Cause an UPROAR for the Big Cats!

On Halloween, our class was able to collect $65.00 to help the big cats *YAHOO!* and we will be receiving bracelets from National Geographic soon as a thank you. But our work doesn't stop there! When we return to school after the winter holidays, we will continue our focus on animals and we'll be working on letter writing as well. We will participate in the Letters to Lions campaign as a way to practice letter writing with a purpose. (See below for more information.) Tomorrow begins NatGeo's Big Cat Week and they have lots of great educational shows scheduled that you may want to watch with your family.

One of our second grade writing standards is letter writing:
2.2 Write a friendly letter complete with the date, salutation, body, closing, and signature.

National Geographic Kids website offers a great opportunity to practice this form of writing while doing something good! From the site - "Lions are in danger of extinction across Africa. Filmmakers and National Geographic Explorers-in-Residence Dereck and Beverly Joubert want you to help save lions! Write letters to lions and the Jouberts will deliver them to African leaders to let them know how important lions are to kids everywhere. And we may feature a few of them in a gallery on the National Geographic websites and in print!"

For more information about these beautiful animals, click here. Nat Geo Wild will be supporting National Geographic's Big Cats Initiative with Big Cat Week starting December 11th. Check it out and cause an uproar!

Scholastic Book Club Ordering

This week, I will be sending home book orders - our first of the year. The children have varied abilities in reading so I like to provide book orders for all levels. You'll see that there are several different flyers.You can order using the order form on the flyers or you can order from the Scholastic website. http://clubs.scholastic.com/   Our "Class Activation Code" is DL6GB - you'll need this if you order online.

Orders for this round will be due by October 14th. The books usually take just under 2 weeks to arrive.

Frequently Used Websites

In the classroom, there are some websites we use a lot. These sites are available to students for quick access from our school computers, but they may want to visit them at home as well.

http://everydaymathonline.com
This is the online component of our math program. Your child will have login and password information in his/her binder, attached to the Math Letters sleeve.

http://www.worldbookonline.com/kids/home
LdVCS students have access to World Book Online. There are five different options to allow access by all levels of learners. We primarily use World Book Kids but World Book Student is another great option for more advanced readers.
Login: sdcoeldv
Password: library

http://wonderopolis.org/
Learning is happening everywhere, all the time! We have bottled a little bit of that learning in each Wonder of the Day®. Experience a daily dose of time with your child to make the most of each and every moment together — learn something new, try out an idea, create a masterpiece, imagine possibilities. It’s easy. It’s fun. But the learning is big!

 http://www.starfall.com/
Starfall.com opened in September of 2002 as a free public service to teach children to read with phonics. Our systematic phonics approach, in conjunction with phonemic awareness practice, is perfect for preschool, kindergarten, first grade, second grade, special education, homeschool, and English language development (ELD, ELL, ESL). Starfall is an educational alternative to other entertainment choices for children.

http://www.abcya.com/
ABCya.com is the leader in free educational kids computer games and activities for elementary students to learn on the web. All children's educational computer activities were created or approved by certified school teachers. All educational games are free and are modeled from primary grade lessons and enhanced to provide an interactive way for children to learn.

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/
The kids version of the amazing National Geographic website.

http://www.funbrain.com/
Since 1997, kids, teachers, librarians, and parents have enthusiastically turned to Funbrain for its free educational games, online books, and comics. Funbrain, created for kids ages preschool through grade 8, offers more than 100 fun, interactive games that develop skills in math, reading, and literacy. Plus, kids can read a variety of popular books and comics on the site, including Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Amelia Writes Again, and Brewster Rocket.

Teachers and librarians can confidently encourage students to use Funbrain during their free time in class, assured that kids will enjoy an educational, safe online learning experience. Funbrain's games help students build on what they have learned in class and acquire new skills in reading, math, and problem solving.

Word Study

When you were in elementary school, no doubt you were given a list of spelling words on Monday, a week's worth of homework assignments to practice the words, followed by a test on Friday. This method of learning to spell may work for some students but studies have shown that a more effective way to teach students to spell is Word Study. In this kind of program, students are not encouraged to simply memorize the words but rather, the emphasis is placed on understanding the patterns found in words and in understanding the structures of the language. Word Study includes work in phonics and vocabulary and leads to greater success in reading. Check out this article from LD Online for more about Word Study.

We will spend two weeks on each of our Word Study lists, starting with a basic list of words from our language program, Imagine It! The lists are based on sounds and spelling patterns so that the children may investigate the words and figure out the patterns on their own - much more powerful than if I were to tell them how the words are similar or should be grouped. These basic lists will work well for many of the students but other children may need more of a challenge or a shortened/simplified list. This differentiation helps me ensure that all students are doing work appropriate for their own individual level.

During the first week of each study, we will work with the words together in class. We'll go over the words together and then work with them in many ways, discovering the common spellings associated with certain sounds as we go. The children really are becoming word detectives at this point! We will then try to find other words that fit into the same patterns.

