"Juicy SAID" Words

Today in reading workshop we continued to learn how to read fluently.  One way to read fluently is with expression!  A reader can change the tone of their voice when they notice the punctuation (a period, a question mark or an exclamation mark) at the end of a sentence.  Today students learned that sometimes authors choose specific words to let the reader know how to read the text.  These “clue” words help us read with expression by knowing HOW and WHEN to change our voices.  When we read with expression, we understand how the character is feeling and what they are like. Reading with expression helps us understand the story better.

The “clue” words are referred to as “juicy said” words in our classroom.  Instead of using the word “said” an author uses a different “juicy” (such as yelled, whispered, etc.) word to help the reader know and understand how to change their voice.  During the mini-lesson we looked through various books for “juicy said” words and we then added those words to our anchor chart.

During “Read to Self”, students could write down the “juicy said” words they came across in their books on a post-it note.  Below is a video of a student sharing all the “juicy said” words he came across while reading independently.  Our “juicy said” words anchor chart will be a wonderful resource to help us read with expression AND to use as a reference when we write stories during writing workshop.  Students are encouraged to share with the class any “juicy said” words they come across by writing them down on a  post-it note.

"Juicy SAID" words from NatalieLaRose on Vimeo.

Wonder of the Week: Why Do We Call It Breakfast? Is Breakfast the MostImportant Meal of the Day? Why or Why Not?

Wonder 763

How do you start a typical school day? If you’re like most kids, you probably try to squeeze an extra 40 winks of sleep in after your parents tell you it’s time to get up. Once you’re up, though, it’s off to the races as you hurry to get showered, dressed and ready for the bus.

But what about something to eat? Do you wolf down a quick bowl of cereal? Heat up a hot bowl of oatmeal? Pop a couple of pastries into the toaster? Or do you sit down to a hot meal of pancakes, eggs and bacon?

That first meal of the day is more commonly known as breakfast. If you divide this compound word into two parts, you’ll see it’s made up of “break” and “fast.” To fast means to go without food. So “breakfast” means to break the fast you’ve been observing since you went to sleep the night before!

You’ve probably heard parents and teachers say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But is that true? And why would it be?

Why Do We Call it Breakfast?

We call it breakfast because breakfast is where you have food in the morning and lunch is in the afternoon.

We call it breakfast because if you call it food it does not make any sense.

We call it breakfast because it is the first meal of the day.

Is breakfast the most important meal of the day? Why or why not?

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day because if you didn't have breakfast you would be hungry before lunch, but if you do have breakfast you wouldn't be hungry.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day because it starts off your day with a lot of energy.

I learned breakfast is the most important meal of the day because it gives you energy to start the day. (Roma)

I learned that breakfast is the most important  meal of the day because it starts you off and get you a lot of energy. (Caitlin)

I learned...

I learned we call it breakfast because and you wake up in the morning you are breaking your fast.(Luke)

I learned that even if you are running late you should not skip breakfast. (Madison)

A good breakfast throughout the week willinclude all sorts of food such as fruits, vegetables, grains, protein and dairy products. (Dana)

I learned that if you don't have breakfast in the morning you won't have a lot of energy. (Hunter)

Our Week In Review - Oct. 21 - 25th

Healthy Plate

On Friday our classroom came together with Ms. Warren’s classroom to watch a few informational videos on nutrition on BrainPop Jr.  While students were learning about healthy eating, Ms. Warren and I were preparing students’ healthy plates.  Students’ healthy plates on Friday consisted of the following foods:

Grains: Whole Grain Crackers

Dairy: Cheese (Swiss and American)

Fruit: Pomegranate

Vegetable: Carrot

Protein: Edamame

Each Friday during our nutrition unit students we be trying various food items from the five food groups.  We are asking parents to please help and provide a food item if they can.  To be directed to the Friday Healthy Plate Sign-Up plase click here.

