October 7, 2013

We made it through our first full week of school! I don't know who was more exhausted - me or the students! All kidding aside, we had a great week, full of some wonderful learning.

Increasing Patterns

Math: We wrapped up our Patterning Unit by demonstrating our knowledge of repeating and increasing patterns. Students used manipulatives to create both kinds of patterns and then translated that same pattern into paper squares on a piece of construction paper. I apologize if your child came home last week singing "This is the House That Jack Built" as we sang this nursery rhyme while learning about increasing patterns. I know the song was stuck in my own head for what seemed like way too long...

Math Games

We have now moved onto our next math unit, Numbers to 100. Students will be focusing on place value of ones and tens, skip counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s, odd and even numbers, estimating quantities, equality (less than and greater than), ordinal numbers, and ordering numbers (least to greatest and greatest to least). There are lots of great activities and games posted on my math page. Also, please don't forget to encourage your child to play Mathletics at home! His or her username and password is on the binder ring sent home on Curriculum Night.

Domino Game

We played Domino Addition to practice our math facts. You can also try Domino Subtraction. To play at home, you will need:
-1 piece of 8 1/2 by 11 paper
-1 pencil
-16 dominos (or 16 playing cards or 2 dice)

1. Fold the piece of paper so that you have 16 squares.
2. Divide the top left square in half with a pencil line. Write the names of each player in the top part of this square.
3. Player 1 chooses a domino and adds (or subtracts) the two numbers.
4. Player 1 writes the equation and its sum (or difference) in one square.
5. Player 2 does the same with a different domino and a different square.
6. The winner is the player with the biggest sum (or smallest difference). Put a tally mark next to the winner's name.
7. Play continues until all of the dominos have been used and there are no empty squares.
8. Turn over the piece of paper and play again!

Star of the Week
Show & Tell

Language Arts: Students learned how to alphabetize their spelling words. This is a skill we will revisit each week. We will be working with List 2 next week, should your child wish to practice his or her spelling words on Spellingcity.com

Pet Pal, Zap

Pet Pal, Mayor

We also wrote individual notes and a class letter to our Pet Pal class in Shellbrook, Saskatchewan. We have mailed a stuffy ("Zap" in Grade 2A and "Mayor" in Grade 2B) to the boys and girls in grade 2 at Shellbrook Elementary. They will each have a turn taking home home one of our stuffies to write about their experiences together in rural Saskatchewan. We will also receive a couple of stuffies from Shellbrook, so we can write about our experiences in the big city! Watch your email this week for sign up details!

We also began to work on an "All About Me" activity for our Pen Pals in Toronto, Ontario. We are still waiting for a few more photos from home, so that we can compose our letters.

Theme: We have completed our treasure maps and will be presenting them to the class next week.

Daily 5: "Read to Someone"
Sitting EEKK (Elbow-to-Elbow, Knee-to-Knee)

A Few Reminders: Students are welcome to exchange their Home Reading books on Monday through Thursday. Fridays are reserved for our In-Class Book Bags. We also have a book exchange in the Learning Commons (aka library) on Tuesdays, where students are encouraged to sign out up to three books.

Thanks for reading all the way to the bottom! As always, feel free to post a comment below.