Celebrating Togetherness

Hi Families-

It has been a wonderful week here in second grade! This week, we have celebrated our second grade community friendships in three special ways. On Monday, we held a "Majestic 4", in which students got to sign up for a movie of their choice to watch, and get a warm, winter treat- hot cocoa! On Wednesday, we got together once again as a grade and had a singalong time. Some of our favorite include "Love Grows One by One", "Rockin' Robin" and "Winter Wonderland". We ended our week with a board game time. Students were allowed to bring in board games to share with their friends. Board games are a great way to sneak in math and reading practice over the long break. Here is a peek into our sing along:

This week, we continued our independent study of high frequency words. This week, we practiced our words in a few different ways including fancy writing on lined paper, typing, and grid paper writing. Our final practice utilized the tactile part of our brain, as we wrote our words on our desks with shaving cream! Second graders joyfully practiced writing their words three times, working to memorize these ever-important high frequency words.

Want Math Practice for Over Break?
Greg Tang, math guru, puts out a challenge for students to complete over the winter break. Feel free to enjoy!   https://gregtangmath.com/newyears

Please Keep an Eye Out
This week, we've had a few student items go missing from our classroom, including two "Hatchimals" from our collection share, and two bracelets. We've looked everywhere in the classroom! If your child comes by them, we would appreciate you sending them back to school :)

Other Things to Ask Your Child About:
- Fancying up our nonfiction books
- Getting to know our characters' personalities
- Tracking not just what characters say, but how they say it
- Pig game
- Bridge Builders

Have a wonderful break!
Kelly

Earth Changes Experts!

Hi Families-

We have had a week full of hands on learning here in second grade! This week, we completed four science experiments on earth changes. We learned that the earth's surface changes, and that change can be fast, like an earthquake or a volcano, or slow, like water or wind erosion. This week, we simulated an earthquake and a volcano and noted how quickly the earth's surface changed. We  then looked at water erosion by pouring water slowly down an "earth's surface" to watch how, little by little, the water picked up pieces of the soil and moved it to a new place. Finally, we explored wind erosion by creating a model of a sand hill, and then using our breath to mimic the wind. We saw how slowly over time, the wind picked up the sand and moved it to another place. Here is us exploring earth changes:

This week in math, we read the book Alexander, Who Was Rick Last Sunday. In this book, Alexander describes how he lost all of the money his parents had given him that Sunday. We kept track of each amount of money, and then used the open number line strategy to subtract it from 100 cents. We are becoming subtraction experts!

Other Things to Ask Your Child About:
- Winter concert
- Good places to stop, think and jot in your books
- Capturing our audience's attention in our writing by using catchy beginnings and endings
- Conducting a student's survey!
- Moongobble and Me

Have a wonderful weekend!

Ask the Experts!

Hello Families-

We've had a wonderful week of school here at Rick Marcotte Central School. This week, we completed our nonfiction reading unit and celebrated by creating "museum exhibits" in our books. Just as a museum curator would, we chose what facts to teach, what examples and pictures to share and what voices and inflection to use while teaching. Here is a peek at us with our fifth grade visitors:

In science this week, we also began our unit on fast and slow earth changes. First we learned about slow earth changes, including weathering and erosion. We learned that weathering is like earth's "hammer", breaking down parts of the earth, and erosion is like earth's "broom", sweeping it all up. Then, we dove into the topic of fast earth changes, including volcanoes, floods, earthquakes and landslides. We used the technology tool of Pebble Go to research even more about this topic. Here we are doing some sorting of fast and slow earth changes:

Other Things to Ask Your Child About:
- Studying high frequency words for the month of December
- Surveys and data collection
- Bar graphs and picture graphs
- Double digit subtraction on the number line!
- Studying characters in our books even before the first page

Supply Request:
It's that time of year where noses are running! We have run out of soft tissues and baby wipes to keep tables clean. If your family would like to donate either item, it would be greatly appreciated!