Reading Strategies

Over the past 2 weeks in Reading Workshop we have been learning about decoding strategies which can help us solve tricky words.  The strategies we have learned about are:

Eagle Eyes:  Look at the picture.  Look at the pictures for clues to help you figure out the tricky word.

Lips the Fish:  Get your lips ready.  Say the first few sounds of the word out loud.  Read to the end of the sentence and say it again.

Stretchy Snake:  Stretch it out!  Stretch out the word slowly.  Put the sounds together to figure out the word.

Elephant Ears:  Listen carefully as you read the sounds in the word. Does the sound match the letter?  Does it make sense?

Chunky Monkey:  Look for small “chunks” of the word you know inside of bigger words.  Look for a word part.

Flipper the Dolphin:  Flip the vowel sound.  If you tried the word using a short vowel, try the word using a long vowel sound instead.  Reread the word, does it make sense?

Tryin’ Lion:  Try it again!  Try to read the sentence again.  Try a word that makes sense.

Skippy Frog:  Skip it! Skip it! Skip it! Skip the word. Read to the end of the sentence.

 Dot the Giraffe: Look at the punctuation.  Read with expression.  Make sure to stop and pause at all the right places.

With so many new strategies it’s hard to remember them all… therefore we have begun using the following bookmarks to help us remember them all.

Resource information

SWR Activities

This week in SWR we learned various activities we can participate in during the Word Work section of the Daily 5.  To learn more about the Daily 5 click here.

On Monday, we cut and sorted our words (based on their ends –mp, – nd, –st, -sk, -nk).  On Tuesday, students were introduced to rainbow words. Students learned that they can make a rainbow word by choosing one crayon per letter and then writing their words with various colors (just like the rainbow).  On Wednesday, students played “mix it up” with a partner.  To play mix it up one partner has to pick a word, mix up the letters on a white board and the other persons is to unscrambled the mixed up word and write the word correctly.  On Thursday, students participated in whiteboard check.  Whiteboard check is a great way for students to practice their spelling words before the assessment on Friday.  During whiteboard check one person picks a word and reads the word to their partner.  Their partner then writes the word down on the whiteboard.  If the student who has written the word spells it incorrectly the students work together (giving each other tips) to spell the word correctly.  Lastly, on Friday, students log onto SpellingCity and take an assessment.  We are very fortunate in that the PTO has paid for each of the 4 second grade classrooms to have a subscription to  SpellingCity (the premium account) which allows each student their own account.  Once SpellingCity has been purchased more information will be coming out regarding how students can access SpellingCity at home.  For the time being students can still practice their spelling words by accessing the SpellingCity link under the “link we love” sidebar on the classroom blog.

Nutrition Unit Letter

Nutrition Letter by Natalie LaRose

Generating Lists

Monday during Writing Workshop students began generating lists.  The lists that students created were focused around the following prompts: 

What are the 10 best things that have ever happened to you and what are the 10 most unexpected (worst) things that have ever happened to you?  

Students began writing quickly and throughout the Writing Workshop students lists were projected up on the board and read aloud to the class. The sharing that happened throughout the workshop helped “spark” students imagination and often students made connections while their classmates were sharing.  Below are some examples of the lists that students generated during Writing Workshop and a few closing comments given at the closing of our Writing Workshop session.

 

 

 

Wonder of the Week: What is the Best Afternoon Snack?

Wonder 177 - What is the Best Afternoon Snack?

I think the best afternoon snack is a

I think the best afternoon snack is a fruit or a vegetable because it is healthy for you! (Caitlin) 

I think the best afternoon snack is banana because it has lots of nutrients in it and not much sugar. (Dana)

I think the best afternoon snack is grapes because it doesn't have that many calories. (Luke) 

I think the best afternoon snack is watermelon because it is healthy.  (Hunter)

My afternoon snack usually is a 

My afternoon snack usually is an apple and Nutella.  (Luke) 

My afternoon snack usually is a banana. (Dana)

My afternoon snack usually is an apple.  (Peyton)

My afternoon snack usually is a peach.  (Caitlin)

 My afternoon snack usually is chips and crackers.  (Spencer)

My afternoon snack usually is pretzels and peanut butter.  (Madison) 

My afternoon snack usually is fruit.  (Hunter)

I learned...

