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

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Hi families,

Today, we did new math centers. We went to library and we went to music. We learn decompose numbers (that means break them apart) into tens and ones. We did a movement break and listened to music. We learned how to play the addition math game called Bump.

Smiles,
Ms. Petzold's Class

Tiny Topic Notebooks

Hi Families,

You may see your child bring home a tiny topic notebook some evenings. This is a small spiral notebook in which I have encouraged your child to jot down ideas which they can turn into stories during our writing workshop. We are focusing on writing small moment narratives in which student authors are expected to zoom in on a small aspect of their lives to write about in detail. Instead of writing about a trip to the amusement park, they could write about going on a specific ride or getting the powdered sugar from fried dough all over their clothes. They could write, "Fried dough -- on clothes" in their Tiny Topic notebook to help them remember an event. If they see a deer in the backyard in the evening, they could write, "deer spotting." The idea behind the Lucy Calkins writing program which we use in Methuen is to turn students into writers -- have them think like writers, read like writers, and write like writers. We write daily in our classroom and writing is an essential part of the second grade curriculum.

If you have any questions or thoughts, please do not hesitate to e-mail me at cypetzold@methuen.k12.ma.us.

Enjoy the beautiful weather!

Ms. Petzold

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Hi Families,

Today we did math - I liked it. We added numbers and used number bonds. We did math stations. My favorite math station was blocks. We went to art. I read with Ms. Petzold. We had time to reading, we wrote a question on sticky notes because good readers write questions. We got to borrow books. We sat on the floor and read on pillows. We had a busy Tuesday.

From,
Ms. Petzold's Class

Friday, September 11, 2015

Hi families,

Today we danced and played music. We got to go on the big playground.
We drew the cover for our Friday journals (we will send those home next Friday -- more informationt to come about these).We counted by 10s and did jumping jacks and star jumps. We took a loooong math test (this was the district wide pre-test for second grade). We read our books and got to pick new books. We earned Friday Free Time by working hard and being good. We had lunch - I like lunch because my mom always sends me notes. 

Love,

Team 3

Thank you to all families who were able to make it to open house last night. If you did not make it, a packet of information will be coming home on Monday. If you were not able to make it and would like to come in and discuss the curriculum and second grade in general, please let me know! I'd love to meet with you.

Have a great weekend!

Ms. Petzold

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Hi Families,

We learned everything in class like math problems and solving number bonds. We went to music and the library. We learned about fact families. It was party cloudy and really hot. We have math homework tonight.

It was a busy, hot, day! We are so lucky to have air conditioning on days like today.

Love,
Group Four


Reminder: Open house is tomorrow, Thursday, September 10th at 6pm. We are classroom 217. I hope to see you there!

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Hi families,

Today, we got to do math centers. We learned about ten frames. We practiced counting up and down and by tens. We went to art. We did math and Ms. Petzold timed us for sixty seconds to see how many problems we could do. We had lunch. We wrote about what we did this weekend for our morning work and small moment stories. We read Scaredy Squirrel Makes A Friend. 

Love,
Team 1

Remember: Open house is this Thursday night, September 10th! Please join me in our classroom (room 217) for a short presentation at 6 p.m. to learn about our curriculum and classroom procedures.

Thursday, September 3, 2015

Hi Families,

We learned about how long you can read for at once, which is called stamina. We went to physical education. We learned what a bar graph is and we made one about how we get to school. We played magic clean up to safely clean our room. We played outside at recess. Some of us had pizza or hamburgers for lunch. We played with someone on the playground.

Thank you for a great first week! Remember no school tomorrow (Friday) or Monday -- we will see you Tuesday!!

Smiles,
Ms. Petzold's Class

Second Day of School -- Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Hi families,

Today we made friendship bracelets with patterns on them. We made castles out of cups working with partners we sit with. We went to the library. We did some surveys to learn about each other with stickers. We went to music. We went outside for recess.

Love,
Ms. Petzold's Class

A note from Ms. Petzold:
Here are some pictures of our responses to the get to know you questions from today. We will work on analyzing these as a class tomorrow and will discuss them using the math terminology: more than, less than, equal to, most, and least. We will also learn about how other students around the world get to and from school. Additionally, we will make a bar graph of how we get to school each day. It is going to be another busy, fun day of school tomorrow. Students should have a note about the week in their home school folders and a poem we learned about today. Please let me know if you the note/poem did not make it home -- that happens sometimes (cypetzold@methuen.k12.ma.us). Please fill out the paperwork that came in the blue folder yesterday and get it back to school as soon as possible. Thank you!

Our First Day of School!

Hi families. Here were some of our favorite things that happened on our first day of school written in students words:

-We played with puzzles (as a cooperative learning/team building activity)

-We made new friends. 

-We got to go to art!

-Recess!!

-Lunch because it was very yummy.

           -Yes, the pizza was yummy.

           -Don't forget the hot dogs, too.

-Reading. I liked my book on sharks.

-When we go to the classroom to learn new things.

-I like learning to read better.

-When Ms. Petzold made us have fun.

-We read Elmer and First Day Jitters (We also did a writing activity with each of these stories -- one should have made it home today about what students were nervous about on the first day, the other was about what makes them unique like Elmer in the story -- these are hanging in our room and if you come to open house you will get to see them!) 

Stop by again soon to see what else we are learning!

Smiles,

Ms. Petzold's Class