Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Hi Families,

We did lots of things today. We did math about subtraction. We broke apart a number, we drew tens and ones, then we took away some ones, we put it all back together. I did math centers, it was fun. I played bump it was fun when we played. We learned more about nouns. We had music and library. It was rainy but we got to go outside for recess. We played outside but not on the field.

Have a good day!

From,
Keilyn and Ivan


Some reminders:
Reminder: Next week on Wednesday, October 7th there will be a Eureka Math informational meeting from 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the Tenney Auditorium. In the meantime, you can find more information about Eureka Math and all our curricula here: https://sites.google.com/a/methuen.k12.ma.us/curriculum-instruction-and-assessment-mps/

Today, several important things are coming home including a fundraising packet for Yankee Candle. It is our PTO's big fundraiser for the year! A scholastic book order form is also coming home if you are interested. You can also order Scholastic books through our class online at: https://orders.scholastic.com/L99Z4

Monday, September 28, 2015

Hi Families,

In phonics, we learned about long A. We had to find long A words in the books in our book bags. In writing, we learned to check if our sentence makes sense, our spelling, to make sure we had capital letters. We played hangman with a long A word. We learned what a noun is a person, place, thing and wrote with sticky notes.

Have a great Monday!

From,
Ave and Jeremiah

Friday, September 25, 2015

Hi Families,

It was a half day and we went to media (computer lab). For morning work we solved math problems that you had to color. We wrote to our parents in our Friday journals, at the end of the day we read in our book bags. We got a binder from Ms. Petzold for reading workshop. We write the books we read in our binder on our book logs.

From,
Ezekiel and Juliet

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Dear families,

Today we did color a rainbow for ways to make 10. We learned math problems. We did math stations.

Have a good day!

Odanny and Jeremiah

Monday, September 21, 2015

Good afternoon families,

We did math. We did minus (also called take away) with breaking apart tens and ones. We did math centers. I worked with Ms. Petzold and got to write on white boards and I worked on independent work (Krysta). I met with Ms. Petzold and I did fact fluency (Lilly). I worked with Ms. Petzold and I did fact fluency (Matthew). We also had gym. In writing, we we learned to write ideas at the top of the paper. We practiced spelling short vowel words by writing them down on white boards. We went outside for recess, it was sunny, and a little cold. We have subtraction homework.

From,
Matthew, Lilly, and Krysta

Narrative Writing

Dear Families,

Narrative writing is our first unit of writing this year.  In this unit, students focus on writing personal narratives from their lives.  Stories students write have characters, a setting, and a time order with a beginning, middle, and end.  They will read stories written by master writers such as Jane Yolen and Angela Johnson, and analyze what makes their stories so beautiful and powerful.

Lessons will teach students to ‘zoom in’ on the most important parts of their stories and focus on small moments. An example of a big moment is a child’s seventh birthday party. A small moment would be opening a favorite present, or singing happy birthday, or something special that happened. I am encouraging students to focus in on these small moments for their stories. They have each been given a small, spiral notebook which they are free to take from home to school. If something special happens, they should take a moment to jot down a few words to help them remember that moment during our writing time.

Students will also begin to make simple changes to make their writing more readable to an audience, taking the first steps in learning to revise their own piece. This is a chance for writers to develop their writer’s voice.  When writers tell how they feel or include a personal reaction, we are more connected to the story.  

Students will begin to learn to:

·        Focus in on a small moment from their lives and share details in order.

·        Use transition words appropriately.

·        Reread writing and add details or take away parts to make the meaning clear.

·        Edit writing for capitals, ending punctuation and spelling.

         

This unit touches on what Second Graders do best…sharing about themselves!  

What can you do to support your child at home?

• Talk about the small things that happen at home and encouraging your child to jot down writing ideas in their tiny topic notebooks.  
• Students often need a chance to verbally rehearse what happens first, next and last. We often tell our stories across our fingers stating, "First this happened..." while pointing to their thumb, "then this happened" while pointing to index finger, all the way to "last this happened", pointing to pinky finger.  
• Having your child tell a story and break it into these parts will be helpful.
• Have your child write... stories, letters, lists, cards. All writing is helpful! 

                                                                             Warmly,

                                                                             Ms. Petzold

This is what tiny topic notebooks look like:

Eureka Math Parent Resources

Hi Families,

We have been working through the first few lessons in the Eureka math program this week. I have heard from several families that it is challenging for their children. Please keep sending me this feedback! When I know homework has been challenging, I know that child needs to continue to practice that specific skill and can continue to instruct the child in the classroom.

The language used in Eureka math may be new to your child and to you! Here are some resources from their website that may be helpful for you.

Here is the link to a Module 1 homework helper which breaks down the homework from each lesson:
http://greatminds.net/maps/documents/tips-for-parents/Homework_Helper-Grade_2_Module_1.pdf

Here is handout (which is coming home today in paper form) of information and vocabulary from module 1:
http://greatminds.net/maps/documents/tips-for-parents/Eureka_Math_Grade_2_Module_1_Parent_Tip_Sheet.pdf

Finally, here is the link to the general parent page which you can explore:
http://greatminds.net/support/parents

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about homework. Thank you for your continued support!

Best,
Ms. Petzold