Mrs. Tabor’s 2^nd Grade Weekly News

10/26-10/30

Dear Families,

 

            I hope everyone has a fun and safe fall break! I’ve heard about quite a few fun trips that families are going on! Have a wonderful and relaxing time!

 

Related Arts for Next Week: 

Daily Lunch Time:  10:43-11:08 am

 

Daily Homework:

-          Read 15 minutes each night and record title in student agenda.

-          Word Wall Words: students should be able to recognize and spell the following words by Friday, October 16^th : world, something, please, thank, brown 

-          There is a new set of Words their Way Words this week.

Group 1: practice this week and last week’s words

Group 2: long u spellings

Group 3: aw and au

-          Please check agenda and take home folder nightly. Sometimes assignments will come home to be corrected, completed and returned.

-          NO EXTRA HOMEWORK, JUST TURN IN YOUR PUMPKIN PARADE PROJECT.

-          Parent Homework: Please read and respond to your child’s reflection on Friday. Return the folder on Monday.

 

Reader’s Workshop:

How do characters respond to major events and challenges?

-          This week the students will continue analyzing characters and challenges that they face. These problems can stem from nature, themselves, or another character in the book. We will be working on using evidence from the text to figure out the steps the characters took to solve their problems.

-          In the current ELA Unit, Building Bridges with Unlikely Friends, students will explore different metaphors. This unit also teaches students to think deeply about fictional characters in a story and the problems these characters face. This coming week we will read several texts in which a character faces a challenge and works to overcome it.

 

Word Work:

-           Word Wall Words: world, something, please, thank, brown 

-          Words their Way:

Within Words Group 1: Long and short –u sounds.

Within Words Group 2: Long and short –u sounds.

Within Words Group 3: au, aw sound.

 

Math Workshop:

What are the attributes of 3d shapes? How do I identify them?

-          Students will be reviewing and adding to their schema of 3D shapes. We will be identifying important vocabulary about 3D shapes (sides, faces, vertices, edges). Our students will bring in a mystery 3D shape and we will be putting together a 3D shape museum. We will also be building 3d shapes with toothpicks and Pla-Dough!

 

Social Studies:

Where do I live? What is the difference between a map and a globe?

-          We will be starting our second Social Studies unit. We will be learning about where we live on Earth, starting small with our neighborhood and building out from there, to our city, state, country, and continent.  After that, we will be looking at maps and globes. We will be explaining specific uses of maps and globes and the differences for them.

 

Writer’s Workshop:

What is author’s purpose?

What is my purpose in writing?

-          We will start learning about the different purposes for which an author may write. These purposes include persuasion, informative, and to entertain. We will work on writing for each of these purposes as well.

 

Other Information:

-          Red Ribbon Week is October 26^th -30^th! This week is all drug awareness and prevention. Our guidance counselor, Mrs. Murphy, has put together an awesome week of fun activities.

Monday: Wear RED!

Tuesday: College, University, Trade School, and Military Day! Wear your favorite College, University, Trade, or Military gear!

Wednesday: Dress for Success. Dress your best and look ready for success today!

Thursday: Career Dream Day. What is your dream career? Wear clothes that match your career dream. For example, if a student wants to be in the army, they could wear a camouflage outfit. If the student wants to be a nurse or a doctor, they could wear scrubs.

Friday: Huskies have CHARACTER-we say NO to drugs! All Huskies may dress up as their favorite book, movie, or comic character.

-          We go to the library every Monday, please help your student remember to bring in their library books so that they can get new ones to read!

-          The School Design Team is working on decorating and improving our front office and hallways.  They are asking for donations of the following items… 

o   Old mirrors

o   Old frames-- not just picture frames but also frames that contain artwork that could be repurposed

o   Old lamps

o   End tables

o   Someone to sew a couch slip cover or who can sew new pillows.

If you have any of these items and are willing to donate, please drop them off in the front office. Thank you in advance!

 

Important Dates:

-          There is no school on November 3^rd due to Election Day. 

-          November 18^th is our next Early Release Day.

-          November 17^th and 19^th are Parent Teacher Conferences. Parent-Teacher Conferences are coming up on November 17^th and 19^th.  We will discuss your child’s progress and you will receive your child’s progress report (report card) at our conferences.  We're using VolunteerSpot to schedule our conferences. More information about VolunteerSpot will be coming home after fall break.

Mrs. Tabor’s 2^nd Grade Weekly News

10/12-10/16

 

Dear Families,

 

            I look forward to seeing you at the Harvest, this Saturday from 5-8 at Harmony Elementary!   

 

Parent-Teacher Conferences are coming up on November 17^th and 19^th.  We will discuss your child’s progress and you will receive your child’s progress report (report card) at our conferences.  We're using VolunteerSpot (the leading online Sign-up and reminder tool) to organize our upcoming Sign-ups.

 

Here's how it works in 3 easy steps:

1) Click this link to see our Sign-Up on VolunteerSpot: http://vols.pt/DuDdag

2) Review the options listed and choose the spot(s) you like.

3) Sign up! It's Easy - you will NOT need to register an account or keep a password on VolunteerSpot.

Note: VolunteerSpot does not share your email address with anyone.

If you are not able to attend a conference on November 17^th or 19^th please let me know.  We can make alternative arrangements.  My goal is to meet with everyone! 

 Related Arts for Next Week:  P.E. (remember to wear tennis shoes all week!)

Daily Lunch Time:  10:43-11:09 am

 

Daily Homework:

-          Read 15 minutes each night and record title in student agenda.

