Week of: December 12th

 Upcoming Dates:

Dec. 12 - MAP Test - Reading

Dec. 14 - MAP Test - Math

Dec. 22-Jan. 6 - Winter Break - School reopens on Jan. 9

Jan. 16 - Martin Luther King Day - No School

*Italics are repeated from last week's blog.

Reading: This week we will continue with our reading unit: "Becoming Experts-Reading Nonfiction. In this unit the kids will be working on how learn from, and enjoy, a nonfiction text.  This week we will work on learning all about our chosen topics.  We will take note and compare books using a venn diagram. We will also start to prepare for our "Expert Expo".  This is a chance for the kids to present what they have learned about their topics to some first grade classes. The "Expert Expo" will be held the week before Winter Break! 

Writing: We will continue with our new writing unit this week: "The How-To Guide for Nonfiction Writing". The kids will learn to write informational books to teach their readers about something they know well. This week we will be starting to wind down this unit on nonfiction writing.  The kids will be editing their best work and preparing for publication. Then we will share and celebrate our hard work the week before Winter Break. 

Math:  This week we will continue our work with Module 3: "Place Value, Counting, and Comparison of Numbers to 1,000". In this unit the kids will learn all about place value as well and composing and decomposing numbers.  It will set the foundation for adding and subtracting larger numbers later on in the school year. This week we will finish up this math unit with an end-of-the-unit test on TUESDAY.  We will then start our next math module, Module 4, on Thursday.  Module 4 will be all about addition and subtraction strategies with larger numbers. Think: "carry the one" and "borrowing". 

Social Studies/Science:  We will continue our learning about having a growth mindset all year long. However, we are working on a science unit about the States of Matter: Solids, Liquids, and Gases.  We focused on tower building and what solids have good properties to make a tall and strong tower. You can click here to see photos of our towers!  We have also continued to learn the locations of the 50 states.  This past week we added two more state: Idaho (ID) and Montana (MT). Ask your child who does the dishes in Chef MIMAL's kitchen!

Week of: December 5th

 Upcoming Dates:

Dec. 12 - MAP Test - Reading

Dec. 14 - MAP Test - Math

Dec. 22-Jan. 6 - Winter Break - School reopens on Jan. 9

Jan. 16 - Martin Luther King Day - No School

*Italics are repeated from last week's blog.

Reading: This week we will continue with our reading unit: "Becoming Experts-Reading Nonfiction. In this unit the kids will be working on how learn from, and enjoy, a nonfiction text.  This week we will learn how to read several books on the same topic!  We will try to add information together to learn about a subtopic and a whole topic. Finally, the kids will learn how to connect information from more than one book into categories. 

Writing: We will continue with our new writing unit this week: "The How-To Guide for Nonfiction Writing". The kids will learn to write informational books to teach their readers about something they know well. This week we will learn to reread our writing and make changes to clarify information for our readers.  We will also work on our writing goals and make sure our writing is easy to read.  Finally, we will look at published books to get ideas about moves that we can use in our own writing. 

Math:  This week we will continue our work with Module 3: "Place Value, Counting, and Comparison of Numbers to 1,000". In this unit the kids will learn all about place value as well and composing and decomposing numbers.  It will set the foundation for adding and subtracting larger numbers later on in the school year. This week we will order numbers in different forms. We will also work on identifying 1 more and 1 less as well as 10 more and 10 less and 100 more and 100 less.  Finally, we will work on noticing number patterns that count up and down and skip count. 

Social Studies/Science:  We will continue our learning about having a growth mindset all year long. However, we are working on a science unit about the States of Matter: Solids, Liquids, and Gases.  We focused on how to group solid objects by their properties.  We have also continued to learn the locations of the 50 states.  This past week we added one more state: Washington (WA). Ask your child where Chef MIMAL does his dishes!

Week of: November 7th

 Upcoming Dates:

Nov. 8 - No School - Election Day

Nov. 23-25 - Thanksgiving Break - No School

Dec. 22-Jan. 6 - Winter Break - School reopens on Jan. 9

*Italics are repeated from last week's blog.

Reading: This week we will continue with our reading unit: "Becoming Experts-Reading Nonfiction. In this unit the kids will be working on how learn from, and enjoy, a nonfiction text.  This week we will learn to preview all the parts of a book and ask ourselves: "How does this book go?". We will also learn to pay special attention to new information.  Finally, we will learn that using new vocabulary is an important part of growing knowledge from non-fiction texts. 

Writing: We will continue with our new writing unit this week: "The How-To Guide for Nonfiction Writing". The kids will learn to write informational books to teach their readers about something they know well. This week we will learn to write even more on each page by asking ourselves: "What else could I say?".  We will also get stronger by looking at our writing, setting goals, and making plans.

Math:  This week we will continue our work with Module 3: "Place Value, Counting, and Comparison of Numbers to 1,000". In this unit the kids will learn all about place value as well and composing and decomposing numbers.  It will set the foundation for adding and subtracting larger numbers later on in the school year. This week we will count from $10 to $1,000 on a place value chart and an empty number line. We will also explore the idea of $1,000.  How many $10 bills are in $1,000? Finally, we will do a review of all the different ways to write and say numbers that we have learned so far.  Next week we will take a mid-module assessment as a way to check-in on our learning.

Social Studies/Science:  We will continue our learning about having a growth mindset all year long. However, We have started a new science unit last week on the States of Matter: Solids, Liquids, and Gases.  We focused on how to describe solid objects by their properties.  We have also continued to learn the locations of the 50 states.  This past week we added two more states: Wisconsin (WI) and Michigan (MI). Ask about Chef MIMAL's wire whisk and kitchen "mitt". 

Week of: October 24th

 Upcoming Dates:

Oct. 24-28 - Parent/Teacher Conference Week - Early Dismissal on Thursday and Friday (11:00)

Oct. 25 - Field Trip - All Seasons Orchard - Pack a nut-free lunch!

