Grade 1/2 room 3: Overview of the past few weeks!

I apologize for the delay in posting on the blog, but the last few weeks have been extremely hectic. With that said, this week's post includes several pictures taken over the last few weeks.

One reason for the failure to post on the blog is the fact that we have been working away on report cards.

Report cards will be sent home this Monday February 9, 2015.

First term report card interviews are not for the entire class, but rather only for chosen students.

I will be sending home a letter for parents that I would like to meet with to discuss their child's progress and report card. If you do not receive a letter, then we do not need to meet for an interview.

Black History Month:

February is Black History Month and we have been focusing and looking at texts that highlight and pay tribute to the contributions of African Americans and the way they revolutionized the world. So far we read and learned about Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King and the way that they inspired the world and created freedom of speech. Students are gaining the knowledge and experience to question the world and be their own critics. The discussions that we've had surrounding this topic and many others have been remarkable and extremely insightful.

Valentine's Day:

With Friday being a PA Day, we will be having our class Valentine's Day party this upcoming Thursday February 12, 2015. As per usual with our parties, if you would like to send in a healthy treat, we would really appreciate it. I will provide some snacks myself, but it's always much more pleasurable to have more variety. I cannot post a sign-up sheet anywhere in the school, so any snack/drink are appreciated.

Additionally, if your child is bringing any Valentine's cards for their classmates, we will be having our card exchange on Thursday as well.

Donations:

I hate to have to do this, but it's getting a little difficult to continue to supply the classroom with tissues, hand sanitizer, hand soap, and paper. Thank goodness we got an extra two packs of paper donated from one of our parents this week because otherwise homework would have to come to halt again. On top of all other materials and resources that I need to supply out of my own personal budget, these extra costs are just adding up too much. If anyone can contribute to our classroom supplies (of essentials that is), it would be greatly appreciated. I apologize for having to ask, but any extra help goes a long way. Thank you in advance.

Marlie's Field Trip:

I would first and foremost like to thank our amazing parent volunteers who not only came on the trip and took care of the students in their group, but they also bought them snacks, drinks, and memorabilia. You were all amazing and I think we all appreciate how all the parents at this school come together and make each child feel like their own. Presteign rocks!

Our field trip was a blast! The kids certainly had a lot of fun....perhaps too much considering everyone was ready for a nap when we returned back to the school. lol

Winter Weather:

The winter weather has sure come with a bang! With temperatures plummeting well below zero, we have had multiple indoor recesses. Also, with the heavy snowfalls that we have been experiencing, it has made for a lot of wet socks and gloves.

As I have mentioned in previous posts, a good idea is to send a ziplock bag with extra clothing, including socks and gloves to school. Students can leave these in the classroom closet and access them as needed.

Also, some parents have mentioned that some students are not eating their snacks at recess because it's too cold for children to take off their gloves to have their snack outdoors.

I don't want anyone going hungry or getting frostbite on their fingers, so I will make an accommodation and have snack in the classroom five minutes before we need to get ready for recess. This way I can ensure that everyone is having their morning and afternoon snack without worrying about the cold. I hope this helps!

This passed Friday's 100th day of school and Class Pizza Party:

This passed Friday we had our 100th day of school! I cannot believe that we are more than half way through our school year. What a fun day it was! We had several 100th day activities, from writing prompts, math, exercise activities, 100 second challenges, and making hats.

We also had a class pizza party for having reached 100 marbles. As I've said before, this class is amazing! They are the perfect example of what a class that shows teamwork and cooperation should look like and it didn't take them long to reach 100 marbles. As promised, they got a pizza lunch from me and seeing them achieve this brought the biggest smile to my face. They are the best and I am so proud of them.

Overview of our Units:

Language:

Language continues to be the same with regards to journal writing, independent, partner and guided reading, reader's theatre, word work and writing prompts. We have now started descriptive writing. Students created 2D superheros and they wrote a descriptive piece for their superhero.

Reading: It is essential that students continue to read at home. This makes the biggest difference in terms of how soon/fast a student will progress with their reading levels. Please continue to go onto RazKids each night, or at least have your child read books.

I am available to meet with students after school. I already meet with a couple after school, but if you would like your child to have additional help in language or math, please let me know. I stay behind every single day, except for Tuesdays since I am taking a course.

Media Literacy:

For media literacy we have focused on commercials, ads, and other forms of mass communication for advertising and marketing of products. Students learned about jingles, slogans, logos, and other forms of advertising that target specific audiences. They became critics by analyzing different forms of media. They also created their very own posters on Saving the Earth and making it Green. Some students have even written out announcements and jingles that they are waiting to share with the school.

Math:

In Math we finished our unit on Data Management and graphing, and are now working on 2D and 3D shapes. Students learned about vertices, lines and sides of shapes while exploring and working with tangrams and other manipulatives. This is such a fun unit. You can reinforce this unit and connect it to students' lives by comparing shapes in our environment (both human-made and natural) to shapes that they are familiar with. For example, students can recognize that a water bottle is a cylinder, and that it also has the face of the circle. Have them examine everyday objects and look for the amount of sides that it has or the different shapes that they can see within it.

Science:

Grade 2 students have had the chance to experiment with different materials to learn about air and water. Last week they learned about the water cycle (ask them to describe it to you using the words evaporation, condensation and precipitation). They got to make their own water cycle wheels and also wrote about them. This week we looked at air and water pollution. We've briefly touched on it and will continue to focus on this before moving on to the three stages of water.

Social Studies:

Social Studies has been integrated for both the Grade 1 and 2 students. Grade 1's have been focusing on their All About Me unit and looking at their roles, rules and responsibilities. Additionally, they've looked at important people and places in our community. We will continue to learn more about the responsibilities, uniforms, and jobs that people in our community have.

I will send a letter home sometime in the next week or so asking parents to volunteer to tell us about their jobs/roles in the community (e.g., nurse, firefighter, police officer, plumber, dental hygienist, postal worker, etc.). It's a great opportunity to have actual professionals (and parents) come and teach us about what they do.

Grade 2 students are looking at communities and traditions around the world. We created fake passports and are planning a trip around the world (we will be visiting some countries and stopping by to generalize on some continents): Our first stop will be China since Chinese New Year is right around the corner.

If there are any parents that would like to volunteer to share about their particular culture and the traditions that they have (foods, customs, clothes, dances), we would love to have you in our class.

At the end of the unit we will have a huge feast with foods from all over the world. I can't wait!

This sums up the main units of focus in our classroom up to now. The pictures will also provide a glimpse into our days. Have fun browsing!!!

Love,

Ms. Nikoletopoulos