I learned that you can eats healthy snacks like grains, dairy or vegetables. (Madison)

I learned an afternoon snack is important too because it can help you concentrate on it your homework. (Spencer) 

I learned that you can make your own healthy sauce to go with your food. (Peyton)

I learned that you should plan ahead, make a list, go to the store, and then let children pick what they want for a healthy snack. (Caitlin)

I learned that you should shop and the produce and fruit section of the grocery store to find a healthy snack. (Talan) 

Our Week in Review 10.14 - 10.17

Rikki Tikki Tavi

Last week our class began reading the book Rikki Tikki Tavi by Rudyard Kipling.  The first time we read the book we focused on the following vocabulary words: cunning, scornful, restless, immense, restless, scuttle and cower. The second time we read the book we focused on all the reasons why Rikki Tikki Tavi had a right to be proud of himself. 

After reading the book a second time we matched pictures to sentence strips which described why Rikki Tikki Tavi had a right to be proud.  We also matched vocabulary definitions to pictures depicting vocabulary words.  After the matching of pictures as a class we wrote a 5 finger paragraph with the focus being, “Why does Rikki Tikki Tavi have a right to be proud of himself?” We used evidence from the text when backing up all the reasons. 

After we completed a class response to text, students wrote their own five finger paragraph on why they believe Rikki Tikki Tavi had a right to be proud of himself.  Students’ response to texts can be viewed during Parent Teacher Conferences (posted outside our classroom).  The video below shows our great thinking throughout this activity.

What is the Meaning Behind Your Name?

On Thursday we read the book Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes and talked about the importance behind Chrysanthemum’s name. Students were then given the opportunity to write about the meaning of their name, where their name came from, the history behind their name, etc. On Monday, students will be writing a list of the best experiences they have encountered. This list will help students generate ideas of what to write about in the weeks to come.

4-Winds Leaf Eaters

On Wednesday, Mr. McAuley came in to teach us all about leaf eaters. We learned that the woods all around us are filled with thousands of insects and other small creatures. In looking at our ecosystem, we learned that the host of hungry leaf-eaters are feeding and hiding in our schoolyard plants. On Wednesday, we went outside and looked for leaves which leaf-eaters fed on. We talked about how leaf cutters leave behind discolored patches where they feed, they also may leave holes, feed along the leaf edge, or just eat the soft tissue between the veins, revealing a leaf skeleton. We had a great time learning all about leaf cutters. A big thanks to Mr. MacAuley for coming in to teach us!

Writers' Notebooks

On Monday students began decorating their Writing Notebooks.  A Writer's Notebook gives students a place to write every day… to practice living like a writer. Students’ notebooks are a place for them to generate stories, find ideas, practice their spelling skills and get creative about what they would like to write.

A goal in second grade is for students to be able to think and write at the same time, for students to get words down on a page, or even a couple of pages during one writer's workshop.  Today we decorated our Writer’s Notebooks with photographs of people, things, place we hold dear in our hearts.  These photographs will remind students of the various experiences they have encountered and can write about.  

Why Do You Say "Trick or Treat"?!?

Why Do You Say " Trick or Treat" Wonder 393

If there are ghosts, goblins, witches, astronauts, cartoon characters and a wild variety of oddly dressed creatures visiting your door asking for candy, chances are it’s Halloween. Before you shell out the sweets, most of these visitors probably shout “trick or treat!” But why do they do that?

I think we say "trick or treat" because....

