October 19, 2012

     

Reading and Language Arts  Next week we will be reading Exploring Parks with Ranger Dockett.  This is a story about a real park ranger from New York City and the things that he does each day as part of his job, such as keeping the parks clean and planting trees.

Comprehension Strategies:   Fact and Opinion; Evaluate
Vocabulary Words:   exploring, protect, tours, habitat, ranger, urban chipmunks, gathering, floating; Antonyms
High Frequency Words: busy, important, later, touch, young
Grammar Skills:  Commands
Phonics:  Consonant Clusters r, l, s; Two sounds for c

Reading Logs  Second graders are expected to read for 20 minutes each night. Please help your child record their minutes in their October reading log.


Math  We will finish Chapter 5, Explore 2-Digit Addition. Our review and test will be next week. We will begin Chapter 6, Two Digit Addition. Students will add 2-digit numbers with and without regrouping.

Flash Cards  Students should be practicing their addition and subtraction facts with their flash cards.  Weekly facts tests are given.

Science  We will continue learning about how light can pass through some objects and not others. Students will do an investigation using flash lights and mirrors. We will then move on to our next lesson:  What is Heat?

Star Student of the Week  Joshua was our star student of the week.  Joshua lives in the United States with his mom, dad and little sister. When he is at school he enjoys recess. When he is at home he likes to play on the computer. When he grows up he would like to be a money maker. Joshua is a star because he loves Skylanders and is a great reader. Thanks for sharing Joshua!

Important Dates & Reminders

*Please send in one paper towel roll.

Miss Wyse introduced the fall musical to second grade entitled, DINOSTARS!  This year the music to practice for the show can be found on the following website:

www.ccsd66music.com/PVChorus.htm

Thurs, Oct 25 - Early Dismissal - Noon
Fri, Oct. 26 - Spooky Story Day - Wear black and orange and 
                   bring a  Halloween book from home to share
Fri, Oct. 26 - PTO Halloween Party
Tues, Oct. 30 - Report Cards go home
Wed, Oct. 31 - Class Halloween Party/Parade 1:40
Thurs, Nov 1 - October Reading Logs are due
Mon, Nov. 5 - No School - Parent/Teacher Conferences
Tues, Nov. 6 - No School - Teacher Institute
Mon, Nov. 12 - No School - Veteran's Day
Thurs, Nov. 15 - 2nd Grade Music Concert

*Please send in your box tops!

October 12, 2012

                   

Reading and Language Arts  Next week we will be reading Henry and Mudge and the Starry Night.  It is a fictional story about a boy named Henry who goes camping with his parents and his dog Mudge. Each one of them enjoys camping, but not for the same reasons. 
Comprehension Strategies:  Compare and Contrast; Question
Vocabulary Words:  backpack, campfire, camping, hike, lanterns, tent, guitar, doe, fawn, sappy, snuggled
High Frequency Words: quiet, even, straight beautiful, year
Grammar Skills:  Telling Sentences and Questions
Phonics:  Long Vowels CVCe, o, u, e; Sounds for g

Reading Logs  Second graders are expected to read for 20 minutes each night. Please help your child record their minutes in their October reading log.


Math  We will begin Chapter 5, Explore 2-Digit Addition. We will be using mental math to add on multiples of 10 and regrouping for addition.

Flash Cards  Students should be practicing their addition and subtraction facts with their flash cards.  Weekly facts tests are given.

Science  We will be learning what light is and how it moves.

Star Student of the Week  Natasa was our star student of the week.  Natasa lives in Woodridge with her mom and cat. When she is at school she enjoys playing outside. When she is at home she likes to play with her cat. Some really cool facts about Natasa are:  she once did 20 flips in the water really fast, she did 30 math cards fast and she played on a volleyball team that won. When she grows up she would like to be a volleyball player. Natasa is a star because she is nice to other people. Thanks for sharing Natasa!

Important Dates & Reminders

Last week Miss Wyse introduced the fall musical to second grade entitled, DINOSTARS!  This year the music to practice for the show can be found on the following website:

www.ccsd66music.com/PVChorus.htm

 Thurs, Oct 25 - Early Dismissal - Noon
Fri, Oct. 26 - Spooky Story Day - Wear black and orange and 
                   bring a  Halloween book from home to share
Fri, Oct. 26 - PTO Halloween Party
Mon, Oct. 29 - Conferences
Tues, Oct. 30 - Conferences
Tues, Oct. 30 - Report Cards go home
Wed, Oct. 31 - Class Halloween Party/Parade 1:40
Mon, Nov. 5 - No School - Parent/Teacher Conferences
Tues, Nov. 6 - No School - Teacher Institute
Mon, Nov. 12 - No School - Veteran's Day
Thurs, Nov. 15 - 2nd Grade Music Concert

*Please send in your box tops!

