We are getting ready for our portfolio share!  I've heard from quite a few of you but still waiting to hear from others.  Also, we are in need of refreshments!  Please let Anne Chehade know what you can contribute. Thank you!

Field trip on Friday!  Please remember to pack a hearty lunch for your child with a couple of drinks. 

Flag Day is tomorrow.  Your child should wear red, white and blue if at all possible!

Happy Friday!  We are continuing our hard work in 2F!  Sometimes it's hard to believe it's June.  It's certainly business as usual here.

Students did some catch up work this morning.  At the first part of reading, we heard a few more oral reports.  Students are presenting their insect posters to each other.  They have grown so much.  I'm so proud of them and I'm sure you are too.  For the second half of reading, students worked in their work stations.  Some of us got a chance to listen to the book reviews on Voice Thread.  There were technical difficulties with the commenting for some.  My goal was to have everyone (including you) be able to comment but it seems as though you need a Voice Thread account.  That is easy enough to do.  You just need to go to Voice Thread.com and put in an email address and password.  Then you can create your own identity.  If you would like, I can help.  Just let me know.  Students had the option of recording their comments or writing them.  You could do the same.

We worked on some handwriting today as well as Scholastic News.  Another cool thing that we did, thanks to Ms. LeBaron, was Hot Dots.  Students worked with this cool pen where they had different topics (all about math) and multiple choice questions. They put the pen on the answer that they think it is and it tells them whether it is correct or not.  It's a very cool activity!

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Mrs. Maynard came today to introduce the Summer Reading Program for the town library. You can go to the website and check out the schedule as well as sign up on line.  The theme is Mexico and she's got some fun stuff planned!

I posted our book reviews under the tab that says "Voice Thread".  Feel free to go there and post a comment.  If you have trouble, please let me know.  Students will be going in there leaving comments about the books this week and next.

We're tidying up our portfolios and getting ready for the Share on the 19th. Please let me know if you are able to make it.

2F has tackled multiplication!  All is well on this front!  They love it. 
Lastly, we had the MSS band come today for an assembly. 

We are working hard in 2F!  We began multiplication in math today!  It's very exciting!  Second graders feel very mature doing this!  I am explaining multiplication as repeated addition.  When they see 3 X 4, it really means, "3 groups of 4".  Any help with reinforcing this at home would be great.

In word work, we used onsets (beginnings of words) and rimes (ends of words) to make long u words.  This will be the end of the formal long vowel lessons!  I have assessed students to see where they ended up after these lessons.  I will use these results to see how effective my instruction was and what else I need to do.

In reading, we are working on writing book reviews.  I would like these done by tomorrow (all of it is done in class) and then we will move to post them on Voice Thread next week.  We will then listen to them and make appropriate comments.

Homework is due tomorrow.  I'm thinking about only sending a reading log home for the rest of the year for homework.  If you would like your child to have more, please let me know.  We are working really hard at school on various projects and I know schedules are busy at home. 

Looking for permission slips and volunteers for the field trip!  Thank you!

We started our day with the Memorial Day Assembly.  Each class takes part including preschool by leading us in the Pledge of Allegiance.  2F did an outstanding job reciting the poem Red, White and Blue by Ann McCune.  Gosh, I'm so proud of these kiddos! 

We are all ready to embark on the next section of our "Ta Da" books which is the All About Me section.  We'll start that tomorrow.  We learned about how to write a book review today.  Students will begin their rough drafts and then we will put them on a site called Voice Thread.  Here they can listen to and comment on others' reviews.  I'm excited about this project!  I hope to post them to this blog.  We shall see about that!

In math, we took an assessment and in science we worked on our insect posters.  During word work, we brainstormed patterns for words with the long u sound.

I'm thinking of inviting parents in on the last day of school to share the Ta Da books.  I would like to have an open house where we look at the portfolios and view something special that I'm working on.  I can open the classroom early before school starts for those that work during the day.  I'll be in touch about this.  I'm excited to plan it.  I want to accommodate as many families as I can.

Welcome back after a nice long weekend.  I apologize for not updating last week.  Things have been so busy!  We are in the midst of putting our 2F "Ta Da" books together and boy it's been great.  These are our portfolios from all of the work we've done this year.  We've written reflections for each area, picking out of favorites.  I'm excited to see the end products!  I am thinking about having a "viewing time" for parents/relatives.  Is there a time/day that works best?  Please let me know. I know evenings are difficult because of after school activities, but I also know that during the day is hard too.  Perhaps if I offered a few options..... let me know.

Mostly everyone is reading chapter books for guided reading... it's so exciting!  Students have been able to be independent while I work on benchmarks for the end of the year.  I'm thrilled with the amount of growth I've seen!  We will begin the last comprehension strategy of synthesis this week.

In writing, we are working on varying the lengths of our sentences as well as beginning each sentence differently.  Students have been working hard on those portfolio reflections as well.

In math, we're studying fractions!  Very fun!  We've also been learning about insects in science.  Students researched one insect and are making posters showing many of the nonfiction features  that we've learned about this year.    Today in computer lab, students designed their own insect having the 3 main things all insects have: 3 body parts, 2 antennae, and 6 legs. 

Finally, as we look toward the end of the year, we have a few important dates to remember:
May 30: Memorial Day Assembly (wear red, white and blue)
June 15: Field Trip to Montshire Museum (chaperones needed please!)
June 18: Move Up Day/Field Day
June 19: Last Day of school (half day)

Today was the first day in a long time that we didn't have to practice the play.  We are working on portfolios with all of the work that we've done this year. Students are separating their work out into subject area. Then I have them ordering the work by the date it was done (September to May).  It's been quite telling to watch the organizational skills in practice!  We will reflect on this work and add to it as the rest of the year goes on.  This will be our ultimate "Ta Da!" book!  I will invite you all in to see it when we are finished! 

In math, we played a game involving place value.  Also, we read aloud Crickwing, a story about a cockroach.  We will begin our insect unit soon.  During Word Work, we did a making words activity. 

We performed the play for the entire school today.  I enjoyed watching them again.  They did a great job!  After snack and choice time, we went to PE.  We also worked on a list of strategies to use when we revise our writing.  Students have this list hanging in the room to look at to help them through the writing process.

In word work, we did a blind sort where a partner says a word, and you put that word in a column depending on its vowel pattern.  We continue to focus on long a words.

We finished Trumpet of the Swan!  Does anyone own the movie?  I'd love to show it if I could find it!  Thanks.

Play tonight!  See you there!

We started our day doing the math MAP test.  Students did a great job in the computer lab this morning.  We came back and had music, then morning meeting.  After that, we worked on Weekend News.  During Word Work, we did a word sorting activity with long a sounding words. 

This afternoon, we practiced our play after half of us went to the library and then read aloud.

Play tomorrow!  Let me know if you have any questions!