-          Word Wall Words: students should be able to recognize and spell the following words by Friday, October 16^th : even, through, between, boy, time 

-          There will be no Words Their Way this coming week. Students will receive a new set of words after fall break.

-          Please check agenda and take home folder nightly. Sometimes assignments will come home to be corrected, completed and returned.

-          Homework Notebooks due every Friday.

-          Parent Homework: Please read and respond to your child’s reflection. Return the folder on Monday.

 

Reader’s Workshop:

What are inside and outside character traits? How do unlikely friends become friends?

-          This week the students will continue analyzing characters and identifying inside and outside traits. Inside are the traits that can’t be seen… kind, funny, happy, sad, determined, careful, shy, exc. Outside are the traits that can be seen…tall, brown hair, green eyes, pretty, strong, exc. They will practice identifying characters traits and giving evidence from the book to support their thinking.

-          In the current ELA Unit: Building Bridges with Unlikely Friends students will explore different metaphors. This unit also teaches students to think deeply about fictional characters in a story and the problems these characters face. This coming week we will read several texts in which two unlikely friends are able to overcome differences and become friends.

Word Work:

-           Practice spelling and reading: even, through, between, boy, time

Math Workshop:

What is geometry? What are polygons and how do I identify them? How can I make a tangram?

-          Students will learn about different polygons and their attributes. They will also learn about quadrilaterals and quadrangles. They will enjoy discovering how different polygons can be used together to create tangrams.

 

Science:

What questions can I come up with from this science experiment?

-          We will continue learning about what life is like as a scientist. The students will engage in the scientific process while performing several fun and engaging experiments to practice questions. 

 

Writer’s Workshop:

What are hooks / leads?

How can I write a strong lead?

How do I write a summary?  

-          We will finish learning about and writing strong leads: questions, dialogue, action, paint a picture, and sound effects.

-          Students will learn the parts of a strong book summary and practice writing their own. Summaries will include a good lead, character(s), action, problem, and solution.

 

Other Information:

-          Harmony Harvest will be on Saturday, October 10^th from 5-8pm! 

-          Fall Break will be October 19^th – 23^rd. 

-          There is no school on November 3^rd due to Election Day. 

-          November 17^th and 19^th: Parent Teacher Conferences

 

Husky Hustle!!

Mrs. Tabor’s 2^nd Grade Weekly News

10/5 – 10/9

 

Dear Families,

 

            Following is a list of activities and announcements for next week.  Please contact me with any questions.  Thank you!    

 

Related Arts for Next Week:  Music

Daily Lunch Time:  10:43 – 11:08 am (Lunch this Wednesday is from 11:12-11:37am)

 

Daily Homework:

-          Read 15 minutes each night and record title in student agenda.

-          Word Wall Words: students should be able to recognize and spell the following words by Friday, October 9^th : morning, leave, turn, hard, along  

-          Study words 6-15 in agenda.  These words are from your child’s Words Their Way group.  Students will be assessed on these words on October 9^th.  

-          Please check agenda and take home folder nightly. Sometimes assignments will come home to be corrected, completed and returned.

-          Rocket Math quizzes are coming home regularly.  Please have your child complete the top portion and return it to school.  You should time them for 1 minute. 

-          Homework Notebooks due every Friday.

 

Reader’s Workshop:

What is inferring? How can this help me as a reader? 

-          This week we will continue to practice inferring.  Students will learn that to make an inference, we combine our predictions and schema with evidence.  Students will practice explaining their inferences about their just right books using the following inferring thinking stems:  My guess is…, Maybe…, Perhaps…, It could be that…, This could mean…, I predict…, I infer.

-          This week we will practice inferring with poetry and picture books. 

-          We will also begin learning about character traits, which are words to describe someone.  These words can be inside or outside traits. 

 

Word Work: 

Group 1:  Short i/ long I words

Group 2: Long o (o_e and oa_ words

Group 3: oo sounds, as in good/could or food

Math Workshop:

How big is a foot? 

How many inches of ribbon do I estimate it would take to tie a bow on my box?

-          This week we will wrap up our measurement unit.  We review measuring to the nearest foot.  We will also practice using estimation to determine how much ribbon we would need to tie a bow on a box.  We will then review the unit and take our post-assessment.  We will also pre-assess for our next math unit, which is centered on Geometry. 

 

Science:

What questions can I come up with from this science experiment?

-          Now that we have learned about each of our seven habits, we will begin our first science unit.  Our first unit of student teaches us how to behave as scientists.  In this unit, we will perform several fun and engaging experiments to practice questions. 

 

Writer’s Workshop:

What are hooks / leads?

How can I write a strong lead?

What are transition words?   

-          This week we will review what we have learned about transition words and come up with even more to use during our writing.  We will use these words to practice summarizing a book.  We will also learn how good writers hook their reader by creating a lead that grabs their attention and makes them want to read on.  We will practice identifying good leads, and then write our own question, descriptive, dialogue and sound leads.    

 

Other Information:

-          This Wednesday, October 7^th is our next Early Release Day.  Please be sure to send in notes of any transportation changes for this day. 

-          The Scholastic Book Fair is at Harmony this week!  Students previewed the books last Friday.  Their shopping day / time is this Wednesday, October 7^th from 10:30-11:00 am. 

-          Harmony Harvest will be on Saturday, October 10^th from 5-8pm! 

-          Fall Break will be October 19^th – 23^rd. 

-          There is no school on November 3^rd due to Election Day.