December 10, 2010

READING

Next week we will be enjoying doing Christmas Around the world and holiday activities. We will not be reading a new story until January. We will have a spelling unit on holiday words and a test on Friday.

Our next is story called The Big Bushy Mustache. It about a boy who gets a part in a school play. The mustache he wears in the play makes him look like his father, so he wears it home. Unfortunately, he loses it.

In phonics we will be focusing on the the vowel pairs ou, ow and the suffixes -ly and -ful.

Vocabulary words are bushy, costume, disguise, handsome, mirror, behind, soldier, story and mustache.

Comprehension strategies are predict/infer and problem solving.

In writing we will be working on writing a paragraph with a problem and solution.

In grammar we will be working on plurals.

MATH

In math we be finishing our chapter on 2-digit subtraction. We will have our chapter test on Monday. Our next chapter will be on Data and Graphs. Please remember to practice flash cards daily.

Social Studies

We have finished our unit on Our Country Long Ago. We will have our unit test on Monday. Next week we will be learning about Christmas Around the World. We will learn about the customs of six different countries in the world. After the holidays, we will start a new chapter on the Earth. We will learn about landforms, crops, climate, producers and natural resources.

Student of the Week

Alexis is the Student of the Week! She likes to play softball, take pictures and loves dogs.

Her favorite animal is a dolphin . Her favorite color is purple. When Alexis grows up she wants to be a Photographer.

Parties/Helpers

On Dec. 17^h we will have our holiday party. The helpers will be arriving to set up at 1:50. No siblings are allowed at school during parties, guest readers or helping in the classroom.

Field Trip

We will be caroling at the Fairview Nursing home on Thursday, December 16^th. The children are to bring a bag lunch that day. No hot lunch will be served since our lunchtime will be after the caroling.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Dec. 16 - 2^nd grade Christmas Caroling

Dec. 17 – Holiday Party and book exchange

Dec. 20 -Jan. 3 – Winter Break

Jan. 3 – Classes resume

I am wishing you and your families a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year!

December 2, 2010

READING

Next week we will be having a writer's workshop on persuasive writing. The children will be learning how to persuade someone of something through their writing.

In phonics we will be focusing on the digraphs th, wh, sh, ch and the long vowel sounds of e and a.

In grammar we will be working on combining

sentences.

MATH

In math we are continuing to work on 2-digit subtraction. We will be using addition problems to help us solve subtraction problems, estimating differences, problems solving and using mental math to find the differences. Please remember to practice flash cards daily.

Happy Birthday

Nuvia – December 4

Student of the Week

Gabi is the Student of the Week! She likes to play soccer, do cartwheels and she has a lot of friends.

Her favorite animal is a giraffe . Her favorite colors are red and purple. When Gabi grows up she wants to be an Artist.

Recess

We go outside for recess unless the wind chill is below 20 degrees. The children need to bring snow pants and boots in order to play in the snow. Any child who needs to stay inside for recess will need a doctor's note. For inside recess, no Pokemon cards of any kind are allowed at school. Please keep all cards at home.

Monthly Reading Logs

Pizza Hut coupons and lunch in our classroom with a movie reward was earned for turning in your reading log with 21 days of reading! Congratulations to all who earned the reward! Keep reading throughout the month of December.

Parent/Teacher Conferences

I enjoyed meeting with you this past week for conferences. If you have any questions, just send me an email.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Dec. 16 - 2^nd grade Christmas Caroling

Dec. 17– Holiday Party

Dec. 20-Jan. 3 – Winter Break

November 19, 2010

READING

Next week we will be working on fables, poetry and Thanksgiving activities. There will no no newsletter next week.

After Thanksgiving, we will be reading a photo essay about a boy named David who visits a firehouse with his class. At the firehouse, they see different fire trucks and even help wash one!

In phonics we will be focusing on the the vowel pairs ai, ay and compound words.

Vocabulary words are chief, dispatch, emergencies, fire engine, firefighters, gear, clothes, guess and order.

Comprehension strategies are topic, main idea and details.

In grammar we will be working on special nouns.

MATH

In math we are exploring how to subtract 1-digit numbers from 2-digit numbers and then subtracting 2-digit numbers from 2-digit numbers. Our chapter test will be on Tuesday. After Thanksgiving, our next chapter will be a continuation of 2-digit subtraction. Please remember to practice flash cards daily.

Happy Birthday

Gia – November 16

Alexis – November 20

Student of the Week

Davion is the Student of the Week! He likes to play football, do back flips, and jump very high . His favorite animal is a tiger . His favorite colors are red and black. When Davion grows up he wants to be an Artist.

Social Studies

We learning about the Pilgrims, the Native American Indians and the First Thanksgiving. Next week we will learn about the Pilgrims and how the First Thanksgiving was created.

