August 17, 2018
Mr. Mulligan's 2nd Grade Families,
Hello! What a fantastic week we had at Pine Ridge. I hope your children have been coming home with wonderful things to say about class. This week, students were able to meet new friends, explore their new classroom and dive into some new 2nd grade curriculum. Let’s talk about the week!
Reading: During our reading block, students were simply exploring our classroom library and working on stamina with DEAR Time. DEAR Time stands for “DROP EVERYTHING AND READ!” So far we made it to about ten minutes of being able to stay and read in one place. By Fall Break, I expect students to be able to read for 15 minutes without encountering any distractions. Next week, we are going to start Reader’s Workshop. For Reader’s Workshop in 2nd grade, we utilize a curriculum called Lucy Calkins. This is the same curriculum as 1st grade. Our goal for next week will be making predictions about books, characters and themes based on picture walks and covers of books. Students will be making predictions and backing their predictions with detailed explanations as to why they predicted the way they did.
Writing: There was no writing block this week because the class was working together on classroom rules and activities focused on community building. Next week, students will dive into the Writer’s Workshop (Lucy Calkins as well!) where we will explore narrative writing. Students will utilize heart maps that they created today to tell stories of events that make them happy.
Spelling: Our first Spelling pre-test will be Monday. Students will take pre-tests every Monday and post tests every Friday. I will give the week’s spelling homework every Monday. This homework will be due every Friday. Please note that I will not accept any early Spelling homework from students because I want them to be practicing these words every day until Friday.
Math: Number Corner was practiced this week where students worked together to think of equations for certain numbers. Students were able to show their thinking through pictures, numbers or written explanation. In addition to this, students completed a fun activity called 'Beetle Glyphs.' Our goal with our beetle glyphs is to understand how numbers can be interpreted through alternative ways, such as dots, stripes, colors, etc. The students created bugs that represented their gender, favorite sport, favorite season, number of family members in their household, and birth month. Next week, students will be analyzing the class bugs and grouping them by finding similarities and differences. Also, students will begin their 2nd grade math pre-assessment. I will be assessing students on 1st grade curriculum that should be mastered, as well as future 2nd grade concepts. This will help me understand my where all students are currently with their understanding of certain math concepts.
Science & Social Studies: Social Studies will begin on Monday. We will be analyzing what a community is and how we all fit into our wonderful community! Science will begin in a few weeks. During the course of the year, expect Social Studies and Science to flip-flop. When Science begins, Social Studies will be put on hold for a few weeks.
Class Dojo: We are 91% signed up for Class Dojo. I so appreciate every parent who has signed up so far. This application is so important to check every single day so you can check on the progress of your child. Your child’s day will be broken apart for you and all points are detailed so you can see where your child is soaring – or where your child may need more support. This week, I was mindful on giving students a ton of points! We had our first Monster Marketplace. Our special Marketplace occurs every other Friday. Students got special credit cards that track their points they accrue over the week. Each point they receive represents one Dojo dollar. All students were very excited about the Marketplace and will continue to strive to work hard to get more points! Parents, I also so appreciate you all signing off on your child's Dojo points sheet nightly. This helps you stay in the know of your child’s progress in case you don’t check the app daily. Next week, we will be filling in the August graph sheet you see behind the August Dojo sheet. This graph will be a great visual for students to see the progression or decline of points received daily. Lastly, check the Dojo Stories on your Class Dojo app to see pictures and posts from our classroom.
Announcements:
Tuesday, August 28, is Back-to-School. I cannot wait to see you all there so I can further explain all of the great learning that will take place in class this year.
Spelling starts next week. Please study with your child nightly to guarantee that he/she is prepared for Friday’s test.
If you are interested in volunteering in class, I am going to be setting up a Signup Genius in about 2 weeks. Volunteers will have the opportunity to help with reading check-ins, mail organization, spelling test help on Mondays and Fridays, and future party organizing. If you are someone who wants to be a “Room Leader,” please let me know via e-mail. This important job will be a huge help because you will organize all parties in class such as the Halloween Party, Fall Party, Winter Party, Valentine’s Day Party, etc. You will not be responsible financially for the parties -- just the help in planning and running the parties.