Wednesday, January 30th

Wow!  We sure had a busy day!  We practiced visualizing this morning.  We drew pictures of animals that we would have on our farms if we were farmers.  We also made a list of all the animals on our farms.  Then, we re-read the story Jimmy's Boa with small groups.  We completed a graphic organizer to tell what happened in the beginning, middle and end.  We also drew a picture of our favorite part.  We do have a scavenger hunt to complete for homework, along with a grammar worksheet on pronouns.  After we went to the library, we had centers/guided reading.  In Social Studies, we re-read our lesson on the federal government, completed a worksheet and made vocabulary cards.  We watched two brainpop videos on the duties of the President and the three branches of government.  In Science, we reviewed for our Science test tomorrow.  Books were sent home again tonight for practice.  In math, we learned how to subtract across zeros.  Students have one page of math homework.

Spelling Packets are due tomorrow!

Tuesday, January 30th

This morning we wrote non-fiction information about snakes in our journals.  I was amazed at how much the class already knew!  Then, we reviewed words with -ou and -ow.  We did a Making Words activity, too.  Then, we learned this week's vocabulary words.  We talked about cause and effect.  Then, we read The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash and used the cause/effect strategy while we discussed the story.  We completed our DLP and a grammar activity on pronouns as well.  Then, we went to art class.  This afternoon, we silent read and set up our Book Bags.  Then we went to music and gym class.  In math, we learned how to problem solve using three digit subtraction.  Most students do have math homework, but a few finished in class.

There will be a Science Test on Thursday on Animal Classifications.  Notes and definitions of the vocabulary words went home today along with the Science book for review.  The Spelling Packet is due on Thursday.

Monday, January 28th

We imagined what it would be like to have any pet we wanted....then we wrote about it in our journals.  The children had some interesting pets that I'm sure you wouldn't want to have living in your house!  Then, we learned about words with -ou and -ow.  We completed a word sort and then introduced our spelling words.  We also learned about pronouns today.  We will be working with them all week.  Then, we learned the cursive letters b and h.  They are really coming along!  In Social Studies, we learned about the federal government and the jobs of Congress, the President and the Supreme Court justices.  We took notes on a tri-fold that we've been working on.  This afternoon we learned how to rewrite horizontal math problems vertically.  The students have one page of math homework.  At the end of the day, we went to the computer lab.

The Spelling Packet was sent home today. It is due on Thursday, as usual.  We will also be taking a Science test on Thursday.  Information on what to study will be sent home tomorrow.

Friday, January 25th

This morning we introduced our exciting Washington, D.C. project to the children.  We will be combining the three second grades to research different monuments and buildings there.  They will eventually produce a poster and paragraph to present to the rest of the second grade.  After we sorted the children into groups, we selected which building/monument each would be researching.  Then, we wrote letters to send off to Washington, D.C. requesting information to help our research.  It is a huge project that we all look forward to working on!  This afternoon we went to music and gym.  At the end of the day, we learned how to regroup in all place value columns.  We do have one page of math homework.  Have a wonderful weekend!

Don't forget that the Fun Fair is tonight!

Wednesday, January 23rd

Finally, it's snowing!!!  The children are so excited to see the large flakes!  This morning, we reviewed what we learned about Martin Luther King, Jr. and put on a play about his childhood.  It was quite fun!  Then, we took part of our Theme 3 Literacy Test.  We also went to the library.  We practiced some map reading skills.  Then, we learned the cursive letters u and w.  This afternoon we learned about the life cycle of certain animals.  We read about how they grow and change.  Then, we watched a video clip showing the life cycle of a butterfly.  We completed our lesson outline in class. In math, we reviewed how to regroup in the tens column while subtracting three digit numbers.  Most students have one page of homework.

Thank you to all of you who visited our classroom yesterday!  I was so sorry to have missed it, but I attended a district math committee meeting.  I hope you enjoyed your experience and saw what we do here every day at Wesley School.

Thursday, January 17th

We had a busy day!  We wrote about amphibians in our journals.  The children did great using some non-fiction writing.  Then, we reviewed our vocabulary and word wall words.  We practiced making predictions.  We completed our DLP, too.  We read with our 4th grade book buddies.  Then, we learned the cursive letter t.  We had guided reading/centers.  In Social Studies, we made a vocabulary card for the word "governor".  We also completed a worksheet on the state government.  This afternoon we silent read.  Then, we learned about animal adaptations in Science.  We completed two activities in class.  We also watched a video clip showing some different adaptations.  In math, we started switching with all three 2nd grade classrooms.  We introduced the new unit on 3-digit subtraction and taught the students to subtract hundreds.  They have one page of math homework. 

There will be a Reading and Spelling test tomorrow!

Wednesday, January 16th

After we wrote in our journals this morning, we reviwed our vocabulary words.  We wrote the word "crown" on a crown and used it in a sentence.  Then, we re-read Pumpkin Fiesta in small groups.  We checked out new books in the library.  Then, we completed our DLP and a grammar worksheet on possessive nouns.  We also had centers/guided reading.  In Social Studies, we took notes on the state government and talked about how a governor runs a state.  This afternoon, we looked at animal classifications and took notes on our bulletin board.  Then, we read about animal adaptations.  We watched a video clip as well.  Most students completed the lesson outline in class, but a few have to finish for homework. 

Don't forget that the spelling packet is due tomorrow!  We will have our Reading and Spelling tests on Friday, as usual.