Oct. 31 - Halloween Celebration - The parade will begin at 1:30 followed by our class party.

Nov. 8 - No School - Election Day

Nov. 23-25 - Thanksgiving Break - No School

Dec. 22-Jan. 6 - Winter Break - School reopens on Jan. 9

*Italics are repeated from last week's blog.

Reading: This week we will start a new reading unit: "Becoming Experts-Reading Nonfiction. In this unit the kids will be working on how learn from, and enjoy, a nonfiction text.  This week we will learn that nonfiction readers pay attention to details and put those details together to really understand a topic. We will also learn that sometimes readers have to ask questions to learn more, two of those questions being: "What is this book teaching me?" and "How does this book go?". 

Writing: We will be continuing our first unit in our writing curriculum, Lucy Calkins Writing Units of Study.  The first unit is called, "Lessons from the Masters: Improving Narrative Writing". This week we will work on editing and fixing-up our best work for publication.  At the end of the week we will be sharing our "published" writing pieces with each other as a way to celebrate all of our hard work from this first writing unit.  We will start a new writing unit next week: Nonfiction Writing!

Math:  This week we will continue with our a new math module, Module 3: "Place Value, Counting, and Comparison of Numbers to 1,000". In this unit the kids will learn all about place value as well and composing and decomposing numbers.  It will set the foundation for adding and subtracting larger numbers later on in the school year. This week we will write three-digit numbers in unit form; showing the value of each digit. We will also spend some time making our very own "math offices" with a folder and some special charts. 

Social Studies:  Our first unit in social studies will focus on building classroom community and building a growth mindset.  Both of which will help us to have a successful year in second grade! We will continue to practice and learn the first 8 states on our map: MN, IA, MO, AR, LA, Il, IN, and OH. As your child fills out their states homework page, have them tell you "Chef MIMAL's" story and how that can help them memorize the location of the states that we have learned so far!

Week of: October 11th

 Upcoming Dates:

Oct. 14 - Fun Run - Our time slot is 9:00-9:15.
Oct. 24-28 - Parent/Teacher Conference Week - Early Dismissal on Thursday and Friday (11:00)

Nov. 8 - No School - Election Day

Nov. 23-25 - Thanksgiving Break - No School

*Italics are repeated from last week's blog.

Reading: This week we will finish up the first unit in our reading curriculum, Lucy Calkins Reading Units of Study.  The first unit is called, "Second-Grade Reading Growth Spurt". This week we will review for our reading assessment. We will also take an assessment to wrap up this first unit.  Finally, we will spend some time celebrating all that we have learned so far!

Writing: We will also be continuing our first unit in our writing curriculum, Lucy Calkins Writing Units of Study.  The first unit is called, "Lessons from the Masters: Improving Narrative Writing". This week we will continue to find and use "craft moves" that we have noticed in our mentor texts.  We will also spend time in small groups to focus on our individual writing goals.

Math:  We will complete our work in Module 2, "Addition and Subtraction of Length Units".  This is a measurement unit that focuses on centimeters and meters. This week we will review for our end-of-module assessment on measurement and length units.  We will take the assessment and then start our next module on place value.  We will start the next module with the first lesson on making tens, hundreds, and thousands.

Social Studies:  Our first unit in social studies will focus on building classroom community and building a growth mindset.  Both of which will help us to have a successful year in second grade! This week we will focus on another one of the 5 habits to help with having a growth mindset and those are: Empathy, Flexibility, Persistence, Resilience, and Optimism. We will also continue to practice and learn the first 5 states on our map: MN, IA, MO, AR, and LA. Ask your child about "Chef MIMAL" and how he can help them remember the first 5 states that we've learned!

Week of: October 3rd

 Upcoming Dates:

Oct. 3-7 - Hispanic Heritage Week - We will do activities to celebrate each day this week!

Oct. 4 - "Walk to School Day" - Walk to school and earn a paper shoe to color and hang in the gym.  If you aren't able to walk to school, then you can earn your shoe by walking with Mr. Hancock at recess.

Oct. 5 - District Closed - No School

Oct. 10 - Indigenous Peoples' Day - No School

Oct. 14 - Fun Run - Our time slot is 9:00-9:15.
Oct. 24-28 - Parent/Teacher Conference Week - Early Dismissal on Thursday and Friday (11:00)

Nov. 8 - No School - Election Day

Nov. 23-25 - Thanksgiving Break - No School

*Italics are repeated from last week's blog.

Reading: This week we will finish up the first unit in our reading curriculum, Lucy Calkins Reading Units of Study.  The first unit is called, "Second-Grade Reading Growth Spurt". This week we will learn that once readers have finished reading a book and know how the parts fit together, they can retell it to think about what lessons the author wants to teach. 

Writing: We will also be continuing our first unit in our writing curriculum, Lucy Calkins Writing Units of Study.  The first unit is called, "Lessons from the Masters: Improving Narrative Writing". This week we will learn to use mentor texts as resources and learn to ask ourselves: "Could I write like this?". We will also learn to try out some of the craft moves that we have found in our mentor texts. 

Math:  We will complete our work in Module 2, "Addition and Subtraction of Length Units".  This is a measurement unit that focuses on centimeters and meters. This week we will solve addition and subtraction word problems using the ruler as a number line.  We will also work on using measurement to solve two-step word problems. 

Social Studies:  Our first unit in social studies will focus on building classroom community and building a growth mindset.  Both of which will help us to have a successful year in second grade! This week we will focus on another one of the 5 habits to help with having a growth mindset and those are: Empathy, Flexibility, Persistence, Resilience, and Optimism. 

