Spelling

Coming home with your child is their first spelling list. Please read through the family letter to receive extra ideas of how to practice your child's spelling list each night. We will be reviewing the spelling words in class through: 

Different activities in Language Arts

Readers involving a variety of stories

Vocabulary lessons

Writing

Each Monday, students will receive a new list of spelling words. 

Friday's all students will be given an assessment on their spelling words.

Reading Buddies

During reading buddies, students share one or two of their favorite reads with students in fourth grade. With our partners we are working on: 

Listening and explaining our thinking

Complimenting strategies

Reading fluency

Talking about big ideas, characters, interesting facts, and setting

 

 

Fairy Tales

Over the past couple weeks students have been learning about Fairy Tales. You child has heard the fairy tale stories:

The Fisherman and His Wife

The Emperor's New Clothes

Beauty and the Beast

Below are some suggested activities for you to do at home to reinforce what your child is learning with the genre of fairy tales.

The Fisherman and His Wife

(A fisherman catches a flounder in the sea; the flounder tells the man he is actually an enchanted prince who has been turned into a flounder; the fisherman throws the flounder back; the fisherman's wife asks why he didn't first ask the flounder for a wish and send him back to ask for several wishes; finally, the wife asks for too many things and the fish leaves them with what they had at the beginning of the story.)

Ask your child what they remember, fill in any gaps in the plot, and ask your child if there is a lesson to be learned from this story. 

The Emperor's New Clothes

(An emperor finds great pleasure in dressing in different outfits; a strange weaver and tailor arrive and tell him they can make magical clothes, clothes only clever people can see; the emperor believes their story and hires them; everyone lies and says they can see the clothes in order to appear clever; a child finally states the truth)

Ask your child what they remember, fill in any gaps in the plot, and ask your child if there is a lesson to be learned from this story. 

Beauty and the Beast

Your child will learn the saying "better late than never" in relation to the fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast." Ask your child how this saying relates to the story. (When Beauty decides to stay in the palace of the beast, she asks the beast to grant her one request: to say good-bye to her family. The beast grants her this request, but makes her promise to return before the full moon. Beauty doesn't return when promised, but does return to the palace just in time to save the beast's life.) 

Talk with your child about other situations where one might use the saying "better late than never."

Website Logins

Sumdog and Frontrow are two web based computer programs that we are using in the classroom in addition to our curriculum for mathematics. (They also offer reading practice, however, we have not yet ventured into those areas yet.) 

Coming home is a small cut out for your child providing their login usernames, passwords, and school codes. Each student has their own account for both sites so they can continue work from home to school and school to home. It is also adaptive, which means the program will attend to a specific child's learning abilities based on how they perform on certain questions and how they are answered. 

Sumdog

www.sumdog.com

click on login (top right corner)

username: students last name

password: assigned by teacher

school code: westwoods

Frontrow

www.frontrowed.com

click on student sign in (top right corner)

(the web address I gave on the cut out takes you directly to login)

Students first and last name

school code: 3w6wdx

Please let me know if you have any additional questions or concerns.

Thank you!

McNitt Updates

Move A Thon

RUNNING FOR READING!!

Friday Oct. 9

GOAL: Raise 15,000 for literacy!!

Between now and Oct. 9 students are asked to collect donations for the Move A Thon. Donors can pledge a flat amount or pledge money per lap. In addition to cash and checks, PTO is also offering an online donation option. 

www.thegetmovincrew,com

Click on the star on the right hand side to create a page for your child. Goals are automatically set to $50 (feel free to raise that). This website will track your child's progress, class goals and student rankings. You may do cash and/or checks in addition to the website donations.

There are three collection dates:

October 2

October 9

October 16

(Oct. 16 is the FINAL day to hand in money for prizes)
* Please send money in an envelope with your child's name AND teacher's name

Volunteers are needed!! 

NWEA Testing

This week students in our classroom wrapped up NWEA testing for reading and mathematics. Both tests assess your child's strengths and weaknesses in reading and math. It also helps me to target areas that need extra attention and address any needs where your child might be struggling. We will do this again in December and towards the end of the school year to measure growth of each student. In between tests, I will be doing informal assessing to assure students are progressing appropriately through second grade reaching their potential...and even beyond! 

Reminders!
Please make sure your child has a pair of PE shoes to keep at school.
We have PE Wednesday afternoons and Thursday mornings.

