asking us and how we should phrase our answers. As problems get harder, we have found that it is so important to slow down and double check our answers! Some students have even been working on their multiplication facts! We also solved a mystery for our classroom leprechaun Leroy McClumsy. We had to solve a math scavenger hunt for our shape unit that led us to his missing pot of gold! He also wrote us a letter! 

Science

We continue to work on our engineering projects throughout the second grade classrooms. These projects truly allow us to be problem solvers and think outside of the box. We have also started planting for our upcoming plant unit. We have planted green beans in our classroom! 

Questions for your dragonfly:

What animal did you choose for your "Who Am I" book?

Who is the villain in your chosen fairy tale? 

Draw an array with 3 rows of 7 and write number sentences to go with it

Spring Family Teacher Conferences

Good Morning! 

Spring is here! That means conferences are about here as well! Below I am posting a link to our class sign up for conferences. Conference dates are April 5th and 12th. I also emailed invites through Signup Genius. Conferences will be 15 minutes in length. When scheduling your date, please go by the digital date provided- rather than the week day listed. For some reason the website is listing the week days incorrectly but the digital date is correct. 4/4/17 is a Tuesday, 4/5/17 is an early release Wednesday, 4/11/17 is a Tuesday, and 4/12/17 is an early release Wednesday. I am so excited to discuss your child's progress and show you their work! If you have any specific questions you would like to discuss, please come ready with them or send me an email and I will be sure to cover them for you!

Again, thank you for all you do and for giving me these wonderful kids to spend my days with! I told them yesterday that I never stop smiling when I get home (and its true!) 

If the current times for conferences do not fit your schedule please let me know and we can find a time that works for you! 

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0f4fafac22abfe3-spring

Growth Mindset Presentation

Hello Dragonfly Families!

Due to high parent interest, this Thursday evening at 6:00-7:00, SMS teachers (including myself) will be presenting some information on the Growth Mindset approach! As you know, in our classroom, we use A LOT of growth mindset strategies. We have positive phrase anchor charts, super jobs, mistake parades, positive journal writing and academic writing- all pertaining to the stances of growth mindset, which are optimism, flexibility, persistence, empathy, and resilience. There is a lot of research on growth mindset and how much it can help your child with success and happiness in the classroom. As adults we know the importance of a positive mindset and how it helps our outcomes. This is such a great effort being made in the classrooms and SMS is so lucky to have such passionate teachers using this daily. For our class, it has done wonders for anxiety and success! This is a great opportunity for you to come in and check out some things we are doing in school, as well as some happenings in other classrooms. This is a great time to get resources and learn more about what growth mindset is and looks like in the classroom. When home and school are connected, we know that makes for the ideal learning environment for the child. You can do so much of this at home as well and see the resources that will be provided for families to help learn consistent language or strategies. 

If you would like more information on this, please feel free to email me! I hope to see you there on Thursday night in the Library! 

Newsletter 3/15/17

Hello Families! 

I hope you enjoyed your snow day and didn't end up losing power! Don't forget, we have an early release day tomorrow, students will be dismissed at 12:50. We also have no school on Friday due to a teacher inservice day. 

Reading

We have entered our Fairytale unit and the students are taking such ownership over their chosen character and understanding specific story elements that make a story a fairytale. We have discovered that fairytales teach us a lesson and it is our job to look deep and find it. We are looking at the specific character types that are found in these stories. We have started to plan our murals and prepare for our upcoming Wax Museum on April 7th. Students must have a plan for their costume before we begin creating their mural- so please chat with your dragonfly at home about their costume and fill in their homework planning sheet if you have not already. Please continue to have conversations with your dragonfly about their character. As we prepare what the students will be reciting on the day of the wax museum, it will be sent home to practice as well. Our read aloud during our fairytale unit is called "The Land of Stories", it is a chapter book that relates directly with our unit, while giving great examples of special language and creative writing, which is where we are heading next! 

Writing

We have entered our poetry unit for writing and the students couldn't be more excited. This unit is so fun because we have our own poetry notebooks and we are creating two very impressive poetry books on animals and one on our fairytale character. Our current exploring with poetry has a lot to do with artwork and really starting to identify their own individual "poet's eye." Students have been working hard to not look at pictures as second graders but as a poet would and then write about it using special language. The students first began researching a specific animal and using their poet's eye to help them take notes. The students then used their notes and their book to help them create detailed paintings of their animal. Once they have created their artwork, that is what really drives their poetry. The students have done so well with this!

 Math

We are working hard at becoming shape experts here in 2D. This current geometry unit is VERY vocabulary intensive and the students have been doing a wonderful job of using their resources around their room, in their math journals and in their own vocabulary journals to help them through this unit. We have covered everything from polygon rules to the different characteristics of shapes. Students have looked closely at vertices, angles, right angles, parallelograms, parallel lines, equal sides and so much more. We have created shapes on dot paper, using geoboards, popsicle sticks and our bodies! We will be exploring 3D shapes next and working on shape puzzles. We have switched up our structure for our math block and the students now have an independent choice board once they are done working with the teacher. This choice board is full of jobs and learning activities that practice the skill of the day and review recent skills. The students end with our new math games and continue strengthening their math facts. 

Science

To go a long with our fairytale unit the second graders are continuing their rotating science blocks partaking in experiments that are STEM based and related directly to fairytales. For example, the students did their first visit today in Ms. Riley's room where they engineered a 6 ft zipline for Little Red Riding Hood to get through the forest without the wolf reaching her. In our classroom we will be building rafts that can hold three pink erasers for the Three Billie Goats Gruff to get across the bridge. These STEM building activities are so much and include so much more than just engineering and teamwork.