Electronic Homework & Reading

The students brought home the new Unit 4 Spelling Words.  The list is also below.  I am hoping to have some responses to the new electronic homework option.  This is great to teach the students to use technology for a bit of studying.  I am glad all of my families are learning to post to the blog.

1.    doze

2.    nose

3.    use

4.    rose

5.    pole

6.    close

7.    cute

8.    woke

9.    mule

10.   rode

11.   role

12.   tune

13.   home

14.   joke

15.   wrote

16.   ice cube

Optional Homework:

*Find some silent e words & share them in an email to the teacher or on our blog

*Try a new way to study your words & share your idea in an email to the teacher or on the blog

We have been working on the reading idea of Fluency which involves Rate (speed), Phrasing (not reading one word at a time), and intonation (using a character's voice). The story today "Diary of a Spider" gives us a chance to practice all three!  When we read outloud in class as a group and then outloud with a partner we really enjoyed this story!  Reading it outloud is more fun and it only took us 10 minutes to read through the story (not rushing).  Our class pet loves a group of students reading a story outloud to him.  It is by far one of his most favorite times of the day!  

Fall, Art, & Science

We continue to have fun with the story "Henry and Mudge Under the Yellow Moon".  The students have learned about the fall colors of red, yellow, orange, and brown.  We talked about why those colors are replacing the green colors of spring.  The leaves are using material from the tree to stay green.  The colder temperatures signal a tree to slow down making nutrients (sap) and get ready for winter.  The tree doesn't continue to give the leaves nutrients to stay green.  They begin to lose the green color and their fall colors remain until the leaves turn brown.

Mrs. Germain worked with our theme.  We created leave rubbings using leaves from two different Maple trees, a Birch tree, and an Oak tree.  The students connected the acorn nuts I gave them to the leaves of the Oak tree.  Our hallway is getting full of wonderful art and creative stories!

Chapel Families, Memory, and Fall

The story your students brought home to read on Tuesday was "Henry and Mudge Under the Yellow Moon."  We talked about leaf colors, the fall season, and the yellow moon.  Since the moon does not have light of its own to "shine" it takes on the glow of the sun at certain seasons of the year.  The yellow moon of Fall is one of those times.

We used those Fall colors today to create a type of mosaic.  Your student can tell you how these fall color master pieces were created.

We have also been working on creation pictures for Religion class since the first week of school. Those pictures & what we like about our drawings of God's creation are hanging in the hallway too.  

The students create journal entries in their notebooks and I publish those with the picture they drew. Our latest stories involve a little girl named Carla and how she helps a neighbor with her pet cat. Carla's mother notices how responsible her daughter has become and offers to let Carla have her own pet.  What will Carla pick?  Check out our drawings and stories in the hallway to find out!

HOMEWORK

Check sentences in Handwriting books pages 19 and 21.

    Look for wonderful letter formation, sentence structure, and correct spelling

Study Spelling Words for Unit 3

Say and Sign Memory Work

Finish Dot Pictures

Read for AR

Pride in our Veterans and Homework

The entire school is busy making greetings for veterans.  Mr. Hulke is the veteran our school sponsored last year.  He is going on the Fall Honor Flight.  One of the ways respect is shown to the soldiers on the flight is to have an old fashioned "mail call".  The veterans are given their mail.
Mr. Hulke will be getting a bunch of mail from St. John students.  The second graders finished their gift to Mr. Hulke and then they went above and beyond the assignment.  They finished making extra items for other soldiers on the honor flight who might not be getting mail.  THANK YOU TO ALL OF THE SECOND GRADERS FOR THINKING OF OTHERS and SHINING WITH GOD's Love!

HOMEWORK

Please check over our reading workbook pages up to page 31

Sign Spelling Unit 2 Test & Return on Tuesday

Sign Memory Work (Due Tuesday)

Read for AR

Study New Spelling Unit 3 Words

Rocks and Homework

Thank you for having fun with our blog as we rhymed Spelling Words and counted money. I was glad to see the posts and also some emails from the 2nd grade families.  It is a fun choice to practice some electronic homework for an optional way to learn.

We had fun with rocks this week.  We sorted rocks by color, size, shape, weight, and even by sparkle. We also tried to make them fall apart.  Rocks that are soft fall apart easily.  The ones that are considered "hard" do not easily fall apart and some of them don't seem to fall apart at all.  Please ask your student what tools they used to check their rocks for hardness.

HOMEWORK

Read AR book 

Begin Learning New Memory Verse (Due Tuesday)

Read Religion pages 7 and 9 with someone to review this weeks stories
Check Religion puzzle sheet for spelling.  Capital letters are needed for names and places.
     (We did this puzzle sheet together in class today!  Please check it, fix it, & return it on Monday.)

Another Fine Second Grade Day of Learning

We are working on finding the pages in the hymnal and in our classroom books. Please keep quizzing your students and playing "find page number ____". This skill is improving and the students are smiling because they can find the pages we need to use.

Our Math series begins with some reviewing.  We have homework on our fact page #9 and on the Homework sides B for page #8 and page #9.  This work should move along for your students.  They are confident in their skills.  

