Science:This week, we focused our learning on the sun. We discussed how the sun helps and hurts us, how the sun provides light and warmth, how the sun seems to move and much more!

Math: Our second graders are turning into addition machines! We have been practicing addition with regrouping in the ones and tens. We also are learning how to read word problems, highlight the important information, solve, and label our answers. It looks like we will be wrapping up chapter 2 on Tuesday and "showing what we know" on Wednesday.

Shared Reading: We have been working on making connections and tying them back to the story Nobody's Mother is in Second Grade. We also focused on retelling using key story elements and answering comprehension questions using examples from the text.

Word Work: This week, in addition to our word sorts and word wall words, students learned about contractions.

Writing: We have been working on EXPLODING small moments using descriptive language. We are practicing adding sensory details to help create a movie in our minds. I can't wait until students take their learning and apply it in their personal narratives!

Guided Reading: Our guided reading groups are running smoothly. At this point, I have met with every group at least twice. In our small groups, we are practicing strategies that good readers use. I hope you have heard all about the wonderful books we are reading!

October Already?!

It was so nice meeting all of you at Back to School Night! I'm looking forward to a wonderful year!

Science: This week, we began our first Science unit about the sun, the moon, and the stars. We brainstormed ideas about what a scientist is and what a scientist does, and students quickly realized THEY were scientists! Our kiddos are SO excited and can't wait to dive deeper into learning!

Math: We wrapped chapter 1 up with our first "Show Me What You Know." We learned different test-taking strategies to help us such as highlighting key words and double checking our work. We will continue to practice these strategies to help us catch errors. We will begin chapter 2 next week. We will be focusing on adding three digit numbers with and without regrouping. A detailed home-school connection went home in your child's homework folder yesterday.

Shared Reading: We wrapped up Miss Nelson is Missing by using key story elements to aid us in retelling the story. Completed graphic organizers were sent home. Our kiddos did an AMAZING job! We also practiced using evidence from the text to support our thinking in our written responses. Next week, we will be reading a story called Nobody's Mother is in Second Grade.

Word Work: Our word work block is running smoothly! We are sorting away and really digging deep into spelling patterns. On Monday, our first word wall sentence homework will be sent home.

Writer's Workshop: We have been working on personal narratives. This week, students have been catching small moment ideas in their tiny topic notepads. We have been working on taking our "watermelon" ideas and squeezing them until a tiny "seed" idea pops out. Our wonderful writer's have been drafting away! Ask them to tell you all about it! :)

Guided Reading: Benchmark assessments are completed! We will begin guided reading groups next week.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.

Reminder: Back to School Night is this Tuesday, September 30th. I am looking forward to meeting all of you!

Social Studies: We continued with our Teamwork Unit. We discussed the role of leaders on a team and what happens when they do not do their job correctly.

Math: My apologies! In my last post, I said students would be taking the Chapter 1 assessment, but obviously I forgot we were off from school on Thursday. With that being said, we will review for the Chapter 1 assessment on Monday and Tuesday and students will take the test on Wednesday. Be on the lookout for the Chapter 2 home/school connection in your child's homework folder.

Reader's Workshop: I am still getting to know your child as a reader through our benchmark assessments, but one thing is for sure, we have a room full of students that love to read!

Shared Reading: We have been reading a book called Miss Nelson is Missing. We have been practicing making connections, rereading to uncover new information, and responding to literature using writing.

Word Work: Students were introduced to and practice the following sorts: 1. Written Sort 2. Blind Sort 3. Speed Sort 4. Glued Sort. Next week, we will begin our word work rotations.

Writing: This week in writing, we learned that good writers edit their pieces for punctuation and capitalization. We practiced together and then students practiced editing their own pieces. I still LOVE hearing the kids complain when I announce that our writing block is over! :)

Daily 5/Guided Reading:
All 5 of our Daily 5 centers are up and running smoothly. Next week will be our last week of benchmark assessments before our guided reading groups start.

In Full Swing!

Social Studies- This week we have been focusing on making our classroom and school a better place by showing C.A.R.E.S. (cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, and self-control).

Math- Place value, place value, place value! In chapter 1, your child has been working on building numbers, writing numbers in standard, expanded, and word form, as well as comparing 3 digit numbers. If you see that your child is having a difficult time with their homework, please write a note at the top for me. This will allow me to provide them with extra practice in our classroom. Thank you for your continued support! :) Next week, we will be working on ordering numbers from greatest to least. We will also show what we know on our chapter 1 assessment.

Reader's Workshop- We are continuing to build our stamina when reading independently.

Shared Reading- This week in Shared Reading, we read a book called My Teacher's Secret Life. In this story, a little boy thinks his teacher lives at school. After seeing her at the grocery store, the mall, and the park, he suspects that his teacher has a "secret life" outside of school. We practice finding and marking key story elements such as characters, setting, and plot as we read. We then learned how to take that information and transfer it onto a graphic organizer. We used our organizer to help us retell the story and added details when necessary to enhance our retelling.

