~*The Pitzer Post*~

March 6-10, 2017

In this weekly post, you will find information about the academic content and special events happening in the upcoming week. 

Literacy (Reading & Writing)

Click the link to view our upcoming theme skills!
Theme 12 (week one)
Phonics Words:  batch, bridge, hitch, judge, ledge, happy, open, badger, punch
Vocab Words:  freight, consume, distribute
Grammar Skill: Possessive Pronouns

Math

Chapter 12: Fractions
Vocabulary: equal, unequal, whole, fraction, one-half, one-third, one-fourth, unit fraction, same, greater than, less than, like fractions
Objectives:

• Identify whether a shape is divided into equal fractional parts
• Read, write, and identify unit fractions for halves, thirds, and fourths
• Show fraction and a whole using model drawings
• Compare two or more unit fractions using models of the same size
• Order two or more unit fractions with or without the use of models of the same size
• Identify fractions that name more than one equal part of a whole
• Use models to add and subtract fractions
• Add or subtract like fractions

MIFChapter12

Cursive

Week 7 Lowercase Letters are: x, z, B, P

This week we are finishing up lowercase letters and starting uppercase!  As soon as your child learns the uppercase letter that starts their name, they can begin writing their name in cursive in class!!  When you leave a comment on this post, you can tell us something you noticed, something you are proud of or something you are still struggling with.  Don’t forget to leave a comment so we know that you completed your homework.  I loved the comments that have detail (specifics) AND followed the rules of writing!

Second Step

It’s that time of the year where we are all feeling a bit cranky with our friends.  Check out Kid President share 20 things we should say more often:

Which one can your family say over the weekend and next week at school?

Upcoming Events

Monday, March 6, 2017 

• Lunch: Hot Dog
• Book Fair Dress Up Day: Yellow, Blue, and White
• “freight”  note card comes home, due  Tuesday
• Watch Cursive Week 7 Video, comment and practice  (due Wednesday)

Tuesday, March 7, 2017 

• Lunch: Homemade Chili and Crackers
• Book Fair Dress Up Day: Crazy Socks
• “consume” and “distribute”  note card comes home, due Wednesday
• Watch Cursive Week 7Video, comment and practice  (due Wednesday)
• Read A Breakfast Story out loud (Signed slip and book due Wednesday)
• Parent’s Club Meeting @7pm

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

• Lunch: No Lunch
• SIP ½ Day of School 11:15am dismissal
• Book Fair Dress Up Day: Crazy Hair/Crazy Hat
• Watch Cursive Week 7 Video and comment by today

Thursday, March 9, 2017

• Lunch: Chicken and Waffles
• Book Fair Dress Up Day: Pajamas
• Phonics Paper comes home today due tomorrow!

Friday, March 10, 2017

• Lunch: Bosco Sticks
• Grand Event for Book Fair at Lunch
• Book Fair 2:45pm-6pm

Celebrating Our Greatness!

• Learning cursive letters: n, m, v, y
• Celebrating Dr. Seuss’ Birthday!
• Trying green eggs and ham made my Mr. Pitzer! He woke up at 5am to make us breakfast!
• Navigating Canvas to submit assignments
• Reading rubrics to make sure we understand the guidelines for an assignment
• Checking our grades and reading Mrs. Pitzer’s feedback in Canvas
• Adapting to changes, inconsistencies, and difficulties with technology
• Practicing how to be a master problem solver

~*The Pitzer Post*~

February 27-March 3, 2017

In this weekly post, you will find information about the academic content and special events happening in the upcoming week. 

Literacy (Reading & Writing)

Click the link to view our upcoming theme skills!
Theme 11 (week two)
Phonics Words:  knee, knight, wrap, wreath, written, once, week, gnaw, wrestler
Vocab Words:  bounty, various, produce
Grammar Skill: subject and object pronouns

Last week we learned about similes.  A simile is when you compare two things that seem different and you use like or as:

Math

Chapter 11: Money
Vocabulary: $1 bill, $5 bill, $10 bill, $20 bill, cent sign, dollar sign, decimal point, table
Objectives:

• Recognize $1, $5, $10, and $20 bills
• Show and count money using coins and bills to $20
• Write money amount using dollars and cents
• Write dollars as cents and cents as dollars
• Compare amounts of money using tables
• Use bar models to solve real-world problems involving addition and subtraction of money

Check out this FREE app Fresh Pick to practice money skills in a fun way: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fizzys-lunch-lab-fresh-pick/id573537290?mt=8

Cursive

Week 6 Lowercase Letters are: n, m, v, y

Their homework is to watch the video and leave a comment on the blog.  When you leave a comment on this post, you can tell us something you noticed, something you are proud of or something you are still struggling with.  Don’t forget to leave a comment so we know that you completed your homework.  I loved the comments that have detail (specifics) AND followed the rules of writing!

Science

What do bears, cats, dolphins, and horses have in common? They’re mammals! We’ll be spending some more time classifying different types of animals during the next few weeks. Here are some questions to get you thinking!

