Gr2 Blog Welcome to the New Year!
Dear Families,
Welcome to 2018! We hope that you had a wonderful and restful holiday season. We are jumping into the new year feeling strong and ready to tackle new challenges. Here is a look at our week ahead.
In Writer’s Workshop we will finish publishing our nonfiction books. Our students have learned about the many features of nonfiction writing. They are now finalizing the text and images to give their books the look they envision. Some of the features they are including are photographic images, text boxes, diagrams, bold words and more! If the books are not completed by Friday we will be sending them home to be completed over the weekend. Please be aware when work is sent home we intend for the child to finish as they would have in class. This is not an opportunity for families to change or edit the student’s work.
In Reader’s Workshop we will begin a new unit in which we will be learning how to read and work with a partner. This type of paired reading will help students learn to talk more about what they are reading in order to engage on a deeper level with their texts. Students will be learning how to have ‘Partner Talk’, first by the class reading a shared read aloud called Jake Drake, Bully Buster, and then by working in individual partnerships using their own texts. Students will be thinking about things such as:
- How can we prepare to talk?
- What kept the conversation going?
- What makes a good question to ask?
- What kinds of questions did you hear your partner ask?
In Math Workshop, we are jumping into the data portion of our Measurement and Data unit. We learned about line plots and bar graphs as a way to organize data before the break. Now we will be learning how to collect and record data. We will also explore the need to categorize data. For example, with an open-ended question like “What is your favorite weekend activity?”, the possible answers are endless. Therefore, mathematicians need to organize their responses into categories in order to make sense of the results. This work will extend into a survey project the students will create and work on through the beginning of January.
Announcements/Reminders:
- Students will be assessed this week on the spelling list that was sent home over break.
- We will be planning our annual New Amsterdam Day. We will be reaching out to class parents for some assistance. More info to come!
- A field trip to the Tenement Museum will be on January 24, 2018. Trip slips will be coming home soon.
- We will begin to send home Scholastic News magazines and accompanying comprehension questions as homework. The first assignment is due on Monday, January 8.
- If your child wears an electronic/phone watch to school and it becomes a distraction to the child or other students, it will be taken away and returned to the parent. The classes have had a conversation about wearing them to school.
201 Dismissal Information:
Please note that there have been changes in the class schedule and 201 will be dismissed (for pick up only) on Tuesdays and Fridays by speciality teachers. Dismissal will occur in the same spot in the school yard.
Tuesdays : Ms. Diane
Fridays: Ms. Cintula
Have a wonder week and Happy New Year!
Ms. Mathis and Ms. Anne