Class Overview
We have written a couple of books as a class. One is taken from "A My Name is Alice." The children have had to use the first letter of their name in a short story, writing with alliteration. The other book is rhymes the students have made up that become verses of the song " Down By The Bay." They made up the rhymes with their 5th grade buddies. The children have written stories about their summer vacations and about their "First Day of Second Grade."
Some of the students are working very hard and others are struggling at staying on task. If a child continues to talk rather than do their work the are asked to move to "Lonely Street", which means their desk is moved away from the other students. If the problem persists over several days they have been put on a contract. Check the back of their tracking sheet everyday. If I have drawn smiley, straight or frowning faces there then they are on a contract because of their disruptive behavior. Please set up some consequences at home that your child knows about. Removing their favorite plaything or play activity is often a consequence that will help them realize that they need to change their school behavior to continue to enjoy that priviledge. Thanks for your help in this matter.
Spelling
This week the children are working on consonant blends with the letter r such as "cr" as in crash, "tr" as in trash, and "gr" as in grape. A blend is where two or more letters blend together to form a new sound. There are two types of spelling lists that were sent home on Friday.
If your child has a spelling list with words or groups of words circled they need to study all of the circled words. The challenge words will be given to all children. If they study and spell these correctly they get extra credit. If they miss them is does not harm their score.
If your child has 5 spelling words written on the top of their spelling list they are to study those 5 individualized words, the 5 spelling words on the left in the box, the Word Wall Word and the Challenge Words. They will be tested on 5 random words from the big box but if they have studied the spelling principle and the 5 Spelling Words they should be able to spell the words I choose to test them on.
Math
This week we are learning about the 100's Chart and how we can use it as a mathematical tool. We are learning how to represent a number in several ways such as: 11, eleven, 5+6=11, 12-1=11, 5+5+1=11, 1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1=11, etc. We will also be learning how to determine if there are enough cubes in a bag for the class.
Please help your child work on learning their basic math facts at home.
Reading
We are continuing the PALS testing. It should be completed by midweek. This is giving me an opportunity to listen to each child read and assess their skills and needs.
Writing
This week we will begin learning the first of the Six Traits of Writing - Ideas. We will draw a map of our yards and mark an X where we had a treasured experience. We will list these ideas for beginnings to our future writings. We will learn about formulating ideas and recognizing a main idea in others writings. We will also talk about conventions such as capitalization, spelling, punctuation and using our best handwriting.
Vocabulary
Today I read the class the book "Ruby the Copycat." We will learn the meaning of 6 important words in the story. The children will get to put a mark by the word on the chart if they can tell me about hearing it used at home or on t.v., etc. On Friday they will be tested on the meaning of the six words. The first word is coincidence. They will learn the other words tomorrow.
Volunteers
Angie Brown is our Room Mother. Her phone number is 415-9966. She is working hard to put together a calendar of volunteers to help in our classroom. I really appreciate all those who have just shown up to help. Each one of you is sorely needed as this year's class has some special needs of differentiated teaching to meet the needs of all the children. I am grateful to all who are willing to come in and help.
Thanks for ordering books and signing the Highlights signature page. These things help us get free books and materials for our classroom.
Special Item
When you have read this post have your child write the word "Special" on the back of their yellow tracking sheet. I will give them a 3 token for letting me know that you have read the Blog.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
2nd Week of 2nd Grade
Starters
Each morning the students will begin with a starter called "Math 4 Today". They will do 4 problems each day for the first four days of the week. This is the learning side of the paper. We correct these together and learn as we go. On Friday the students do the 10 problems on the back or assessment side of the page. This lets me know if they have learned the concepts taught during starters during the week. This is what is called a spiraling review. It will continue to bring up similar concepts but with increasing levels of difficulty as we go through the year. It is a very good teaching tool.
Math
This week I will assess the students number sense, addition and subtraction understanding. This will tell me what they already know and where there are weaknesses or holes in their understanding.
We are also exploring several of the math tools we will be using during the year: clocks, connecting cubes, base ten blocks, pattern blocks, number lines and the 100 chart. We will also learn some routines that we will revisit often involving telling time, the number of the day in school and this week or next we will do an activity called "How Many Pockets?"
When a page from our math book comes home marked "Homework" in red, as was sent home today, it needs to be completed and sent back the very next day. It is very helpful if parents correct this page by just marking a big "C" by all correct responses and an "X" by all incorrect responses. Thanks a bunch!
Guided Reading and Centers
We will not begin guided reading until I have completed required testing and also training the students to do independent work or centers while I work with leveled reading groups.