• How would you describe a mammal?
• Are there other types of animals besides mammals?
• What is a habitat?
• What is a food chain?
• What is the difference between endangered and extinct?

Second Step

This week we started working on applying all of our Second Step skills so far.

• Focus attention
• Listen
• Use self-talk
• Be assertive
• Name our feelings
• Calm down strategies
• Use S.T.E.P to solve problems

Upcoming Events

Monday, February 27, 2017 

• Lunch: Chicken Patty
• “bounty”  note card comes home, due  Tuesday
• Watch Cursive Week 6 Video, comment and practice  (due Wednesday)

Tuesday, February 28, 2017 

• Lunch: Sub Sandwich
• “various” and “produce”  note card comes home, due Wednesday
• Watch Cursive Week 6 Video, comment and practice  (due Wednesday)

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

• Lunch: Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup
• Watch Cursive Week 6 Video and comment by today

Thursday, March 2, 2017

• Lunch: Chicken Noodles
• Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

Friday, March 3, 2017

• Lunch: Pizza Bread
• Spirit/Popcorn Day

Celebrating Our Greatness!

• Learning cursive letters: d, g, and q
• 3 Seussville Citizens leveling up on the Super Improver Wall
• Focusing on being a ROYAL when no one is watching
• Exploring money via a HyperDoc
• Check out how we used money this week on our Padlet: https://padlet.com/spitzer/MoneyNumberTalk
• Jamming out to contraction tunes to help us master this phonics pattern
• Beginning our Story Genre!

~*The Pitzer Post*~

February 20-24, 2017

In this weekly post, you will find information about the academic content and special events happening in the upcoming week. 

Literacy (Reading & Writing)

Click the link to view our upcoming theme skills!
Theme 11 (week one)
Phonics Words:  don’t, I’ll, wasn’t, we’ve, you’re, early, without, doesn’t, your
Sight Words: We have learned all of the second grade sight words for second grade!
Vocab Words:  nourished, farming, maintain
Grammar Skill: personal pronouns

Math

Chapter 11: Money
Vocabulary: $1 bill, $5 bill, $10 bill, $20 bill, cent sign, dollar sign, decimal point, table
Objectives:

• Recognize $1, $5, $10, and $20 bills
• Show and count money using coins and bills to $20
• Write money amount using dollars and cents
• Write dollars as cents and cents as dollars
• Compare amounts of money using tables
• Use bar models to solve real-world problems involving addition and subtraction of money

Check out this FREE app Fresh Pick to practice money skills in a fun way: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fizzys-lunch-lab-fresh-pick/id573537290?mt=8

Cursive

Week 5 Lowercase Letters are: d, g, q (qu)

Their homework is to watch the video and leave a comment on the blog.  When you leave a comment on this post, you can tell us something you noticed, something you are proud of or something you are still struggling with.  Don’t forget to leave a comment so we know that you completed your homework on time.  I loved the comments that have detail (specifics) AND followed the rules of writing!

Second Step

This week, we continued to learn how to solve problems using the STEP acronym:

Say the problem: without blame
Think of solutions: safe and respectful
Explore consequences: what will happen
Pick the best solution: make a plan.

How can your child use these new strategies at home?

Upcoming Events

Monday, February 20, 2017

• No School – President’s Day!
• Watch Cursive Week 5 Video, comment and practice  (due Wednesday)

Tuesday, February 21, 2017 

• Lunch: Grilled Italian Chicken on Bun
• DHS Cookie Sales
•  “nourished”  note card comes home, due  Wednesday
• Watch Cursive Week 5Video, comment and practice  (due Wednesday)

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

• Lunch: Spaghetti
• Watch Cursive Week 5 Video and comment by today
• “farming” and “maintain” note card comes home, due Thursday
• Read The Great Watermelon Contest out loud (slip and book returned)

Thursday, February 23, 2017

• Lunch: Alphabet Chicken Buddies
• Phonics Paper comes home (due tomorrow)

Friday, February 24, 2017

• Lunch: Cheese Pizza

Celebrating Our Greatness!

• Learning cursive letters: u, w, c, o and a
• Practicing connecting o and a when writing cursive words
• Focusing during Spotlight on Grammar so we can learn about collective nouns
• Enjoying our Valentine’s Day party (thank you to all who volunteered their time and supplies)
• Surprise visit from Mrs. Pitzer, Mr. Pitzer, and baby Oliver
• Showing off our smartness and wrapping up the CoGAT testing

Second Grade in Pictures

~*The Pitzer Post*~

February 13-17, 2017

In this weekly post, you will find information about the academic content and special events happening in the upcoming week. 

