a peek into our week

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

** Newly added dates are marked with ** for those who follow and mark their calendars every week.

Monday, 12/18 and Wednesday 12/20: Fitness Peek Week. Families are invited to come in and participate with our class in P.E. Our P.E. times are: Monday from 12:15-12:45 and Wednesday from 1:15-1:45. Please click HERE for more information.

Friday, 12/22: Final day for donations for the Circle of Hope Coat Drive. There are boxes outside our classroom door and in the main hallway if you are interested in donating. Click HERE for more information.  

Monday 12/25-Mon. 1/1: NO SCHOOL - December Recess

**Monday 1/15: NO SCHOOL - Martin Luther King Day

ASK ME ABOUTS: 

Ask me about...

• the presentation given by the teachers and students from the Jingshan School in Beijing, China.
• our time with Ralph Masiello and what we drew with him.
• non-fiction text features...as you are reading non-0fiction at home notice features such as headings, photographs and their captions, diagrams, charts, etc. Discuss what you can learn from them.
• making change...how can I count up to make change for items?
• telling time. Continue practicing this at home with both digital and analog clocks. 
• my Plus Time group. What did I work on this week?
• what informational book I started this week.
• what I know about the Earth.

LOOKING FORWARD:

Looking forward, we will:

• continue learning about and reading non-fiction. We will learn more about how to determine word meaning in various ways.
• begin unit 7 in fundations, focusing on open syllables, y as a vowel and y, ly and ty suffixes. 
• continue our informational writing unit focusing on writing non-fiction. We will focus on generating ideas, thinking about the many different things we know about from experience. We will then determine how to sort our ideas into different chapters and begin our stories. Please talk with your child about any talents or interests that they have that they may want to write non-fiction books about.  
• work with data by creating and interpreting graphs.  
• continue learning about the sun, moon and Earth through videos, direct observation, non-fiction and fiction texts, poetry, making models and discussion.  

This week in Room 230

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

** Newly added dates are marked with ** for those who follow and mark their calendars every week.

** Monday, 12/18 and Wednesday 12/20: Fitness Peek Week. Families are invited to come in and participate with our class in P.E. Our P.E. times are: Monday from 12:15-12:45 and Wednesday from 1:15-1:45. Please click HERE for more information.

** Friday, 12/22: Final day for donations for the Circle of Hope Coat Drive. There are boxes outside our classroom door and in the main hallway if you are interested in donating. Click HERE for more information.  

Monday 12/25-Mon. 1/1: NO SCHOOL - December Recess

ASK ME ABOUTS: 

Ask me about...

• inclusion...How can we take care of each other and make sure that everyone counts?
• what I have learned from reading non-fiction this week. What is the first thing we do when we pick up a new non-fiction text?
• the games Race 100 and Race to 0 that we played this week.
• my Plus Time group. What did I work on this week?
• my story that I published.
• Jazz Fly.  Share your favorite jazz music with your child. 

LOOKING FORWARD:

Looking forward, we will:

• continue learning about and reading non-fiction. Please consider providing non-fiction texts for your child at home.
• finish our work in unit 6 in fundations, focusing on reading and writing v-e syllables. 
• begin a new writing unit focusing on writing non-fiction. Please talk with your child about any talents or interests that they have that they may want to write non-fiction books about.  
• work with time and money. At home, please practice telling time on analog and digital clock.s By the end of second grade, students are expected to tell time to the nearest 5 minutes, using a.m and p.m. Also have your child count coins and make change when paying for items. For example, pretend that they bought something that cost 36 cents and they paid with $1.  What coins could they pay with and what coins would they receive in return? How much change would they receive?  
• begin learning about the Sun, Moon and Earth through videos, direct observation, non-fiction and fiction texts, poetry, making models and discussion.  

Early December News

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

** Newly added dates are marked with ** for those who follow and mark their calendars every week.

** Thursday, 12/7: Early Release - 12:30 dismissal 

** Friday, 12/15: Final day for donations for the Circle of Hope Coat Drive. There are boxes outside our classroom door and in the main hallway if you are interested in donating. Click HERE for more information.  

**Monday 12/25-Mon. 1/1: NO SCHOOL - December Recess

IMPORTANT NEW INFORMATION FOR FAMILIES:

Tonight is the last supermoon of the year.  - A supermoon is a full moon that looks bigger and brighter than usual because it is closer to Earth. The best viewing time is as the full moon rises after sunset. Today's sunset is at 4:12 P.M. If you can, please head outside to view the supermoon. Later this week, we will begin our Earth, Sun and Moon unit and will be observing the night sky frequently and this would be a great kick-off event! For an article for your child to read about the supermoon, please click HERE. 

Thank you to all who attended Integrating the Arts Morning! - We were delighted to host so many guests in our classroom and create art with you. The technique that we used to create our maps was called Art to Interpret - Creating to Comprehend. Please click HERE for more information and ways that you can use this strategy at home.

ASK ME ABOUTS: 

Ask me about...

• how I can listen with my whole body...What body parts are involved and what do they need to do? Please practice listening with your whole body at home, as well, to reinforce that this is how we should always listen to others.
• my George and Martha reader's theater that I performed this week (or will be performing next week).
• the small moment story that I am working to publish.
• place value. What do the digits 4 and 5 mean in the number 45?
• my Plus Time group. What did I work on this week?
• U.S. Landmarks...Please talk together and look through any family photos that you have at various U.S. Landmarks to reinforce what landmarks are and make connections to those that you have visited.

LOOKING FORWARD:

Looking forward, we will:

• begin learning about and reading non-fiction. We will learn about various text features and how they can help us better comprehend non-fiction texts. To support this work at home, you could bring your child to the library to select some non-fiction books to read as part of his/her reading homework.
• continue unit 6 in fundations, focusing on reading and writing v-e syllables. 
• finish publishing a favorite small moment story. 
• work with time and money. At home, please practice telling time on an analog clock and have your child count coins and make change when paying for items. For example, pretend that they bought something that cost 52 cents and they paid with 60 cents.  What coins could they pay with and what coins would they receive in return? How much change would they receive?  
• begin learning about the Sun, Moon and Earth through videos, direct observation, non-fiction and fiction texts, poetry, making models and discussion.