Every Vote Counts!
We had a very exciting afternoon, with some guest speakers from the high school coming to talk with us. Our conversations about the importance of voting have grown into a full-blown Community Service Learning Project, as we work to spread the word about the importance of voicing our opinions. So far, we have participated in a few classroom votes, we have made posters reminding families to register to vote in the upcoming election, and talked about ways to spread the word about getting out and voting. Today, the high school students who came to visit engaged the 2nd graders in lively discussion about what they already know about voting, the presidential candidates, Republicans and Democrats, and even ran a mock election with our students asking them to consider the qualities they would want if they could vote for a new principal. The second graders were so enthusiastic about talking with our high school visitors!
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Monday, October 8, 2012
I hope you all had a wonderful long weekend! Please don't forget about Open House night on Thursday, October 11 from 7-8 p.m. Students are invited to come with their families to show them around their classroom and school. The students have been reminded to stay with their families at all times. Please help us keep "crowd control" by not allowing your child to go running off on their own. This really is their time to be the school expert for their families, and I expect them to follow the school rules at night the way they follow them during the school day.
In the next few days I will be sending home the Ocean Folders where we have been collecting some of our information during our Oceans study. I will also be sending home a study guide, and will be giving a short test next Monday. My expectations for science and social studies tests this year are for students to spend some time reading through their materials and study guides, and to be able to demonstrate what they have learned in class. Studying for tests is not meant to be stressful. Spend some time with your child reading the information with them and asking them what they have learned during our study.
Have a great week!
In the next few days I will be sending home the Ocean Folders where we have been collecting some of our information during our Oceans study. I will also be sending home a study guide, and will be giving a short test next Monday. My expectations for science and social studies tests this year are for students to spend some time reading through their materials and study guides, and to be able to demonstrate what they have learned in class. Studying for tests is not meant to be stressful. Spend some time with your child reading the information with them and asking them what they have learned during our study.
Have a great week!
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
EYES ON OWLS!!
What a fun day this was! We had our MEPTO-sponsored program called "Eyes on Owls" today. This is by far my favorite program, and it think it was a big hit for the children in Room 6! We were able to get up close and personal with 6 different owls, including the Barred Owl, Barn Owl, Great-Horned Owl, Eagle Owl and, the one that seemed be be the favorite, the Snowy Owl. A couple of favorite moments were when Reilly got to go up and imitate the owl sounds, and when the Eagle Owl hooted into the microphone.
What a fun day this was! We had our MEPTO-sponsored program called "Eyes on Owls" today. This is by far my favorite program, and it think it was a big hit for the children in Room 6! We were able to get up close and personal with 6 different owls, including the Barred Owl, Barn Owl, Great-Horned Owl, Eagle Owl and, the one that seemed be be the favorite, the Snowy Owl. A couple of favorite moments were when Reilly got to go up and imitate the owl sounds, and when the Eagle Owl hooted into the microphone.
Monday, September 3, 2012
We're off to a great start! What a fun group of students I have in Room 6 this year! Our first couple of days were spent getting to know each other and learning some of the classroom routines. We will continue working on these objectives in the next couple of weeks, but also "diving right in" to our second grade curriculum.
We use the Storytown reading program to teach our English/Language Arts curriculum. We will also spend time in Reader's and Writer's Workshops. These workshop times allow all students to spend time working at their own level and their own rate on specific reading and writing skills that have been taught.
Math curriculum is taught using the Everyday Math program. I supplement this program with games that I have "borrowed" from other programs, as well as games that I have developed myself to practice skills. Our plan is to begin a "Math Switch" with a few of the other second grade classes in our school. We won't begin this until we begin unit 2, sometime in the next several weeks. When we do Math Switch, we will first pre-test all students on the skills that will be presented in the unit that we are about to begin. Based on the pre-test scores, students will be divided into groups based on their particular needs. Children with similar needs and strengths will be grouped together for the duration of that unit, meaning that the children from Room 6 will be spread out among other classrooms to be taught by other teachers during our daily Math period. We plan to do Math Switch four days per week, and keep students in their regular class for the fifth day so that teachers can continually monitor progress of their own students. At the end of the unit, a post-test will be given (as it was last year in first grade). The Switch process will begin again the for the next unit with another pre-test.
This "Switching" has been done with great success over the last few years, as it allows teachers to teach the unit concepts at the pace that is most effective for the group. Those students who have mastered the concepts already will be given opportunities to extend their learning, and those who need more work or practice with the basics of a concept will be given the opportunity to do so. It's really a great opportunity for our students!
In Science, we will be "diving in" to our ocean study. Through multi-media tools, students will be learning about the characteristics of different zones of the ocean as well as conducting some research about the animals that live in each one. We have a few experiments and projects planned, and it promises to be an exciting unit!
We use the Storytown reading program to teach our English/Language Arts curriculum. We will also spend time in Reader's and Writer's Workshops. These workshop times allow all students to spend time working at their own level and their own rate on specific reading and writing skills that have been taught.
Math curriculum is taught using the Everyday Math program. I supplement this program with games that I have "borrowed" from other programs, as well as games that I have developed myself to practice skills. Our plan is to begin a "Math Switch" with a few of the other second grade classes in our school. We won't begin this until we begin unit 2, sometime in the next several weeks. When we do Math Switch, we will first pre-test all students on the skills that will be presented in the unit that we are about to begin. Based on the pre-test scores, students will be divided into groups based on their particular needs. Children with similar needs and strengths will be grouped together for the duration of that unit, meaning that the children from Room 6 will be spread out among other classrooms to be taught by other teachers during our daily Math period. We plan to do Math Switch four days per week, and keep students in their regular class for the fifth day so that teachers can continually monitor progress of their own students. At the end of the unit, a post-test will be given (as it was last year in first grade). The Switch process will begin again the for the next unit with another pre-test.
This "Switching" has been done with great success over the last few years, as it allows teachers to teach the unit concepts at the pace that is most effective for the group. Those students who have mastered the concepts already will be given opportunities to extend their learning, and those who need more work or practice with the basics of a concept will be given the opportunity to do so. It's really a great opportunity for our students!
In Science, we will be "diving in" to our ocean study. Through multi-media tools, students will be learning about the characteristics of different zones of the ocean as well as conducting some research about the animals that live in each one. We have a few experiments and projects planned, and it promises to be an exciting unit!
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Welcome to Second Grade!
I want to welcome all of my students and families to an exciting year of learning! I have been busy getting our classroom ready for us, and can't wait to meet you all on the first day of school, August 29th. Please bring the following supplies with you on the first day:
-composition notebook
-one-subject notebook
-folder
-Crayola markers (thin and thick)
-Crayola colored pencils
-Crayola crayons
I want to welcome all of my students and families to an exciting year of learning! I have been busy getting our classroom ready for us, and can't wait to meet you all on the first day of school, August 29th. Please bring the following supplies with you on the first day:
-composition notebook
-one-subject notebook
-folder
-Crayola markers (thin and thick)
-Crayola colored pencils
-Crayola crayons
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