Literacy (Reading & Writing)

Click the link to view our upcoming theme skills!
Theme 10 (week two)
Phonics Words:  chow, found, ground, stout, trout, ready, ride, boundary, snowplow
Sight Words: ride, year, without, might, money
Vocab Words:  participate, influence, emergency
Grammar Skill: Collective Nouns

Math

Due to CoGAT, we will not be starting a new math chapter.  This would be an excellent time to practice basic facts.  Have your child make their own flashcards.  We have been been saying the whole fact out loud.  For example if the flashcard says 2 + 3, instead of a student only answering 5, they would say 2 + 3 = 5. Facts 1-20 for both addition and subtraction must be mastered by then end of second grade.

CoGAT Testing

Next week, during our math instruction, we will begin taking the COGAT testing.  CoGAT Tests – The Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) are administered to all students in 2^nd and 4^th grades.  This exam provides information about the level and pattern of cognitive development of students that may not be captured by grades or other academic measures. The test measures general and specific reasoning abilities which are influenced by both in school and out of school experiences.  It provides information on a student’s ability to learn new tasks and solve problems. These abilities are assessed in three ways: Verbal, Quantitative, and Nonverbal. The verbal exam measures verbal inductive and deductive reasoning skills and includes items such as: verbal classification, sentence completion, and verbal analogies. The quantitative portion of the exam includes quantitative relations, number series, and equation building. The Nonverbal test presents novel problems to students using geometric shapes and figures in which students must use strategies for dealing with new material.  CogAT tests will be administered the week of February 22^nd.  For more information regarding CogAT tests go to http://www.riversidepublishing.com/products/cogAT7/learnmore.html

Cursive

Week 4 Lowercase Letters are: u, w, c, a, o

Their homework is to watch the video and leave a comment on the blog.  When you leave a comment on this post, you can tell us something you noticed, something you are proud of or something you are still struggling with.  Don’t forget to leave a comment so we know that you completed your homework.  I have been noticing the last 2 weeks, we have been forgetting.  If you get an oops slip, remember it is your job to still watch the video and post on the blog.  I just know we can get back on track and look forward to seeing your reflections!

Second Step

Next week, we will learn how to solve problems using the STEP acronym: Say the problem, think of solutions, explore consequences, and pick the best solution.  Once they’ve calmed down and stated the problem without blaming, students are ready for the next three problem solving steps.  Think of solutions builds cognitive skills and helps students avoid jumping at the first idea that comes to them, thus preventing hasty and possibly more aggressive responses.  Emphasizing the importance of safe and respectful solutions builds prosocial norms and help students employ perspective taking to think about the effects of their actions on others.  The third step, explore consequences, helps students think through cause and effect and avoid solutions that will cause more problems.

Upcoming Events

Monday, February 13, 2017

• Lunch: Meatball Sub Sandwich
• “participate”  note card comes home, due  Tuesday
• Watch Cursive Week 4 Video, comment and practice  (due Wednesday)
• Bring your decorated Valentine’s Day box
  • Be as creative as possible
  • Please have a hole already cut that is large enough to fit Valentines
  • Make sure to have a Valentine for each member of our class
• CoGAT testing begins

Tuesday, February 14, 2017 

• Lunch: Heart Nuggets
•  “influence” and “emergency”  note card comes home, due Wednesday
• Watch Cursive Week 4 Video, comment and practice  (due Wednesday)
• Valentine’s Day Parties @1:45pm

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

• Lunch: Hot Dog
• Watch Cursive Week 4 Video and comment by today
• Board Meeting @ 7pm

Thursday, February 16, 2017

• Lunch: Chili and Crackers
• Phonics Paper comes home (due tomorrow)

Friday, February 17, 2017

• Lunch: Bosco Sticks

Celebrating Our Greatness!

• Learning cursive letters: p, r, s, and t
• Exploring rounding and estimation via a HyperDoc
• Being flexible and understanding in our first full week with Mrs. Stoller
• Studying our teeth in science class
• Creating a media recording for a phonics assignment in Canvas
• Setting AR Goals for February and March on Seesaw

~*The Pitzer Post*~

February 6-10, 2017

In this weekly post, you will find information about the academic content and special events happening in the upcoming week. 

Literacy (Reading & Writing)

Click the link to view our upcoming theme skills!
Theme 10 (week one)
Phonics Words:  boil, enjoy, ploy, spoil, toy, money, these, annoy, turmoil
Sight Words: why, these, maybe, white, ready
Vocab Words:  contribute, police, volunteer
Grammar Skill: Irregular Verbs (see, give, come, run, go, do)

Math

Chapter 10: Mental Math and Estimation
Vocabulary: sum, difference, number line, about, round, nearest ten, estimate, reasonable
Objectives:

• Relate sum to the addition operation
• Add numbers with up to 3 digits mentally with and without regrouping
• Relate difference to the subtraction operation
• Subtract up to 3 digit numbers mentally with and without regrouping
• Use a number line to round numbers to the nearest ten
• Use rounding to estimate sums and differences
• Estimate to check reasonableness of answers

BASIC FACT EMERGENCY:

• Please be practicing basic facts for both addition and subtraction at home
• Students must master these facts 1-20 by the end of 2^nd grade
• You can use flashcards and instead of your child just saying the answer, have them read the whole problem and then the answer out loud
• Focus on accuracy
• Have your child create their own flashcards
• If you ever find yourself doing these facts in your head, ask your child if they can help you with the answer
• Give students an answer and see if they can tell you addition and subtraction equations that equal that number

MIFChapter10

Cursive

Week 3 lowercase letters are: p, r, s, t

I was pretty proud of the comments that were posted on last week’s cursive video.  I love hearing what you are most excited to write.  I would love to see more specific comments on the focus letters of the week.  Don’t forget to keep working on past letters/words too.  I already have noticed improvements from last week so you should be very proud of you hard work.

