This last week before break will be filled with fun and learning! Thank you for sending in snow gear each day. It is very helpful if you label all of the snow gear, as any left behind with a name on it is returned to the child. Any unlabeled gear is sent to lost and found. If you are missing gear, we have two full bins of gear already. This includes: snow boots, snow pants, and gloves.
This week in our reading program, Wonders, we will explore the question, What can we see in the sky? As we read we will continue work on the strategy of rereading, and we will learn about the plot of a story. Our spelling pattern this week will be long I again. The students did an amazing job on their Unit 3 Math assessment. Next week we will kick off our new unit on measurement. As a reminder, we will explore how we measure objects of many lengths, how we measure the weight of items, and how we measure time. By the end of this year students should be able to tell time to the 5-minute mark. This is a wonderful thing to practice each day with your child. As well, we will circle back to counting money in this unit. Here is a great parent resources with tips for practicing time at home: https://www.parents.com/kids/development/intellectual/learning-to-tell-time/ This past week we kicked off our unit on informational writing. We have started our how-to books, and the topics are amazing! So far, we have learned how to find a seed how-to idea, as well as how writing a hook for a how-to book is different than for a narrative story. Next week the students will practice telling their stories step-by-step before we move on. As always, let me know if you have any questions! Cori Gallegos Upcoming Dates: December 20th – School Board Meeting 7:00 pm December 22nd- Last day before Holiday Break: Full Day of School December 25th - January1st - Holiday Break January 2nd - School Resumes
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December is a busy month at our school! I hope you had a chance to enjoy the snow this weekend. As a reminder, when snow is on the ground students must have snow gear to play in the snow at recess. This includes: snow boots, snow pants, and gloves. I strongly encourage you to label your child's gear, so that it is returned to them instead of being placed in lost and found.
This week in our reading program, Wonders, we will explore the question, How do the Earth's forces affect us? As we read we will work on the strategy of rereading, and we will learn that an author has a purpose for writing a story (to Persuade, to Inform, or to Entertain- think PIE). We will study long a spellings this week, and begin to explore contractions. Next week we will review the subtraction strategies we have learned in Unit 3, and take the end of Unit Assessment. Our next unit will focus on measurement. We will explore how we measure objects of many lengths, how we measure the weight of items, and how we measure time. By the end of this year students should be able to tell time to the 5-minute mark. This is a wonderful thing to practice each day with your child. As well, we will circle back to counting money in this unit. This past week students wrote an unassisted narrative piece. This was a way to measure their progress from the beginning of the unit (September) to now. I was so impressed to see the phenomenal growth the kiddos have made. I will send home a copy of their writing, along with the rubric in the coming weeks. This week we are diving head first into informational writing, a subject the students love! We will start by reviewing "how to" books, where the students teach others how to do something they feel they are an expert in! As always, let me know if you have any questions! Cori Gallegos Upcoming Dates: December 20th – School Board Meeting 7:00 pm December 22nd- Last day before Holiday Break: Full Day of School December 25th - January1st - Holiday Break January 2nd - School Resumes This week we will wrap up our third math unit and our second reading unit.
This week in our reading program, Wonders, we will take our Unit 2 Assessment. I will break the assessment into small chunks that we will complete throughout the week. Since it is an assessment week there will not be a spelling test. As part of the assessment, the students will complete an independent writing piece, in which I am looking to see if they can independently apply the writing skills we have practiced. I will send home the assessment results before winter break. Next week we will wrap up our third unit of math. I will spend some time reviewing even and odd numbers with students, focusing specifically on how to tell if a larger number is even or odd. As well, we will learn how to use combinations of ten to help us subtract. this can be a difficult strategy for some students, so I plan to extend the lesson over a few days. We have identified a list of class pet options to research, and are excited to begin our own research projects. This work will take us through the holiday break. Students will be charged with researching and designing a habitat for the class pet, in the form of a diorama. I will provide the supplies, and the work will be completed in the classroom. I will only ask that when it comes time, each student brings in a shoe box. As always, let me know if you have any questions! Cori Gallegos Upcoming Dates: December 6th – School Board Meeting 7:00 pm December 8th – No school for students- Teacher Workshop This week we continue our study of animals and their habitats.