I began the PALS testing today. The children read lists of words that help me focus on what level to begin the reading tests for your child. Then I will have each child read to me and answer questions about the stories they read. I will also time their reading and determine their fluency.
Spelling - I am teaching the children activities that they do during centers to practice their spelling. Some of these activities are: LSCWC (Look, Say, Cover, Write, Check), Fix, Mix, Fix, Rainbow Spelling, Pyramid Spelling, Triangle Spelling, If I Can Spell ______ then I Can Spell _____ .
Writing - Each day during centers the children do one of the following writing activities: News of the Week, Handwriting Practice, Tongue Twister Book, All About Me Book and the 1000 Club.
Phonics - Each day the children do activities to help them really understand the spelling/phonics concept taught that week. Some of these activities are word sorts where the children sort their spelling words by designated criteria. This week they will sort their words by which short vowel is in each word. They will do this with pictures and words.
Please help your child practice the Consonants (C) and Vowels (V) (they know a song about these), and then they need to learn the phonics principle for the week: When a word has a CVC, CCVC, CVCC pattern the vowel has the short sound. The a sounds like the a in apple, the e sounds like the e in elephant, the i sounds like the i in igloo, the o sounds like the o in octopus and the u sounds like the u in umbrella.
Other Activities - We have been making some class books and doing some art activities during this time also.
Writing Workshop
Today we read the book "What Author's Do". We are learning the process of writing. It all begins with ideas. Writers start by thinking about ideas. We will be working on this first step this week.
Rotations
This week we learned the difference between rural, suburban and urban communities. The kids made flip books and drew pictures of each kind of community.
During rotations the students have experiences with music, math games, art, science and social studies.
Comprehension
We will work on the comprehension strategy of previewing a book before reading so that our mind begins to think about what the book might be about.
Busy Day
Tuesday is our busy day. We have PE from 9:15 to 10:00, Library is from 10:00 to 10:30 and Computer is from 12:15 to 1:00. We will fit in all the other good work around these activities.
Each morning the students will begin with a starter called "Math 4 Today". They will do 4 problems each day for the first four days of the week. This is the learning side of the paper. We correct these together and learn as we go. On Friday the students do the 10 problems on the back or assessment side of the page. This lets me know if they have learned the concepts taught during starters during the week. This is what is called a spiraling review. It will continue to bring up similar concepts but with increasing levels of difficulty as we go through the year. It is a very good teaching tool.
Math
This week I will assess the students number sense, addition and subtraction understanding. This will tell me what they already know and where there are weaknesses or holes in their understanding.
We are also exploring several of the math tools we will be using during the year: clocks, connecting cubes, base ten blocks, pattern blocks, number lines and the 100 chart. We will also learn some routines that we will revisit often involving telling time, the number of the day in school and this week or next we will do an activity called "How Many Pockets?"
When a page from our math book comes home marked "Homework" in red, as was sent home today, it needs to be completed and sent back the very next day. It is very helpful if parents correct this page by just marking a big "C" by all correct responses and an "X" by all incorrect responses. Thanks a bunch!
Guided Reading and Centers
We will not begin guided reading until I have completed required testing and also training the students to do independent work or centers while I work with leveled reading groups.
I began the PALS testing today. The children read lists of words that help me focus on what level to begin the reading tests for your child. Then I will have each child read to me and answer questions about the stories they read. I will also time their reading and determine their fluency.
Spelling - I am teaching the children activities that they do during centers to practice their spelling. Some of these activities are: LSCWC (Look, Say, Cover, Write, Check), Fix, Mix, Fix, Rainbow Spelling, Pyramid Spelling, Triangle Spelling, If I Can Spell ______ then I Can Spell _____ .
Writing - Each day during centers the children do one of the following writing activities: News of the Week, Handwriting Practice, Tongue Twister Book, All About Me Book and the 1000 Club.
Phonics - Each day the children do activities to help them really understand the spelling/phonics concept taught that week. Some of these activities are word sorts where the children sort their spelling words by designated criteria. This week they will sort their words by which short vowel is in each word. They will do this with pictures and words.
Please help your child practice the Consonants (C) and Vowels (V) (they know a song about these), and then they need to learn the phonics principle for the week: When a word has a CVC, CCVC, CVCC pattern the vowel has the short sound. The a sounds like the a in apple, the e sounds like the e in elephant, the i sounds like the i in igloo, the o sounds like the o in octopus and the u sounds like the u in umbrella.
Other Activities - We have been making some class books and doing some art activities during this time also.