Upcoming Events

Monday, February 6, 2017

• Lunch: Cheese Burger
• “contribute”  note card comes home, due  Tuesday
• Watch Cursive Week 3 Video, comment and practice  (due Wednesday)

Tuesday, February 7, 2017 

• Lunch: Corn Dogs
•  “police” and “volunteer”  note card comes home, due Wednesday
• Watch Cursive Week 3 Video, comment and practice  (due Wednesday)
• Parent’s Club Meeting @7pm

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

• Lunch: Turkey/Cheese Croissant
• Pass It On (book and signed slip, due Thursday)
• Watch Cursive Week 3 Video and comment by today

Thursday, February 9, 2017

• Lunch: Chicken Nuggets
• Phonics Paper comes home (due tomorrow)

Friday, February 10, 2017

• Lunch: Cheese Quesadilla

Celebrating Our Greatness!

• Welcoming Mrs. Stoller to our classroom a few days early!
• Being flexible and understanding
• Celebrating 100 days of learning by learning about life in 1917 via a HyperDoc
• Check out our 100th Day Padlet: https://padlet.com/spitzer/100thday
• 2 weeks of cursive under our belts
• Trying some Yoga as a way to calm down the feeling parts of our brain
  • We loved the Yoga Star Wars Adventures from Cosmic Kids!
• Every Seussville Citizen is above 85% accuracy with their addition and subtraction facts!!
• Writing blog comments that are specific and detailed
• Completing our first math assignment in FrontRow
• Learning from mistakes, fixing them, and moving forward
• Celebrating Global School Play Day and realizing that we can even learn when we play
• Singing our hearts out at the 2^nd/3^rd grade music program

Second Grade in Pictures!

~*The Pitzer Post*~

January 30-February 3, 2017

In this weekly post, you will find information about the academic content and special events happening in the upcoming week. 

Literacy (Reading & Writing)

Click the link to view our upcoming theme skills!
Theme 9 (week two)
Phonics Words:  barge, charge, large, page, stage, than, water, badge, package
Sight Words: while, may, than, pull, head
Vocab Words:  government, duty, election
Grammar Skill: Helping Verbs (has, have, had)

Math

Chapter 10: Mental Math and Estimation
Vocabulary: sum, difference, number line, about, round, nearest ten, estimate, reasonable
Objectives:

• Relate sum to the addition operation
• Add numbers with up to 3 digits mentally with and without regrouping
• Relate difference to the subtraction operation
• Subtract up to 3 digit numbers mentally with and without regrouping
• Use a number line to round numbers to the nearest ten
• Use rounding to estimate sums and differences
• Estimate to check reasonableness of answers

BASIC FACT EMERGENCY:

• Please be practicing basic facts for both addition and subtraction at home
• Students must master these facts 1-20 by the end of 2^nd grade
• You can use flashcards and instead of your child just saying the answer, have them read the whole problem and then the answer out loud
• Focus on accuracy
• Have your child create their own flashcards
• If you ever find yourself doing these facts in your head, ask your child if they can help you with the answer
• Give students an answer and see if they can tell you addition and subtraction equations that equal that number

Cursive

Week 2 Lowercase Letters are: f, k, i, j

Congratulations to a great first week in the cursive books.  I enjoyed reading all of your comments and appreciated the honesty when you were struggling.  We were able to practice at school and a common area for improvement is making sure to slant our letters.  We can do this by slanting our paper and practicing!  Cursive handwriting papers will comes home with students on Friday so you can see how they are doing.

I know this first video was our longest blog video to date.  Please keep in mind the first couple are this way due to it being a new concept.  They will get shorter.  To help your family out with this, please feel free to watch a letter a night instead of all at once.  Blog videos are posted with the Pitzer Post on Friday afternoons and viewing/commenting must be done by Wednesday morning!

Second Step

This week, Mrs. Barra our school counselor kicked off Kindness Week.  We celebrated by focusing on kind actions and words.  What are some of the ways you were kind this week?

Fun-tivities

Tuesday, January 31 we have the 2^nd-3^rd grade music program.  Please have your child wear baseball attire! Do they have their lines memorized?