This week in our reading program, Wonders, we will explore the question-How are offspring like their parents? While reading, we will review the spelling pattern of consonant digraphs (ch, thc, sh, ph, th, nh, wh). We will learn about the importance of rereading this week, and will look again at main ideas and details. Next week we will begin our third unit in Math. I will spend some time conferencing with students about their second unit assessment, and will run some review groups. In this third unit, students will learn subtractions strategies that will help them solve math problems quickly. I can't emphasize enough how important these strategies are for mental math and flexible math thinking. While we are working with smaller numbers, the upcoming strategies can be used with any number. The first two strategies we are working on are think addition for subtraction (counting up) and fact families. I have included a link about fact families for you here: http://mathatube.com/addition-subtraction-fact-triangle.html I am excited to see how the student's first independent narrative pieces come together this week. The students will apply all that they have learned in the unit, and we will work together the evaluate their finial writing piece. After this process, the students will then have a summative writing piece they complete. We will begin our animal research this week, working through the process together at first. We will further research owls, giving the students the opportunity to expand their knowledge and work through the research process together. After that, the students will be able to select their own animal to research. As always, let me know if you have any questions! Cori Gallegos Upcoming Dates: Wednesday, November 15th: 5:30 Volunteer Fingerprinting 6:30 School Board Meeting 7:00 PTA meeting Friday, November 17th: Report Cards Home Poinsettia Pickup We are busy learning about our community; all of its resources, landforms, and rich history. We are looking forward to our field trip on Wednesday, November 1st. Thank you for sending back the revised permission slips! Next week in our reading program, Wonders, we will explore the question-What can animals in stories teach us? While reading, we will review the spelling pattern of long u. We will wrap up our questioning work this week, and will look again at characters, setting, and important details. We will continue to explore addition strategies in math next week. We will learn more about even and odd numbers, beginning to explore equal groups. As well, we will look at the many ways we can represent a number in name collection boxes. For more information about name collection boxes check out this link: http://www.mathatube.com/name-collection-box.html We are busy planning our next story. The students are pulling together all of the pieces we have learned so far:
Our walking field trip is rescheduled for this Wednesday, November 1st. Please remember to have your child wear appropriate footwear for the Mill Pond Trail and dress for time outside. As a reminder, if you would like to chaperone any of our field trips you will need to follow our district policy as outlined below: Beginning this year, all volunteers must be fingerprinted (this includes field trip volunteers) in addition to watching the Bullying Video on the SAU19 website (under the special projects tab). Additionally, you will need to sign the Verification of Bullying Training Form that is also found on the SAU 19 website. Fingerprinting is available at the SAU office, for a cost of $20.75. As always, let me know if you have any questions! Cori Gallegos
Due to the weather forecast we are currently rescheduling our field trip. We had planned to have the field trip on Friday, October 25th. This date will no longer work for one of our stops. We are working to find a new date that will work for everyone, and will notify you as soon as we have selected a new time.
