Happy Friday!

I cannot believe that the final countdown for the end of our 2nd Grade year has officially began!  This year has flown by, and I am so proud of how much your child has grown this year.  I was looking through student files and found one of your child's first piece of writing that they wrote in 2nd grade and they have change SO much as a writer.  You should be SO proud of your child!! :)

End of the School Year Countdown

We started our End of the School Year Countdown today - today we only had 10 days of school left this year.  For our countdown, each day we will have a small celebration.  Today the kiddos received a Blow Pop as a special treat.  On Monday, we will eat lunch outside at the new picnic tables (shh, the kids don't know yet)!

On day 4 (Monday, May 22), we will be going on a hike to Rock Bridge State Park.  This will be a surprise to the students (we will pop this balloon next Friday).  If you are available to come and hike with us, or meet us at Rock Bridge State Park with either water bottles of popsicles, we would love to have you.  Please do not mention this to your kiddo, but email me.

On day 3 (Tuesday, May 23), we will be watching the movie "Matilda."  Today we finished reading the book Matilda and the kiddos have so enjoyed the book!  We thought the kiddos would enjoy watching the movie.  The movie is PG.  Again, please do not share this with your child, we are wanting this to be a surprise also.

School Year Lasts

Today, we had our final Maker Space of the school year.  The kiddos were able to choose from magnetic tiles, Zoob Builderz, K'nex, and Legos.  Lots of fun was had building today!! :)

This week was our last week of Word Study and homework.   Today was also our last "official" day of reading intervention.  Each group had been working on a different project and all the students had a chance to share their projects in small groups.  These projects are coming home with your child today.

Gentry Middle School Choir Assembly

On Tuesday, Mrs. Lenz (RBE's music teacher for the past few years) brought her middle school choir over from Gentry Middle School.  They sang a variety of songs, including songs from Wizard of Ox, Wicked and Trolls.

Writing

The kiddos enjoyed being able to write a variety of different types of writing this week.  On Wednesday, we had a special, small, green visitor in our classroom.  We found a turtle trying to get into the school on the way to lunch, so we brought him into the room.  The students wrote about the turtle on Wednesday, and their stories were AMAZING!!!  Here are pictures and videos.

Yesterday, each student started writing a book that they had been wanting to write but hadn't had a chance.  Some students wrote a personal narrative, others let their creative juices flow and wrote a fictional story, and one student even tried out a historical fiction.  You know that they are hooked as writers when over half the class came in and wanted to continue to work on their stories during morning work time today!

Next week, we will continue to work on writing that we started this week and also including some different prompts that the students will be writing to.

Reading

This week, we worked on comparing informational resources.  The students researched an animal using two different resources (PebbleGo and an article).  Next week, they will use an H Chart to show what they learned from PebbleGo, the article, and information that was learned in both.

We reviewed compound words again this week for grammar and the kiddos made compound word flowers.

Next week in addition to the H chart, the kiddos will be making a reading project on a book that they really loved reading this year.  Their project will be an advertisement to encourage other students to read the book!

Math

This week, we finished up our graphing unit.  The students made a new survey question and collected data.  This time when we collected data we kept Ms. Mottaz and Mrs. Ross's class data. We introduced a double bar graph, and the kiddos made a double bar from their data.  Then they used the totals of both classes to make a pictograph.  We also made a double line graph of the temperature highs and lows of last week.  We have been working extremely hard on making noticings and analyzing the graphs that we make.

Next week, we will be reviewing addition, subtraction, and telling time.

Lunch Bunch

As a reminder, we have scheduled an end of the year lunch bunch for Wednesday, May 24 at 11:00.  If you have not had a chance to return your child's RSVP please do so by Wednesday.  I need to let the cafeteria know how many lunches to plan for. 

Nutrition Class

We had our third Nutrition Class with Ms. Zapata.  This week, she focused on fruits and vegetables.  The kiddos learned about the importance of eating a variety of colors of fruits and vegetables, and then we had a tasting party!  Ms. Zapata brought in red peppers, dried cherries, raisins, mandarins, sugar snap peas, jicama, and kumquat.  The students tried kumquat, which can be sour - make sure to check out the video! :)

I hope that you have a wonderful weekend! 

Mrs. Ross

Busy, Busy Week!

Happy Friday!

Wow!  We have had a busy week, but it has been a fun week for sure!  It seems that the weather has taken a nice turn away from the storms and cooler weather!

