September 26, 2014

Reading During Daily 5 this week we continued building our stamina in Read to Self and Work on Writing. Next week we will continue to work with the Daily 5 structure, Read to Self, and Work on Writing. We will also discuss Word Work. Students will learn the procedures for how to use our spelling materials, and spend time practicing vocabulary activities with their word sorts. This week we continued discussions on Friendship. We read Chester's Way by Kevin Henkes. We learned about character traits and why they are important to know when we read. Students compared and contrasted themselves to a friend in the class by completing a Venn diagram. Monday, we will complete a Venn diagram for the characters in the story. We will also be reading The Name Game by Yangsook Choi. We will be addressing the concept of acceptance and friendliness. 

Reading Logs  Please continue to read and help your child record minutes in their September reading folder. Second graders are expected to read for 20 minutes each night, for a total of 21 days per month.  Students who read and return their logs after 21 days will be recognized with a special celebration. Reading logs are due Wednesday, October 1st.

Language Arts We learned about the different types of sentences: declarative, asking, command and exclamatory. Next week we will work with complete and incomplete sentences. 

Spelling  Next week students will continue their word study with the words they brought home this past Monday. The focus will be on vocabulary activities.  Make sure to keep the words in the ziploc bag and in a safe place so they can be used next week. Students are being asked to choose a different activity from the Weekly Spelling Activity Card to complete each night (Mon-Thurs) to help them master their spelling words. Once your child has completed the activity, please fill out the spelling bookmark, indicating which activity they chose, initial it, and have them return it the following day. This will help them prepare for the assessment on Friday. Please keep the Weekly Spelling Activity Card in your child's green folder, once they have completed the nightly activity.  

Math  Our focus continues to be on strategies for finding addition facts. This week we focused on adding 0,1 and 2, doubles, near doubles, turn around facts, and adding in any order.  Students will be making 10 to add, and problem solving by drawing a picture and writing a number sentence. An assessment for Topic 2 will be given by the end of next week. 

Math Facts Math facts should be reviewed daily. The Math flash cards that you purchased should be used to practice math facts as well as the one minute math practice worksheets that are brought home. Weekly timed tests are given. 

Click on the following link to print copies of the math practice worksheets:

http://www.ccsd66.org/wp-content/uploads/Teacher_Pages/Schultz/Math/

Social Studies This week we made a map of our own, given a written set of directions to follow. Next week will discuss directions. We will use a picture map to answer questions about directions. We will also use a map to plan a trip. 

ELLA

Star Student of the Week  Ella was our star student of the week. When she is at school she enjoys gym. When she is at home she likes to be creative. When she grows up she would like to be an artist. Ella is a star because she is good at soccer. Thanks for sharing Ella!

Important Dates & Announcements

Music From Miss Wyse:

Hello 2nd Grade Parents,

I am excited to announce that our 2nd grade musical will be Thursday, November 20th at 7PM in the Lakeview gymnasium. Please mark your calendars! Students will be listening to their show this week in music class. Some students may even get a speaking part! Please use this link to get to the lyric sheets for this show and music to practice at home.

http://goo.gl/x1h9wE

They are in pdf format and very easy to view. Happy Practicing!

Also, Miss Wyse is in need of parent volunteers to help the students make headbands for the musical. Please contact her if you are interested at jwyse@ccsd66.org.

September Dates to Remember

30 - Last Magazine Turn In Day

October Dates to Remember

 1 - September Reading Log Due

 7 - Daily 5 Literacy Nights @ Ide from 5:45-7:35 pm

 8 - Picture Day

10 - Early Dismissal @12 pm - School Improvement Day

13 - No School - Columbus Day

27-31 Parent/Teacher Conference Week

31 - Classroom Halloween Parties

September 19, 2014

Reading During Daily 5 this week we continued building our stamina in Read to Self.  We discussed Work on Writing, and generated a list of ideas to write about. We are working on building our writing stamina. Next week we will continue to work with the Daily 5 structure, work on reading, and work on writing. This week we began a unit on Friendship. We talked about what it means to be a good friend. We created recipes for 3 friendships. Next week we will read Chester's Way by Kevin Henkes. We will compare and contrast 2 of the characters in the story.

Reading Logs  Please continue to read and help your child record minutes in their September reading folder. Second graders are expected to read for 20 minutes each night, for a total of 21 days per month.  Students who read and return their logs after 21 days will be recognized with a special celebration. Reading logs are due Wednesday, October 1st.

Language Arts Students revisited what is a sentence. We discussed the the different types of sentences: declarative, asking, command and exclamatory. Next week we will continue activities centered around these sentences. 

