Week of 10/22 in 2-3

Hello 2-3 Families!

To say this week has been busy is an understatement!  Just wait until next week :)  It has been a busy week filled with learning and fun.  Here is a look at what we were up to.

TREASURES

This week our Treasures Unit on focused on “Animal Rescue.”  We discussed how sometimes animals need people to help them in order to survive. Our main story selection this week was called, “A Seal Pup Grows Up.”  Sidney the seal pup lost her mother and is very hungry.  When people notice the lost pup on the beach, they call the wildlife patrol to save her!  We learned the different ways the staff nursed Sidney back to health.  Our comprehension element again for this week focused on SEQUENCING.  While I love sparkly sequins, the word sequencing means something different.  When you are sequencing events, you are  putting the story in order of “FIRST, NEXT, and LAST.”  We will continue to work on this skill in greater depth next week.

During grammar this week, we learned about plural nouns.  Plural nouns means that there is more than 1 of something.  We learned that when the word ends in an s, x, sh,or ch we add an –es to make it plural.  Ask your child to sing you the little reminder when the word ends in y (except when preceded by a vowel).

MATH

This week in Math we worked on the topics of time and money.  The class is doing such a great job of telling time.  We discussed how both analog clocks and digital clocks help us tell time.  We are going to continue practicing these topics throughout the year.  Counting money and making change can be challenging topics.  When making change, I taught the kids to use the counting up strategy.  They will take the total of their purchase and then count up to the amount they paid to find what the total is.  The kids really enjoyed working on the Making Change activity sheet that used their classmates in the story problems.  To continue reinforcing this skill at home, talk about shopping and making change at home.  Let your child use actual coins to practice with.

CELEBRATING EID

This Friday was the Muslim holiday, Eid-al-Adha.  We were so lucky to have Mrs. Gavin come in and speak with us about this wonderful celebration of sharing.  The themes of sharing and friendship that are celebrated during Eid-al-Adha tied in perfectly with our celebration of Red Ribbon/Character Counts week this week.  Mrs. Gavin gave a wonderful presentation with photos to inform the class about this important holiday.  She also gave each student their own candy bag to take home since presents are exchanged during Eid.  Per Dryden policy, these were store bought candies so you can see the ingredients.  The students were not allowed to eat anything until they brought their bags home.  Thank you so much Mrs. Gavin for teaching us about Eid Today.

A NEW PAGE FOR OUR MYSTERY READERS and STAR STUDENT!

I have created a new tab that is just below the main picture of our blog that will take you to the slideshows of our Mystery Readers and our STAR STUDENTS.  We are so lucky to have so many parents/family members sign-up to be a part of our Mystery Reader program.  Check out their photo galleries and what they read to the kids in 2-3.  Thank you Mrs. Erickson and Mrs. Nicioli-Douglas for being our first two Mystery Readers.  The Star Student gallery will launch next week.

OUR COMMUNITY HELPERS RESEARCH PROJECT

During the past couple weeks, the 2nd graders at Dryden have been learning about jobs in our community that help us.  Mrs. Dufern and Mrs. Powers created such a research project for the kids.  They were broken up into 5 groups: Firefighters, Mail Carriers, Nurses, Librarians, and Park District workers.  The kids created wonderful KWL charts that also included a column with the letter H that represented HOW they were going to find the information to their questions.  Yesterday, we were lucky enough to have members of each of the 5 community worker areas come and speak with the kids.  Next week, the entire 2nd grade team will present their community worker job research to each other.  Such a great project to showcase how important these jobs are to our community and what our taxes support.  Thank you again to our parent volunteers and Mrs. Dufern and Mrs. Powers for creating such a great project.

SPELLING

Just like I am creating a new Mystery Reader page, I will also be creating a SPELLING page.  Each Monday afternoon, I will post the spelling list for the week.  That way, if your child misplaces the list during the week, you will have access to the spelling words.

LOOKING AHEAD:

Tuesday 10/30:  2nd grade muscial at 7PM -- Students in 2-3 will meet in Miss Chiappe's class.  Please take your child's coat with you before they go down to Miss Chiappe's room.

Tuesday 10/30: Conference confirmation forms go home.  I was a week ahead of myself last week, I apologize!  Please send back the slip I send home on Tuesday confirming your time by Friday November 2nd.  I look forward to meeting with all of you!

Wednesday 10/31: Halloween Parade at 1:15.  Mr. Robinson and Mrs. Sessler have sent out the guidelines for celebrating Halloween safely at Dryden.  Please make sure your child's costume is appropriate safety-wise and that they are dressed for cold weather.  We will be walking through the neighborhood and it is only supposed to be 46 degrees on Wednesday.

Friday 11/2: Conference confirmation forms are due.

Have a safe and warm weekend!

Remember, PRACTICE MAKES PROGRESS!

- Danielle Porte