Music Concert

The children did a great job at the music concert! I am very proud of them!

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Nov. 23^rd – Report Cards go home

Nov. 23^rd – Funny Feet Day – wear silly socks or silly shoes to school

Nov. 24 -26 – Thanksgiving Holiday

Nov. 29-Dec. 3 – Parent Teacher Conferences

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 12, 2010

READING

Next week we will be reading about a boy from Chinatown and everything that happens in Chinatown – a very busy place. We will learn something about Chinese culture, kung fu and tai chi.

We will be working on the comprehension strategies of summarizing and story structure.

Our vocabulary words are apartment, delivery, handcarts, market and celebrations.

In phonics we will be focusing double consonants, consonant digraphs, and reviewing the vowel sounds ai, ay, ow, ou, ee and ea.

In grammar we will be working on nouns and plurals.

MATH

In math we finished our chapter on 2 digit addition. Our next chapter will introducing 2 digit subtraction. We will be exploring how to subtract 1-digit numbers from 2-digit numbers and then subtracting 2-digit numbers from 2-digit numbers. Please remember to practice flash cards daily.

Parent Teacher Conferences

Today your child is bringing home a parent/teacher conference slip. Please sign it and return it to school as soon as possible. Conferences are the week of November 29^th through the 3rd.

Music Program

On Wednesday, November 17^th it will be the second grade music program at Lakeview Jr. High School. Your child should arrive at 6:45. The children need to wear Christimas pajamas for the concert. I look forward to seeing you at the program!

Student of the Week

Carmen is the Student of the Week! She likes to play soccer, play with her brother and play with friends. Her favorite animals are a cat and dog. Her favorite color is blue. When Carmen grows up she wants to be a Teacher.

Snack Time

Our snack policy goes into effect on Monday, November 15^th. Per Mrs. Hansen, we are only allowing fruits, vegetables, cheese, pretzels, goldfish crackers and fruit juice. This is in our policy handbook.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Nov. 17^th - 2^nd Grade Music Program

Nov. 23^rd – Report Cards go home

Nov. 24 -26 – Thanksgiving Holiday

Nov. 29-Dec. 3 – Parent Teacher Conferences

November 5, 2010

READING

Next week we will have theme wrap up for the Nature Walk unit. We will read a fiction and non-fiction selection on owls.

We will be working on the comprehension strategies of predict, infer, question, compare/contrast and monitor/clarify.

Our vocabulary words are clearing, echo, meadow, pumped, owling, shadows, threading, rarely, and curved.

In phonics we will be focusing on the long vowels o, u and e.

In grammar we will be writing telling sentences and questions.

MATH

In math we are continuing to work on adding two-digit problems. Our test will be next week. Our next chapter will be on two-digit subtraction. Please remember to practice flash cards daily.

Social Studies

We are starting a new unit on our country long ago. We will be learning about the Native American Indians, pilgrims and the beginnings and growth of our country.

Reading Logs

Congratulations to all the children who read for 21 days in October. We celebrated by watching a movie while eating in our classrooms. I hope we can have 100% participation in November.

Our room is usually cold. Your child should bring a sweater/sweatshirt that they can keep in school. Dressing in layers is a good idea because other 2^nd grade classrooms are hot.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Nov. 10^th – Picture Retakes

Nov. 11^th – No School Veterans' Day

Nov. 17^th - 2^nd Grade Music Program

Nov. 23^rd – Report Cards go home

Nov. 24 -26 – Thanksgiving Holiday

Nov. 29-Dec. 3 – Parent Teacher Conferences

October 29, 2010

READING

Next week we will be reading a realistic story about a brother and sister who go blueberry picking around a pond with their dog named Sam. They see many different plants and animals.

We will be working on the comprehension strategies of categorize, classify and monitor/clarify.

Our vocabulary words are bank, crater, edge, moss, path and shallow.

In phonics we will be focusing on double consonants (summer, pocket) and how to divide words into syllables.

In grammar we will be writing exclamation sentences.

MATH

In math we finished our chapter on adding two digits with regrouping. Our next chapter continues two digit addition with regrouping. Please remember to practice flash cards daily.

Science

We are finishing our chapter on the life cycles of animals. Our next chapter focuses on plants, their parts and life cycles.

Student of the Week

Nick is the Student of the Week! He likes to build legos, skateboard and be a cub scout. His favorite animal is a penguin and his favorite colors are black and red. When Nick grows up he wants to be a Scientist.

Halloween Party

Thank you to Mrs. Milad and Mrs. Kenyeri for organizing our party. Thank you to Mrs. Landato and Mrs. Wells for helping with the party. We had a great time!