Please help your child to remember a healthy snack for the school day.
Students may have ONE snack in the morning and ONE snack in the afternoon.
*Please note we do have a peanut allergy in our classroom

The students are doing an awesome job on remembering their communicators, Friday folders, and turning in their homework. Routines are established and students are doing a fantastic job!!
On Monday, students will be receiving a new homework packet with a new addition of spelling (more info to come with spelling). We will also be starting Mad Minutes, which i'm sure you have all seen on the homework schedules. Look for more on Mad Minutes with the homework on Monday.
Please let me know if you have any additional questions or concerns.

Picture Day

October 2

Coming home in your child's communicator is a picture day form. If you would like school pictures for your child this year, please fill out the form by selecting the preferred package and send in with the corresponding amount. Students may bring this in any day up until picture day on Friday, Oct. 2.

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND!

Math Stations

Today in math we had review stations from chapter one, following a lesson on ordering numbers. Students were divided into three groups and rotated after a certain amount of time. Not only were they doing the activities assigned, but they were also working together in their groups using one another as a valuable resource. They used what they have learned to help a peer, strengthening knowledge on both ends. 

Stations were as followed:

Computer station worked on Frontrow & Moby Max (web based math & reading program) practicing their math skills.

www.frontrowed.com

www/mobymax.com

Another station worked on a review packet involving: 

Comparing numbers (greater than and less than)

Ordering numbers (greatest to least or least to greatest) 

Last station chose from a variety of math activities that connect to our math learning goals and all we have learned in chapter one.

Counting base ten blocks

Finishing number patterns (find the missing numbers)

Comparing Numbers (greater than and less than)

Matching different number forms (standard, word, expanded)

Finding numbers that are more or less (1 more, 1 less, 10 more, 10 less, 100 more, 100 less)

This weekend ask your child if they can:

Identify place value of a three digit number (ones, tens, and hundreds place)?

Take the standard form of a number and write the written form and expanded form?

ex: 348

three hundred forty eight

300+40+8

To push their thinking, add a fourth digit!

Homework

The students first homework packet came home this Monday. Each Monday they will receive a homework packet that also contains a schedule to help follow each day of the week. I know with extra activities after school and especially family time each evening that homework is not done every day. This will help the students to be responsible and find time for their school work in addition to other scheduled events. All homework is due by Friday. Please help your child to remember to take their time. Homework is not due until the end of the week, so they have time to do the different activities in separate chunks throughout the week. 

I do expect and hope reading is done each night, but will not be monitoring home reading. Reading can be done with a partner where they are reading or the partner is reading. They came up with great examples of where to read, read to their pets, or even have books in the bathroom :) 

Please let me know if you have any further questions. Thank you for your help and support on this!

Numbers to 1,000

Over the past week we have begun chapter one in Math in Focus. 

Within this chapter we will be:

- Using base ten blocks to recognize, read, and write numbers to 1,000

- Counting by 1's, 10's, and 100's to 1,000

- Reading and writing numbers to 1,000 in standard, word and expanded form

- Comparing numbers using greater than and less than

- Putting three digit numbers in order

- Identifying number patterns

 

Library!

Today was our first library day with Mrs. Kubesh! We refreshed our memories on library rules, got acquainted with our new librarian that we are very excited about, and learned where to find books of interest. We also got a glimpse of our newly painted and beautiful Westwoods library! 

You will see coming home one chosen book from your child. All second grade students are allowed to check out two books, however, one stays in the classroom and one goes home. Please enjoy these books for the week! They need to be returned by Monday, Sept. 21 (in order to check out more books). 

Writing about our SuMmEr!

Today we read a story together about how a little boy spent his summer vacation. The boy was to spend his summer with his aunt, but on the way was stolen by cowboys and taken on an adventure. Very engaging story with a lot of laughs along the way. To follow, the students flashed back and thought about one special event (personal narrative) that happened over a summer vacation. Then they met with a partner to share, before beginning the writing process. As they wrote, students took their chosen event to add detail and voice as they expanded their text.

Today was the beginning, days to follow will include further discussion on the learning goals for writing. Students will focus on where they need work and grow as writers, with guidance from peers and myself. 

Classroom Info.

What a fantastic first week!! Couple notes for home...