I think we say "trick or treat" because you might want the person at the door to do a trick or give you a treat. (Xander)

I think we say "trick or treat" because it's not polite to say "give me candy!" (Caitlin)

I think we say "trick or treat" because you need to play a trick if the person doesn't have candy.  (Spencer)

I think we say "trick or treat" because if you walk up to a door and if you don't say "trick or treat" the people won't know why you are there.  (Hunter)

I think we say "trick or treat" because if you are at the door and the person doesn't know what you are there for they won't give you a treat.  (Ilona)

When I go "trick or treating" I usually get....

When I go "trick or treating" I usually get a lollipops.  (Nathan)

When I go "trick or treating" I usually get Tootsie-Rolls.  (Dana)

When I go "trick or treating" I usually get Twizzlers.  (Iris)

When I go "trick or treating" I usually get Twix.  (Talan)

Now I know... 

Now I know "trick or treat" means if someone doesn't give you a treat (candy) then the kids gets to play a trick.  (Connor)

Now I know "treat or treat" means if someone gives you candy you can't play a trick.  (Luke) 

I learned....

I learned that Trick or Treat starting in Canada and then moved to North America.  (Talan) 

I learned that "trick or treating" started in the 19th century.  (Dana)

Celebrations All Around

We have been working hard as a school and a class to earn lots of Warm Fuzzies.  Students earn Warm Fuzzies when they follow the three school expectations: Be Safe, Be Respectful and Be Ready to Learn.  On Friday, at our All-School Morning Assembly, we filled the second bin full of Warm Fuzzies… as a result every classroom earned an afternoon of field games (photographs are in the Our Week in Review video).  In our classroom we celebrate every time we earn 500 Warm Fuzzies.  On Friday, we counted our Warm Fuzzies and our class total so far this year is 1,030 – this a huge accomplishment!! To celebrate our excellent behavior our class will be having a Pizza Party (on Wednesday – if students order Domino’s Pizza for lunch) in the classroom, Ms. LaRose will also be bringing in a healthy treat once lunch has been eaten. 

Creating a WeeMee Avatar

On Wednesday, students created their very own Avatars using the app WeeMee. Creating an avatar is one of the many highlights of 2nd grade.  An avatar is a digital representation of a person, in this case, your child.  Avatars are a wonderful tool which can be used to help your child learn more about her/his classmates.  Your child's avatar can be viewed on their KidBlog account.

Mystery Skype & A Guest Classroom

This week we had a Mystery Skype (or Skype) every day!  What was very exciting about this week was that Ms. Warren’s class started joining us for our Mystery Skype's.  Having Ms. Warren’s class was a great treat and experience.  One student from our class was partnered up with a student from Ms. Warren’s class, together the partnerships had to decide who was going to ask the questions and who would answer the question.  This was a great problem-solving and working together activity.

On Monday, we Mystery Skype with Ms. Dita’s class, we believe her class is in Tennessee.  We have our follow-up Mystery Skype with Ms. Dita’s class this week and we will find out if our thinking is correct.  This is our current thinking…

  We think you are in Tennessee because your state is in the shape of a parallelogram.

        We think you are in Tennessee because Justin Timberlake was born in Tennessee.

        We think you are in Tennessee because the state flower in Tennessee is the Iris.

On Tuesday, we followed-up Skyping session with our blogging buddies from Mrs. Merced’s class (in Chicago).  All buddies have now finished Skyping with each other and almost everyone has finished writing their 5 finger paragraph on their buddy.

On Wednesday, we Mystery Skyped with Mrs. Kue’s 2nd grade class.  Ms. Betsy was kind enough to take notes during our Mystery Skype with Mrs. Kue’s class.  On Thursday, Ms. Warren’s class came into our classroom and we did research based on the answers Mrs. Kue’s class provided us.  As a result of our research we learned that Mrs. Kue’s class was located in Texas.  On Friday, we followed up with Mrs. Kue’s class and told them all of the new information we learned about Texas.  We read them the following statements:

           We think you are in Texas because former President Bush lives in Texas.

           We think you are in Texas because Texas has two MLB team (the House Astros and the Texas Rangers).