Mark Your Calendars for Our End of the Year Lunch Bunch!!!

We cannot believe that the end of your child's second grade year is literally right around the corner!  We have thoroughly enjoyed teaching your child this year!  As an end of the year celebration we will be having a lunch bunch.  This is a time for parents to come in and enjoy lunch with your child, and fingers crossed that the weather will hold out & we can eat outside!  We would love for you to join us on Wednesday, May 24 to eat lunch with your child.  You may choose to buy lunch from the cafeteria, bring a lunch from home, or pick up lunch from a restaurant for your child.  We will be sending home a sheet for you to let us know if you will be coming and if you or your child will be buying a lunch from the cafeteria that day.

This week we have had a lot of different fun activities happening!

• On Tuesday, we went on our Runge Nature Center field trip.  We really appreciate ALL the parent chaperones who were able to attend!!  This allowed many small groups to be able to go at their own pace on the different trails around Runge.  We enjoyed a presentation on Food Chains before lunch.  Then, after lunch, we explored inside the center.  We had a scavenger hunt to complete both on the trail and inside.  Fun was had by ALL!!! :)  You can look at all the pictures here.
• Today, we had our Which is Better Project Presentation.  It was so wonderful to see so many parents, grandparents, etc. with us this morning!  We are so proud of all the students and their hard work on their projects.  After parents left, we had first grade and other second grade visitors to our presentation.  Mrs. Reynolds, Ms. Ragsdale, and Ms. Holt were so impressed with how far our second graders have grown as writers!  You can check out pictures from today here.
• Today, was Ms. Hackmann's last day.  We enjoyed a pizza party to celebrate her last day, and gave her a tote full of teaching supplies, and books from the donations that you gave.  The students also made her a book of advice for her first year of teaching - which turned out super cute!  She will be truly missed by the students and by the teachers, and we know she will go on to great things!

What's Happening Next Week:

• In math, we will continue to work on turning information gathered from survey questions into pictographs, and both vertical and horizontal bar graphs.  We will also be tracking the temperature in the morning and at recess to make a double line graph.
• In reading, we will be comparing information learned in two different nonfiction sources.  We will continue to work on reviewing different things that we have learned in grammar (compound words, adjectives, etc.).
• Next week will be our last week of word study.  We are finishing up r controlled vowels with ur words.  Next week's words are: burn, purse, cure, sure, nurse, lurch, pure, splurge, blurt, and purple.
• In writing, we will be generating a list of topics to write for our big final writing piece of the school year.  The students have a choice of writing about summer.  This could be a personal narrative, a fiction story, or an informational book.

Upcoming Events:

• May 9: PTA Meeting (6:00 pm in the Media Center)
• May 16: Variety Show
• May 19: Twin Day
• May 19: Field Day
• May 25: Last Day of School (early dismissal at 12:10)
• June 1: Summer School Open House 4:30-5:30
• June 5: First Day of Summer School

I hope that you have a wonderful weekend!

Mrs. Ross

Happy Rainy Friday!

I cannot believe that we are on our last month together!  This year has flown by!!!

Field Trip on Tuesday

As a reminder, we have our Runge Nature Center field trip on Tuesday, May 2.  If you did not pre-order your child a lunch from the cafeteria, please make sure that your pack a lunch for your child.  Below are the requirements for your child's lunch:

1.     Please pack your child's lunch in a sack (plastic bag or Ziploc) with your child's name clearly marked on the outside.

2.     Please make sure that all food items are in containers that are disposable.  Everything will be thrown away after lunch.

3.     Please only send enough food for your child to eat during lunch.  Everything will be thrown away after lunch.

4.     Please make sure that your child has a drink with his/her lunch that is thirst quenching (water, Gatorade, etc.).  We will be doing lots of walking outdoors and we want to make sure that everyone stays hydrated.

This week we have had the opportunity to do some different things!

Nutrition Class

Mrs. Zapata, from University of Missouri Extension office, will be visiting our classroom every Wednesday! This week we learned the four rules about working in the kitchen.  1) Clean - It is important to wash our hands, wash dishes, and clean up after ourselves in the kitchen. 2) Separate -  When working with meat, it is important to keep uncooked meat separate from other food. 3) Cook - We have to make sure that all food is thoroughly cooked to the correct temperature to kill the bacteria. 4) Chill - Food that needs to be cold needs to be kept in the refrigerator or freezer, and once a food has been cooked it needs to be chilled within two hours.  We also reviewed the 5 different food groups and played a sorting game with foods.  She also reminded us about the importance of exercise and for every mistake that we made when we sorted we had to do jumping jacks or squats.