Thank you for your patience! Mrs. Gallegos IMichaelmas was such a fun experience to attend. The kids had a blast and walked away with some good ideas for when they are in third grade. Look for two singup genius emails this week- one for our Halloween celebration, and one for parent-teacher conferences. We practiced our first Reading Assessment this week, and I couldn’t be more proud of the student’s hard work. The assessment is a cumulative test that checks in on their progress of skills from the unit. Since we practiced this one together, it will not count toward their grade. We will only take two unit assessments in second grade. One after our second reading unit, and one after our fifth reading unit. During these weeks, there will not be any spelling homework. Next week in our reading program, Wonders, we will explore the question-How do animals play a part in the world around us? While reading, we will review the spelling pattern of long o. We will work on making, revising, and confirming predictions. As well, we will continue to identify characters, setting, and key details. Next week in math we will explore some problems solving. Students will look at the turn around rule, and explore if it works in both addition and subtraction. As well, we will explore odd and even numbers. Keep up the hard work with the homework. Remember it should take no longer than 20 minutes per night, and star anything that is causing them trouble. I always touch base with any kiddo who struggled. More information about the turn-around rule can be found here : www.teachertube.com/video/turn-around-facts-90533 We have begun to plan our second stories this week. We are working on adding transitions, hooking our readers, and wrapping up our story. As well, the kids are working on making their characters act, feel, and move. The stories have a much better flow We continue to explore how our community has changed from past to present. As well, we are looking at the natural resources in our community and the habitat in our town. This is a wonderful Segway for both our walking field trip and our Eyes on Owls presentation. Our walking field trip is scheduled for October 25th. It will be in the early morning, but I do not yet have definite times. I will keep you posted. As a reminder, if you would like to chaperone any of our field trips you will need to follow our district policy as outlined below: Beginning this year, all volunteers must be fingerprinted (this includes field trip volunteers) in addition to watching the Bullying Video on the SAU19 website (under the special projects tab). Additionally, you will need to sign the Verification of Bullying Training Form that is also found on the SAU 19 website. Fingerprinting is available at the SAU office, for a cost of $20.75. As always, let me know if you have any questions! Cori Gallegos October 24th- Eyes on Owls October 25th - School Board Meeting in the Library, 6:30 Walking Field Trip We had another busy week in the classroom. Our class community is coming together nicely, and we have earned our first class reward…a class pet. We will begin researching options next week.
Next week we will take our first practice assessment in our reading program. In first grade these assessments were taken whole group, with the stories read aloud, and the questions gone through point by point. By the end of second grade, students are expected to complete the assessment on their own. In preparation for that, we begin by teaching the strategies for taking the assessment, such as underlining key details in the story, highlighting important words in the questions, and checking our work. This is a teaching experience, helping the students understand how to take the assessment. Next week in math we will continue our work with addition strategies. We will expose students to multiple strategies that they can use in mathematics to mentally solve addition and subtraction problems. Students are learning that they cannot simply memorize every math fact they will encounter, but using strategies will help them quickly add and subtract in their minds. We are busy planning our second story, focusing on bringing our characters to life. Students have practiced making their characters think, feel, and move this week. As well, we will work on adding transition words to our writing, helping to organize our story. I am looking forward to an amazing presentation on October 24th- Eyes on Owls. This is a tradition for second grade students, and a wonderful curriculum tie as we learn about our community environment and history. The presentation will take place in our Art room, and we will be spending the next few weeks learning about our community habitat, alongside our community history. Our walking field trip is scheduled for October 25th. It will be in the early morning, but I do not yet have definite times. I will keep you posted. As a reminder, if you would like to chaperone any of our field trips you will need to follow our district policy as outlined below: Beginning this year, all volunteers must be fingerprinted (this includes field trip volunteers) in addition to watching the Bullying Video on the SAU19 website (under the special projects tab). Additionally, you will need to sign the Verification of Bullying Training Form that is also found on the SAU 19 website. Fingerprinting is available at the SAU office, for a cost of $20.75. As always, let me know if you have any questions! Cori Gallegos Upcoming Dates: October 18th – PTA meeting in the Art Room, 7:00 October 20th – Michaelmas Fair, Gym October 24th- Eyes on Owls October 25th - School Board Meeting in the Library, 6:30 Walking Field Trip We had a wonderful week in our classroom. We completed our first STEAM challenge, the nameplate design and participated in a cardboard challenge in the library.