Wednesday, February 1^st we will be celebrating The Global School Day of Play. Global Day of Play 2017

Upcoming Events

Monday, January 30, 2017 

• Lunch: McRib
• “government”  note card comes home, due  Tuesday
• Watch Cursive Week 2 Video, comment and practice  (due Wednesday)
• 100^th Day of School!

Tuesday, January 31, 2017 

• Lunch: Grilled Cheese and Soup
• 2^nd/3^rd Grade Dress rehearsal Assembly 10:15am
• 2^nd/3^rd Grade Music Program 6:30pm (wear sports attire)
•  “duty” and “election”  note card comes home, due Wednesday
• Watch Cursive Week 2 Video, comment and practice  (due Wednesday)

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

• ½ day of school (SIP Day; students are Dismissed @ 11:15am)
• Watch Cursive Week 2 Video and comment by today
• GLOBAL SCHOOL PLAY DAY!
  • Be sure to check out the letter that was sent home above
  • Parents welcome 10am-11am

Thursday, February 2, 2017

• Lunch: Chicken Tenders
• Carnival Kick-Off at Morning Announcements
• Phonics Paper comes home (due tomorrow)

Friday, February 3, 2017

• Lunch: Pizza Bread
• Spirit Day/Popcorn Day
• Reading Camp out 9:30am-10:00am (stuffed animals, blankets, pillows, and or visitors are welcome)
  • Please RSVP if you are planning on attending

Celebrating Our Greatness!

• Starting cursive!
• Navigating the blog videos, learning how to post strong comments and taking responsibility for practicing at school and home
• Celebrating Chocolate Day! Be sure to check out our blog post here: https://sososeussey.edublogs.org/2017/01/27/we-found-golden-tickets/
• Beginning our new genre: response to literature (book review)
• Reviewing how to be mature digital citizens by navigating websites correctly to maximize learning
• Using mental math addition strategies
• Focusing on our basic facts so we can move into the mastery stage
• Discovering the Food Pyramid in Science
• Completing a new listening guide that focuses on strengthening our listening skills as well as our ability to explain our opinions.  Check out the blog post here: https://sososeussey.edublogs.org/2017/01/25/moving-beyond-surface-level-comprehension-2/

~*The Pitzer Post*~

January 23-27, 2017

In this weekly post, you will find information about the academic content and special events happening in the upcoming week. 

Literacy (Reading & Writing)

Click the link to view our upcoming theme skills!
Theme 9 (week one)
Phonics Words:  advice, mice, price, slice, twice, could, pull, police, voice
Sight Words: pretty, sun, which, love, hard
Vocab Words:  result, vote, wait
Grammar Skill: Verbs: Past and Present

Math

Chapter 10: Mental Math and Estimation
Vocabulary: sum, difference, number line, about, round, nearest ten, estimate, reasonable
Objectives:

• Relate sum to the addition operation
• Add numbers with up to 3 digits mentally with and without regrouping
• Relate difference to the subtraction operation
• Subtract up to 3 digit numbers mentally with and without regrouping
• Use a number line to round numbers to the nearest ten
• Use rounding to estimate sums and differences
• Estimate to check reasonableness of answers

MIFChapter10

BASIC FACT EMERGENCY:

• Please be practicing basic facts for both addition and subtraction at home
• Students must master these facts 1-20 by the end of 2^nd grade
• You can use flashcards and instead of your child just saying the answer, have them read the whole problem and then the answer out loud
• Focus on accuracy
• Have your child create their own flashcards
• If you ever find yourself doing these facts in your head, ask your child if they can help you with the answer
• Give students an answer and see if they can tell you addition and subtraction equations that equal that number

Cursive

Week 1 Lowercase Letters are: l, e, h and b.  WHOO-HOO! Our first instructional video teaching you the first four letters of cursive is available for you to watch:

Parent packets were sent home today and student can grab extra practice paper from school at any time to use at home.  Their homework is to watch the video and leave a comment on the blog.  When you leave a comment on this post, you can tell us something you noticed, something you are proud of or something you are still struggling with.  Don’t forget to leave a comment and make sure you comment on this post so we know that you completed your homework.  I just can’t wait to see our class be responsible citizens by watching the video and commenting every week!

Remember:

• Students will be responsible for and must watch the weekly video and comment on the blog by WEDNESDAY of each week.
• Since this is the first video, it is a bit longer.  The more we get into cursive the shorter the videos will be.
• If you are worried about making time for the videos, please feel free to watch a little each night and then just comment when you are finished.
• Use the FREE app Cursive Writing at home…it’s a great resource! Cursive Writing App
• We will practice the letters throughout the week at school, so it is important to watch the video and be prepared.
• Students will not be allowed to write in cursive during daily work until we have learned all of the letters.

Mrs. Weiss and I are 21st century teachers that are super pumped to teach your 21st century learner the joys of cursive writing.

Science

Next week, we will begin our unit on Personal Health!

Essential Questions: What is the food pyramid?  Why do we need to learn about food and health?  How can I use the food pyramid in my life?  How can I use the scientific method to learn about my teeth?  What are the four types of teeth?  What are the different parts of a tooth?

