Happy Friday!

Happy Friday!

I hope you have had a fabulous week!  We have had a wonderful week in Room 27!  Lots of information in this post, so please read over it all.  :)

Friday Folders
There is a lot of papers coming home in the Friday folder today.  There are math tests, spelling test and math wizard tests.  Please look over these with your students.  There is a form for flu shots and fluoride varnish if you are interested, please fill out the forms and return them with your student on Monday.  As are reminder, please initial on the front of the checklist form each week.

Spelling Words
Our spelling words for next week are have, of, get, what, when, each, first, on, one and into.  The students practice these words in class using different activities, but please practice them at home.  It's not the most exciting way to practice, but having them write the words a few times each night will help.  Studies have shown that students (and really everyone) remembers things better if they write it down.

Social Studies
Next week, we will be starting our next social studies topic.  The students will be learning about different U.S. Symbols.  They will learn about the Pledge of Allegiance, The American Flag, Bald Eagle, Statue of Liberty, The Liberty Bell, The Great Seal, The White House and Mount Rushmore.

Math
In math next week, we will continue to work on place value and word problems.  We will discuss using place value to help compare two numbers to determine which is larger.  The students will also learn a new game called "Digit Place."  Once they have learned this game, they can play this game for homework also.  When working on word problems, the students will be focusing on how to determine if it is addition or subtraction and then making sure they include all parts of an answer to word problem.  They need to include a complete number sentence (this includes the answer), a qualifier (the units or what their answer represents) and a strategy.

Writing
We will continue working on our Day in the Life of a 2nd Grader books next week and working to turn them into a video.  The students will also be revisiting their Personal Narrative story and we will work on writing a very descriptive setting to help their reader get a picture in their head when reading the story.

Reading
Next week, we will continue working on identifying the characters and setting of a story.  The students will apply their knowledge of characters and setting to their own books next week.  They will be identifying the characters (with character traits) and the setting (both when and where) of the books they are reading independently.  The have be doing a nice job with identifying characters, character traits and setting with our read aloud book, How to Eat Fried Worms.

Fun Friday
Let me start by saying a huge thank you to Ms. Mottaz and Mrs. Farmer for helping the students with the experiment today and sending pictures since I was at a meeting.  :)
The students did an experiment to determine how to prevent an apple from turning brown when exposed to air.  Our science experiment today was for the kiddos to figure out how for my apples that I eat for breakfast to not turn brown.  We made our hypothesis.  Then we set up our experiment.  We put apples into different liquids (milk, vinegar, soap, Sprite, and water).  Then a student suggested that we test out if different temperatures of water also - so of course we had to try! :)  Our control apple was the apple that we didn't add anything to it.  This is the apple that we compared all the other apples to.  Then we let the apples sit for a couple of hours.

 

 

After lunch, we checked out our apples!  We discovered that the Sprite kept the apple looking the most like an apple and not turn brown.  It was interesting the milk actually made the apple white!  We made our observations and then compared our observations to our hypothesis.

 

We learned that...

 Apples Turn Brown Because…

There is something in apples called PPO (polyphenol oxidase), which is an enzyme. Enzymes are things that do all the work to make sure cells can live their life. Once you cut into an apple you are opening up some of the cells inside it. The PPO enzyme reacts to the oxygen in the air and starts to turn the apple brown.

This enzyme is common in plants, and is also the reason that potatoes, pears, and bananas turn brown once they are cut and exposed to the air too.

Can You Stop Apples from Turning Brown?

There are a number of ways to stop your apples from turning brown.

·         Keep them covered in water – this stops the oxygen getting to the PPO enzyme inside.

·         If they are going into a dish like a fruit salad, then you can dip apple pieces in lemon juice – there is citric acid in lemon juice that works as an anti-oxidant to stop the browning. Pineapple and lime juice can be used in the same way.

·         Cook them – this makes the PPO enzyme inactive.

Dot Day

International Dot Day is Thursday, September 15.  The purpose of Dot Day is to encourage people to make their mark on the world in a positive way.  We will discuss with the students ways they, as children, can leave their mark on the world.  We have fun STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, math) activities planned for the day.  Thank you to those who have already signed up to send in items!  We still need a few more.  If you are able to donate items for Dot Day, please check out the Dot Day Sign Up Genius to see what other items we need.  Also, if your student would like to wear clothing with dots or circles that day, that would be great also!

Homework
Thank you parents for encouraging and helping your students get their homework completed this week.  It went very smoothly.  I know our homework is set up differently than others, so thanks for helping your student get it completed.  As a reminder, students are to read 15 minutes or more per night and get it initialed nightly, complete one section of math and get it initialed if needed.  They should bring the homework back each day to have it checked for nightly completion and it will be collected on Friday to be graded.  If you have questions, please let me know.

Library Check Out
As a reminder, our library check out day is Wednesday.  Please help remind your student to bring their books back so they can check out new books.

Picture Day
Picture Day is September 27.  The picture form went home last week in Friday folders.  You can send in the form once you get it filled out.  There is an option to pay online (I need a printed receipt if you do this) or to enclose a check with the order form.  All students will have their picture taken, but are not required to order.

PE
We will have PE on Tuesday next week.  Please make sure your student wears tennis shoes on PE days

Light Jackets for recess
As fall is slowly (yes I know it was almost 100 degrees a few days this week :) ) approaches, please check the forecast to see if your child needs a light jacket.  We have recess at 9:50 a.m., so it can still be chilly and I don't want them cold at recess.  Also, we have a strong wind on the playground some days, so it can seem a lot cooler than it is.

Sick Day
I heard the students had a wonderful sick day.  I wasn't able to participate because I was at a meeting, but I am very proud of them for earning their 25 Stars with Ms. Mottaz's class.  We are very close to earning our class reward as well.  We have earned 21 Stars, only 4 more to go.  So proud of my safe, respectful learners!

 They started with all smiles.  :)

Then pretended to be sick.  :(

Have a wonderful weekend!

Mrs. Ross