October 5, 2012

                      

Reading and Language Arts  Next week we will be reading two stories to compare fantasy and nonfiction.  George and Martha, Round and Round is our fantasy story about two hippos.  Hippos is our nonfiction story from the magazine Ranger Rick.  Our comprehension strategy is connecting and comparing.  Our phonics lesson will review short vowels and the VCCV pattern.  The vocabulary words are cross, observed, thoroughly, unmoved, wicked, herds, mammal, moisture, nostrils, and relatives. Our high frequency words are bought, front, kitchen, until and roll. Our grammar lesson will review the naming and action part of a sentence.

Reading Logs  Second graders are expected to read for 20 minutes each night. Please help your child record their minutes in their October reading log.


Math  We will continue with Chapter 4, Number Concepts and Patterns. We will be identifying patterns on a hundred chart, solving problems by using the find a pattern strategy and skip counting by 2s, 5s and 10s, starting from different numbers. We will have our chapter test by the end of the week.


Flash Cards  Students should be practicing their addition and subtraction facts with their flash cards.

Science  We are learning about light and heat energy.

Star Student of the Week  Ryan was our star student of the week.  Ryan lives in Darien with her mom and dad. When he is at school he enjoys gym and reading. When he is at home he likes to build with Legos and play games. Some really cool facts about Ryan are:  he caught a 4 foot, 80 pound shark in Florida, his uncle is a fire chief, he went on the field of the Sox and he is  a Lego architect. When he grows up he would like to be a professional baseball player. Ryan is a star because he is a good friend. Thanks for sharing Ryan!

Important Dates & Reminders

Mon, Oct. 8 - Columbus Day - No School
Fri, Oct. 26 - Spooky Story Day - Wear black and orange and 
                   bring a  Halloween book from home to share
Fri, Oct. 26 - PTO Halloween Party
Mon, Oct. 29 - Conferences
Tues, Oct. 30 - Conferences
Tues, Oct. 30 - Report Cards go home
Wed, Oct. 31 - Class Halloween Party

*Please send in your box tops!

September 28, 2012

Reading and Language Arts  Next week we we will be reading Mrs. Brown Went to Town.  It is about a woman whose farm animals move into her house while she is away. We'll look for rhyming words as we read. The comprehension strategy we will be working on is predicting outcomes. The phonics skills are long vowels CVCe: a,i. Our grammar lesson will be on the action part of a sentence.  The high frequency words are:  move, different, floor, poor, word and letter. Our vocabulary will focus on multiple meaning words such as ball, fair, and match. The spelling words for this week will be Vowel-Consonant-e words.

Reading Logs  Please help your child record their minutes in their September reading folder. Reading logs are due Monday, October 1. We will have lunch and a movie in the room next week for those who have met their goal of reading for 21 days.

Math  We will begin Chapter 4, Number Concepts and Patterns. The students will use ordinal numbers to tell the position of a number or object, compare 2 digit numbers using <, >, or =, order 2 digit numbers, and round numbers to the nearest 10.

Flash Cards  Students should be practicing their addition and subtraction facts with their flash cards.

Science  We are beginning the unit on Exploring Matter.  Students will learn that everything in our universe is made of matter. Students will use their senses to learn about matter. We will begin to discuss the properties of matter and identify the three forms of matter:  solid, liquid and gas.

Star Student of the Week  Julia was our star student of the week. Julia lives in Darien with her mom and dad. Her favorite color is purple. Her favorite animal is a cat. When she is at school she enjoys gym and the computer lab. When she is at home she likes coloring and reading books. Some really cool facts about Julia are:  she plays the piano, she attends dance class and she goes to polish school. When she grows up she would like to be a movie star and a singer. Julia is a star because she is a good dancer and singer. Thanks for sharing with us Julia!

Important Dates & Reminders

*Please send in your box tops!

Mon, Oct. 1 - Reading Logs are due
Mon, Oct. 8 - Columbus Day - No School
Fri, Oct. 26 - Spooky Story Day - Wear black and orange and 
                   bring a  Halloween book from home to share
Mon, Oct. 29 - Conference Week begins- more info will be coming soon
Tues, Oct. 30 - Report Cards go home

September 21, 2012

Reading  Next week we will focus on Poetry. The comprehension strategies we will be working on are understanding poetry and monitor and clarify. The phonics skills we will be working on are short vowel sounds and VCCV patterns. Our grammar lesson will be on run-on sentences.

Reading Logs  Please help your child record their minutes in their September reading folder. Reading folders should be returned to school on October 1, after reading at least 21 days.

Math  We began Chapter 3, Place Value to 100. Next week, students will model and identify tens and ones, use place value to describe the value of digits in numbers and understand the meaning of the digits in numbers.

Flash Cards  Students should be practicing their addition and subtraction facts with their flash cards. They are taking weekly math facts tests.

Start Student of the Week  Nicky was our Star Student of the Week. Nicky lives in Darien with his Dad, Mom and two brothers. His favorite color is yellow. His favorite animal is a bunny. When he is at school he enjoys gym and lunch. When he is at home he likes to play Wii and Mario. Some really cool facts about Nicky are:  he is good at reading, he has two cool dogs and he is a good Wii player.  When he grows up he wants to be a daddy and a life guard. Nicky is a star because he is a good learner.

