Sunday, February 28, 2010

Week 26

This week we are reading "Little Bear's Friend." It is a fantasy story where animals talk and take on human qualities. The sound for this week is the long i sound made by the letter y at the end of a word. The new vocabulary words are:

again
blue
high
love
opened
hello

In math we will be quarters, reading a digital clock, and learning some data landmarks such as range and median. We will continue taking math timed tests. Most students are moving along well.

This will be a crazy week with two early release days on Wednesday and Friday. I have scheduled some conferences on Wednesday. If you didn't receive a note but would like to see me I will be available from 2:30-3:30 on Wednesday afternoon. Please call so I don't have conflicts with other parents.

Have a great week and do remember the early release days.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

More AR Stars

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Week 25

This week we are reading a non fiction story called "On the Job with Dr. Martha Smith." This story is written in the interview style to gain information about her job at an animal shelter. The sound this week is /ou/ (what you would say if I pinched you} made by the letters ou and ow. The new vocabulary words are:
any
Dr.
busy
care
eight
took


We will be doing the writing portion of homework in class. We will be working on handwriting, neatness, capitalization, and punctuation. We are practicing being second graders. This will give you more time for reading, math, and spelling at home.

This week in math we will be working on math facts, quarters, "What's My Rule", and time to the 5 minutes. It should be a really busy week. Please keep practicing time and money at home. Counting combinations of coins is still very difficult for many.

Congratulations to Corbyn and Gavin for earning AR shirts. I have tried to post their pictures but the slide show maker I use isn't cooperating. I will keep trying but I just keep getting an error message. I have given out several zipper pulls. Many are on track to have a shirt by the end of the year. Two or three are only a few away of earning a watch. The interest seems to have really picked up.

Remember that the Early Release days have been changed to March 3 and 5.

Have a great week.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Week 24

This week we are reading a science fictions story called "My Robot". It is by Eve Bunting. The phonics lesson is c sounding like s as in cent. The new vocabulary words are"
almost
always
does
even
once
pretty
say
sound

Questions of the Week:
Monday - holiday
Tuesday - What did you do over your long weekend?
Wednesday - The first bathtub was installed in the White House in 1851. How many bathtubs are in your house?
Thursday - It is Wilhelm Grimm's birthday. What is your favorite fairy tale?
Friday - Use the word 'always' in a sentence.

This week we will be doing fact triangles, looking at the subtraction table, and the centimeter in math. We will also continue to take timed tests. Hopefully this will help us build accuracy with math facts.

Congratulations to Corbyn for getting his AR shirt. He has really worked hard to get there. Many others are on his path. I hope to give out many more before school is out.

The Valentine Party was fun. I think everyone enjoyed it. Thanks to all who contributed. Those thanks extend especially to Irene Tilford who helped with it. I have lots of thanks to all the parents who come in to volunteer.

Have a great week!!!



Sunday, February 7, 2010

Week 23

This week's story is a fiction story called "Tell Me a Story." It is about a little girl who likes to listen to her Abuelita (grandma) tell her stores of times gone by. The phonics sound is long i as in the word time. The new vocabulary is:
because
cook
front
listen
most
picture
why
young

Questions of the Week
Monday - List 5 words where c sounds like /s/.
Tuesday - The first public school was established, 1865. What is the name of our school?
Wednesday - List 5 words that have the long i sound.
Thursday - The US Weather Bureau started in 1870. Write about today's weather.
Friday - Sunday is Valentines Day. What does your favorite valentine say?


We finally finished the first math book. Late starts and cancelled school have taken their toll on math. The second book doesn't have as many lessons in it as the first so we will still have plenty of time to finish before the end of the year. This week we will be learning about the addition facts table, finding equivalent sums, using fact families, and the subtraction fact table.

Congratulations to Gavin for earning an AR shirt. We now have 4 in the room and many who are working hard to get one.

The Valentine Party will be Friday afternoon at 12:15. Please send completed valentines as soon as they are finished. It is much easier if we can pass them out during the week rather than having to do all of them on Friday. We are having cookies that each child will decorate, a veggie tray and red soda. If you would like to send something feel free to do so.

Thanks so much to those of you who are able to come into the room to help. I can always use an extra hand.

Have a great week.