       I would like you to have some fun counting money with your students.  How many different ways can you make 20 cents? (Electronic Homework - Please respond to this blog post with your answers. Due on Friday evening)

We have all enjoyed having the AR tests available right away in the morning.  It is part of our morning procedure time.  Students change their shoes for gym, bring in their material, unpack their homework, and grab and ipad to take their test!  Our morning procedures also include 3 students completing the Calendar Board.  If your child is in Thursday's row they will be anxious to get here early enough to do the tasks tomorrow. They will need to know 4 different ways to make 13 cents with some pennies, nickels, and a dime.

7 Students brought in items for the food pantry today!  I will match those items and bring in my own donation.  Tomorrow the students will take my items to the food pantry shelves by the office.  I am glad all of you are willing to help other families in our city!  You have the "Nerve to Serve" one another.  It is such a fitting way to follow our theme for the school year.

ELECTRONIC HOMEWORK - due Friday

Please respond to this blog with 3 words that rhyme with your spelling words for Unit 2

     (your student has the list in their boomerang folder)

How many ways can you use coins to make 20 cents

HOMEWORK Due Thursday

Math - Fact side 9B and Homework #8 & #9 

     (We did side A together and they had work time for side B.)

Spelling - Review Unit 2 words

     (Try making speghetti noodles, cooling them off, and creating the words)

Reading Workbook - pages 21 - 25

Page 22 is the biggest one to check over.  We did numbers 1, 2, & 3 in class.  Problems 3, 4, &5 need the students to write more detailed sentences with correct spelling.  

           An example would be...

                   Without Feelings                               Feelings Added                        

               #3.  I live with my family.            I happily live with my loving family.      

Memory - Review and Sign for Tuesday

Read for AR - Please be ready to take a test on Thursday morning

Art, Camp Trip, & Homework

The students finished painting an Art project today.  If you find any paint on their clothing please use COLD water and dish soap to work on the stain before you wash it.  Mrs. Germain stressed being careful, and I didn't see any stains.  However, please use COLD water and soap before washing to get any stains out of clothing.

We completed our first crossword puzzle in their reading workbooks.  This is a difficult task for students.  I did mine on the board and they followed along step by step.  The puzzle should not have any capital letters.  If the letter is p or g it needs to hang down out of the bottom of the box.

Everyone also worked on adding subjects together today.  This workbook page was completed verbally and then we worked on one sentence at a time.  The students surprised me when I realized they were not using a captial letter for all of the names on the page.  Please remind them that all proper names begin with a captial letter.  They will end up with 10 capital letters and 5 periods.


HOMEWORK

Finish drawing and coloring 6 pictures in their Religion Booklets on page #6. (Due Fri.)
Work on rereading the 3 Religion Stories so far.  Remembering to work on fluency.
     (Creation & the 1st Sin, The Great Flood, and God's Promise to Abram)
Checking and completing Reading Workbook pages 15 & 16 (Due Fri.)
Study Spelling Words for Unit 1 (Test Monday)
Read for AR (Test Friday)

Interesting Insights

Rereading information is so important.  The students are bringing home the story "Henry & Mudge" to reread to you.  (It is not very often that we have the luxury spending 8 school days on our Reading Story.)  You will notice our fluency (rate of reading) sounds more like a story than a one word at a time fresh reading.  You will hear our character voices and 3 word phrasing.  If you do not hear these traits please begin to work on them when you read together with your child each night.

Locating pages is an interesting event.  Please use their Reading Book tonight and write down the number of a page you want them to find.  You can guide them with words like "turn the pages forward"  or "you need to go backward".  You can provide helpful suggestions like "turn more than one page at a time" or "do you think page number 14 would be in the back of the book or close to the front of the book".  The students need to practice the skill of finding pages.  I am hoping to have your help practicing this skill a couple times a week or more.  Please don't wear down your students, but 5 minutes of practice each time will definitely help us improve this skill.

HOMEWORK

Say & Sign Memory Work (Due Thursday)
Reread "Henry & Mudge"
Practice Spelling Words for Unit 1
Locate Pages in a Book
Read AR book
Finish Any Homework
*Find a rock to bring to school by Friday morning

Conversations with Patrick and Spelling

This is our class pet.  His name is Pumpkin Patrick, but we call him PatPat for short.  He is 5 years old, and he loves to talk to the students and staff at St. John.  PatPat does not make noise unless his feelings are hurt or someone is not behaving.  He loves to hear the stories students write, tell his own stories, and give advice.  You need to listen with your heart to hear him.  Sometimes he needs a Guinea Sitter.  Two of the students got to help out today and be Guinea Sitters.  PatPat is glad this is a small class so he has more time with each student in second grade!

Unit 1 Spelling Words

1.     sad

2.    jam

3.    glad

4.    flat

5.    mask

6.    as

7.    pad

8.    dig

9.    stick

10.   list

11.   win

12.   if

13.   fix

14.   rip

15.   kit

16.   his

These are the Spelling Words for our first test.  The test will be on Monday, Sept. 15th.  We will also have a Unit 2 Pretest on Monday, Sept. 15th to help you know which words your student needs help learning.

If you know words that rhyme with our Spelling Words please post them on this blog and share those rhyming words with all of us!  We will all appreciate help finding rhyming words because we will need to use them during each spelling unit.