Week of: September 27

 Upcoming Dates:

Sept. 26 - District Closed - No School

Oct. 5 - District Closed - No School

Oct. 10 - Indigenous Peoples' Day - No School

Oct. 14 - Fun Run - Our time slot is 9:00-9:15.
Oct. 24-28 - Parent/Teacher Conference Week - Early Dismissal on Thursday and Friday (11:00)

Nov. 8 - No School - Election Day

Nov. 23-25 - Thanksgiving Break - No School

*Italics are repeated from last week's blog.

Reading: This week we will continue the first unit in our reading curriculum, Lucy Calkins Reading Units of Study.  The first unit is called, "Second-Grade Reading Growth Spurt". This week we will learn some strategies to help us fix our mistakes as we read.  The kids will also learn about author's craft and how to notice what authors do and why they are doing it.  Finally, we will notice how an entire story goes together: from beginning to end!

Writing: We will also be continuing our first unit in our writing curriculum, Lucy Calkins Writing Units of Study.  The first unit is called, "Lessons from the Masters: Improving Narrative Writing". This week we will do the very important job of goal setting!  We will also learn to revise as we go and to keep our audience in our minds. 

Math:  We will continue with our work in Module 2, "Addition and Subtraction of Length Units".  This is a measurement unit that focuses on centimeters and meters. This week we will measure and compare lengths using standard metric length units and non-standard units (paper clips).  We will relate measurement to unit size.  We will also solve addition and subtraction word problems using a ruler and a number line.

Social Studies:  Our first unit in social studies will focus on building classroom community and building a growth mindset.  Both of which will help us to have a successful year in second grade! This week we will focus on another one of the 5 habits to help with having a growth mindset and those are: Empathy, Flexibility, Persistence, Resilience, and Optimism. 

Week of: September 19th

 Upcoming Dates:

Sept. 20  - Picture Day 

Sept. 26 - District Closed - No School

Oct. 5 - District Closed - No School

Oct. 10 - Indigenous Peoples' Day - No School

Oct. 14 - Fun Run - Our time slot is 9:00-9:15.
Oct. 24-28 - Parent/Teacher Conference Week - Early Dismissal on Thursday and Friday (11:00)

*Italics are repeated from last week's blog.

Reading: This week we will continue the first unit in our reading curriculum, Lucy Calkins Reading Units of Study.  The first unit is called, "Second-Grade Reading Growth Spurt". This week we will learn to use multiple strategies at the same time when tackling tricky words. We will also work on identifying vowel teams in the middle of words. Finally, we will learn that new words can be very tricky and it helps to think about what the word means in the story. 

Writing: We will also be continuing our first unit in our writing curriculum, Lucy Calkins Writing Units of Study.  The first unit is called, "Lessons from the Masters: Improving Narrative Writing". We will work on our endings this week and learn to bring our stories to a satisfying conclusion. We will also review punctuation strategies and editing skills. 

Math:  We will continue with our work in Module 2, "Addition and Subtraction of Length Units".  This is a measurement unit that focuses on centimeters and meters. This week we will learn to measure lengths using rulers and meter sticks. We will also learn to compare lengths using centimeters and meters. 

Social Studies:  Our first unit in social studies will focus on building classroom community and building a growth mindset.  Both of which will help us to have a successful year in second grade! This week we will focus on another one of the 5 habits to help with having a growth mindset and those are: Empathy, Flexibility, Persistence, Resilience, and Optimism. 

Week of: September 12th

 Upcoming Dates:

Sept. 20 or 21 - Picture Day (I don't know what day will be for 2nd grade yet.)

Sept. 26 - District Closed - No School

Oct. 5 - District Closed - No School

Oct. 10 - Indigenous Peoples' Day - No School
Oct. 24-28 - Parent/Teacher Conference Week - Early Dismissal on Thursday and Friday (11:00)

*Italics are repeated from last week's blog.

Reading: This week we will continue the first unit in our reading curriculum, Lucy Calkins Reading Units of Study.  The first unit is called, "Second-Grade Reading Growth Spurt". This week we will learn that you can look for words that you already know in order to scoop up more words at a time.  We will work on comprehension and retelling our stories.  The kids will start to take notes on post-its while reading and they will also work on using strategies to tackle challenging words.

Writing: We will also be continuing our first unit in our writing curriculum, Lucy Calkins Writing Units of Study.  The first unit is called, "Lessons from the Masters: Improving Narrative Writing". This week we will talk about how you can learn craft moves from mentor authors. We will also learn to capture everyday moments in our "Tiny Topics" notebooks and save them as possible story ideas.

Math:  We will finish with our first math module called: "Sums and Differences to 100".  Much of the first unit (only 8 lessons) will be a review of first grade material. Our main focus will really be to work on routines. This week we will work on more subtraction strategies such as taking from 10 within 20 and 100.  We will also start our new math module that is all about measurement with the metric system.

Social Studies:  Our first unit in social studies will focus on building classroom community and building a growth mindset.  Both of which will help us to have a successful year in second grade! This week we will focus on another one of the 5 habits to help with having a growth mindset and those are: Empathy, Flexibility, Persistence, Resilience, and Optimism. 

Week of: September 6th

 Upcoming Dates:

Sept. 5 - Labor Day - No School

Sept. 7 - AIMS Reading Assessment (similar to MAP)

Sept. 8 - AIMS Math Assessment (similar to MAP)

Sept. 20 or 21 - Picture Day (I don't know what day will be for 2nd grade yet.)

Sept. 26 - District Closed - No School

Oct. 5 - District Closed - No School

Oct. 10 - Indigenous Peoples' Day - No School
Oct. 24-28 - Parent/Teacher Conference Week - Early Dismissal on Thursday and Friday (11:00)

Reading: This week we will officially begin the first unit in our reading curriculum, Lucy Calkins Reading Units of Study.  The first unit is called, "Second-Grade Reading Growth Spurt". This week we will learn that you can choose not only what you read, but HOW you are going to read.  We will also learn how to preview the book before reading to take a sneak peek. Finally, the kids will learn that second grade is a year where they can really take off as readers. And to do that, volume is key! We have to read lots and lots!