Outdoor Classroom Mulching

On Thursday afternoon, we enjoyed the sunshine (yay!!) as we beautified the Outdoor Classroom Garden by laying down mulch.  The teachers got their workout by pitchforking mulch into buckets, and the second graders loved carrying the buckets of mulch to the garden and spreading it!!

 

Outdoor Classroom Tour

On Friday, we went on a virtual tour of the Outdoor Classroom, due to the rain we did not go outside for our tour.  People from the Missouri Department of Conservation came and spoke to us.  Did you know that there are five sections of our garden?  Our Outdoor Classroom is mad up of an amphitheater, garden, prairie, butterfly garden, and pond.  Ask your child about what we learned today! :)

Litter Bugs

On Wednesday, we reused all the the trash that you sent in to make "litter bugs."  They turned out so cute! They are displayed on our door...so the next time that you are at school, be sure to check them out!  A huge thank you for the families who sent in materials for our bugs - we wouldn't have been able to make them without you! :)

Lots of Learning in 2nd Grade!

Math

This week, we worked on analyzing and making graphs.  We learned about 3 different type of graphs: bar, line and pictographs.  A bar and pictograph can be used to record quantity of different items; however, a line graph shows how something changes over time.  On Friday, the students developed their own survey question, and surveyed their classmates. Next week, we will use the data collected to make a bar and a pictograph., and continue to work on analyzing graphs.

Reading

This week, we continued to practice predicting questions that would be answered in a book, pulling out two facts that were learned in each chapter, and identifying the most important thing that was learned and explaining why.  Next week, we will be working on comparing and contrasting characters and events within a book or within different books.

Grammar

This week, we focused on contractions.  We talked about that a contraction is two words that are smooshed into each other and form one word.  As the words crash into each other letters pop out and where the letters would have been you put an apostrophe.  However, we discovered that even contractions have an oddball.  Ask your child what the contraction oddball is! :) Next week, we will continue to work on this skill.

Word Study

This week, we continued working on r control vowel words with the vowel i.  Next week, we will still be working with r control vowel but with words that have the vowel o.  Next week's words are: more, worse, boar, wore, wore, world, horse, storm, soar, core, worry, roar and chord.

Writing

We finished up publishing out "Which is Better" writing.  I am so impressed with the class on how hard they are working on this!  On Friday, we started making a project that will accompany our for the "Which is Better" Writing Show Case (7:45-8:30 next Friday, May 5).  We hope to see everyone there because your child has worked SO incredibly hard on this piece of writing! :)

Upcoming Dates

With the end of the school year quickly approaching, I just want to make sure that you have all the important upcoming dates on your calendar.  

• May 1-5: Staff Appreciation Week
• May 2: Runge Field Trip
• May 5: 7:45-8:30 "Which is Better" Writing Show Case
• May 9: PTA Meeting (6:00 pm in the Media Center)
• May 16: Variety Show
• May 19: Twin Day
• May 19: Field Day
• May 25: Last Day of School (early dismissal at 12:10)
• June 1: Summer School Open House 4:30-5:30
• June 5: First Day of Summer School

I hope that you have a wonderful weekend!

Mrs. Ross

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday!

We have had a great week!  Be sure to read through this post -there are some ways that we need your help, find out about Outdoor Classroom Week, read about what is happening in 2nd grade and a list of the upcoming events for the rest of the school year.

We Need Your Help!!!!

Next week, is Outdoor Classroom Week, and we have been challenged to make a door/bulletin board completely out of recycled material.  I am wanting the kiddos to make "litter bugs" next week - so we need your trash!  Can you please raid your recycling to pull out materials that can be made into "litter bugs"?  Some great examples of materials that we could use are: plastic bottles, egg cartons, paper towel/toilet paper rolls, container caps, newspapers, old magazines, cleaned out chips/cracker bags, etc.

Here are some "litter bugs" that have been made before:

     

Outdoor Classroom Week

Next week is RBE's 2nd Annual Outdoor Classroom Week!!

Emily Reynolds (1st grade teacher) is heading up this week.  You can click here to a letter from her to find out what this week is all about!

Which is Better? Writing Celebration

The kiddos have worked SO incredibly hard on their "Which is Better" writing.  They have researched two similar topics and are in the process of publishing their 12 paragraph book!!!  We will also be working on creating a project to go with our writing.  