Have a wonderful weekend!
Kelly

Goodbye Mrs. McCarthy

Hello Families,

What a wonderful week we've had here in room 17.  This week, we continued our study of subtraction, moving towards "spillover subtraction" facts. Some parents might know this strategy as regrouping. We've learned that, using a number line, you can decompose your number into tens and ones, and then jump backwards. You might first jump back to a decade number and then jump back the rest. Ask your child how they might solve the problem 43-17 on a number line. We practiced our subtraction in many ways, including dice games and equation work sheets. We even helped Mrs. McCarthy design her classroom library for next year by "spending" $50 on books from a Scholastic Book Order. The class loved getting to pick out their favorite books, and practiced subtraction, too! Here's a peek in:

 

We also said "Goodbye" to Mrs. McCarthy this week. She has completed her solo week and her internship experience at Rick Marcotte Central School. She will earn her teaching certificate in December and we hope to see her teaching in Vermont soon!

Other Things to Ask Your Child About:
- Our School-wide celebration of watching Frosty
- Our new science unit of earth changes that happen fast and slow
- Six Rolls
- Subtracting groups of 10 on a number line
- Writing nonfiction books

Have a wonderful weekend!
Kelly

Landforms and Bodies of Water Experts

Hello Families,

We had an exciting week of learning at RMCS concluding with our first snow day of the year.  This week in Writing Workshop we continued work on our landforms and bodies of water projects by making models based on the information we’ve learned.  Each student prepared a map of their landform and body of water, then molded their salt dough following their plans. Students also selected 5 labels that they believed were important for viewers to understand their model.

Once their flipbook, poster, or postcard was completed, each student shared with the class one thing they learned or found interesting about the project they researched on KidsInfoBits.

Then we had a gallery walk where students displayed their models together with their flipbook, poster, or postcard.  Students walked around the classroom and read about each others landforms or bodies of water.

In Reading Workshop we continued reading nonfiction books and expanding our knowledge on topics across books.  The “book fairy” visited each student bringing them 3 books on topics like animals, habitats, weather, food, and transportation. The class worked hard looking at books part by part, to find connections in keywords, pictures, and chapters, all while continuing to add to knowledge foundation we’ve built.  Then students shared their new knowledge like experts with their reading partners.

Other things to ask your child about:

-Thankful

-Appreciation Station

-Exploring maps

-Facts from our nonfiction read alouds: Volcanoes & Tigers

-Subtraction

Have a wonderful break!

Mrs. McCarthy

Collaborative Learners

Hello Families-

We have had a wonderful week of learning here in Room 17. This week, we have done a deep dive into our study of landforms and bodies of water. To gain a wide understanding of many different landforms and bodies of water, students worked in partnerships to study one type of landform or body of water, such as mountains, valleys, oceans, rivers and many more. Students then worked on a collaborative project to share their understanding. Students had the choice of either a google slide or a poster. It has been wonderful to see students show off their creative skills. Here is a sneak peek into our collaboration:

Then in writing workshop, we have taken a mini-break from our traditional writing workshop format to complete a short, focused research project on one landform or body of water from around the world. Students are able to access KidsInfoBits, an online resource aimed at elementary aged students, to help them get to know their specific research topic well. Now that research has been completed, students are going to have choice in the way they share their new learning by either creating a pull-out book or a post card. Students have loved getting to access their learning through many mediums.

This week, Miss Meg has brought us a new delicious recipe: Kale Smoothies! Believe it or not, it was a huge hit in our class. Students used the kid-powered food processor to break the kale down a bit, then added kale, blueberries, apple cider, ginger and bananas to the blender and watched the magic happen. Nearly all students voted for the green smiley "I loved it!" Yum!

Reminders:
- You will find a lime green sheet of paper in your child's Friday Folder that is your conference notification sheet. I look forward to bragging about your stellar students! Please sign and return at your earliest convenience.
- Next week is Mrs. McCarthy's solo week! This means that she will be the sole teacher for the entire week. I will be in the building, and in to teach small group instruction, but will be out of the room for most of the week. She is a wonderful teacher and will provide an enriching week of learning.

Other Things to Ask Your Child About:
- Tiger Terms
- Researchers using a graphic organizer
- Measuring items in popsicle sticks and unifix cubes
- Understanding keywords in nonfiction texts
- Harvest Lunch

Have a wonderful weekend!
Kelly