Vocabulary: food pyramid, healthy lifestyle, primary teeth, permanent teeth, incisors, cuspids, bicuspids, molars, crown, neck, root, enamel, dentin, and pulp

Check out this video to get your brain thinking about dental health:

Fun-tivities

Friday, January 27^th we will be celebrating chocolate day!

Tuesday, January 31 we have the 2^nd-3^rd grade music program.  Please have your child wear baseball attire! Do they have their lines memorized?

Wednesday, February 1^st we will be celebrating Global Day of Play 2017.

Upcoming Events

Monday, January 23, 2017

• Lunch: Chicken Patty
• “result”  note card comes home, due  Tuesday
• Great Kindness Week Begins
• 2^nd grade wear yellow for rainbow day!
• Watch Cursive Week 1 video AND comment on blog by Wednesday

Tuesday, January 24, 2017 

• Lunch: Hot Dog
• SCORE for Friendship: Wear your favorite sports attire
• “vote” and “wait”  note card comes home, due Wednesday
• Watch Cursive Week 1 video AND comment on blog by Wednesday

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

• Lunch: Cheese Omelet
• Mismatch Day
• Cursive Week 1 video viewing and comment, due today
• Grace for President comes home to read aloud and practice strategies. Book and slip returned tomorrow

Thursday, January 26, 2017

• Lunch: Chicken Tenders
• Dress like a Super Hero Day
• Phonics Practice Paper (front and back), due tomorrow
• Family Kindness Night 6pm

Friday, January 27, 2017

• Lunch: Cheese Pizza
• Warm and Cozy Day: Wear your favorite cuddly sweatshirt or attire
• CHOCOLATE DAY!
• Cursive Videos are posted over the weekend and students have until the following Wednesday to watch and or comment
  • Videos are longer at first due to it being a new concept.  Please feel free to watch it a little bit each day to help!
  • Pack the Place at DHS 7pm

Celebrating Our Greatness!

• LOVING every minute of our read aloud: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
• Creating media recording to share the phonics words we were able to discover
• Learning how to properly record, test sound, and enunciate our words
• Improving our knowledge and use of Google Docs to write our biographies
• Meeting Maestra Erin’s student teacher in World Language
• Refreshing our room with new seats
• Referencing SeeSaw to monitor our January AR goals
• Typing our first #oneword2017 reflection in SeeSaw
  • We will do this biweekly so please check in and or sign up to see how your child is working on their one word
• Carefully reading word problems in math and learning how to find mistakes
• STARTING CURSIVE!!!

Second Grade in Pictures

~*The Pitzer Post*~

January 16-20, 2017

In this weekly post, you will find information about the academic content and special events happening in the upcoming week. 

Literacy (Reading & Writing)

Click the link to view our upcoming theme skills!
Theme 8 (week two)
Phonics Words:  blink, drink, junk, thank, trunk, round, stay, blanket, monkey
Sight Words: happy, place, lot, stay, when
Vocab Words:  operate, field, effect
Grammar Skill: Review Action and Linking Verbs

Math

Next week we will continue our chapter on metric measurement.  This current chapter does a lot with subtraction and I noticed that we are having some trouble in that area.  One way to help your child at home is practicing math facts.  Fact fluency is a vital skill for students to have especially as we move into harder concepts.  There are so many options and ways to practice facts:

Check out this great website:   http://www.mathfactspro.com/mathfactfluencygame.html#/home
Students can practice basic facts and it allows you to pick the operation, how many problems and then reports how long it takes you to answer.  There of course is a paid version but the free version is just as great! J  You can also use flashcards and or the Flash to Pass App.  If you are having trouble with when to practice you can try a little bit each night or designate certain nights of the week for practice; whatever works the best for your family.

By the end of second grade students are expected to have mastered addition and subtractions facts 1-20!  I know third grade teachers highly appreciate as much fact fluency as possible!

Science

This week students experimented with magnets of all different shapes and sizes.  They then determined what was magnetic and what was non magnetic.  Can your child explain some examples from class?

Second Step

This week we explored strong feelings like frustration, excitement, and anger.  These strong feelings often take over which makes it had for the thinking part of our brain to operate.

Can you child explain this:

Next week, we will focus on managing embarrassment and remembering when we feel strong feelings to stop, name our feeling, and calm down.

Fun-tivities

On Friday, January 27, 2017, second grade will be celebrating Chocolate Day! We are currently reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl.  There are so many chocolately adventures that await. Who is excited?!

On Wednesday, February 1st we will be celebrating Global School Play Day 2017! Check out the flyer below for more information: Global Day of Play 2017

Upcoming Events

Monday, January 16, 2017 

• No School! MLK Day

Tuesday, January 17, 2017 

• Lunch: Hot Dog
• “operate”  note card comes home, due  Tuesday
• STAR Reading Benchmarking Begins

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

• Lunch: Chicken Fajitas
• “field” and “effect”  note card comes home, due Wednesday
• FIRST CURSIVE HW: Watch Cursive Intro Video on Blog and leave a comment!

