Weekly Update for 9/12

Hi Families!
​
Here in 2nd grade, we've been having a very pleasant launch to the school year. Although some students are still struggling with the whole "doing school" thing after enjoying over 2 months off, we are gradually getting settled and comfortable in our routines. As a former 5th grade teacher, I was unaware of how challenging saying goodbye to parents, being away from home, sitting, following directions, and sustaining focus on tasks can be for my lovely new 2nd graders. As a result, I planned for WAY too much last week and barely got to half of it! This week I'll incorporate more brain and movement breaks throughout each day to ease in the home to school transition.

Highlights from Last Week
Last week we prioritized building our classroom community with our fun Morning Meetings and with learning routines that will support independence. Ask you child about their favorite Greeting or Activity from Morning Meeting. We also...

• Decorated name tags and All About Me posters;
• Started our chapter book read aloud of There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom by Louis Sachar;
• Read "All Our Welcome" by Alexandra Penfold and did some thinking and writing about what makes each of us feel welcomed in our classroom;
• Started Lesson 1 in our new Illustrative Math curriculum practicing fluency with sums and difference through 10;
• Practiced reading our 3 songs in our Fluency Packet: Baa, Baa Black Sheep, My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean, and I've Been Working on the Railroad.

---

Students engaging in a "Turn and Talk" to share their ideas about a story.

Important Dates This Week

• Monday, September 12th- O'Connor studio school picture order forms will be sent home. Also, we have an extra Art class.
• Wednesday, September 14th: 12:45 dismissal for all students. Elementary Open House in evening (5:30-6:45 PM)
  • 5:30-6:00 pm: Grades 3-5
  • 6:00-6:15 pm: Teacher Introductions, Principal Welcome, PTO
  • 6:15-6:45 pm: Grades K-2
  • 5:45-6:30 pm: Specialists in Classrooms 
• Friday, September 16th: Picture Day! Flipped Schedule - Full day of school (2:45 dismissal), PTO Back to School Picnic 5:30-7:00 PM.

Please read more about school-wide events in this week's Barrows Newsletter, The Starburst.

When you have a moment, please complete my short questionnaire about your child.

​Here is an outline of my general plan for the week.  Please reach out with any questions or messages!

Community Building

• Continue Morning Meeting to transition from home to school and get in the mindset for learning.
• Generate and vote on classroom rules.
• Discuss what it means to be Respectful in our classroom, to others, to teachers, with supplies, and in each space of our building.

Literacy

• Introduce response journals.
• Read Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun: Having the Courage To Be Who You Are by Maria Dismondy, discuss and respond.
• Read The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson, discuss and respond.
• Continue practicing our Fluency with songs: Baa Baa Black Sheep, I’ve Been Working on the Railroad, and My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean; perform before the end of the week.
• I will finish administering a quick oral reading fluency assessment to get an idea of students' reading abilities and challenges. Our Literacy Specialist will also be administering a brief screening assessment this week as well.

Writing

• Discuss and write about our goals for 2nd grade.
• Introduce “because, but, so” writing elaboration technique.

Phonics

• Launch our Orientation Unit and Unit 1 in Fundations (our phonics curriculum).  We will review the standard sounds of the letters in our alphabet, letter formation, pencil grip, and how to use students' materials. Please see the Home Letter that I will send home in students' home/school folder this week.
• Unit 1 in Fundations will review many concepts taught in grade 1, such as standard letter sounds, digraphs versus blends, closed syllables, and when to use 'c', 'k', and 'ck' in writing.

Math

• Continue Unit 1 of Illustrative Math called Adding, Subtracting, and Working with Data. In this unit, which is about 4-5 weeks long, students add and subtract within 100 using strategies based on place value, properties of operations, and the relationship between addition and subtraction. They then use what they know to solve story problems. 
• This week, students will practice finding the number that makes equations true and write addition and related subtraction equations within 10 and within 20. They will also learn and use different strategies to find sums and differences within 20 and build fluency through games.

​
Content Area: Social Studies
We will introduce Social Studies this week and learn about Communities.

• We'll learn about the differences between rural, urban, and suburban communities.

Thank you for reading! Feel free to ask me more about any of my plans. Have a wonderful week!