Writing: We will also be starting our first unit in our writing curriculum, Lucy Calkins Writing Units of Study.  The first unit is called, "Lessons from the Masters: Improving Narrative Writing". This week we will talk about how you can learn craft moves from mentor authors. We will also learn to capture everyday moments in our "Tiny Topics" notebooks and save them as possible story ideas.

Math:  We will continue with our first math module called: "Sums and Differences to 100".  Much of the first unit (only 8 lessons) will be a review of first grade material. Our main focus will really be to work on routines. This week we will add and subtract like units, make 10 to add numbers up to 20, and make 10 to add numbers up to 100.  We will also learn about subtracting single-digit numbers from multiples of 10 (up to 100).

Social Studies:  Our first unit in social studies will focus on building classroom community and building a growth mindset.  Both of which will help us to have a successful year in second grade! This week we will focus on another one of the 5 habits to help with having a growth mindset and those are: Empathy, Flexibility, Persistence, Resilience, and Optimism. We will most likely focus on two words per week!

Week of: August 29th

 Upcoming Dates:

Aug. 31 - Reading MAP Assessment

Aug. 31 - 6:25 p.m. - Curriculum Night (in-person) - Masks Required

Sept. 1 - Math MAP Assessment

Sept. 5 - Labor Day - No School

Sept. 26 - District Closed - No School

Oct. 5 - District Closed - No School

Oct. 10 - Indigenous Peoples' Day - No School
Oct. 24-28 - Parent/Teacher Conference Week - Early Dismissal on Thursday and Friday (11:00)

Reading: This week we will be working on building our independent reading stamina.  We will also learn about how to choose a "Just Right Book". Finally, we will take a spelling inventory so we can begin to differentiate our phonics lessons. Next week we will officially start our first reading unit: "Second Grade Reading Growth Spurt". 

Writing: We will be starting our first unit in our writing curriculum, Lucy Calkins Writing Units of Study.  The first unit is called, "Lessons from the Masters: Improving Narrative Writing". We will start the unit with a writing sample that will help me know more about your child as a writer. 

Math:  We will start our first module in math this week.  We are using the Eureka math series.  The first module is called, "Sums and Differences to 100".  Much of the first unit (only 8 lessons) will be a review of first grade material.  This week we will work on adding and subtracting like units as well as making ten to add within 100. 

Social Studies:  Our first unit in social studies will focus on building classroom community and building a growth mindset.  Both of which will help us to have a successful year in second grade!

Welcome Back to School!

 Second grade is such an exciting year! It is so rewarding to see how much second graders will grow, both academically and socially.  There are many things I love about teaching, but one of my favorites is the relationship that I get to build with my students AND their families!

    This will be my 21st year teaching in Oak Park. I started my career here and could not imagine being anywhere else.  I have two kids of my own, so I know how important it is to teach with the whole child in mind. Social skills are just as important as academic skills and we will be working hard at both this year. My daughter, Emmy, will be a sophomore at Lyons Township High School. My son, Charlie, will be in eighth grade at a middle school near our home in Western Springs. 

    As we start the year, please know that I am always available through email and am happy to answer any questions you might have. My email address is: lpelling@op97.org. I'm eager to get started and meet all of you very soon!  

Week of: May 16th

 Upcoming Dates:

May 19: Field Trip to Chicago Children's Theater

May 30: Memorial Day - No School

May 31: Walking Field Trip - Oak Park Conservatory (permission slip coming soon!)

June 2: 2nd Grade Picnic - Rehm Park - 11:30-2:00 (Families welcome!)

June 7: Last Day of School

*Italics are repeated from last week's blog.

Reading: We will continue with our reading unit: "Series Book Clubs". In this unit, students will work together in small groups to read books in a series.  The students will be assigned books at their appropriate reading levels. They will work on comprehension strategies together with their groups. This week we will that readers notice when an author uses literary language and they try to figure out what the author REALLY means.  We will also work on noticing patterns in our series books and using those patterns to figure out how other books in the series might go.  

Writing: We will be continuing our writing unit: "Poetry: Big Thoughts in Small Packages". This unit is all about writing poetry and focusing on line breaks, rhythm, and meaningful phrases. Making sure our words rhyme is completely optional (poetry is so much more than that!).This week we will learn that poets consider the mood they want to convey in a poem, making sure that this mood matches the poem's meaning. We will also choose our favorite poems and fix them up for publication. 

Math:  We will finish our work with Module 8: "Time, Shapes, and Fractions".  We will work on telling time to the minute as well as relating time to A.M. and P.M.  The kids will learn to solve elapsed time problems involving whole hours and half hours. Finally, we will take the end-of-module assessment at the end of the week. 

Social Studies/Science:  We will continue our learning about having a growth mindset all year long.  This week we will continue our science unit: "Plants and Insects".  We will study the life cycle of mealworms as well as plants.  Each student will have their own worm and seed to study and plant in class! This week we will be continue studying the life cycles of a plant and mealworm. We will make observations and record what we notice in our journals.  We have also reviewed our US maps.  We now know all 50 states!  Yay! We will have a quiz on all 50 states on Friday, May 20th.

Week of: May 9

 Upcoming Dates:

May 10: MAP Reading Assessment

May 11: MAP Math Assessment 

May 19: Field Trip to Chicago Children's Theater

May 30: Memorial Day - No School

June 2: 2nd Grade Picnic - Rehm Park - 11:30-2:00 (Families welcome!)

June 7: Last Day of School

*Italics are repeated from last week's blog.

