Rainy Week

What a gross week! Indoor recess 3 out of 5 days? Blah... but we definitely stayed busy inside! Your kids are such amazingly smart hard workers. I want to share with you just a few things that went on this week...

While children are in stations, it gives me a chance to pull smaller groups back to my table. During this time we may read a book together, build comprehension skills, or play a game that goes along with a certain skill such as contractions or long vowels. It gives your child a chance to get more individualized instruction based on what they need to succeed. 

In one of my groups, we did an activity today called Making Words. Students were given 6 letters and we used those letters to see how many words we could make! We started with 2 letter words and then added on as we went. All 6 letters can be put together to make the Bonus Word. Miss Hannah figured out the Bonus Word before we even got to it! Way to go Hannah!!

In another group, we read a book about sea monsters. We learned that certain critters in the ocean are considered monsters because they are deadly and dangerous! After we talked about the book, I wanted the students to do some research. They picked a sea monster and created a Glog (an interactive poster) to teach the class. I let them be the experts today and share what they had learned! I included a link to both their Glogs on Glogsters. Please keep in mind this was mostly done by them. I just got them started... I was VERY impressed!

 Aaron working hard at the computer.

 One of the groups -- Luke and Xander. They chose to do their research on Manta Rays.

Manta Ray Glogster by Luke and Xander

Aaron wanted to work solo on some research about Sea Snakes.

Sea Snakes by Aaron

In writing this week, we talked about ways we can put our voice and personality into our writing. Yesterday we read a book called Mr. Tanen's Ties. Mr. Tanen is crazy about his ties! He has one to match his personality every day. The kids then decorated their own ties to show their personality. Today we got a chance to write about those things we enjoy. Julien did an excellent job of making his voice and personality shine through his writing!

 This was his tie.

"Soccer is my passion cause when I wake up my heart is beating fast! So when I start my soccer game I'm filled up with power. I got the game. And when I got the game I mean I got the game! Oh yeah! And my teammates are really good just like me and we all won. It was hard to win. It was really really hard to win."

And last, to end this rainy week, we practiced measuring the perimeters of shapes with... SKITTLES! Yum!! What a great way to end the week!

Smartie Medicine

Last year in 1st grade, I found that many children got very anxious and nervous about taking tests. I wanted to come up with a way to ease some of that stress beforehand so they could really feel at ease and concentrate on their work. Completely off the top of my head, I came up with something called Smartie Medicine. What started off as a quick thinking idea has now been a major part of our test taking routine, even in 2nd grade.

 Before each major test, each child has to make sure they have their Smartie Medicine. I explain to them that I already know they are geniuses, but I want to make sure their brains are warmed up and well fed! :) Here are the rules:

- Each child gets a pack of Smarties.
- They cannot touch their Smarties until everyone has their own pack. Sometimes I tell them to sit on their hands if they think it might be too hard to keep hands off.
- Once everyone has their Smarties, I set the timer for 3 minutes. During this 3 minutes they can quietly talk with those at their table and eat their Smarties.
- If they wish to save their Smarties for during their test, that's fine! I only ask that they go ahead and open the wrapper so it doesn't make so much noise.
- When the timer goes off, they know their time is up. Privacy folders are set up and mouths are zipped!

I can't believe how much they enjoy this! And it DOES really seem to make them more relaxed. This is why we are always in constant need for our Smartie Medicine! :)

 I like how Harry is STILL trying to get to those Smarties, even when sitting on his hands!

 Alright Mrs. Kellett, set the timer already.

 Cheesin'!

 Sweet faces, ready to work those brains.

Such patient kids!

  Okay, last table picture and then we get to eat our Smarties!!

 And the your Smartie time starts... NOW!

 Reagan loves her Smartie Medicine. She wants to enjoy each one of them.

Wrapping Up the Week

We had a good week! Lots of learning going on. Just a few reminders for next week!

** Please remember we have a Social Studies test on Communities this Tuesday, September 20th. The Study Guide was purple and went home last week. We'll spend the next few weeks working on maps and how to read a map using cardinal directions.

** I've uploaded the new Spelling Words on Spelling City so practice, practice, practice!! Our Spelling Test will be on Thursday. We've added dictation to our test too. I read a sentence or two and the kids write it. Remind your child what goes at the beginning of a sentence and at the end of a sentence. Also, we struggled with ABC order earlier this week. We will practice more in class, but this is something that you can practice at home too!

** This week we'll be working on making predictions and inferences in our reading. I'd love to have a parent come in and play a Prediction Bingo game with a small group of kids one day this week. We do stations in the morning. Let me know if you're interested!!

** We started a short unit in Math on Friday. We're reviewing how to measure lines in centimeters. We also talked about how we can break this line up into partner lengths. For example, if the line is 6cm long, where can we draw a break apart to show the partners for 6?

Questions/activities for your child this weekend:
What promises did you make Mrs. Kellett about being a good, strong reader?
Practice drawing lines using a centimeter ruler. Ask them how they can divide it into partner lengths.
Practice identifying the subject (WHO) and the predicate (WHAT) in a sentence.
Ask them about their Idea Notebook for their journals. Have them write you a story using an idea they wrote down!

I was able to get a few pictures of grandparents that came for breakfast on Thursday. If I missed you, I'm sorry! I was happy to see so many visitors and I know your grandchild enjoyed having you there! Have a fabulous weekend and enjoy this cooler weather!!

Sprouts

At the end of each Math Unit, we usually have a lesson that focuses on logical thinking and problem solving skills. For the end of Unit 1, we played a game called Sprouts. Here's how it worked:

- The kids started with 2 dots on their paper.
- The first person had to connect these 2 dots using a curved or straight line. Once they drew their line, they had to draw another dot in the middle of their new line.
- They took turns connecting 2 of the dots with curved or straight lines, BUT, no lines could cross over each other AND once a dot had 3 "tentacles," it was out.
- The last person able to draw a connecting line was the winner.

We tried to see if we could find patterns between the winner and who got to go first. We also made a chart and tried playing the game with 2 dots, 3 dots, and 4 dots to see how many turns it took. The kids LOVED it and were sad when time was up!

Being a Reading Coach

This week we talked about how we can be good partner readers. When we partner read, we think of ourselves like a Reading Coach. A coach supports, encourages, and helps, but DOES NOT do the work for them (or blurt out the word)! Luckily I had some great coaches help me read a story to the class. They helped remind me of different strategies I can use if I come to a tricky word. We're going to review these strategies in more detail during the next week fews. I wanted the whole class to practice so here are just a few pictures of us being Reading Coaches!

 When we partner read, the book should be in the middle so that both people can see!

 Oh Aaron, I hope you don't bump your head!

 Katie Beth is being a good listener while Lauren reads her page.

One partner is not the boss -- we have to compromise on what book to read and how we're going to read it. Luke and Xander have no problems coming to an agreement on what to do!

Hunter and Abby look very focused on their book! In fact, I think this is one of the new ones Hunter picked out from the Book Swap.

Book Swap

Our Book Swap was a huge success! The kids had so much fun picking out new books. We had enough books donated that every child was able to take a new one home. We will definitely be doing this again, but maybe we'll wait until closer to Christmas. That gives everyone more time to start stocking up again! :)