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Nov. 2^nd – Institute Day – No School

Nov. 5 – Movie Night at Prairieview

Nov. 10^th – Picture Retakes

Nov. 11^th – No School Veterans' Day

Nov. 17^th - 2^nd Grade Music Program

Nov. 24 -26 – Thanksgiving Holiday

October 22, 2010

READING

Next week we will be administering the MAP test. This is a test taken on the computer and replaces the IOWA tests. We will be doing a variety of Halloween activities and our spelling words are Halloween words.

MATH

In math we started our chapter on two digit addition. We will be using the math vocabulary regrouping. Please remember to practice flash cards daily.

Science

We are working on putting animals in the categories of birds, mammals, reptiles, fish and amphibians. We are going to work on the life cycles of animals. We will then be learning about plants and their life cycles.

Student of the Week

Ronnie is the Student of the Week! He likes to play play play soccer, cook and invent things. His favorite animal is a elephant and his favorite colors are green and red. When Ronnie grows up he wants to be a Doctor.

Happy Birthday

Nick – October 19

Khadija – October 20

Halloween Partries/Parade

Thursday, October 29th

Parade-1:40, Party-2:00

Please come and watch the parade The students should bring their costumes to school in a bag. We will put them on prior to the parade starting. No makeup will be applied at school and no toy weapons are allowed. We will not be passing out candy at the party. If you child wishes to bring in something for the party they can bring in non-edible things, such as pencils, erasers, etc.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Oct. 25^th – Field Trip

Oct. 29th– Halloween Parade and Party

Nov. 2^nd – Institute Day – No School

Nov. 10^th – Picture Retakes

October 15, 2010

READING

Next week we will be reading about a read park ranger from New York City and the things that he does each day as part of his job.

We will be working on the comprehension strategies of fact and opinion, rereading for understanding and making generalizations.

Our vocabulary words are exploring, protect, tours, habitat, ranger and urban.

In phonics we will be focusing on consonant clusters (r, l, s) and the two sounds for c.

In grammar we will be writing command sentences.

MATH

In math we have been working on number concepts and patterns. Next week we will be finishing our chapter on number patterns. Our chapter test will be on Tuesday. Our next chapter will be on 2-digit addition. Please remember to practice flash cards daily.

Science

Next week we will start learning about reptiles, amphibians and fish. We will be classifying animals according to how they are alike and different. We will learn about the habitats, young and body coverings.

Progress Reports

Progress reports are coming home today. Please sign them and send them back to school.

Fire Safety Assembly

Lt. Tabisz came to our school on Friday and talked about fire safety. We learned about choosing a special meeting place in case of a fire, how to “stop, drop and roll”, and that we should never go back inside to get something we forgot. He also showed us the special gear that firemen wear for protection.

Student of the Week

Tyler is the Student of the Week! He likes to play play lacrosse, be a cub scout and build with legos. His favorite animal is a white tiger and his favorite colors are black and red. When Tyler grows up he wants to be a S.W.A.T. Team member.

Happy Birthday

Ismael – October 13

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Oct. 20^th – Early Dismissal Day

Oct. 22^rd– Halloween Fun Fest

Oct. 25^th – Field Trip

Oct. 29th– Halloween Parade and Party

Nov. 2^nd – Institute Day – No School

Nov. 10^th – Picture Retakes

October 8, 2010

READING

Next week we will be working on a Reading/Writing Workshop. We will be concentrating on Descriptive Writing. We will be using descriptive words to write a paragraph about our own Halloween costumes.

We will follow the writing process of topic selection and use our five senses to describe our costumes.

In grammar we will be working on run on sentences.

MATH

In math we will be focusing on odd/even numbers, greater than, less than and equal to when comparing numbers (<,>,=). Please remember to practice flash cards daily.

Science

We will be finishing our unit on living things. Our test in Science will be on Thursday or Friday next week. Our next unit in Science will be a continuation of living things. We will be learning about mammals, amphibians, reptiles and life cycles.

Social Studies

We started Junior Achievement this week. Our teacher is Mr. Lighthall. He teaching us about “Our Community” to supplement our social studies curriculum. We are discovering a variety of occupations, developing an awareness of how businesses operate within the community, and increase their understanding of how citizens must take responsibility for the well-being of the community.

Student of the Week

Marina is the Student of the Week! She likes to play play soccer, play the piano and speaks Arabic. Her favorite animal is a giraffe and her favorite color is red. When Marina grows up he wants to be a Teacher.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Oct. 11^th – Columbus Day – No school

Oct. 20^th – Early Dismissal Day

Oct. 22^rd– Halloween Fun Fest

Oct. 25^th – Field Trip

Oct. 29th– Halloween Parade and Party

Nov. 2^nd – Institute Day – No School

Nov. 10^th – Picture Retakes