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Teacher Thoughts
Dear Families,
Welcome
to the New Year! I hope each of you had a wonderful Holiday
Break. I am looking forward to starting 2008 with a bang.
We have lots of new things to explore and hopefully we will have
some fun along the way. I am anxious to hear about the books
that all the kids read over the holiday. I know I found lots
of time to snuggle up with a good book by the fire. However,
if you and your child found yourselves short of time during the
break and couldn't get in as much reading time as you had hoped,
remember it's never too late to get started. Take time tonight
to sit down and read together.
I can't believe how fast the school year is passing by.
Can you believe we have reached the halfway mark? I hope you
will take time to read about the things we will be studying next in
Second Grade. It looks like it will be a busy grading period!
Sincerely,
Martha Carlin
News from the
Subject
Areas
Mathematics
- Our math curriculum for this grading period with include the following:
* Geometry
Naming plane and solid figures based on
how they look
Comparing these figures in order to learn
their properties
Describing geometric shapes
* Fractions
* Measurement
* Temperature
* Tables and Graphs
We have begun Otter Creek Math in our classroom. You should be finding
your child's quiz paper each day in the Homework Folder. Please help your
child study the addition facts everyday, preparing for the tests.
Reading
- Our Reader's Workshop is running smoothly. The students will
be doing more partner reading this nine weeks as they begin to talk and share
with each other what they have understood about the books they have read.
We will be getting our new Talk Back Journals this week and
will begin to record some of these understandings. Be sure to ask your
child how it is going.
This grading period we will continue to read
Accelerated Reader and take tests on these books. As in the past, I
consider 80% passing. Each child will need to read and pass at least 5
books for the nine week grading period. Please question your child weekly
about how they are progressing in meeting this goal.
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Writing
- We will be focusing on Persuasive Writing in our Writer's
Workshop, and we will continue to learn about the 6+1 Traits
of Writing. Your child should be using capital letters and
correct punctuation in their writing at this point in the year.
I will begin to ask them to correct their work and possibly to
rewrite it so that they will begin to take responsibility for their
work. All work should be written neatly, express complete
thoughts with details to paint pictures in the reader's mind, and be
of an appropriate length to get their ideas across. We will
continue to take our work through the writing process and add more
published books to our library.
Social Studies
- All aboard for a trip to Japan. As we study about the
customs and culture or this far away Land of the Rising Sun, we will
be concentrating on what life is like there. Is it similar to
or very different from our lives here in the United States? I
will be asking the children to decide whether their family should
move to this country. This assignment will be part of our
Writer's Workshop study of persuasive writing.
Science
- Our science unit for this nine weeks will be Space. We will
learn all about the sun, the Earth, the moon, and the stars.
We will learn about the stars' sizes, patterns, and brightness. We
will investigate the position of the sun and moon. The reason
for the changing appearance of the moon will also be studied.
Homework Folders
Please
remember to check your child's Homework Sheet every night for the
following:
1.
Record and initial your child's reading nightly. I will not record the
reading if a parent has not initialed it.
2. Remove all papers that have been graded. Sometimes your child will have
drawn a smiley on his paper. This means it has been checked.
3. Help your child check to see if all his homework is completed and ready to
come back to school.
4. Check your child's circle every day. This is a good way for us to keep
in touch about your child's behavior. For children who frequently change
their card, implement a system of rewards at home to encourage good behavior.
Contact me for ideas, if you are having trouble coming up with a plan.
5. Read and discuss the week's Character Words and the Quote of the Week.
6. Help your child make sure he has packed all the things he needs for the next
day of school. This includes a clean bottle of water with a
POP-TOP to help avoid spills and a
healthy
snack. Remember, the kids need to be happy, with a satisfied tummy and
well hydrated in order to learn well.
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Wish List
I have a few things to add to my Wish List that I forgot to
mention at Open House. If you would like to donate any of these things to
our classroom I would be so very grateful!
1. VCR tapes of
Reading Rainbow. (It is on PBS here in Atlanta. We have always had them in
the Media Center for checkout, but sadly, they all had to be destroyed because
they had passed the allowed recorded date.) Contact Leslie O'Brien if you
would like to help with the recording. She has begun but would probably
appreciate your help.
2. Stationary and note cards for our Writing Center
3. HP 56 Black Inkjet Print Cartridges
4. HP 57 Tri-color Inkjet Print Cartridges
5. Boxes of Black Flair Markers (Paper Mate, the skinny ones)
6. Quiet Instrumental Music CDs
7. Curtains for our classrooms
Thank You!
Thank You! Thank You!
Thank you to all who helped with the Holiday party. It was a
great success. The kids thoroughly enjoyed the magician and
the treats provided by our wonderful volunteers were scrumptious.
Parent
Conferences
It's time to start thinking about your Winter Conference. I
will be sending home information about the time for your conference
in the next few days. Please return the form with your
signature and any concerns or other things you would like to discuss
as soon as possible so I can finalize the schedule and make sure I
have gathered all the information needed. I looked forward to
meeting with each of you the week of
January 22nd. |