Reading: We will continue with our reading unit: "Series Book Clubs". In this unit, students will work together in small groups to read books in a series.  The students will be assigned books at their appropriate reading levels. They will work on comprehension strategies together with their groups. This week we will that readers notice when an author uses literary language and they try to figure out what the author REALLY means.  We will also work on noticing patterns in our series books and using those patterns to figure out how other books in the series might go.  Finally, the kids will take their Reading MAP Assessment on Tuesday, 5/10.

Writing: We will be continuing our writing unit: "Poetry: Big Thoughts in Small Packages". This unit is all about writing poetry and focusing on line breaks, rhythm, and meaningful phrases. Making sure our words rhyme is completely optional (poetry is so much more than that!).This week we will begin by working on editing some of the poems we have already written.  Then we will learn to think carefully about our word choice and try to pick the most precise words for our poems.  Finally, we will learn that writers of poems often use repeated lines to help give their poems a rhythm and to emphasize meaning. 

Math:  We will continue our work with Module 8: "Time, Shapes, and Fractions".  We will continue to work on halves, fourths, and thirds.  We will also learn to partition circles and rectangles into halves, thirds, and fourths to make equal parts. In addition to halves, thirds, and fourths; we will learn about the "whole" and how many equal parts it takes to make a whole. The students will understand that equal parts of an identical rectangle can have different shapes. 

Social Studies/Science:  We will continue our learning about having a growth mindset all year long.  This week we will continue our science unit: "Plants and Insects".  We will study the life cycle of mealworms as well as plants.  Each student will have their own worm and seed to study and plant in class! This week we will be continue studying the life cycles of a plant and mealworm. We will make observations and record what we notice in our journals.  We have also learned the last two states on our US maps: Alaska and Hawaii!  Yay! We will have a quiz on all 50 states on Friday, May 20th.

Week of: May 2

 Upcoming Dates:

May 10: MAP Reading Assessment

May 11: MAP Math Assessment 

May 19: Field Trip to Chicago Children's Theater

May 30: Memorial Day - No School

June 7: Last Day of School

*Italics are repeated from last week's blog.

Reading: We will continue with our reading unit: "Series Book Clubs". In this unit, students will work together in small groups to read books in a series.  The students will be assigned books at their appropriate reading levels. They will work on comprehension strategies together with their groups. This week we will learn that readers get to know the different people in a character's life and compare them to their own relationships.  We will also be switching from character study to studying the author's craft.  This includes how the author is able to paint a picture with their words as well as the precise words they use to make descriptions. 

Writing: We will be continuing our writing unit: "Poetry: Big Thoughts in Small Packages". This unit is all about writing poetry and focusing on line breaks, rhythm, and meaningful phrases. Making sure our words rhyme is completely optional (poetry is so much more than that!).This week we will learn that writers of poems take big thoughts and feelings and then try to zoom in on one small moment that holds that thought or feeling.  We will also work on finding topics that contain strong feelings and small moments. 

Math:  We will continue our work with Module 8: "Time, Shapes, and Fractions".  We will continue to work on halves, fourths, and thirds.  We will also learn to partition circles and rectangles into halves, thirds, and fourths to make equal parts. 

Social Studies/Science:  We will continue our learning about having a growth mindset all year long.  This week we will continue our science unit: "Plants and Insects".  We will study the life cycle of mealworms as well as plants.  Each student will have their own worm and seed to study and plant in class! This week we will be making plant observations from the seeds we planted last week.  We will also start learning about the life cycle of a mealworm! We have also learned some new states on our US maps: Kentucky and Tennessee. 

Week of: April 25

 Upcoming Dates:

April 25-28: In-person Book Fair! 3-6pm Mon/Tues, 3-8pm Wed, and 3-4pm Thurs 

May 19: Field Trip to Chicago Children's Theater

May 30: Memorial Day - No School

June 7: Last Day of School

*Italics are repeated from last week's blog.

Reading: We will continue with our reading unit: "Series Book Clubs". In this unit, students will work together in small groups to read books in a series.  The students will be assigned books at their appropriate reading levels. They will work on comprehension strategies together with their groups. This week we will learn that readers think about how their characters respond to problems. They will also learn to look closely at their characters to determine how they "usually" feel and what they "always" do. Finally, we will use what we know about our series characters to make predictions about their next steps. 

Writing: We will start an exciting new writing unit: "Poetry: Big Thoughts in Small Packages". This unit is all about writing poetry and focusing on line breaks, rhythm, and meaningful phrases. Making sure our words rhyme is completely optional (poetry is so much more than that!).This week the kids will learn that poets see the world through special lenses.  They will see with both their hearts and minds, writing about the world in fresh, unusual ways. We will also work on listening for line breaks.

Math:  We will continue our work with Module 8: "Time, Shapes, and Fractions".  We will relate the square to a cube and describe a cube based on its attributes. This week we will begin to learn about fractions!  The kids will combine different shapes to create a composite shape.  We will use these composite shapes to learn about equal shares and halves, thirds, and fourths. 

Social Studies/Science:  We will continue our learning about having a growth mindset all year long.  This week we will begin our last science unit: "Plants and Insects".  We will study the life cycle of mealworms as well as plants.  Each student will have their own worm and seed to study and plant in class! We will start with planting seeds this week and will move on to the mealworms the following week. It will be very exciting! We have also learned some new states on our US maps: Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. 

Week of: April 18th

  Upcoming Dates:

April 25-28: In-person Book Fair! 3-6pm Mon/Tues, 3-8pm Wed, and 3-4pm Thurs 

May 19: Field Trip to Chicago Children's Theater

May 30: Memorial Day - No School

June 7: Last Day of School

*Italics are repeated from last week's blog.