Parent/Guardian Notes
Thank you to all parents who are sending in notes and communicating with me for where you child goes after school. Please remember, if your child's end of the day routine changes send a note in your child's communicator that morning so I am aware of where your child is to go. If you'd rather send an e-mail, I always check my mail before school, at lunch, and after school. If your child's routine changes during the school day, contact the office and they will let me know of the change. Thank you for your understanding!

Communication
Communicators
Students have been super about getting their communicators back to school each and everyday! I know it is silly to sometimes send home an empty communicator, however, it helps to develop a routine so all notes and important info are getting to home and school when needed. Thank you for your help on this!
Friday Folders

Friday folders came hold Friday! These folders will go home each Fridays and needs to be returned the following Monday morning. All folders will contain papers throughout the week that aren’t urgent to get home. Once a child has lost their Friday folder, they will not get another one, so please help your child develop a routine to get their Friday folder back and forth from school and home. Thank you! 

Inside your child's Friday Folder please look for:

Scholastic News & extra practice worksheet

Westwoods Spirit Wear order form

CKLA activities and parent letter

Counting to 1,000 gameboard 

Student Handbook - Please read through the school handbook with your child. Located in the back is a form to complete. Please do so and return back to school next week. Thank you!

Popcorn
Popcorn Fridays start next Friday September 18th! If you would like to pre-order popcorn, please return prepay order forms by Tuesday Sept 15th, along with payment of $7 per student.
We need volunteer popcorn poppers for popcorn Fridays!  Please volunteer for as many or as few as you can, at the link below.  It's just 1 and a half hours on Friday mornings starting at 8:45am, straight after drop off.  It's a great way to get involved with the school and meet other Westwoods parents.  Thank you!
www.SignUpGenius.com/go/20F094AA8A92BA6FE3-sign

Reading Buddies

Last Friday students were introduced to their reading buddies! We are partnering with Mrs. DePlaunty's fourth grade classroom at Westwoods. We will be meeting with our reading buddies once a week on Tuesday mornings. Not only are our new friends our reading buddies, but we will also be doing math buddies! Very excited to get this kicked off and to collaborate with students in other grades.

CKLA

In your child's Friday Folder, you will find a parent note for CKLA. Last week in the classroom, the students were introduced to our new curriculum at Westwoods of CKLA (Core Knowledge Language Arts). Grades K, 1, and 2 are teaching this new curriculum to their students (students at WW did not receive CKLA last year in grade 1). We are VERY excited to give students this opportunity!

Along with the parent letter, you will also see two different stories (oral reading) and worksheets (comprehension) we completed in the classroom together after lesson one and lesson two. 

During both lessons, last week the students also learned about:

 Individual vowel code book

 Individual consonant code book

We reviewed different sounds letters can make and different sounds letter combinations can make to help with reading and writing. Code books are kept in their reading bins for an easy resource to use during reading and writing. 

Dictation

Spelling words from the sounds you hear. Students are able to use their code books as a resource for this. 

Chaining

Creating new words by manipulating the sounds in words where only a single letter is changed (added or deleted)

Example: at>cat>hat>bat>bit>bid>did

Counting to 1,000

This week in math the students learned a new math game...and LOVED it! 

It helps see numbers to 1,000, by tens, as they move through the game board. In our first chapter of Math in Focus, students will be focusing on counting to 1,000 using a variety of manipulatives, strategies, and activities.

Their enthusiasm during this activity was high when their counter was to move forward or backwards, depending on their dice roll, which often lead to a climb up a tree or a slide down a pipe. This lead to A LOT of chatter of identifying three digit numbers their counters approached, while also beginning to notice how far they were from the end, a partners counter, or the next tree or pipe. 

This game is now part of our math workshop in the classroom and has also been sent home to continue learning. 

Ask your child how to play the game and have them identify different three digit numbers that lead to 1,000. 

To extend their thinking, see if they can count by tens over 100 and even if they can see how far two numbers are from one another. 

Please look for a game-board copy in your child's Friday Folder.  

Reach for the STARS!!

Took a couple days to create this, with a lot of thought and imagination involved. Students traced their arm and hand, then wrote down at least four, or more, goals they want to accomplish in second grade. Many thoughts included behavior, academic or social goals that they want to work on or begin to learn. A lot of students came up with REALLY GREAT ideas that showed their passion for learning and pushing themselves. 

After students were done, with decorations involved, they cut out their arms and we pasted each limb on our classroom door. 

Please stop by to check it out!