Our Week in Review 9.26 - 9.30

Estimation Machine

BAs many of you know we have a new addition to our classroom – the Estimation Machine! Estimation is an important skill for our second graders to develop and it's one they will continue to revisit through the years. The Estimation Machine is a really fun way to bring that skill to life in the classroom.

This morning each student took an estimate.  Students were estimating how many counting bears were in the Estimation Machine!  Later on in the morning, we went through and counted how many counting bears were actually in the Estimation Machine.  We brainstormed possible ways to count all the bears: group them in 2s, 5s, 10s, etc., grouping by 10s was the strategy that won.  Ms. LaRose pulled popsicle sticks with students names on them, if your name was called you went to the center of the room and took 10 counting bears.  We ended up with 13 students collecting counting bears, so we knew we had over 130 bears (much to students surprise).  With 3 extra bears in the circle students quickly learned we had 133 counting bears! 

We then went through our estimates and Elzie was the winner with an estimate of 120 -- way to go Elzie.  Since Elzie was closest she has taken home the Estimation Machine to fill for next week.  Next week the student whose estimation is closest to the actual number will take the estimation jar home to refill with a new item. This cycle will continue throughout the school year.  Some suggestions for items to put in the Estimation Machine are:

-       Animal cookies

-       Beads

-       Beans

-       Bolts

-       Bottle caps

-       Crayons

-       Cotton balls

-       Corks

-       Drinking straw halves

-       Erasers

-       Gumballs

-       Goldfish

-       Macaroni

-       Marbles

-       Marshmallows

-       Nuts

-       Paper clips

-       Pasta

-       Puzzle pieces

-       Rubber bands

-       Seashells

-       Stickers

-       Sunflower seeds

-       Toothpicks

-       Washers

Hot Shot All Stars

Comparing Numbers

 Today in math learned how to compare numbers using the following symbols <,> and =.  We used the symbols to record comparisons of numbers, money amounts, and addition and subtraction expressions.  Tonight is our first night of math homework, be ready to practice this skill with your child at home.  Below are some photographs from our math lesson today! 

 

 

Our Week in Review 9.19 - 9.23

Story Elements -- Dog Breath

This week in literacy we are learning about story elements.  The story elements that we are focusing on are: characters, setting, problem and solution.  To help us better understand story elements we are reading the book Dog Breath.  As we read aloud Dog Breath we are stopping to think about the characters in the story (​Hally Tosis and the Tosis family​), the setting (​the house and neighborhood where the Tosis family lives.), the problem ​ (If the Tosis children do not find a way to get rid of Hally’s extremely bad breath, they will have to give her away.)​  and the solution ​(Hally’s bad breath made the burglars faint. She became famous for stopping the burglars and she saved the Tosis family, so the family decided to keep her.) Be sure to talk with your child about the story elements in the books they are reading at home. 

Odd and Even Numbers

Yesterday in math Ms. Brady came in and we learned about odd and even numbers.  We learned that if a number has a pair (a partner ) it is an even number.  If a number does not have a pair (or a partner) it is an odd number.  Below is some work from our math journals where we identified odd and even numbers. 

SWR -- Week 4

This week our SWR skills is consonant digraphs review of initial sounds (sh, th, ch, wh).  We have learned that a consonant digraph is when two letters come together to make one sound. Below are photographs from our mini-lesson: 

Dot Day -- September 15, 2016

We had a VERY busy day in room 6!  We celebrated Kevin’s birthday and International Dot Day. We started off the day by reading the book The Dot by Peter Reynolds.  As a class we discussed the “big idea” of the book – never give up! After the Read Aloud each student colored in their own dot. After students colored their own dot they made it become 3-D.  It was wonderful to see students working together, placing their dots on the floor, opening the Quiver app and watching their Dot come to life!  Students then (with the help of a buddy) took a screen shot of their 3-D dot.  Some students learned how to uploaded the photograph of their 3-D dot to their own blog, we still have some to finish tomorrow!  What amazing 2^nd graders!!  

Next week we are going to connect with classrooms all over the world and comment on their dots.  For more information on International Dot Day click here.  We can’t wait to comment and learn about other classrooms thanks to International Dot Day!  Click here to see our dots! Student will need to log in using their 8 digit birthday password. 

Our Week in Review 9.12 - 9.16

What Does EEKK Mean?

Today during Reading Workshop we worked on sitting EEKK with our "Turn and Talk" partner.  EEKK stands for Elbow to Elbow, Knee to Knee.  We also learned how when we read with a partner we but the book in the  middle so both people can see the words and the pictures.  Below are some photographs of us sitting EEKK with a book in the middle! 

Number Grid Game

Today in math we explored the number grid (100's chart).  Students discussed with a partner what they noticed about the grid.  As a class we discussed the following about the number grid:

- When you go across the number grid the number in the ones place changes but the number in the tens place stays the same.

- When you go down the number grid the number in the tens place changes but the number in the ones place stays the same.

We also learned how to count forwards and backwards on the number grid by 1's and 10's.  As a class we created a number grid from 0-1,000 with Ms. LaRose.  Ms.Brady taught students how to play a new exciting game called The Number Grid game.  Templates for The Number Grid game are coming home with students today.  The directions for the game are below.

Our Week in Review 9.6 - 9.9

Terrific Technology

We had a wonderful day in Room 6.  We are working really hard on remembering the log in information for technology in our classroom.  This week we have learned how to log into a ChromeBook, our DreamBox account and our Raz-Kids account.  Information regarding how to access these accounts will be sent to parents this week.  Next week students will be learning how to access their very own blog! 

Our Week in Review

First Day of 2nd Grade

What a wonderful first day of 2nd grade we had in Room 6.  We spent lots of time catching up with old friends and making new friends.  We are learning about how we can be 2nd grade leaders by helping our kindergarten friends at recess and lunch. We spent some time brainstorming our classroom expectations, we also went on a Scavenger Hunt during Reading Workshop. Student really enjoyed the read aloud, “First Day Jitters” and we ended our day working on our “All About Me Tee's”.  If you haven't had a chance to complete your child's Student Information / Hopes And Dreams sheet you can do so by clicking here.