Writing Workshop
Today we read the book "What Author's Do". We are learning the process of writing. It all begins with ideas. Writers start by thinking about ideas. We will be working on this first step this week.
Rotations
This week we learned the difference between rural, suburban and urban communities. The kids made flip books and drew pictures of each kind of community.
During rotations the students have experiences with music, math games, art, science and social studies.
Comprehension
We will work on the comprehension strategy of previewing a book before reading so that our mind begins to think about what the book might be about.
Busy Day
Tuesday is our busy day. We have PE from 9:15 to 10:00, Library is from 10:00 to 10:30 and Computer is from 12:15 to 1:00. We will fit in all the other good work around these activities.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Welcome to 2nd Grade
Dear Students and Parents,
Welcome to 2nd Grade at Elk Meadows Elementary. My name is Mrs. Liz Taylor and I am looking forward to getting to know my new students, and their parents. I hope you students have enjoyed a nice break from school and are now ready to get started learning again. I am excited to get to know all of you.
I am hoping we can use this blog as a means of communication to help us all be aware of what is going on at school, what homework assignments are due and so we can also share some of the fine work of the students through this technology. I am hoping you will check this blog at least once or twice a week to stay current on what is going on.
You can contact me through my school email which is elizabeth.taylor (at) jordan.k12.ut.us or by phone at the school 801-446-3200, or just send a note to school on the back of your child's tracking sheet and I will return a note the same way.
My philosophy is to try to make school a place your child will enjoy coming to and then to help them learn those things that will help them build a strong foundation in math, literacy, writing, science and the other areas of whole child education. My first and most important rule is that we must always be honest. Next we must respect ourselves, others and the property or environment. Thirdly we need to do our best work.
I try to encourage the children through positive talk such as, "Your handwriting is much improved." , "I love how you are following the directions that I gave you." , "I appreciate how Joe is walking so quietly in the hall today," etc. I use a system of class points and individual tokens that the children earn by doing their work and following the rules. The tokens are used to buy things at the Token Store which is held about six to eight times during the year. The store is parent supported with donations of inexpensive items the children will enjoy buying. I usually need one volunteer to help run the store on those Token Store days. I would greatly appreciate your support for this activity as it truly is a wonderfully successful incentive program to encourage responsibility in the children both in their work and in their behavior.
It would be helpful if your child had the following items:
A pencil box - about 6" by 9"
A backpack
A water bottle
A set of 12 colored pencils
The classroom temperature varies greatly - as fall approaches I would encourage you to send a jacket to school to stay here for the times when the room is too cool for your child.
Often I have students who brag about how they stay up until 11:00 at night. All of the research as well as common sense tells us that children of this age need nearly 10 hours of sleep a night or more. If they do not get this sleep their ability to learn and their behavior in the classroom is impared. I can see it in individuals and in the class when they have not had enough sleep. I would encourage you to set up a family routine concerning homework and bedtime that will be the best for your child's health and education.
I see education as a three legged stool; the teacher, the student and the parents are the legs on the stool. Without any one of them the education is unbalanced and less than the strong foundation that each child deserves. Please be involved by helping your child with homework on a nightly basis. Then if you can please volunteer your time to help in our classroom either as a room mother, party hleper, filed trip volunteer, spelling volunteer, in the classroom on a regular basis or by doing things at home to help prepare materials. Any of the following donations would also be greatly appreciated:
boxes of facial tissue
band aids
hand sanitizer
glue sticks
dry-erase markers
Zip-Lock bags - snack or quart size
We are in need of a Room Mother who will correlate things with the other volunteers.
We need helpers to check homework folders each morning - this takes about 30 minutes.
We need volunteers in the classroom each morning from 10:15 - 11:30 to help students with centers while I teach reading in small groups. (Tuesday would be 10:30 - 11:30.)
We need 2-3 volunteers to help on Thursday mornings with grading and pretesting spelling so that we can continue the individualized spelling program we have set up.
We need 1-2 volunteers to help check the math games in and out on Friday mornings.
The basic schedule for our class is as follows:
8:30 - 8:45 - Opening
8:45 - 10:00 - Math
10:00 - 10:15 - Word Wall or Fluency
10:15 - 11:30 - Guided Reading and Centers
11:30 - 12:15 - Lunch
12:15 - 12:30 - Spelling lesson
12:30 - 1:15 - Writing
1:15 - 2:00 - Rotation (Music, Science, Social Studies, Art, Math Games)
2:00 - 2:15 - Recess
2:15 - 2:45 - Independent Reading and Comprehension
2:45 - 3:15 - Vocabulary
3:15 Prepare to dismiss
3:25 Dismiss
On Tuesday we will have PE at 9:15 - 10:00, Library 10:00 - 10:30, and Computers 12:15 - 1:00.
