Monday, March 30, 2015

Morning activity

Each morning as part of our morning meeting, we take part in a greeting, then an activity usually focused with math. This morning we counted how many times our bouncy ball bounces before it stops. We used this data to construct a line plot. 




A new week

Happy Monday! 
We are in week two of our new Readers' Workshop model using the Daily 5. Our transitions are improving and it feels great observing your second grader independently make choices, utilize technology for reading, and work with peers to confer, question, and listen for fluency. 
We are coming to an end in unit 4 math:collecting, analyzing, and organizing data. This has thoroughly been an enjoyable unit for all of us. 
Motion is in full effect as we experiment with tops, spinners, and zoomers. We're practicing through explorations, noting observations, sharing excitement with peers, and making connections. The word of the day is FORCE right now when connecting our movement tasks.
Finally, in writing, we are wrapping up our persuasive unit with a book review and getting ready for opinion writing. Following this we will have more fun with narrative writing. One of the great opportunities we have within daily 5 is a work on writing task that allows students to practice on demand writing with a variety of fun and creative prompts. 




Friday, March 27, 2015

More fun...

It was all about motion today in second grade! 
We applied our background knowledge of balance to assist us with motion today. 
How can we get a traditional toy like a top to move and become stabilized in order to balance for play? 
We even had the chance to create our own tops! 









Thursday, March 26, 2015

A beautiful day in Second Grade

Being productive during Readers' Workshop

We enjoyed a productive hour of Readers' Workshop this morning. Students were engaged with "Listening to Reading", "Reading to Self", "Word Work", "Buddy Reading", and "Working on Writing". 

Monday, March 23, 2015

Reading homework

Happy Monday!! 
It's Monday so homework begins for the week. I have stepped back from our reading logs reflecting on the purpose and whether they are serving the purpose. 
With that being said, it is very important that reading takes place each night but for homework I am trying something new to address comprehension. 
Homework includes a short passage and comprehension questions that align with skills we are practicing in the classroom. This does not mean we will never do logs again but I'd like to explore other options for our second graders. 
Thank you for your understanding. 

Friday, March 13, 2015

Collecting Data

What is your favorite food? What is your favorite game? These are just a couple of the questions we asked one another today while conducting a survey to practice collecting data. 
During math today we each had the chance to collect data around some of our favorite things. In the end, your second grader organized their data by creating graphs or tables. 
It has been a fun week collecting and organizing data. 



Thursday, March 12, 2015

The Pencil Trick

Our next balance investigation called The Pencil Trick. 
We have continued to practice within our focus of balance. 
Today we actually balanced a pencil on a craft stick just on its tip. Yup! Second graders were thrilled and couldn't believe they had met the challenge. It was so exciting listening to the gasps symbolizing "I did it!" 
Ask your child what they have learned about balance. "What is the trick to balancing anything on its tip?"









Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Our week thus far!

Literacy...
We have spent time this week reviewing how to write a summary focused on main characters and events. The emphasis has been on key words such as In the beginning, Then, Next, After that, and In the end. 
We have also continued our readers workshop model with a focus on word detective, character analysis, persuasive writing, and fluency skills and strategies during guided reading groups. 

Math...
We are loving unit 4 of investigations. Ask your child how to play "Guess My Rule". This would be a great activity for all families to play anytime. 
We are also generating a variety of survey questions, collecting data, and practicing different ways to organize data. We have created bar graphs, picture charts, and venn diagrams so far. 
Remember: math facts are critical to secure in second grade. Continue to encourage your child to keep practicing. 

Science...
Balance and motion. Stay tuned for more pics as we begin another balance activity called "The pencil trick". We have also been using our background knowledge to help us with balance and motion games in technology. 

Writing...
Thank you all so much for your continued support throughout our persuasive writing unit. Your children are beyond excited to read the persuasive letters you have written back to them. They will get to read these letters on Friday morning. They can not  wait!! 

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Persuasive writing

Dear Parents,
You should have seen a letter come home today with your second grader. 

We are having a blast engaged in persuasive writing! We are listening to a variety of persuasive texts and practicing our persuasive writing skills as well. 

These letters that went home today are persuasive letters for you from your second grader. They are so fun and quite creative. 

Along with your child's letter is a blank piece of letter paper. Please take the time to write a letter back persuading your child of your opinion or your response. 

Send your letter back to school with your child. If it's possible, try to keep your child from seeing your letter. I'll collect them and distribute them at the beginning of writing. 

Thanks so much for your support. This is such a fun unit. 

Excited, 
Kristin Ortiz

Monday, March 2, 2015

Today is Dr. Seuss' birthday and second grade is celebrating in many different ways throughout the day. 
If you haven't had the chance to walk through Small and check out the classroom doors, you should. 
They've been decorated with a book theme. 
Our second grade chose one of our funniest far fetched stories, Georges' Marvelous Medicine by Roald Dahl. Students chose to create their favorite scene on our door. Their comprehension was out of this world! They even used resources to help clarify their understanding along the way. It was such a fun project and another great way to observe the team work and collaboration that is happening in our very own classroom.