Reading: We will continue with our reading unit: "Series Book Clubs". In this unit, students will work together in small groups to read books in a series.  The students will be assigned books at their appropriate reading levels. They will work on comprehension strategies together with their groups. We will learn to preview the first book in a series by paying close attention to the main characters. Then the kids will learn that readers think about how their characters respond to problems. They will also learn to look closely at their characters to determine how they "usually" feel and what they "always" do. 

Writing: We will be continuing our writing unit: "Writing About Reading".  This is actually a unit on opinion writing and using evidence to support our opinions.  Next week we will learn that writers make comparisons to support their opinions.  We will also learn to use mid-sentence punctuation to help highlight ideas for our readers.  Finally, we will be working on our introductions and conclusions. 

Math:  We will continue our work with Module 8: "Time, Shapes, and Fractions".  We will build, identify, and analyze two-dimensional shapes with specified attributes.  We will be using attributes to draw different polygons including triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons, and hexagons. The kids will learn about all the different quadrilaterals, including: rectangles, rhombuses, parallelograms, and trapezoids.  Finally, we will relate the square to a cube and describe a cube based on its attributes. 

Social Studies/Science:  We will continue our learning about having a growth mindset all year long.  We will be continuing our earth science unit: "Pebbles, Sand, and Silt". This week we will be exploring what happens when unwashed sand mixes with water and we will discover that there is a rock-type that is smaller than sand: silt!  We have also learned some new states on our maps: North Carolina and South Carolina! 

Week of: April 11

 Upcoming Dates:

April 15: No School Today!

May 19: Field Trip to Chicago Children's Theater

May 30 - Memorial Day - No School

June 7 - Last Day of School

*Italics are repeated from last week's blog.

Reading: We will be wrapping up our current reading unit with an assessment and then starting our next reading unit. Our next unit is called: "Series Book Clubs". In this unit, students will work together in small groups to read books in a series.  The students will be assigned books at their appropriate reading levels. They will work on comprehension strategies together with their groups. We will start by learning to preview the first book in a series by paying close attention to the main characters. Then the kids will learn that readers think about how their characters respond to problems. They will also learn to look closely at their characters to determine how they "usually" feel and what they "always" do. 

Writing: We will be continuing our writing unit: "Writing About Reading".  This is actually a unit on opinion writing and using evidence to support our opinions.  Next week we will that writers make comparisons to support their opinions. When writing about books, they compare characters, series, or kinds of books to explain why they think one is better or best. 

Math:  This week we will wrap up our work with module 7 by having a review day and an assessment. We will also start Module 8: "Time, Shapes, and Fractions".  This week we will learn to describe two-dimensional shapes based on attributes.  We will also build, identify, and analyze two-dimensional shapes with specified attributes.

Social Studies/Science:  We will continue our learning about having a growth mindset all year long.  We will be continuing our earth science unit: "Pebbles, Sand, and Silt". This week we will be exploring what happens when unwashed sand mixes with water and we will discover that there is a rock-type that is smaller than sand: silt!  We have also learned some new states on our maps: Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland. 

Week of: March 21

 Upcoming Dates:

March 23: Author Visit at School-Mac Barnett (Book order forms went home last friday 3/18.)

March 28-April 1: Spring Break!

April 15: No School Today!

*Italics are repeated from last week's blog.

Reading: We will be continuing with our reading unit: "Bigger Books Mean Amping Up Reading Power".  This unit will focus on building reading fluency, understanding literary language, tackling longer books, and goal-setting. This week we will learn to self-assess our reading in order to set goals.  Then everyone will work with a "reading club" to help each other reach those goals. We will learn that reading clubs need to create clear plans to accomplish those goals!

Writing: We will be continuing our writing unit: "Writing About Reading".  This is actually a unit on opinion writing and using evidence to support our opinions.  Next week we will learn that we can use mentor texts to learn about how and why an author might use a capital letter. We will also learn to add fun little extras to fancy up our writing and draw in our readers. 

Math:  This week we will continue our work with module 7: "Problem Solving with Length, Money, and Data".  This week we will learn to use different length units to compare measurements.  We will also practice solving two-digit addition and subtraction word problems involving length by using tape diagrams and writing equations. 

Social Studies/Science:  We will continue our learning about having a growth mindset all year long.  We will be continuing our earth science unit: "Pebbles, Sand, and Silt". This week we will be exploring exploring the rocks that can be found right here in Irving's very own schoolyard! We will create a class "rock collection".  We have also learned a new state on our maps: Pennsylvania. 

Week of: March 14th

 Upcoming Dates:

March 15: Teacher Institute Day - No School for Students

March 18: Report cards go out today.

March 28-April 1: Spring Break!

April 15: No School Today!

*Italics are repeated from last week's blog.

Reading: We will be continuing with our reading unit: "Bigger Books Mean Amping Up Reading Power".  This unit will focus on building reading fluency, understanding literary language, tackling longer books, and goal-setting. This week we will be working on holding onto stories even when our books are long by jotting down notes on post-its. We will also learn some strategies to use when our books get tricky: slow down, reread, and ask questions!  Finally, the kids will learn that readers can invent ways to use writing to help them tackle confusing parts in their reading. 

Writing: We will be continuing our writing unit: "Writing About Reading".  This is actually a unit on opinion writing and using evidence to support our opinions.  Next week we will work on using text evidence to support our opinions. We will also learn that we can use a mentor text when we need help with our writing.  For example, mentor texts can help remind us when to use capital letters!

Math:  This week we will continue our work with module 7: "Problem Solving with Length, Money, and Data".  This week we will shift our focus to measurement with inches, feet, and yards. We will first measure using inches. Then we will learn the difference between inches and yards. Learn to compare measurements to unit size by measuring the same object twice with different length units. 

Social Studies/Science:  We will continue our learning about having a growth mindset all year long.  We will be continuing our earth science unit: "Pebbles, Sand, and Silt". This week we will be exploring the properties of rocks while using an sorting river rocks.  We have also learned two new states on our maps: Rhode Island and Connecticut. 