I hope to see all of you parents at Back to School Night. I am excited for this new year and the opportunity to help in the education of your students.
Welcome to 2nd Grade at Elk Meadows Elementary. My name is Mrs. Liz Taylor and I am looking forward to getting to know my new students, and their parents. I hope you students have enjoyed a nice break from school and are now ready to get started learning again. I am excited to get to know all of you.
I am hoping we can use this blog as a means of communication to help us all be aware of what is going on at school, what homework assignments are due and so we can also share some of the fine work of the students through this technology. I am hoping you will check this blog at least once or twice a week to stay current on what is going on.
You can contact me through my school email which is elizabeth.taylor (at) jordan.k12.ut.us or by phone at the school 801-446-3200, or just send a note to school on the back of your child's tracking sheet and I will return a note the same way.
My philosophy is to try to make school a place your child will enjoy coming to and then to help them learn those things that will help them build a strong foundation in math, literacy, writing, science and the other areas of whole child education. My first and most important rule is that we must always be honest. Next we must respect ourselves, others and the property or environment. Thirdly we need to do our best work.
I try to encourage the children through positive talk such as, "Your handwriting is much improved." , "I love how you are following the directions that I gave you." , "I appreciate how Joe is walking so quietly in the hall today," etc. I use a system of class points and individual tokens that the children earn by doing their work and following the rules. The tokens are used to buy things at the Token Store which is held about six to eight times during the year. The store is parent supported with donations of inexpensive items the children will enjoy buying. I usually need one volunteer to help run the store on those Token Store days. I would greatly appreciate your support for this activity as it truly is a wonderfully successful incentive program to encourage responsibility in the children both in their work and in their behavior.
It would be helpful if your child had the following items:
A pencil box - about 6" by 9"
A backpack
A water bottle
A set of 12 colored pencils
The classroom temperature varies greatly - as fall approaches I would encourage you to send a jacket to school to stay here for the times when the room is too cool for your child.
Often I have students who brag about how they stay up until 11:00 at night. All of the research as well as common sense tells us that children of this age need nearly 10 hours of sleep a night or more. If they do not get this sleep their ability to learn and their behavior in the classroom is impared. I can see it in individuals and in the class when they have not had enough sleep. I would encourage you to set up a family routine concerning homework and bedtime that will be the best for your child's health and education.
I see education as a three legged stool; the teacher, the student and the parents are the legs on the stool. Without any one of them the education is unbalanced and less than the strong foundation that each child deserves. Please be involved by helping your child with homework on a nightly basis. Then if you can please volunteer your time to help in our classroom either as a room mother, party hleper, filed trip volunteer, spelling volunteer, in the classroom on a regular basis or by doing things at home to help prepare materials. Any of the following donations would also be greatly appreciated:
boxes of facial tissue
band aids
hand sanitizer
glue sticks
dry-erase markers
Zip-Lock bags - snack or quart size
We are in need of a Room Mother who will correlate things with the other volunteers.
We need helpers to check homework folders each morning - this takes about 30 minutes.
We need volunteers in the classroom each morning from 10:15 - 11:30 to help students with centers while I teach reading in small groups. (Tuesday would be 10:30 - 11:30.)
We need 2-3 volunteers to help on Thursday mornings with grading and pretesting spelling so that we can continue the individualized spelling program we have set up.
We need 1-2 volunteers to help check the math games in and out on Friday mornings.
The basic schedule for our class is as follows:
8:30 - 8:45 - Opening
8:45 - 10:00 - Math
10:00 - 10:15 - Word Wall or Fluency
10:15 - 11:30 - Guided Reading and Centers
11:30 - 12:15 - Lunch
12:15 - 12:30 - Spelling lesson
12:30 - 1:15 - Writing
1:15 - 2:00 - Rotation (Music, Science, Social Studies, Art, Math Games)
2:00 - 2:15 - Recess
2:15 - 2:45 - Independent Reading and Comprehension
2:45 - 3:15 - Vocabulary
3:15 Prepare to dismiss
3:25 Dismiss
On Tuesday we will have PE at 9:15 - 10:00, Library 10:00 - 10:30, and Computers 12:15 - 1:00.
I hope to see all of you parents at Back to School Night. I am excited for this new year and the opportunity to help in the education of your students.
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