September 24, 2017 BLOG

2nd Grade Families,

Hope we are all staying warm in this cold weather! This weekend, I had my engagement party in St. Louis, Missouri. The weather was 95 degrees and SUPER humid. Coming back to my beautiful Colorado was such a gift with this cold, wet weather. Native forever!

Let’s talk about the week! Every single week that goes by, my amazing class grows and grows like beanstalks. The amount of growth that is happening in writing, reading and math is truly amazing. This is one reason why I love teaching 2nd grade. Behind first grade, I feel that students are like sponges. They soak up everything and grow so much academically. Prepping them for the ever-so-important 3rd grade is challenging at times for everyone, but so rewarding

In writing this week, students are finishing up their HUGE narrative. We have been working on this narrative for a few weeks now. In the beginning of the track-in period, students were writing for stamina. We wanted to hit half a page, one page, two pages. Now, we are making sure what we write is meeting all grammar, spelling and handwriting expectations. The students are sharing a quick story that has occurred in their life and they are trying to include, details, emotions, feelings, and dialogue. Through all of this, they are watching capital letters, end marks, handwriting and spelling. Lots of prep and editing going on!

In reading this week, we practiced Kagan Structure reading strategies. I use a curriculum called Lucy Calkins. LC is an amazing program to help students talk about their reading and their comprehension of the text. With Kagan, students are paired with 3 other students and they each are assigned an element of text. This could be setting, characters, author’s purpose, etc.. On the Class Dojo Story Board, I posted a picture of the groups performing in Kagan. Check it out! Mrs. Roybal observed this great practice and was impressed with the amount of effort students are putting forth with this practice. A+ students!

In Math, students wrapped up Unit 1 with a math test. Students were then pre-assessed on Wednesday with our concepts for Unit 2. In this unit, students are going to be mastering Number Skipping with addition and subtraction. The YouTube channel is in the process of being updated with great videos of me teaching the strategies. Number Skipping is the number one strategy that confuses parents – so great ready for it! I will be teaching YOU how to help your child understand this strategy. Furthermore, students are going to understand place value with three-digit numbers and know how to create hundreds and tens.

Our MONSTER MASH CANDY COMPETITION has started at Pine Ridge. Every year, Pine Ridge puts on

an amazing Trick-or-Treat Street that depends on donations by the community. The winning class that brings in the most candy will receive a Jamba Juice party. You can start bringing in your candy ASAP. If possible, please write “MULLIGAN” on the bag with a black marker so the school knows it is our class.