Important Dates & Reminders
Tues, Sept. 25 - Magazine Drive Turn in Day
Thurs, Sept. 27 - Picture Day and last Magazine Drive Turn in Day
Fri, Sept. 28 - Early Dismissal - 12pm
Mon, Oct. 1 - Reading Logs are due

Mon, Oct. 8 - Columbus Day - No School

September 14, 2012

Reading  Next week our story is Julius. We'll read about Maya's pig, Julius. Julius and Maya learn a lot from each other. Julius teaches Maya fun activities like trying on hats and dancing to jazz, and Maya teaches Julius how to be polite.  The comprehension strategies and skills that we will focus on are monitor, clarify, how to scan for information, and fantasy/realism.

Reading Logs  Second graders are expected to read for 20 minutes each night. Please help your child record their minutes in their September reading folder. Reading folders should be returned to school at the end of the month after reading for at least 21 days.

Spelling  In addition to the 12 word spelling test, we had a dictated spelling sentence test which included some of our spelling words from this week. Each week your child will be taking this dictation spelling test along with their 12 word spelling test. Your child will earn the following points on this test:  2 points for each spelling word spelled correctly(these can be from previous spelling lists), 1 point for each capital letter, 1 point for each end mark and 1 point for all the other words in the sentence. This will be a part of their language arts grade. Next week, we will focus on short e, o and u words. The children will have a pre-test on the week's spelling words on Monday.  They need to study the highlighted words during the week and be ready for a spellilng test on Friday.

Math We will finish up Chapter 2 on subtraction. Students will use addition and subtraction to identify missing addends and solve problems by using the skill choose the operation. The test will be Wednesday.  We will begin Chapter 3, Place Value to 100.

Flash Cards  Students should be practicing their addition and subtraction facts with their flash cards. They will be taking weekly math facts tests.

Social Studies  We are locating communities, states and countries on a map. Next week we will finish Unit 1, Where We Live, and take a test. 

Important Dates & Reminders

Tues, Sept. 18 - 1st Magazine Drive Turn in Day
Tues, Sept. 25 - 2nd Magazine Drive Turn in Day

Thurs, Sept. 27 - Picture Day and last Magazine Drive Turn in Day

Fri, Sept. 28 - Early Dismissal - 12pm
Mon, Oct. 1 - Reading Logs are due
Mon, Oct. 8 - Columbus - No School

Happy Birthday

Timmy - September 15

Book Fair   It was nice seeing many of you at the Book Fair/Icecream Social last night. Thank you to all the students who gave our class gift certificates to purchase books. We will enjoy reading them. It was very thoughtful!

Star Student of the Week  Alice was our star student of the week. Alice lives in Darien with her Mom, Dad and brother. Her favorite color is pink. Her favorite animal is a dog. When she is at school she enjoys math and reading. When she is at home she enjoys playing games, playing chess and reading. Some really cool facts about Alice are: she is American born, Chinese, she plays the piano and has really pretty fish. When she grows up she would like to be an art teacher. Alice is a star because she listens to other people.

September 7, 2012

Reading  Next week we will be following the five steps of the writing process to write a story. We will be choosing a topic, exploring and planning our story, and organizing details to include a beginning, middle and end. We will be concentrating on writing complete sentences and proofreading our story to make corrections and revisions.
Reading Logs  Second graders are expected to read 20 minutes each night. Please help your child record their minutes in their September reading folder. Reading log folders should be returned to school at the end of the  month after reading for at least 21 days.

Spelling  We will focus on sight words. The children will have a pre-test on the week's spelling words on Monday. They need to study the highlighted words during the week and be ready for a spelling test on Friday.

Math  We will review and take the chapter test, Addition Facts and Strategies. We will begin Chapter 2, Subtraction Facts and Strategies. Students will use the strategy counting back to determine differences. They will use fact families to find sums and differences.

Flash Cards  Students should be practicing their addition and subtract facts with their flash cards that were sent home.  They will be taking weekly math facts tests.

Social Studies  We will be learning about communities.  They will be comparing rural, urban and suburban communities.  We will learn how to read a city map and be able to locate communities, states and countries on maps.

Important Dates & Reminders

Thurs, Sept. 13, 6:30-8pm - Fall Book Fair & Ice Cream Social

Thurs, Sept. 27 - Picture Day

Fri, Sept. 28 - Early Dismissal - 12pm

Snack  Please do not send snacks with peanuts. Our classroom is peanut free.

Start Student of the Week  We will be starting Star Student of the Week on Monday. The children are chosen randomly to be our "Star Student of The Week". When it is your child's turn please make sure their poster is returned on Monday.  You are invited to be a guest reader in our classroom and read one of your child's favorite books on either Wednesday or Thursday at 2:45 of that week. If those times do not work with your schedule, please let me know and I will try and arrange a better time for you to read to the class.