September 30: Newsletter

UPCOMING EVENTS:

• Wednesday, October 5: Evacuation Drill
• Friday, October 7: Maize and Blue Day/Popcorn Day

• Friday, October 14:  Early Release/Dismissal at 12:15
• Monday, October 31: Halloween Party
• Friday, November 4: Early Release/Dismissal at 12:15

READING:

Next week we will be focused on strengthening our decoding strategies.  Students will learn that readers use more than one strategy to figure out tricky words.  As we read, we will make sure to slow down to think about each unknown word and use various strategies to figure it out.  The strategies we will practice next week will be reading through the entire word making sure we don't miss word endings, using parts of the words that we already know, flipping the sounds of certain identified letters, and making sure the word looks right, sounds right, and makes sense.

Also, next week we will begin reading homework!  Please look for a book bag and letter coming home next week that further explains reading homework in 2nd grade.  Your child's reading homework will be connected to an online program called Scholastic Reading Counts (SRC).  2nd graders are typically quite motivated by this program and the incentives they can earn at library.  Stay tuned for details coming home next week Thursday!

WRITING:

Students are on a roll drafting their small moment stories.  Next week we will work on adding details to describe the character's actions, thoughts, and feelings.  We will also revise our leads and endings.  Our goal will be to write a lead that grabs the reader's attention and makes them want to read more as well as writing an ending the wraps up our stories with a wish, a hope, or a feeling.

MATH:

This week we spent a lot of time practicing our double facts.  Please continue to practice these facts at home too!  We are learning that when we know the doubles facts it helps us know many other related facts.  Please ask your child how they can use a doubles fact to solve 6+7.  

Next week the majority of our time will be focused on solving word problems.  We will make a problem solving book that will teach us important steps to follow to obtain accurate solution.  We will work hard to fully understand each word problem before trying to solve.

SOCIAL STUDIES:

Our study on communities continues!  Next week we will be exploring maps.  Students will learn how to read a map, how to use a map key, how maps are organized, and will eventually create their own maps of Hudsonville.  

VOCABULARY WORD:

Each week we will learn a new vocabulary word.  The identified vocabulary word is a word that is used in all content areas.  This week our word was DESCRIBE.  Students learned that describe means to tell in your own words.  This word was used all throughout the week and students had fun catching people using it.  Many students even told me that they heard you use it at home!!

Next week our word is IDENTIFY.  Identify means to locate or find something.

OTHER NEWS:

• Please see the note regarding our classroom scrapbook in your child's Friday folder.  Our classroom scrapbook becomes one of our favorite books in the classroom.  Thanks for helping with this fun project!
• You will also find a Holiday Poster in their Friday folders.  This project is from the Hudsonville Area Chamber of Commerce and is completely optional.  All submitted artwork will be displayed throughout town.  The winning posters from each grade will be displayed at City Hall.  The winners will also receive a special prize bag and get to ride on the Holiday trolley in the parade.  All posters are due back to school by October 24.  
• I couldn't resist posting a picture of the "twins" we found in the classroom this week!  Too cute!!!