Oh What a Week in 2-3!

Hello 2-3 Families,

It may have been a shortened week, but the kids sure worked hard!  Take a look at what we have been up to.

COMPARATIVE and SUPERLATIVE WORD ENDINGS
During our reading instruction this week, the kids learned about the difference between comparative and superlative words.  A comparative word ends in -er and compares two things.  For example, Mrs. Porte is TALLER than Mia or Lauren's dog, Cocoa, is BIGGER than Hua.  A superlative word compares three or more things and ends in -est.  For example, Connor is wearing the BRIGHTEST shirt of all the students.  We will continue working with these word endings this week.

WRAPPING UP PERSUASIVE WRITING
On Friday, the kids presented their cereal box designs and letters for the CEO of General Mills to their classmates.  I will be sending the letters and a class photo to Mr. Powell to show him what creative future marking geniuses he may have working for him one day.  Throughout this writing unit, the kids have learned that when writing a persuasive piece, they need to think about the audience they are trying to persuade and make sure they provide reasons that support their opinion.  Next week we will begin our biography writing unit.

FRACTIONS 

This week, the class took their Unit 7 math test.  Some of the skills that the kids were tested on included the brand new topics of median and mode.  While Unit 8 in Everyday Math focuses on fractions, I will still continue to practice a variety of subtraction, median, and mode exercises with the students to help further develop these skills.  You all received the Unit 8 math letter this week which provided an overview of what to expect during this unit.  We will focus on understanding what a fraction is, identifying the numerator, denominator, and equivalent fractions.  

ROCKS

The geologists of 2-3 are hard at work learning about rocks.  This week, they were visited by Miss Melissa from High Touch High Tech.  This hands-on exploration event took the kids' understanding of rocks to the next level.  The class was thrilled to take home their very own bag of gemstones that they gathered during their exploration.  In class, the students have begun working with their scientific notebooks to make notes about their observations during our classroom activities.  We will continue working on rocks until spring break!

VARIETY SHOW
I am so proud of the kids for doing an awesome job in the Variety Show on Friday.  I appreciate all of the support I received from everyone when I presented this idea in November.  Lucas and Connor, you two also did an AMAZING job with your solo performances!  Did you enjoy the staff number?!?! I owe a big THANK YOU to my husband, Jeremy, for making the "Dryden Dolphin Style" idea come to life.  We certainly have a very talented group of kids that go to Dryden!

 MYSTERY READER
Thank you Mrs. Neri for being our Mystery Reader on Friday!  She brought two wonderful books with  great messages to read to the kids.  Check out our photo gallery for pictures from this visit.

CAREER DAY!
This past Friday was Career Day and several students in our classroom dressed the part of what they would like to be in the future.  We had a vet, a chemist, a geologist, the future FIRST female Tour de France winner, a rockstar, a doggie daycare owner, a hockey player, a basketball player, a football player, a comic book writer, and a couple DJs!  Such a fun spirit day!!

- Danielle Porte

TEACHNOLOGY and CAREER DAY!

Hello 2-3 families,

This is just a reminder that CAREER DAY is tomorrow 2/21.  Does your child want to be a doctor, lawyer, teacher, athlete, or actor?  Well, tomorrow is the day for them to dress up for their future job!  This will be so much fun.  I can't wait to see what 2-3 looks like tomorrow.

In your child's folder is a flyer for TEACHNOLOGY 2014.  What is TEACHNOLOGY 2014 you ask?  It is District 25's Education Fair and "Teachnology 2014" is the theme.  Students will have the opportunity to teach peers, parents, and the AH community about how they use technology.  There are 4 different ways your child can participate in this event and the explanations are listed on the flyer.  This event will take place at Thomas Middle School on Wednesday, March 12th from 7-9PM.  The registration deadline is Monday February 24th.  Please visit the link below if you are interested!

TEACHNOLOGY

Our Week in 2-3

Hello 2-3 families and friends,

I hope you are enjoying this long weekend.  While the forecast calls for more snow, I just want to point out that there is only 1 weekend left in February and then it is MARCH!!  March brings SPRING!!!  We can do this.  Here's a look at what we've been up to in 2-3.