Week of: March 7th

 Upcoming Dates:

March 15: Teacher Institute Day - No School for Students

March 18: Report cards go out today.

March 28-April 1: Spring Break!

April 15: No School Today!

*Italics are repeated from last week's blog.

Reading: We will be continuing with our reading unit: "Bigger Books Mean Amping Up Reading Power".  This unit will focus on building reading fluency, understanding literary language, tackling longer books, and goal-setting. This week we will be setting up our routines for "Same-Book Partnerships".  We will also be working on holding onto stories even when our books are long by jotting down notes on post-its. Finally, we will learn some strategies to use when our books get tricky: slow down, reread, and ask questions!

Writing: We will be continuing our writing unit: "Writing About Reading".  This is actually a unit on opinion writing and using evidence to support our opinions.  Next week we will learn to write our opinions about more than one part of a book in order to make our writing longer and stronger. We will also learn to pay attention to small details in our books and use those details to generate new ideas. Finally, we will work on using text evidence to support our opinions. 

Math:  This week we will continue our work with module 7: "Problem Solving with Length, Money, and Data".  This week we will focus on using different strategies to make $1 or to make change from $1. We will also work on word problems involving different ways to make change from $1. We will end the week with two-step word problems involving money and our mid-module assessment. 

Social Studies/Science:  We will continue our learning about having a growth mindset all year long.  We will be continuing our earth science unit: "Pebbles, Sand, and Silt". This week we will be exploring what happens when rocks get wet as well as weathering and erosion. 

Week of: February 14th

 Upcoming Dates:

Feb. 21: President's Day - No School

March 15: Teacher Institute Day - No School for Students

March 28-April 1: Spring Break!

April 15: No School Today

*Italics are repeated from last week's blog.

Reading: We will be starting a new reading unit this week: "Bigger Books Mean Amping Up Reading Power". This unit will focus on building reading fluency, understanding literary language, tackling longer books, and goal-setting. This week we will learn that reading aloud can help the in-our-head reading voice as well.  We will also practice scooping up words in phrases and noticing punctuation marks.  Finally, we will learn that "dialogue tags" can help us to read with more expression.

Writing: We will be starting a new writing unit: "Writing About Reading".  This is actually a unit on opinion writing and using evidence to support our opinions.  Next week the kids will take a pre-writing assessment.  Then we will learn that writers are often inspired by their reading and we will reach out to others with opinions and ideas about characters.

Math:  This week we will start a new math module, Module 7: "Problem Solving with Length, Money, and Data".  This week we will focus on data and graphing. The kids will draw and label picture and bar graphs as well as answer questions based on the given data.  Finally, the kids will be solving word problems using data presented in a bar graph. 

Social Studies/Science:  We will continue our learning about having a growth mindset all year long.  We will be starting our earth science unit: "Pebbles, Sand, and Silt". This week we will be exploring and discovering the properties of rocks. 

Week of: February 7th

 Upcoming Dates:

Feb. 21: President's Day - No School

March 15: Teacher Institute Day - No School for Students

March 28-April 1: Spring Break!

April 15: No School Today

*Italics are repeated from last week's blog.

Reading: We are continuing our reading unit: "Studying Characters and Their Stories". This unit is all about characters and studying how they change and grow.  The students will be making lots of inferences and predictions in this unit! This week we are going to be spending several days on comparing and contrasting two fictional stories.  We will be using what we have learned about "central message" as a tool to compare and contrast. 

Writing: We will be continuing our writing unit: "Writing Gripping Fictional Stories". This unit is all about character and plot development.  The kids have so much fun making up their own characters and stories! This week we will be wrapping up this fun writing unit.  The kids will be adding some final touches to their stories and they will have time to share them with their classmates!

Math:  This week we will continue our math module, Module 4: "Addition and Subtraction Within 200 with Word Problems to 100".  This is a huge module that covers several different strategies for adding and subtracting larger numbers. We will also be wrapping up this math unit.  We will learn to add up to four 2-digit numbers together using place value strategies.  We will also be working on solving math problems with missing numbers in various places. Finally, we will take the unit assessment on Thursday of this week. We will start our new unit on data/measurement/coins next week!

Social Studies/Science:  We will continue our learning about having a growth mindset all year long.  We will be wrapping up our social studies unit: "The History of Technology".  This week the kids will finish to sharing the interviews that hey did over Winter Break.  We will focus on television and other miscellaneous technology from the past! We will also add these two states to our growing knowledge of the 50 states: New York (NY) and New Jersey (NJ).

Week of: January 31st

 Upcoming Dates:

Jan. 31-Feb. 4: Parent/Teacher Conference Week - Thursday/Friday will have early dismissal at 11:00

Feb. 21: President's Day - No School

March 15: Teacher Institute Day - No School for Students

March 28-April 1: Spring Break!

April 15: No School Today

*Italics are repeated from last week's blog.

Reading: We are continuing our reading unit: "Studying Characters and Their Stories". This unit is all about characters and studying how they change and grow.  The students will be making lots of inferences and predictions in this unit! This week we will learn about how to hold onto our comprehension of a story once we are finished reading the entire story. We will also learn to figure out a story's central message and how that can be applied to our own lives. 

Writing: We will be continuing our writing unit: "Writing Gripping Fictional Stories". This unit is all about character and plot development.  The kids have so much fun making up their own characters and stories! This week we will work on writing a great closing for our stories as well as starting to think about publishing our best work!

Math:  This week we will continue our math module, Module 4: "Addition and Subtraction Within 200 with Word Problems to 100".  This is a huge module that covers several different strategies for adding and subtracting larger numbers. This week we will start working on subtracting using the "vertical way".  Many of us remember this strategy as "borrowing".  It will be familiar to the kids because we have already laid the groundwork for this strategy using the place value chart. 

