Busy In Second Grade...

We have had a busy week here in second grade. We are officially off to a busy start! I hope your second graders have been telling you about the Daly 5 language structure in our classroom. It has been quite an experience to look around and see all 21 of my students actively engaged and truly enjoying reading and writing. They are loving being able to make choices in thier learning. We will resume reading groups Monday January 25th; this start has been pushed back a few days due to our snow days. We were more than eager this week to finally make it outside for recess.
In math we have finished studying about volume and our current unit covers subtracting larger number. This is a really important unit, and we will spend much time in class practicing. We have been learning how to subtract with base 10 pieces, tallies, pictures, and will begin paper pencil soon!
Our current study in writing is poetry. We have been making shape poems, acrostic poems, and cinquain poems this week.
In science we continue to explore various types of weather. We have been using the Beaufort scale to measure wind strength and have been studing the components of the water cycle this week. We continue to log weather observations every day!
Reminders:
-Book order due January 26th
-Weather homework due January 28th (Will send home on the 21st)
-Kansas Day is January 29th

We are finally back in the swing of things...

It looks like we are finally back in the swing of things... and it looks like the weather is warming up! Since we have been back, there have been a lot of new things going on in our classroom.
Our Daily 5 structure is under way! We are quickly building our reading stamina! The first three components have been introduced: read to self, read to someone, and listen to reading.
In writing we have launched our poetry unit. So far we have studied couplets and shape poems.
The weather has been our inspiration for science this week, as we take a closer look at what makes weather. This week we are taking a look at various cloud types and the formation of clouds. Later this week we will be studying the wind and types of precipitation. I would encourage you to tune in with your child to the evening news to observe the weather forecast!
In math we have been practicing filling and reading measurements of graduated cylinders. We have been using this measurement tool to find the volume of liquids and various solid objects.
A few announcements:
- Our "student of the day" will begin at the end of the month. Look for information to come home in your child's folder.
- For information about the Langston Hughes science fair please log on to our school's website!
- As we begin our Daily 5, if you have any old CD/tape players with headphones you would like to donate to our classroom, please let me know.
- Next Wednesday we will be having a marble party! The class decided on a "Gum and Games" party. On Wednesday January 20, your child is welcome to bring gum to share and a game to play. (Please no hand held electronic games.)
- January 27th we will celebrate January birthdays with a birthday breakfast.

Exciting Beginning to 2010!

I hope this newsletter find you all well, rested, and ready for 2010!

There are going to be some very exciting changes going on in our classroom starting January 4! As a building, Langston Hughes staff members have been studying the book "The Daily Five", by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser. In the weeks to come, you will be hearing your 2nd graders talk about our use of the Daily Five framework in our classroom! The Daily Five is a way of structuring our reading block so that every student is independently engaged and challenged in meaningful literacy tasks. These research based tasks are ones that will have the biggest impact on student reading achievement, as well as help foster children who love to read. Students receive explicit instruction and then are given independent practice time to read independently while receiving focused instruction in regular guided reading groups. When the Daily Five is up and running smoothly, students will be engaged in the following five components:

1. Read to Self
2. Read to Someone
3. Listen to Someone Read
4. Writing Practice
5. Word Work

There are very specific behavior expectations that go with each Daily Five component. We will spend the next two weeks taking a break from regular guided reading groups in order to work intensely on building reading and writing stamina, learning behaviors for the Daily Five, and building our classroom community.

One thing that you will notice that will be a change for you is a decrease in the number of worksheets your child brings home. They will spend most of their time actually reading and writing, which research supports as the most effective way to to improve reading and writing success! Your child will be taught to select "Good Fit" books (books they are able to read and understand, as well as are interested in).

The first and second grade team is excited to give your child the opportunity to be involved in a structure that will have such a positive effect on his or her education. Please let me know if you have any questions as we begin this new adventure at Langston Hughes!

Happy Holidays

I hope you all have been staying warm! The kids were so excited to finally make it outside Friday... a little indoor recess goes a long way!
This week we have been busy in math. We wrapped up unit 8, where we used the equal arm balance to find the masses of various objects in our room. This week we began adding larger numbers. As a class, we have been exploring various strategies used to add larger numbers including: base 10 pieces, tallies, pictures, the 200s chart, and the paper pencil method (vertical addition with carrying).
I won't be telling you much about our current writing project, because it's a surprise! I will tell you however, that they have been working hard and have been producing some great writings!
Your child received a new spelling list last Wednesday and this will be the last new sort before break. We will begin our regular schedule in spelling when we return in January. Thank you for practicing at home.
This Thursday we will participate in the 1st and 2nd grade Gingerbread day! From 9-11 we will rotate between our classrooms and have fun with the various gingerbread activities!
In health this month we have been studying how to stay safe and stay well. When we return in January we will begin our new science unit about weather.
I can't believe this is our last newsletter of 2009! I hope you have a wonderful holiday season with your family and friends. I look forward to making many more memories with your children in 2010!

Busy week back from break!

Welcome back from Thanksgiving break! I hope the break was restful and that you were able to enjoy time with family. Before the break, we participated in many Thanksgiving activities. Many of which included: thesaurus turkeys, a study of Native American tribes, writing a journal from a pilgrims point of view, and pumpkin pie!

Before the break we wrapped up a study in math about volume of cube models. (I know some of the homework was tricky!) This week we began a new unit in math about measuring and comparing masses of objects. The objective of these weeks’ lessons is to understand that you can not always tell the mass of the object by just looking at its size and shape. For example, if I have a steel ball and a wooden ball that are the same size and shape, because they are made of different materials, they will have different masses.

Over the past few weeks we have been recording the number of independent books we have read. We finally reached 100 books! I turned in our count to Scholastic and our reading helped to donate over a million books to children who need them.

In writer’s workshop we began a paragraph writing unit focused on the important people in our lives. We will be using the writing process to produce a final project that is sure to be a keepsake!

Ask your child how they are doing on school supplies. Most children are in need of new glue sticks and a new set of crayons and/or markers.

I have posted a great spelling website on our resources. You are able to input your child’s spelling words and it creates various practices for them to learn their spelling words. Our food drive also began this week and will continue into next week. Have a great week!

Mrs. Crooker

Needed Items

There are a few class projects that we have coming up before Thanksgiving and Winter break... If you are interested in helping with any of the following items, please let me know!
Pumpkin Pie Ingredients: butter, pie filling, graham crackers, instant vanilla pudding and pumpkin spice. (Please let me know if you are interested in sending in any of the items and I will be happy to let you know how much we need!)
Celophane (clear) 2 rolls
Cookie Tray- new or gently used for magnetic activities

Thanks Again! Have a wonderful weekend!

Conference Time!

Thank you for taking the time to fill out and return conference forms! I am looking forward to meeting with you over the next few days and talking about your child with you. If for some reason you are unable to attend your scheduled conference, please let me know right away so we can reschedule. Check out Progress Report article under Parent Information on our blog!
We have now wrapped up our science unit about the body and will be spending the next few weeks taking a look at our past! We will be studying various Native American tribes and comparing/contrasting two tribes. If you have any related artifacts, books, or pictures your child is welcome to bring these things in to display or share. We will also be spending some time talking about early pioneers by reading the book The Josefina Story Quilt.
We have finished our math unit about place value and will be taking a look at volume. Specifically, we will be looking at cube models and the volumes of each building and design. Make sure you take a look at the math games available through links on our blog!
Your child will not be bringing home a new spelling sort this week. We will resume spelling next week, receiving new words on Wednesday.
Have a great week!