Shhhh… It’s a surprise!  This Thursday, the children will get “homework” that they will take home to read.  This “homework” will invite the children to a Polar Express party!!!  The children will get an invitation and a ticket.  Please have the children bring their ticket back to school on Friday!  We will have the conductor punch their ticket to enter the show!  The children will also be invited to wear pajamas to the party.  They can also bring a small blanket or towel to sit on.  We will be watching the Polar Express throughout the day, and we have some special treats of popcorn, hot chocolate and peppermint sticks for the children to enjoy!  We are really excited to share this fun day with the children!

This week, the second graders will be visiting all four second grade classrooms.  This will expose children to different teaching styles, practice with a change of routine, and provide them with an opportunity to participate in some really fun activities!  In my classroom, the children will be learning about ice crystals, and how they are formed.  They will then have the opportunity to grow some crystals of their own.  In the other three classrooms, they will be creating a craft, participating in a STEM challenge, and making some potpourri.  The children are excited about this opportunity!  Make sure you ask them about their experiences each day!

It is hard to believe that we are in the week before Winter Break!  The children are getting pretty excited for holiday festivities and vacation!  Our routine is a little bit off this week.  First, we have come to the end of Unit 2 in Wonders, and therefore will be practicing taking the Unit 2 Assessment all week.  This will give children some practice taking a reading assessment, and demonstrating their reading skills in an assessment.  The children have not had a lot of practice with completing reading assessments independently.  That is why we are practicing this pro cress prior to using this kind of data as a valid and reliable measure of their ability.  We have decided that due to the short week, it being an assessment week, and the excitement of the looming holidays, we will not have spelling words this week!  In conjunction with assessing, we will also review some skills from the unit that could use some additional practice.

In math, we have also made our way to the end of the unit.  Therefore, rather than starting the next unit, we will be utilizing this time to revisit some previously taught skills, to hopefully solidify and deepen their knowledge.  Subtraction skills have been a focus in the previous unit.  We will utilize this time to strengthen students flexibility with numbers, and broaden their number sense.  With a greater depth of knowledge, students will more easily apply these skills to multi-digit addition and subtraction algorithms.