Word Work- Students completed their first word sort at our "teacher time" center. We set expectations together for what teacher time would look like and sound like and then practiced. Next week, students will learn 4 types of sorts they can work on independently or in small groups when they are not meeting with me.

Writing- We are filling up our notebooks with such creative writing. Yesterday at the end of our writing block, a few students started complaining because they wanted to keep writing! Exactly what I want to hear! :) Students were introduced to writing circles--places where we can share our writing without judgement and students provide positive and constructive feedback to each other. We will continue to model, model, model, and practice, practice, practice before in order for our writing circles to run as smoothly and effectively as possible.

Daily 5/Guided Reading- This week in Daily 5, students were introduced to and practiced working independently at our word work and work on writing centers. Next week, I will introduce our listen to reading center and I will begin our reading assessments to determine guided reading groups.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns. Have a wonderful weekend.

Up, Up, and Away!

Wow, what a busy full first week of school! We are spending a lot of time learning about our classmates and how our classroom works in order to make our classroom a safe and fun place for learning.

A Peek At Our Week:

Social Studies: As a class, we developed our hopes and dreams for second grade. Each kiddo created a social and academic goal they would like to accomplish by the end of the school year. We will revisit these goals throughout the school year and discuss the steps we need to take in order to accomplish them. Keeping our hopes and dreams in mind, we talked about what our classroom needs to look like/run like in order to successfully reach these goals. We brainstormed ideas and came up with our three classroom rules: 1. Take care of ourselves 2. Take care of others 3. Take care of our school. Each day, our kiddos are working hard to make our classroom a better place!

Math: This week, I began to get to know your child as a mathematician! We spent time brainstorming what math means to us, and realized there isn't always just one right answer. We know that everyone learns differently, and that is OKAY! We began Chapter 1 midweek. Be sure to read the home-school connection that went home in your child's homework folder. This will show you exactly what your child is learning during this chapter.

Reader's Workshop: We spent the week learning and exploring our classroom library, choosing "just right books" and building our reading STAMINA!

Shared Reading: Ask your child about the wonderful books we read about September 11th and what they learned. I'm sure they have already shared so much with you. They just couldn't contain their excitement about this!

Word Work: Students took their spelling inventories this week. Next week students will be placed into small groups in which they will begin word sorts and learning about how words are spelled.

Writer's Workshop: Since our writer's notebooks will soon be filled with the stories of our lives, I thought it was important for students to make their notebooks a reflection of themselves. Students decorated their notebooks on Monday, and by Tuesday, they were writing away! Our wonderful writer's practiced brainstorming topics to write about and began drafting about topics of their choice.

Daily 5: Students practiced and worked independently at our Read to Self station and our Read to Someone station. Ask them all about it!

I look forward to meeting all of you at back to school night! As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions.

Officially Super Second Graders!

Mark your calendars:
Monday, 9/8/14- PTA Kickoff Carnival
Tuesday, 9/30/14- Back to School Night

Our Special Schedule:

Monday- Gym (remember to send your kiddo to school wearing sneakers)

Tuesday- Art (please send in an art smock)

Wednesday- Music

Thursday- Computers

Friday- Library


The first two days of second grade have been so much fun! We have been busy getting to know each other and our classroom, practicing routines and procedures, and organizing our supplies. I’m so excited to have your child in my class this year and can’t wait to learn and grow with them. Looking forward to a super second grade year!

Reminders:

1. Please sign your child's homework book every night. This is an easy way for me to know that you saw your child's homework assignment for the night and it was completed.

2. We have a very long morning, so please remember to pack your child a small, dry, and healthy snack each day.



If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via email or phone.
Have a wonderful weekend!

Welcome!

Hi! You must have opened the letter I sent you! I hope you are as excited as I am that you are in my class this year!! I bet you have a lot of questions about second grade, your teacher, and your classroom. I can't wait to meet you and learn all about you. Before school starts, I thought you would like to know a little about your new teacher.

My name is Mrs. Giannone. I know it looks really hard to say, but you pronounce it Gia-known. This is my second year teaching at Beeler School. I LOVE Beeler and I LOVE second grade! Before I came to Beeler, I taught kindergarten. I love to read, run, snowboard, and watch the FLYERS in my free time. I am married to Mr. Nick (you will hear a lot of silly stories about him this year) and we have a dog daughter named Apple (you will hear even MORE stories about her). Here is a picture of them:

Are you wondering what our classroom looks like? Here's a sneak peek:

This is where we will meet in our classroom for morning meeting and learning.

This is our reading table. We will meet here to read together at least twice a week. You will be introduced to many wonderful books and practice strategies that good readers use.

We will meet at the front rug for most of our learning. Under the Active board are your book bins for daily 5.

Like I mentioned before, I LOVE to read. So, our classroom has LOTS and LOTS of books for your enjoyment.


You'll see the rest of our classroom on the first day of school. I am SUPER excited and can't wait to meet you! A year of fun filled learning awaits us!

See you soon!

Mrs. Giannone