Snowflakes

This week we talk about snowflakes! We looked at magnified images of snowflakes and learned new details about the magnificent art of the small flakes. See if your child can bring home something new to teach you about snowflakes.

In turn, they built their own! We did both 2D and 3D projects with snowflakes. This will also lead into our new discussion on symmetry!

When you are able to visit our building, cruise down our hallway to check out the very impressive 3D snowflakes that ALL students worked super hard to create! VERY COOL!

The Polar Express

We had so much fun on our holiday adventure to The Polar Express at the Traverse City State Theater! We were able to celebrate the holidays with popcorn, friends and a great flick!

Before leaving on our celebration, all students were to take a ticket to the train! This they could decorate and then come back to hole punch just like the conductor on The Polar Express.

We also had a couple other fun activities we did in connection to this field trip that you will see coming home on Monday. 

The students did an awesome job to and from and even during the movie! Be proud of your little one, I was!

The next day we made the State Theater community ornaments to thank them for their generous hosting of the Polar Express. All tickets were free with the addition of complimentary popcorn and water! It was a blast all around!

Our Week

Homework packets have been put to a pause just until after break. Instead the students have a couple other jobs at home to do as homework this week and next.

NWEA

This week we have our two NWEA tests for reading and math. 

Due to that I have given students the homework of resting and eating well to prepare. 

12 Days of Christmas Kindness

In the classroom the students made a Santa with a long beard full of kind deeds for school and home. Throughout this week and next week, they have the job of completing at least one kind deed a day at home or school. Then they can come back to school to color in the kind deed they expressed. They are only coloring in one a day, but we talked about exceeding expectations :)

This activity helps teach the kids how to be kind, how to spread kindness, and also how to show others how to be kind. We started this yesterday and look forward to completing all our kind deeds before the end of next week. All kindness Santa's will come home next Thursday!

Book Order

A Scholastic Book Order came home with ALL students on Tuesday. Please take a minute to look through each of the three magazines to see if there are any books you would like to purchase for the holiday season. Since we are in the season of surprises for the little ones, please let me know if any book(s) purchased are for gifts. If so, I can set them aside and alert you that your order is in without the student(s) knowing. 

If you are purchasing online please do so when you like as many times as you like. There will also be more options for books online as well.

Our online classroom code is
HFPT3
If you are wanting me to place the order, with our classroom order, please have your order in by Monday, Dec. 11th. I would like to place the order that night to ensure all books arrive before the holiday break.

Homework

A new homework packet came home with all students on Monday!

Please help remind your child to find time to complete each activity throughout the week.

Reminder: Fluency is optional but encouraged. I was very excited to see that most students tested their fluency last week to push their efforts!! It pays off!

 

 

Countdown Begins!

Tis' the Season!

We met with our learning buddies on Friday to ring in December!

Together, we made Santa's with an extra long beard. His beard has 25 rings to countdown to Christmas. Each day the kids can take one ring off as we get closer to the big day. Each day they trim Santa's beard is one day closer to his visit!

We had a lot of fun with this and each Santa had its own unique touch!

ENJOY!

 

 

 

Hagerty Gives Back

Today Hagerty came to visit all second graders at Westwoods! They have a program each year where they visit schools, read each class a fun and fantastic story, and then make sure each student has that story to take home to further enjoy! 

This year, the story was If I Built a Car!

Big thank you to Hagerty! Look for this book coming home today!

Journeys

Within Lesson 10, and throughout our week, we will be focusing on a variety of new concepts, but also practicing and building on topics already learned. 

We also have two new texts that are of use when it comes to new concepts being reinforced.

Jellies: The Life of Jellyfish

Genre: Informational Text

Most children are fascinated by animals - as pets, in the wild, creepy, or exotic. This informational text helps children understand what particular physical features jellyfish have that help them survive.

This text will identify reasons to support a fact or an opinion while also identifying the author's purpose for writing the text.

Splash Photography

Genre: Informational Text

Children will regularly encounter informational text in textbooks, on the internet, and through other media. This text gives factual information about a familiar topic - photography - and will expand on children's knowledge of the topic with details about underwater photography.

Students will use a diagram to enhance understanding and discuss how labels help to clarify information in a text. 

Homework

NEW HOMEWORK!

Reading Fluency

The students are bringing home a reading fluency and comprehension page for the week. 

The fluency portion of this activity I am leaving optional for students and is an added bonus if they choose to complete. Not required, but encouraged.

This activity aligns with our Six Minute Fluency in the classroom. Which means directions on the necessary process are not included, and instead the students can teach you an aspect of their day that they are now bringing home. They greatly enjoy seeing the growth in the classroom each day with how fluent they are becoming, and I know they would like to show that at home as well. If they choose to test their fluency, there is a graph that is coming along. This is a visual for students to see their results and to show growth. This graph can be left at home and does NOT need to be returned. At school we graph our results everyday, but at home with this passage, they will only need to graph the first read (cold read) and the last read (hot read). However, I did tell the students that they can choose how they want to graph results if they wanted to do it more frequently at home. The ideas were interesting :)

There are also three comprehension questions on the back that students need to answer with complete sentences and then return each Friday. 

Now students can come home and teach you one way fluency and comprehension is tested!

 Word Ladders

Math Pages

Students are practicing to further their skill of adding with and without regrouping. We have three strategies that we have learned in the classroom from what they can choose from.

Show All Totals

New Groups Above

New Groups Below

We are to the point of picking which strategy best works for ourselves. See if they can show you!

As always, if there are any problems or confusion for any part of homework, please mark the problem and send it back to school. Homework is not meant to be a stress or frustration at home. Just extra practice for students!