Our writing celebration is scheduled for Friday, May 5 from 7:45-8:30 a.m. in our classrooms (room 26 & 27).  A flyer came home yesterday in your child's homework folder.  Please RSVP by filling out the bottom portion and returning the bottom portion to school with your child.

What's Been Happening in 2nd Grade?

• In math, we finished up our measurement unit this week.  On Monday, the kiddos finished their body measurement project and they turned out so great.  I am super impressed with the students measurement skills.  We also practiced solving the difference between two items by subtracting 2 numbers.  Some kiddos forgot how to subtract - so please check through your child's work coming home in Friday Folders this week to see how your child did.  Today, we went on a measurement scavenger hunt trying to find items that are certain lengths in our classroom - the kiddos had fun with this!  We had a great discussion about which lengths were hard to find or easy to find in the classroom and why we thought this.
• Next week, we will be starting our data unit.  We will be talking about how to collect different pieces of data and then how to organize and analyze the data we collect.
• In reading, we have continued working on making predictions, retelling and reflecting in nonfiction texts.  This week the kiddos read a book about Yellowstone Park.  The students used the Table of Contents to generate three questions about what they thought would be answered in the book.  Then found and wrote down two important details from each chapter.  At the end of the book, we reflected on what the most important thing that they learned about Yellowstone and why it was important. 
• Next week, we will continue to practice the same skills of making predictions, retelling and reflecting on a nonfiction text.  The book the students will read next week is a how-to book about kites.  A how-to book has a little different structure than most of the other books we read this year, but it is important life-skill for people to learn.
• In writing, we met with a new writing partner and edited/revised our "Which is Better" books on Monday and Tuesday.  Then we started publishing our books.  We are so excited about how they are turning out and cannot wait to share them with you at our writing celebration!!
• Next week, we will continue to work on publishing our writing.  We hope to be finished publishing by Wednesday or Thursday, and then we start working on our projects.  On Monday, we will have a discussion with the class about what each student would like their project to be.
• In grammar, this week we worked on prefixes.  We talked about how a prefix changes that meaning of the word.  They learned about pre (before), dis (not/opposite), un (not/opposite), and re (again).  They made prefix flowers yesterday and today which will be on display in our classroom.
• Next week, we will be working on contractions.
• In word study, this week we continued to work on r controlled vowels.  The students learned to spell er, ear, eer, and ear that made a ur sound.
• Next week, we continue to work on r controlled vowels, but with the vowel i.  We will sorting words into four categories: ir, ire, ier, and oddball.  Our words next week will be: ir: stir, firm, third; ire: hire, wire, tire, ier: crier, flier, pliers; and oddball: fur & their.
• Tomorrow is Earth Day.  Today, we had a conversation about what we could do to make the environment better.  The students made a Earth Day mobile about how they can make the Earth healthy.  They made an Earth acrostic poem, and then four ways to make the environment better.

Maker Space

The kiddos were excited to be able to go to Maker Space today!  The last few weeks the 3rd-5th graders were using an app called Bloxel to make video games.  Today, we got to play their games that they made on the iPads.  The kiddos had a blast.  There were even some adventurous kiddos who tried their own hand at making a video game.  It was a really neat experience! :)

Nutrition Class

Next week, we will be starting a five week nutrition class.  Ms. Zapata will be coming every Wednesday from the University of Missouri Nutrition Program to talk with us about nutrition.  She will even bring in food for us to make!  This is the first time that I have had a class in the program, and I am excited about this program!

MAP Testing

If you have an older child, you know that this week was the beginning of MAP testing.  Our class was paired up with Mrs. Carmack's class to give them some encouragement.  We made a poster for them & gave them a few special treats.  On Monday, we went and presented our poster & treats to them.

Upcoming Dates:

With the end of the school year quickly approaching, I just want to make sure that you have all the important upcoming dates on your calendar.  

• May 1-5: Staff Appreciation Week
• May 2: Runge Field Trip
• May 9: PTA Meeting (6:00 pm in the Media Center)
• May 16: Variety Show
• May 19: Twin Day
• May 19: Field Day
• May 25: Last Day of School (early dismissal at 12:10)
• June 1: Summer School Open House 4:30-5:30
• June 5: First Day of Summer School

I hope that you have a wonderful weekend!

Mrs. Ross and Ms. Hackmann