Spelling  We had our first spelling assessment today. On Monday your child will be bringing home a new word list (sort). Your child should throw away the old words, cut apartand then sort the new words. Make sure to keep them in the ziploc bag and in a safe place so they can be used throughout the next 2 weeks. Students are being asked to choose a different activity from the Weekly Spelling Activity Card to complete each night (Mon-Thurs) to help them master their spelling words. Once your child has completed the activity, please fill out the spelling bookmark, indicating which activity they chose, initial it, and have them return it the following day. This will help them prepare for the assessment. Please keep the Weekly Spelling Activity Card in your child's green folder, once they have completed the nightly activity.  

Math  Students were assessed on Topic 1,Understanding Addition and Subtraction. W began our next topic, Addition Strategies. By the end of this topic students will be able to answer the question: What are strategies for finding addition facts? Students will be writing addition sentences for adding 0, 1 more, 2 more, and use doubles and near doubles facts to find sums. 

Math Facts Math facts should be reviewed daily. The Math flash cards that you purchased should be used to practice math facts as well as the one minute math practice worksheets that are brought home. Weekly timed tests are given. 

Click on the following link to print copies of the math practice worksheets:

http://www.ccsd66.org/wp-content/uploads/Teacher_Pages/Schultz/Math/

Social Studies This week we discussed what symbols on a map represent and a map key. We made a map key for a map of Summerville.  Next week we will make a map of our own, given a written set of directions to follow. 

Important Dates & Announcements

I would like to make a shout out to the following families for donating funds to our classroom library. I was able to pick out some really great books. Thank you to The Gaidamavicius Family, The Garcia Family, The Heck Family, The Kobylarczyk Family, The Rerucha Family, The Scatena Family and The Scheck Family. Your generosity is appreciated!

Daily 5 Literacy Night

The Ide staff is inviting you and your student to The Daily 5 Literacy Night. Click on the following link to find out more information: http://goo.gl/Mmyu9v  The last night to sign up is Wed, Sept. 24th.

WESLEY

Star Student of the Week  Wesley was our star student of the week. When he is at school he enjoys recess. When he is at home he likes to play video games. When he grows up he would like to be a parent. Thanks for sharing Wesley!

September Dates to Remember

23 - 1st Magazine Turn In Day

25 - 2nd Magazine Turn In Day

25 - Early Dismissal @12 pm - School Improvement Day

30 - Last Magazine Turn In Day

October Dates to Remember

 1 - September Reading Log Due
 7 - Daily 5 Literacy Nights @ Ide from 5:45-7:35 pm

 8 - Picture Day

10 - Early Dismissal @12 pm - School Improvement Day

13 - No School - Columbus Day

27-31 Parent/Teacher Conference Week

31 - Classroom Halloween Parties

September 12, 2014

Reading During Daily 5 this week we have been building our stamina in Read to Self.  We learned how to pick good fit books. We've read a couple selections and have been working on the comprehension strategies checking for understanding, back up and reread and cross checking for accuracy. Next week we will continue to work with the Daily 5 structure, work on writing, to build independence when we write. 

Reading Logs  Please continue to read and help your child record their minutes in their September reading folder. Second graders are expected to read for 20 minutes each night, for a total of 21 days per month. Reading logs should be returned to school at the end of the month after reading for 21 days. Students who read and return their logs after 21 days will be recognized with a special celebration. 

Language Arts Students will distinguish between different types of sentences.

Spelling  This week many word sort activities were modeled and practiced. Next week a couple more activities will be introduced and the students will be able to choose which activities they want to complete to practice their words. We will also be previewing vocabulary activities with our word sorts. On Monday look for the Spelling Activity Card with spelling choices. Please keep the Weekly Spelling Activity Card in your child's green folder, once they have completed the nightly activity. Students are being asked to choose a different activity from the Weekly Spelling Activity Card to complete each night (Mon-Thurs) to help them master their spelling words. Once your child has completed the activity, please fill out the spelling bookmark, indicating which activity they chose, initial it, and have them return it the following day. This will help them prepare for the assessment on Friday. 

Math  Students will continue working with the topic Understanding Addition and Subtraction. When students solve story problems, they will decide whether they need to add or subtract by using objects. Students will be assessed on this topic next week. The next topic we will focus on is Addition Strategies. 

Math Facts Math facts should be reviewed daily. The Math flash cards that you purchased should be used to practice math facts as well as the one minute math practice worksheets that are brought home. Weekly timed tests are given. 