Social Studies/Science:  We will continue our learning about having a growth mindset all year long.  We are continuing with our social studies unit: "The History of Technology".  This week the kids will continue to share the interviews that hey did over Winter Break.  This week we will focus on computers and encyclopedias! 

Week of: January 24th

 Upcoming Dates:

Jan. 31-Feb. 4: Parent/Teacher Conference Week - Thursday/Friday will have early dismissal at 11:00

Feb. 21: President's Day - No School

March 15: Teacher Institute Day - No School for Students

March 28-April 1: Spring Break!

April 15: No School Today

*Italics are repeated from last week's blog.

Reading: We are continuing our reading unit: "Studying Characters and Their Stories". This unit is all about characters and studying how they change and grow.  The students will be making lots of inferences and predictions in this unit! This week we will learn about character traits. The kids will learn to think about the personalities of the characters in our stories as well as what makes them that way. We will also learn to find "text evidence" to support our ideas about characters.  Finally, we will talk about how to hold onto our comprehension of a story once we are finished reading the entire story. 

Writing: We will be continuing our writing unit: "Writing Gripping Fictional Stories". This unit is all about character and plot development.  The kids have so much fun making up their own characters and stories! This week we will spend some time editing our work for spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. We will also learn to add transition words when writing. 

Math:  This week we will continue our math module, Module 4: "Addition and Subtraction Within 200 with Word Problems to 100".  This is a huge module that covers several different strategies for adding and subtracting larger numbers. This week we will finish our work on subtracting while using the place value chart.  We will then move into adding the "vertical way".  That is the traditional way to add larger numbers and involved "carrying the one".  

Social Studies/Science:  We will continue our learning about having a growth mindset all year long.  We are starting our new social studies unit: "The History of Technology".  This week the kids will begin sharing the interviews that hey did over Winter Break.  They will learn how technology has changed over time! We have also continued to learn the locations of the 50 states.  This past week we added two more states: Utah (UT) and Colorado (CO).  

Week of: January 18th

 Upcoming Dates:

Jan. 18-21: MAP Testing this week on Tuesday(reading) and Thursday(math)

Jan. 31-Feb. 4: Parent/Teacher Conference Week - Thursday/Friday will have early dismissal at 11:00

Feb. 21: President's Day - No School

*Italics are repeated from last week's blog.

Reading: We are continuing our reading unit: "Studying Characters and Their Stories". This unit is all about characters and studying how they change and grow.  The students will be making lots of inferences and predictions in this unit! This week we will learn about character traits. The kids will learn to think about the personalities of the characters in our stories as well as what makes them that way.

Writing: We will be continuing our writing unit: "Writing Gripping Fictional Stories". This unit is all about character and plot development.  The kids have so much fun making up their own characters and stories! The kids have really been enjoying this unit!  They have done a great job with their planning and now they are working hard to write their first drafts.  This week we will learn to add dialogue into our stories to make our characters come to life and talk with each other. 

Math:  This week we will continue our math module, Module 4: "Addition and Subtraction Within 200 with Word Problems to 100".  This is a huge module that covers several different strategies for adding and subtracting larger numbers. This week we will work on subtracting while using the place value chart.  The kids will learn to "regroup" and take from the tens place to make more ones.  They will also learn to take from the hundred's place to make more tens.  We remember this skills are "borrowing" when we were younger. 

Social Studies/Science:  We will continue our learning about having a growth mindset all year long.  We are continuing with our science unit: The States of Matter: Solids, Liquids, and Gases.  Last week we learned about what happens to liquids inside containers.  We learned that liquids take the shape of their containers and spread out on the bottom of the container.  We have also continued to learn the locations of the 50 states.  This past week we added one more state: Wyoming (WY).  Ask your child about "ManTan's body" and how he is saying "WHY do I need to do the dishes!?!". 

Week of: January 10th

 Upcoming Dates:

Jan. 10-14: MAP Testing this week on Tuesday(reading) and Thursday(math)

Jan. 17: Dr. Martin Luther King Holiday - No School

Jan. 31-Feb. 4: Parent/Teacher Conference Week - Thursday/Friday will have early dismissal at 11:00

Feb. 21: President's Day - No School

*Italics are repeated from last week's blog.

Reading: We are continuing our reading unit: "Studying Characters and Their Stories". This unit is all about characters and studying how they change and grow.  The students will be making lots of inferences and predictions in this unit! This week we will learn to plan ahead and find spots in our books where we will stop and jot down our thoughts and predictions. We will also spend some time reviewing what we have already learned in this unit up until this point. 

Writing: We will be continuing our writing unit: "Writing Gripping Fictional Stories". This unit is all about character and plot development.  The kids have so much fun making up their own characters and stories! We have been spending some time planning out our first stories.  This week will get actually start to write our first drafts!  We will work on writing good leads and using descriptive language in our writing!

Math:  This week we will continue our math module, Module 4: "Addition and Subtraction Within 200 with Word Problems to 100".  This is a huge module that covers several different strategies for adding and subtracting larger numbers. This week we will continue working on adding using the place value chart as a tool.  At the end of the week, I will introduce subtraction using the place value chart as well!

Social Studies/Science:  We will continue our learning about having a growth mindset all year long.  We are continuing with our science unit: The States of Matter: Solids, Liquids, and Gases.  Last week we learned about the different behavior of molecules in solids, liquids, and gases.  We also learned that temperature can cause the state of matter to change (For example: ice melts into water and then boils and becomes a gas).   We have also continued to learn the locations of the 50 states.  This past week we added three more states: Nebraska (NE), North Dakota (ND), and South Dakota (SD).  Ask your child about the "New Basket" of vegetables that the chef plans on adding to his soup and also where he hangs up his cooking coats!