Thursday, January 19, 2017

• Lunch: Homemade Chili
• Phonics Words Practice Paper comes home, due Friday

Friday, January 20, 2017

• Lunch: Bosco Sticks
• Theme 8 Progress Test

Celebrating Our Greatness!

• Super Improvers were EVERYWHERE!!!
• Diving in to biography writing with  Google Docs
• Navigating the controls of Google Docs and working hard to stay focused. CTRL Z is our friend!
• Receiving messages from our teacher when she had a sub and wasn’t even in our room! She was able to use a program called Go Guardian that allows her to check our Chromebook screens to give us advice or remind us to get back on track.
• Learning how to measure in centimeters and meters
• Our teacher is participating in the #30daystlaphooks challenge (Teach Like a Pirate Hooks, or ways to get students excited and pumped about learning). Her hooks this week were:
  • Mozart and Interior Design Hook: using music and lighting to spark interest in grammar lessons
  • Mystery Bag Hook: a bag with a ? on it appeared in our room before math and we predicted what we thought would be in it
  • Student Directed Hook: we reflected on math workshop and then our ideas were used to create a chart of what workshop should look like.  We had voice and choice in a lesson!
  • Kinesthetic Hook: We got up and moved around the room making sure 12 sentences had correct end punctuation
  • Teaser Hook: Mrs. Pitzer started the day with no paper chain and by lunch time she had a long paper chain attached to her wrist. We spent all day trying to figure it out.
• Participating in the “Who can make the longest paper chain with only 1 piece of paper” Competition!
  • 1st place was 260 cm
  • 2nd place was 242 cm
  • 3rd place was 191 cm
• Realizing that creating a paper chain takes teamwork, critical thinking, problem sovling, and effort!

Second Grade in Pictures

~*The Pitzer Post*~

January 9-13, 2017

In this weekly post, you will find information about the academic content and special events happening in the upcoming week. 

Literacy (Reading & Writing)

Click the link to view our upcoming theme skills!
Theme 8 (week one)
Phonics Words:  brook, cook, shook, stood, wood, knew, we,  flood, neighborhood
Sight Words: let’s, start, pick, hand, lost
Vocab Words:  attract, magnet, object
Grammar Skill: Linking Verbs

Math

Chapter 7: Metric Measurement of Length
Vocabulary: meterstick, meter (m), width, length, unit, height, taller, tallest, shorter, shortest, longer, longest, centimeter
Objectives:

• Use a meterstick to estimate and measure length
• Compare lengths
• Find the difference in lengths of objects
• Use a centimeter ruler to measure length
• Draw a line of given length
• Use a centimeter ruler to measure and compare lengths of objects
• Find the difference in centimeters in lengths of objects
• Solve one-step and two-step problems involving length
• Draw models to solve real-world problems

Science

We will be beginning our next unit on Magnets.  This actually will go perfectly with our literacy curriculum and will allow us to make some excellent connections.

Essential Questions: What are the different types of magnets?  Can you name different characteristics of magnets?  What are the properties of magnets?

Vocabulary: bar, ring, horseshoe, disc, u-shaped (types of magnets, north pole, sound pole, magnetic field, attract, and repel

Check out Bill Nye explaining magnetism to get a head start on your learning:

Second Step

Next week we will focus on Unit 3 and begin introducing emotion management.  Strong feelings of anger can lead to aggressive behavior, and students may also struggle to make good choices when they experience intense feelings.  Recognizing and labeling feelings in oneself and others facilitates problem solving, self- management, and social emotional competence.  Focusing on bodily signs of strong emotions help students recognize distressing emotions that might require managing.

Upcoming Events

Monday, January 9, 2017 

• Lunch: Cheese Burger
• “attract”  note card comes home, due  Tuesday
• STAR Benchmarking begins (MATH)

Tuesday, January 10, 2017 

• Lunch: Chicken Nuggets
• “magnet” and “object”  note card comes home, due Wednesday
• DHS Cookie Sales
• Report Cards issued!
• Parent’s Club Meeting @ 7pm

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

• Lunch: Turkey/Cheese Croissant
• Read out loud: Presenting Amazing Magnets (book and slip mu t be signed and returned)

Thursday, January 12, 2017

• Lunch: Mini Corn Dogs
• Phonics Words Practice Paper comes home, due Friday

Friday, January 13, 2017

• Lunch: Cheese Quesadilla

Celebrating Our Greatness!

• Discovering our #OneWord for 2017! What was your child’s one word that they will focus on this year?
• Creating and collaborating on our classroom’s #OneWord2017 Project using Google Slides
• Engaging in digital literacy skills with Wonderopolis
• Reflecting in TodaysMeet by using two hands while typing and following the rules of writing
• Checking last month’s AR progress and using this to help us set new goals for January in SeeSaw
• Our first Sneetch has moved to Seussville and several citizens leveled up!