          We think you are in Texas because Kelly Clarkson was born in Texas.

          We think you are in Texas because the Dallas Cowboys play in Texas.

On Friday, we Mystery Skyped with Mrs. Cooper’s 5^th grade class.  This was a different type of Mystery Skype, clues were given during the Skype and students did research while the Skype was going on.  As a result of students hard work during the Mystery Skype, we found out Mrs. Cooper’s class is from Flower Mount, Texas.  For this Skype we began by finding out the state and then we “zoomed in” and found the location of their city!  We had a lot of “schema” about Texas, because we had Mystery Skyped with Mrs. Kue’s class from Texas the day before, which really helped us with our Mystery Skype with Mrs. Cooper’s class. 

We had a great week Mystery Skyping... we can't wait to meet new friends in various states this week!  

Are You Ready to Wonder? Wonder Blogging

Each week students will be participating in the Wonder of the Week.

On Monday, students are introduced to the Wonder of the Week.  All wonders are chosen from the website Wonderopolis.  Students are read the title of the Wonder, and a little background information from the first few paragraphs that explain the wonder, this provides students with just enough information to get their minds thinking, but not enough information to give away the answer.  This past week’s Wonder of the Week was:  What is a Ghost Town, Do Ghost Towns Really Exist.  As a class we brainstorm some of our thinking about the above questions, examples from this week included:

     - I think a ghost town is a town where all the people have left because ghosts moved in.

     - I think ghost towns are real because once I saw a house that no one lived in and it looked             haunted.

     - Yes, I think a ghost town is real because there could have been a bad flood or a terrible               disaster that could have made the ghost town.

After a few statements have been generated each student writes their own thinking in a new blog post on their KidBlog.

On Tuesday, students are given the opportunity to comment on their buddies blog about their thinking in regards to the same wonder. During this time students are encouraged to write new information and ask questions as part of their comment.  We have been commenting on Ms. Warren’s students’ blog post and hope to start commenting on our buddies’ thinking about the Wonder of the Week in Mrs. Merced’s class soon.

Wonder Wednesday is the BIG REVEAL day.  On Wednesday, we read the answer to the Wonder of the Week.  As we read the paragraphs we discuss vocabulary words that relate to the Wonder of the week.  In addition to reading the answer, students are given the opportunity to watch a video that relates to the wonder of the Week.  After watching the video and learning new information about the Wonder of the Week as a class we generate “Now I know” statements.  Some of our statements from this week were:

- Now I know that ghost towns are real because there could have been a bad hurricane      or tornado that could have made the ghost town.

- I learned that ghost towns are real, but there aren't that many ghost towns in the world.

- I learned that ghost towns are real.  A ghost town is a town where no one lives there.

After various “Now I know” statements are recorded each student writes their new learning (in a different color) on the original post they created on Monday.

Mrs. Boucher (our district Integration Specialist) recently presented on Wonder Blogging.  To view her presentation click here.

Our Week in Review 10.7 - 10.11

SWR - R Blends

This week in SWR we have been learning and practicing words with R blends. On Monday, we brainstormed some words with R blends (see below). We are continuing to practice these words using various Word Work activities and SpellingCity. More information will be coming out regarding SpellingCity. For the time being students can access SpellingCity by going to the classroom blog and clicking on "links we love".

Skyping With Our Blogging Buddies!

This morning our class Skyped Mrs. Merced’s class in Chicago to learn more about our blogging buddies!  Blogging Buddies were given the opportunity to ask each other questions and get a little conversation going to learn more about each other.  We had so much fun talking to our buddies that we ran out of time.  For those students who didn’t have an opportunity to chat with their buddies today, they will be given the opportunity to chat with their buddy Tuesday morning.  A big THANK YOU to Mrs. Merced and her awesome 2^nd grade class for being such a wonderful classroom to buddy up with!  We are excited about the new learning that will take place together this year.