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Updates

January flew by in our classroom.  We've been so busy that I forget to pick up a camera.  I hope that we can start to integrate the Dojo app, as I know everyone is excited to use it and share with you.  Here's what we've been up to:

Math:
We have now made the transition to integrating Mrs. Fake's class into our math class.  We are steadily working on Unit 4 Measurement.  Students are working on accuracy, choosing the right tools and units for measurement, and making comparisons between the measurements of 2 objects.  This next group of lessons involves conversions between inches, feet and yards.

If your student is working in Mrs. Fake's room, she is also working on measurement.  In fact, my students prefer to bring their math homework to her!  Everyone should be able to measure things at home.

Writing:
We are working on opinion writing by answering "Would You Rather" questions.  Students are expected to give their opinion, support it with reasons and then close their writing with a persuasive statement.  I hope you enjoyed the pastel project as well as the green map of their opinion of tipis vs. igloos.

We are looking for them to clearly communicate their ideas with good writing.  Second graders are wonderful to work with because they naturally put voice into their writing.  We are spending our time on foundational skills to support our goal of clear communication.  Your child may be moving from my room once a week to either Mrs. Hanna or Mrs. Fake for writing.  The 2nd grade team is targeting very specific skills in writing for what kids need.

Spelling:
Students practice a group of words every week.  Each week we do flash cards, along with copying, writing sentences, and a couple of games.  Ask about their flash cards.  Even students who have a lot of experience need repetition on the 150 words that we must know by the end of 2nd grade.  I'm trying to keep a pretty quick pace on this, hoping to build familiarity with the words.  If a student misses some words, we'll be circling back again to practice.

Reading:
We are putting in a strong hour at the end of the day.  Students are on a 15 minute rotation for 4 rounds - meeting with me, lexia, spelling words and read to self.  This week we lost track of our reading group books.  Next week, we'll work on the books all week and then they'll bring them home on Thursday.  Please don't concern yourself with levels.  Each book is chosen for a lot of reasons.

Social Studies:
I hope you enjoyed the classroom maps!  This was a way to help them think about how a map is drawn and what are the parts of a map.  We've worked with a digital compass and tried to orient our maps so that the white board faces south.  Cartographers start with the compass rose, but we drew our maps and then added the compass rose.  Some of us had upside down compass roses, but our maps were accurate.  We then had tons of fun "traveling" on the U.S. map.  Today, we started on world maps, labeling the equator and the prime meridian.

You should know that this class continues to receive compliments for how they work as a group and how they conduct themselves outside of the classroom.  I am proud of their efforts and you should be too!




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