Second Grade in Pictures!

~*The Pitzer Post*~

December 19-21, 2016 & January 5-6, 2017

In this weekly post, you will find information about the academic content and special events happening in the upcoming week. 

Literacy (Reading & Writing)

Due to the shortened weeks, we will be reviewing skills and strategies that we have learned so far.  It is hard to believe it but we have had 42 vocabulary words and 37 phonics patterns.  We are learning so many things.

Vocabulary words so far: cabin, visit, memory, tradition, relatives, generation, rely, role, member, identity, sibling, symbol, fascinate, exploration, journal, measure, calendar, interval, daily, orbit, position, solar, ray, rotate, crossing, rural, build, purpose, social, urban, reside,  route, state,  journey, boundary, terrain, essential, wheel, machine, reduce, labor, and effort

Comprehension Strategies so far: Making connections, creating images, asking questions, determining importance, infer, use fix-up strategies, and synthesize.   Can you child explain all seven?  Which one is easier to use?  Which one is harder? Can you use more than one?

Phonics Patterns so far: diagraphs, short vowels, -ake, -oke, -ute, -ine, -ain, -aint, -ail, – ea, -eed, -eat, oat, -ow, -ue, ui, -or, -orn, -art, -urn, -ir, -ear, -eer, -ea, -ore, -are, -ire, -eer, -ear, -air, -oom, –ew, -au, -aw, -awn, -alk, and -all.  These are patterns your child is held accountable during independent writing.  Please encourage them to apply these skills during writer’s workshop!

Genres so far: Personal Narrative, Expository, Letters, and Biography.  Check out our genre lists below.  Can your child explain each genre?  Do they have a favorite genre and can they tell you why?  How could they use these genre lists to write at home?

Math

This week we wrapped our unit on Multiplication and Division.  When your child brings their test home please know this is not a concept that has to be mastered by the end of second grade.  However, I do encourage you though to continue practicing and or discussing multiplication as it does become a bigger focus on 3^rd grade.

We just finished the Math Chapters 1-6 benchmark.  You will receive the results when we return from winter break.  This will be an excellent way for myself and your family to see what your child still needs help with and or excels in.  Stay tuned in January for more information.  Chapters 1-6 covered place value, regrouping with addition, regrouping with subtraction, bar models, multiplication and division.

We will be reviewing place value concepts for the rest of our time together this year!

Chapter 1: Place Value
Vocabulary: hundred, hundreds, thousand, standard form, word form, expanded form, greater than, less than, greatest, least, more than
Objectives:

• Use base-ten blocks to recognize, read, and write numbers to 1,000
• Count on by 1s, 10s, and 100’s to 1,000
• Use base-ten blocks and a place value chart to read, write, and represent numbers to 1,000
• Read and write numbers to 1,000 in standard form, expanded form, and word form
• Use base-ten blocks to compare numbers
• Compare numbers using greaten than and less than
• Compare numbers using the symbols for greater than and less than
• Order three-digit numbers
• Identify the greatest and least number
• Identify number patterns

Science

Our battle of the bands was EPIC! If you haven’t yet already please check out our Facebook Live video on the Dunlap Grade School Page and or looked at your child’s SeeSaw account, I highly recommend you do so.  I was so very impressed with their creativity and ability to describe how their instrument made sound!  What was your child’s favorite part of the battle and creation of their instrument?  Feel free to leave us a comment below.

Upcoming Events

Monday, December 19, 2016 

• Lunch: McRib (No salads available all week)
• Feel free to wear plaid/flannel
• K-2 Dance Party @9:30am

Tuesday, December 20, 2016 

• Lunch: Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup
• POLAR EXPRESS DAY K-2!
  • Wear PJs (school and weather appropriate…please have shoes!)
  • May bring a stuffed animal that fits in their backpack

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

• Lunch: Cheese Pizza
• End of 2^nd Quarter
• Feel free to wear festive attire
• All School SING @10am
• Parties begin at 12:30pm
• 1:15pm dismissal

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR! 🙂

Thursday, January 5, 2017

• Lunch: Cheese Pizza

Friday, January 6, 2017

• Lunch: Chicken Sticks

 Celebrating Our Greatness!

• Our Grinch has 10 hears for out #DGSgrinchmas Challenge!
• 2 students leveled up on the Super Improver Wall! We have a new Yertle and new Who! #2Psuperimprovers
• Practicing typing skills by keeping 2 hands on home row using Dance Mat Typing (available on our Symbaloo page)
• Finishing our read aloud: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe
• Publishing our 7^th Book Review! (see picture below)
• Getting MESSY in math with shaving cream and expanded form

Second Grade in Pictures

I wanted to take a moment and wish you and your family a wonderful and safe holiday.  I can’t thank you enough for all that you do at home with your child to help them be successful at school. Here’s to all the learning we did in 2016 and I can’t wait to see what 2017 has in store for us!