December 4th Class News

                     Dec. 4, 2015

2nd-3rd Grade Explorer News

Wow! I can’t believe that we are 4 days into December already! I hope everyone is enjoying all the hustle and bustle this time of the year brings. I want to start off this week’s Explorer News with Information about upcoming  events….

Holiday Bazaar

The holiday bazaar has been a tradition at Berlin School. The PTNA does a fabulous job organizing this event. On December 10th, our library will turn into a “Grand Bazaar!”  This is a time where each student can pick out items/gifts for their immediate members of their household. Students will bring these home to share with family members. Our class will be attending at 10:30. Please help your child fill out the form and return it. Some kids struggle to identify who is an immediate family member.

Gifts For Giving

This event will take place on Monday Dec. 21 from 9:30-12:00. This is a time for students to travel between 4 different classrooms and make crafts for family members. This is a great opportunity for parents to volunteer. We may also be looking for donations of materials to help pull this off (60 kids!). I will let you know as we start to plan the craft. Mrs. Wagner is looking for twine, ribbon, small rubber bands, and potpourri.

Secret Santa:

This year, we will continue the Secret Santa tradition. This is a book exchange. Information will go home about who your child selected out of a “hat.” The cost of the item should be around $5.00 or less. If this presents a hardship for families, send me an email at mturcotte@u32.org. Students should bring their books to school wrapped and labeled To:________ and From:______. They should put their name on it. They can bring them in anytime but please have them in by FRIDAY DEC. 18th. I have a safe place to keep them “hidden.” I would like to have a class celebration on either Tuesday or Wednesday Dec. 22 or 23rd. At this time we will reveal our Secret Santas. We will keep an eye on the weather!  

Westward Ho!

The Explorers have transported themselves back to 1850 along with a golden retriever named Ranger. We showed up in Independence, MO. We are traveling along with this modern day rescue dog on an adventure back in time with the Abbott family. We’re out on the Oregon Trail, enduring dust, boredom, and danger.

This week we are “buzzing” about books. We are learning to have collaborative discussions about the books we read. Ranger in Time: Rescue on the Oregon Trail is our mentor text this week. We are taking turns retelling, sharing our opinions, our ideas, making predictions, etc. What does “buzzing” on topic sound like? What kind of phrases do we hear when students are on topic? If you don’t understand something someone says, how do you ask for clarification? What if you don’t agree? Guess what...we’re practicing using our CARES!

We also started writing written responses to chapters in our Ranger In Time Text.

Book Clubs

For the next 3 weeks, the 2nd half of Reader’s Workshop is dedicated to Book Clubs. Students are working in partnerships called “Book Clubs.” This week, partners picked a series of “good fit” fiction chapter books to read and study until the holiday break. They are setting goals, making plans, and outlining ways they will accomplish their goals, and yes...there is a place to revise their goals. One group discovered their chapters were VERY long. After the first night (it took them an hour to read), they agreed that they would need to rethink that a bit. Some groups are sharing a text in class and for homework they have agreed to read different books in that series, talk about them in class, and switch and share.

My reading goals for them…

  Identify main characters, secondary characters, and the relationships they have.

  Infer character traits

  Build stamina - use peers to help them stick to books to the end

  Make connections across a book series

  Make comparisons

  Deepen their thinking and their comprehension

  Hopefully, they come to love some of these books and their characters and seek them out on their own.

 

    

Word Study:

Word of the Day: ambitious (regards to the Oregon Trail and goal setting) and we revisited determined

Spelling pattern Long u ew, ue, oo  We had several opportunities to sort and practice these words. Next week we’ll review short vowel spelling. We also spent some time reviewing the high frequency words of the week. Don’t forget to have your child practice those… they are especially important words! We are back to quizzes on Fridays.

Narrative Writing:

This week we typed up our narrative pieces that we have been revising.

Math Corner:

Mrs. Singh has a website she is hoping 2nd graders and 3rd graders visit regularly to support their math learning in her class. You can find it on our school website under programs and services.

Science:

Second graders are starting an animal exploration. The turtle will be at the heart of our learning. This is what many second graders have on their hopes and dreams for the school year. When asked what type of an animal a turtle was, they were not sure. Reptile or amphibian? The 3rd graders were also unclear.  The 2nd graders had some time to do some research and make a plan to teach the 3rd graders what the differences are. Friday afternoon was their chance to do some teaching!

Notes and Reminders

Dec. 10       Holiday Bazaar

Dec. 18   Book Exchange books due

Dec. 21   Gifts for Giving

Dec. 22 or 23 Class Celebration (weather dependent)