Next week in our reading program, Wonders, we will explore the question-What happens when families work together? While reading, we will review the spelling pattern of long i. We will wrap up our questioning work this week, and will look again at characters, setting, and important details. Next week in math we will begin our second unit in Math. I will spend some time conferencing with students about their first unit assessment. I will congratulate them on what they did well (there is so much to celebrate) and will work to make a plan with them around the parts that are still tricky. Please give your child plenty of positive feedback when you receive their Math assessment at home, they worked so hard! This is a great time to practice growth mindset language, reminding them that our mistakes help us learn. In this second unit, students will learn addition strategies that will help them solve math problems quickly. I can't emphasize enough how important these strategies are for mental math and flexible math thinking. While we are working with smaller numbers, the upcoming strategies can be used with any number. The first two strategies we are working on are doubles, and doubles plus one. This is the idea that doubling a number quickly can lead to fluent mental math... we are laying the foundation for this skill. For instance- if you were to add 47 and 45 mentally- would you double 40 and then add the 7 and 5? Share your strategies with your child at home, as it can only make them a more flexible thinker! Our writing pieces have come together and the stories have beautiful illustrations and covers. We will have an author's celebration next week where the students can read aloud their stories in small groups. As we write our next personal narrative, we will focus on adding details and making our characters think, feel, and act. I am looking forward to an amazing presentation on October 24th- Eyes on Owls. This is a tradition for second grade students, and a wonderful curriculum tie as we learn about our community environment and history. The presentation will take place in our Art room, and we will be spending the next few weeks learning about our community habitat, alongside our community history. Our walking field trip is scheduled for October 25th. It will be in the early morning, but I do not yet have definite times. I will keep you posted. As a reminder, if you would like to chaperone any of our field trips you will need to follow our district policy as outlined below: Beginning this year, all volunteers must be fingerprinted (this includes field trip volunteers) in addition to watching the Bullying Video on the SAU19 website (under the special projects tab). Additionally, you will need to sign the Verification of Bullying Training Form that is also found on the SAU 19 website. Fingerprinting is available at the SAU office, for a cost of $20.75. As always, let me know if you have any questions! Cori Gallegos Upcoming Dates: October 7th- PTA Fall Frolic 5K October 11th- School Board Meeting in the Library, 6:30 October 18th – PTA meeting in the Art Room, 7:00 October 20th – Michaelmas Fair, Gym October 24th- Eyes on Owls October 25th - School Board Meeting in the Library, 6:30 Walking Field Trip We had a wonderful week in our classroom. The group is coming together as a community, and it is so fun to watch new friendships form.
Next week in our reading program, Wonders, we will explore the question-How do we care for animals? While reading, we will review the spelling pattern of long a. As well, we will work to review common high frequency words and learn new vocabulary words. Our strategy focus will be asking questions; be sure to ask your child what a thick question is while reading at home. We will continue to work on pulling out important details while we read. Next week in math we will wrap up our first unit. We will continue to compare numbers, and work on exploring base 10 blocks. We will also complete our first Unit Assessment in Math. Look for math homework to begin coming home the week of October 9th. One thing I am noticing in the classroom is that children hesitate to count by 10's or 5's when they start at a number other than 0. For instance, when I ask them to count by 10's beginning at the number 38 (38, 48, 58, 68) many students struggle with this skill. As well, when I ask them to count by 5's from a number like 25 (think counting on from a quarter) this can be a challenge. When driving in the car, this is an easy skill to practice. Give your child a number other than 0 and have them count on by 5's or 10's. We will continue to practice this skill in the classroom as well. We have been busy editing our writing this week. Students are learning to read their work as a reader would, and circling words that don't quite look right. They are using many resources to correct their spelling, and are even working on adding amazing adjectives to their sentences. I can't wait to share their stories with you! Next week we will complete our first STEAM challenge in class. We have been busy learning about a growth mindset, and are working on a class project called, Change Your Words, Change Your Mindset. We will use this learning as we encounter difficulties during our STEAM challenges. We have a walking field trip coming up at the end of October. We are still working out the details with the New Boston Historical Society and the Whipple Free Library. Students will learn about communities and how they change over time. This will be a walking field trip. I will inform you of the date as soon as we have all the details worked out. As a reminder, if you would like to chaperone any of our field trips you will need to follow our district policy as outlined below: Beginning this year, all volunteers must be fingerprinted (this includes field trip volunteers) in addition to watching the Bullying Video on the SAU19 website (under the special projects tab). Additionally, you will need to sign the Verification of Bullying Training Form that is also found on the SAU 19 website. Fingerprinting is available at the SAU office, for a cost of $20.75. As always, let me know if you have any questions! Cori Gallegos Upcoming Dates: October 7th- PTA Fall Frolic 5K October 11th- School Board Meeting in the Library, 6:30 October 18th – PTA meeting in the Art Room, 7:00 October 20th – Michaelmas Fair, Gym October 25th - School Board Meeting in the Library, 6:30 |
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