During the second week, the children will continue to investigate and work with the words in class and will practice them at home as well. They will also spend time working with the 5 high frequency words that go along with the list. These words don't fit the patterns we are working on but they are words that second graders will use a lot and should know how to spell.

Spelling & Vocabulary City is a website the children can use to practice their words during homework week or at any time. http://www.spellingcity.com/

More Fluency Practice

My sister is five years old. She wants to learn to ride a bike. I told her I have an idea. If I have time after school, I will help her. I will run beside her and keep her bike going in a straight line. Have you ever helped someone learn to ride a bike?

See this post for more information about fluency practice.

A Nation Remembers: 9/11

Tomorrow I will begin some discussions with the children about 9/11. We will talk a little bit about the events that occurred that day but will focus more on the outpouring of support and patriotism that followed. We will talk about what makes us feel better during difficult times and the importance of providing a helping hand to those in need after a crisis. We will also reach out to heroes in our community so if you have any suggestions about people we can contact, please let me know.

Your child may have questions about what we talk about in class or what they see in the media. Here's a great article with some resources and a link to a tip sheet that will help with the conversation.

Fluency Practice

"Fluency is the ability to read or access words effortlessly with seemingly little attention to decoding. Fluent readers decode words not only automatically but accurately. in addition, fluent readers group words into meaningful units, utilize punctuation to guide their voices, and use expression appropriately to help them comprehend what they are reading."

"Fluency develops over time, and students should be given repeated opportunities to practice fluency with a variety of texts. Repeated readings increase rate, accuracy and comprehension by providing students with multiple exposures to words and spelling patterns. In addition, it helps students improve their ability to break sentences into meaningful phrases and to use intonation. It is effective with both older and younger students. Repeated readings involve the students reading segments of text between 50 to 200 words, depending on students' ability. Students should practice repeated readings with a variety of different text types."

~SRA Imagine It! Program Appendix

We will be practicing fluency with short pieces of text on a regular basis. All students can benefit from extra practice with the text at home so I am going to include the text on our class blog. Your child should work on being able to read the text without making mistakes, paying attention to punctuation and with appropriate expression. You can time your child and count the number of mistakes made, then reread and try to beat that time, making fewer mistakes. Have your child make a chart to keep track of his/her progress - they love to see their improvement on paper. :)

I have a pet dog. His name is Dash. Dash knows many tricks. He can sit and fetch. Dash and I are kind to each other. I brush his fur and give him baths. He licks my face when I am sick. Dash and I are best friends. How are you kind to your best friend?

Welcome to Second Grade!

Hello Families!

         I am excited to welcome you to our second grade class! As one of the founders of the school, I am very passionate about LdV and am so pleased that you have chosen to send your child to our amazing little school.

         You’ll soon learn about all of the wonderful things we’ll be studying this year and what makes LdV such a unique charter school. Look for your invitation to our “Back to School Night” (coming up on Wednesday, September 21^st) where you’ll get all the details.

         Please note that your child will not report directly to our classroom in the mornings but rather line up with the rest of the class in the lunch arbor area. Look for a sign with my name on it and have your child wait there until I arrive to walk them upstairs to our room.

         Children often bring a wide array of supplies to school with them so I wanted to let you know ahead of time that most of the things your child will need at school will be provided for her/him. Toys and valuables should always stay at home. If possible, please send in the following:

·      pencil box

·      crayons – box of 24 is a good size

·      water bottle (we don’t have a water fountain in the classroom)

·      toothbrush with holder (we brush after lunch)

         It is very important to me that my student’s families know that this is not my classroom, but our classroom.  Parents are always welcome to come watch presentations or just see what we’re up to. Also, I will be sending home a volunteer sheet during the first week of school if you are interested in volunteering your time. Please note: for the safety of the children, volunteers need to have TB and fingerprint records on file with our front office before helping out at school. If you’d prefer to donate items for use in the classroom, a list of needs is available here: http://signupgenius.com/go/classroom446

Should you have questions for me before we meet again, feel free to contact me via email: erin.gannon@davincicharter.org or phone: 271-2777 x111. If you’d like to come in and talk face to face, I’d be happy to set up an appointment with you.

Again, welcome to second grade and room 11!  I look forward to working with you this year.

Sincerely,

Ms. Gannon :)

Grade Change

I am officially switching back to second grade! It was so much fun to loop my students and work with them for two years. We learned a lot together and I return to second grade with a better understanding of what to do to prepare them for third grade. School begins in a little over a week. I can't wait to meet my new group and begin my 14th year of teaching. My how time flies!

Toys From Everyday Objects

I just watched this fascinating video of Arvind Gupta and his ideas for making play things out of ordinary items. It got me thinking about all of you creative kids who are always using the tools I give you in new ways... :) As a teacher, that has sometimes frustrated me but this video made me think about it differently! Time to explore and create new things is so important. Check out this video and see what it inspires you to create...




Please email me or comment below if you come up with something you'd like to share. Hope you're staying cool and enjoying vacation! :)Ms. G