Quote of the Week-January 30,2012

"Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them."
     -Lady Bird Johnson, former U.S. first lady

Week Wrap-Up for January 23-27

We had another wonderfully busy week. Students read, read, and read some more.  When we were finished reading, we wrote book reviews.  Our reviews included many of the story elements we have learned about this year, including character, setting, story order, genre, and plot.  We partner reread realistic fiction and animal fantasy stories from Units 1-3, including Tara & Tiree, Iris & Walter, Henry & Mudge, Pearl & Wagner, and The Strongest One.  In addition to writing about the story elements, we  summarized our stories and gave our own "opinions" of them.  The students did a great job!  Please click here http://reading.pppst.com/elements.html 
and then click on the "It's Story Time" link for a very informative powerpoint on story elements  .

In Science, we continued our study of animals/plants and how they work together.  We created ocean and grassland food chains/webs.  We also made Venn Diagrams to compare and contrast different animals and plants.  The students are becoming plant and animal experts!

Finally, music classes began for us this week.  The students were very excited to see Ms. Marla again!  They had a wonderful time playing their coffee can "drums"!

Upcoming this week:  Children's author, Chester Drawers, will be coming to our school this Thursday, February 2nd.  Please find more information in your child's communication folder on Monday and check-out his website http://www.chesterdrawers.com/.

Have a great week!

Mrs. Willett

Quote of the Week-January 23, 2012

This is something everyone who loves a child should think long and hard about.  Children are not the same.  They do not have the same strengths/weaknesses, the same likes/dislikes, or the same abilities/ inabilities. They are who they are and should be valued for their differences. 

Week Wrap-Up for January 17-20

   We have been very busy in second grade this week.  Our biggest accomplishment was learning to add two-digit numbers with regrouping.  What a challenging skill!  We started in small groups with our trusty Base Ten Blocks and Place Value Charts, moved to an interactive regrouping website (see helpful sites for link), and finally on to paper/pencil!  I am happy to report that every child rose to the challenge and is on his/her way to mastery!

   Students also enjoyed learning about Martin Luther King, Jr. this week.  We read and listened to books about his life, watched United Streaming videos, and had lots of interesting discussions regarding equal rights.  We focused on his "dream" for our society and came up with a few of our own.  We created Dream Projects and wrote about our wishes for our community, country, and world.  The children were truly inspiring!  I hope to have a slide show of student work soon, so check back often.

   Finally, we had our winter DIBELS assessment this week.  I am very encouraged by the progress that has been made already this year!  Every student improved his/her wpm (words per minute) score!  Some of the students improved as much as 50 words! Thanks to all of you for your efforts with your children. It takes all of us to create a successful learner and your help is very much appreciated!  "Fluency is not an end in itself but a critical gateway to comprehension. Fluent reading frees resources to process meaning." Remember, our goal is reading fluently and comprehending what we read, not speed reading.  Please find more information regarding reading accuracy, fluency, and the comprehension connection on the following link- https://dibels.uoregon.edu/resources/big_ideas/accuracy_and_fluency.php. 

Have a great week!
Mrs. Willett

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