Class Update 2/24/18

Important Reminders:

We are collecting tab tops to benefit the Ronald McDonald House. Please send in any tab tops you collect with your child. Thank you!

The Six Flags Read to Succeed Program deadline coming up on Friday, February 26th. If your child would like to earn a free ticket to Six Flags, please have them complete their six hours of reading and signed reading log by the deadline. Reading logs can be sent back to school with your child.

2nd grade students will be listening to a Child Abuse Prevention Program presentation this Wednesday, February 28th. The program is designed to teach them about body safety. A flier describing the program was sent home last week in the green folders. *If you do not want your child to attend the program, please fill out the bottom of the form and return it to school.*

Class Updates:

Retired Lindbergh teacher Deborah Nelson Linck returned to Long this week to help celebrate Black History Month. Students learned about several St. Louis musicians and their music from the 20s and 30s. The children listened to some amazing blues and jazz and learned a few swing dance steps!

We had a great time in math trying out a 3-Act Math problem solving lesson with coins! Students worked together in pairs to solve a mystery of how many of each type of coin was put into a bank to total $1.00. They only had a few clues to go on, such as the first coin was a nickel and the second was a dime. I was proud of how each partnership worked together and tried multiple strategies to find the answer! We will finish up Chapter 8 this week and have a test on Thursday.

Our Scholastic News in reading this week focused on how prey have adaptations to help protect themselves from predators. The children learned all about animals that live in the Arctic. We practiced reading diagrams to help learn more information about the topic.

In writing, most students are well into drafting their introductions and subtopics for their final informational books. Some children are trying out new craft moves like using comparisons to teach about their topic or putting definitions and cool facts into text boxes.

Students learned all about the Northeast Woodlands region of Native Americans this week in social studies. We explored what moccasins, longhouses, and wampum are. Children compared and contrasted how this group of tribes lived with those who lived in the Pacific Northwest. Students are creating lap books as we move through the unit to help them organize new facts and begin to learn note-taking skills.

Class Update 2/17/18

Important Reminders:

There is no school on Monday, due to observance of the President's Day holiday.

We are collecting tab tops to benefit the Ronald McDonald House. Please send in any tab tops you collect with your child. Thank you!

The Six Flags Read to Succeed Program deadline coming up on February 26th. If your child would like to earn a free ticket to Six Flags, please have them complete their six hours of reading and signed reading log by the deadline.

2nd grade students will be listening to a Child Abuse Prevention Program presentation on February 28th. The program is designed to teach them about body safety. A flier describing the program will come home in this Tuesday's green folders. If you do not want your child to attend the program, please fill out the bottom of the form and return it to school. 

Class Updates:

Our class had a great Valentine's Day celebration! The students decorated bags to collect their Valentines in, and they enjoyed passing out cards to their classmates.

The Jump Rope for Heart Assembly took place, and we cheered on our class's representatives. It was fun to watch the P.E. teachers and principals get covered in slime!

The children made Valentine's Day fortune tellers and had so much fun at our party! Thank you to all of the parent volunteers who helped plan and run the party.

In math, we will be continuing to learn about money. We will focus on lessons 4 and 5 this week, as well as spend extra time practicing counting collections of coins and answering word problems with money. Students can continue to practice at home by identifying and counting coins around the house!

In reading, Mrs. Robb read the students a fun Valentine's Day story! We will continue to work on cause and effect in both fiction and non-fiction books this week.

Students have selected their topics for their final informational books in writing. Each child picked a topic related to movement. They will not only teach all about it, but also incorporate science words and understandings from our forces and motion unit. Students are working on their planning graphic organizers and will begin drafting this week.

In social studies, the children have learned what a region is in the United States. We have started with the Pacific Northwest region of Native Americans. The children learned that cedar trees were very important to these tribes for shelter, making tools, totem poles, and even for making clothing! The children are making lap books to record what they have learned. Look next week for pictures of the lap books!

Class Update 2/10/18

Important Reminders:

The book fair continues this week in the library. Be sure to stop by and check out the great selection of books!

We are collecting tab tops to benefit the Ronald McDonald House. Please send in any tab tops you collect with your child. Thank you!

The Six Flags Read to Succeed Program deadline coming up on February 26th. If your child would like to earn a free ticket to Six Flags, please have them complete their six hours of reading and signed reading log by the deadline.

Here is some important information in preparation for Valentine's Day:

• Our classroom party will take place on February 14th at 2:00.
• Students may bring in Valentines to pass out to classmates on the 14th. This is not mandatory, but if a child participates, please make sure they have a Valentine for each student in the class.
• Class rosters were sent home with students' names last week in their green folders. We have 20 students in our class.
• Per school district guidelines, Valentines may not have candy attached to them.
• We will be creating Valentine's Day bags for collecting Valentines in class on February 13th. Thank you to everyone who brought in donations for decorating the bags!

There is no school on Friday, February 16th due to teacher professional development. School is also closed on Monday, February 19th for the President's Day holiday.

Class Updates:

We had fun kicking off the start of the winter Olympics by dressing in our favorite winter sport gear and taking a picture with the Olympic rings!

We also spent some time this week celebrating what we have learned and making new goals. Being confident is our classroom motto right now, so each child wrote what they are feeling confident about on a star for a poster to hang on our door. Then, students wrote about something they want to achieve for our goal board.

In math, we have wrapped up our units on addition and subtraction. On Monday, we will begin the chapter on money. Students will be learning how to identify and count coins. We will focus on lessons 1-3 this week.

Students will continue to practice the skills of comparing and contrasting in reading. Not only will we compare and contrast characters, but also other story elements like the setting. We will also learn how to identify examples of cause and effect in our books.

The children are working on finishing a published copy of one their informational book drafts in writing. Next, they will begin a third draft. This time, students will choose an informational topic to teach about the concepts of forces and motion we learned about in science. We will also add some new non-fiction text features to their books, such as a glossary. I can't wait to see how they will apply what they have learned!

We will be switching our focus from science to social studies for the next few weeks. Monday will mark the start of our unit on Native Americans. The children will be learning about what a region of the United States is. Then, they will be learning about one region of Native American tribes at a time. We will discuss the types of food, clothing, shelter, and natural resources each tribe had.