Click on the following link to print copies of the math practice worksheets:

http://www.ccsd66.org/wp-content/uploads/Teacher_Pages/Schultz/Math/

Social Studies This week we read There's a Map on My Lap. We learned the difference between a globe and a map, what a map shows and we looked at different kinds of maps. Next week we will discuss what map symbols represent.

Important Dates & Announcements

Daily 5 Literacy Night

The Ide staff is inviting you and your student to The Daily 5 Literacy Night. Click on the following link to find out more information: http://goo.gl/Mmyu9v

September Dates to Remember

16 - Magazine Drive Kick Off

18 - PTO Book Fair and Ice Cream Social @6:30 pm

23 - 1st Magazine Turn In Day

25 - 2nd Magazine Turn In Day

25 - Early Dismissal @12 pm - School Improvement Day

30 - Last Magazine Tun In Day

October Dates to Remember

 7 - Daily 5 Literacy Nights @ Ide from 5:45-7:35 pm

 8 - Picture Day

10 - Early Dismissal @12 pm - School Improvement Day

13 - No School - Columbus Day

27-31 Parent/Teacher Conference Week

31 - Classroom Halloween Parties

September 5, 2014

Reading This week we have been practicing our first Daily 5 station, Read to Self.  The students have been working hard to build their reading stamina. We reviewed the 3 ways to read a book. We also read aloud Rainbow Fish, by Mark Pfiister. Mrs. Riadi and myself modeled what it looks like to do a close read (looking at a passage in a text for deeper understanding). We focused on identifying unfamiliar words and finding their meaning, and identifying key words to answer a question, using text marking. Next week we will continue to practice Daily 5, learn how to pick a good fit book and begin a unit on comparing and contrasting.

Reading Logs  Please continue to read and help your child record their minutes in their September reading folder. Second graders are expected to read for 20 minutes each night, for a total of 21 days per month. Reading logs should be returned to school at the end of the month after reading for 21 days. Students who read and return their logs after 21 days will be recognized with a special celebration. 

Language Arts Students will identify parts of a sentence.

Spelling  Next week we will begin the spelling program Words Their Way. Words Their Way is a developmental spelling program aligned to the new common core standards.  It is a word study. The goal is not to memorize the words or the spelling "rules"  which have so many exceptions, but to understand or make sense of the words. The students will focus on making sense of words by looking for patterns in spelling and sound in order to categorize words.  All students were given a developmental spelling test. Based on their results they will be given a list (sort) of about 20 words to study over about a 2 week time period. During the week they are given a variety of activities to do with these words. They will be tested on 12 of them. Look for the word sort and activities in your child's green folder on MONDAY. I will discuss this further on Tuesday during Curriculum Night. 

Math  Students began the topic Understanding Addition and Subtraction. By the end of the topic students will be able to describe ways to think about addition and subtraction. Our focus this week was on 

• putting two parts together to make a whole and then showing this by writing an addition and number sentence
• writing addition number sentences to show stories about joining
• solving problems by writing subtraction number sentences.                     

Next week we will focus on:

• writing subtraction sentences to solve stories about separating groups and comparing groups
• writing related addition and subtraction facts
• using counters to model and solve addition and subtraction problems.

Math Facts Math facts should be reviewed daily. The Math flash cards that you purchased should be used to practice math facts as well as the one minute math practice worksheets that are brought home. Weekly timed tests are given. 

Click on the following link to print copies of the math practice worksheets:

http://www.ccsd66.org/wp-content/uploads/Teacher_Pages/Schultz/Math/

Important Dates & Announcement

2nd Grade Curriculum Night is Tuesday, September 9th at 6:00pm. Sign up sheets will be available for holiday parties and copy helpers. Don't forget to bring your calendar so you can volunteer.  This night is for parents only. If you have a concern about your child prior to Tuesday, please don't hesitate to contact me at szurales@ccsd66.org. 

Copy Helpers
If you are interested in copying for our class, please email me. If I get a few more volunteers I will set up a rotating schedule. Thanks in advance!

September Dates to Remember

*Note: OUR MAPS TESTING DATES WERE CHANGED

  9 - MAPS Math
  9 - Curriculum Night - 6:00-7:00pm (PARENTS ONLY)
11 - MAPS Reading
16 - Magazine Drive Kick Off
18 - PTO Book Fair @6:30pm
23 - 1st Magazine Turn In Day
25 - 2nd Magazine Turn In Day
25 - Early Dismissal @12pm - School Improvement Day
30 - Last Magazine Tun In Day