100th Day Celebration
Your kids are 100 days smarter!  To celebrate, the kids brought in 100 of something from home.  We had legos, pasta, pennies, Pokemon cards, and even dog treats!!  The kids practiced their multiplication and division skills by building arrays with their items and also using them to solve division problems.  During writing, the kids completed a fun activity where they put their creativity to good use.  They wrote about what they would be like when they are 100-years-old.  I have quite the ambitious class because many of them will have people working for them when they are 100!  I can't wait for you to read them.



Math
This week in math we learned about a variety of ways to measure things.  You can measure weight with a spring scale or bath scale.  You can measure length in centimeters or inches.  The kids had a blast completing the standing long jump activity with their classmates.  They also practiced measuring the length of each other's arm length from fingertip to fingertip.  Next week we will use those measurements to learn about the terms MEDIAN and MODE.

Aha Moments
This week the kids continued practicing being able to identify the "aha moment" in a text.  An "aha moment" is when a character realizes, understands, or figures something out.  The students are learning that when they read an "aha moment," they need to STOP and ask, "how might this change things?"  This week we read The Great Kapok Tree.  Ask your kids what the "aha moment" for the man with an ax was and how that changed things in the story.  

SKYPING WITH AUSTRALIA
This week the kids had the wonderful opportunity to Skype with Jacob's uncle, Will.  Uncle Will is the executive director of the Australian National University (ANU) Climate Change Institute. He lives and Canberra and took time out of his busy schedule to speak with 2-3.  When we spoke with him on Thursday afternoon, it was Friday morning in Australia.  We had a chance to talk about the crazy weather we're having and life in Oz.  The kids were very excited to learn that Uncle Will has hugged a koala!!  Thank you Uncle Will for giving the kids this great opportunity.  

High Touch, High Tech
This Thursday, the kids have the incredible opportunity to explore the wonderful world of rocks and minerals with the scientists from High Touch, High Tech.  We launched our rocks unit at the end of this past week and I am amazed at how much the kids already know about rocks.  They also came up with some very interesting things they want to learn about rocks when we created our KWL chart.  We have a lot of fun and exploration ahead of us!

Valentine's Day
We had so much fun celebrating Valentine's Day (and Lauren's birthday) on Friday.  Thank you Mrs. Svoboda and Mrs. Nam for throwing such a great party.  The kids enjoyed playing "HEART, " AKA, "BINGO," decorating their cups for the Variety Show, enjoying some treats, and passing out valentines.



  
Variety Show
You will be receiving a detailed email from me with everything you need to know about the Variety Show this week.  The kids are doing an awesome job and I can't wait to see them on stage.  


Enjoy this long weekend!!

- Danielle

Ingredient Lists

Hello 2-3 families,

In order to keep everyone safe during our Valentine's Day celebration, I am including the ingredient lists for the cookies and drink.  The ingredients for the raisins are CALIFORNIA SEEDLESS RAISINS.

Looking forward to celebrating!!

- Danielle

CUPS

Hello 2-3 families!

Can you believe the Variety Show is next week? After we packed up for the end of the day, we had some time to practice the actual cup portion of our routine.  Some of the kids  already knew it!  We will continue to practice at the end of the day.  I may use some of their indoor recess time to practice as well if the weather is too cold to go out.  It's almost show time!!  Here is a link to the video we watched/practiced with.

- Danielle

Our Week in 2-3

Hello 2-3 families,

It was really nice to have a 5 day week this past week!  We accomplished so much in our classroom. Take a look at what we've been up to.

AMAZING AUSTRALIAN ANIMAL PRESENTATIONS
All I can say is "JOB WELL DONE!" This week, the students in 2-3 presented their Australian animal research projects and  they were fantastic!  This research has helped to build the foundation for the classroom research projects the kids will begin completing after spring break.  They will complete multiple group research projects based on a topic of their choice.  We will use the website FlipSnack to house the appropriate research sites for these projects.  I can't wait to see what the kids come up with. In the meantime, have a look at their Australian animal research projects. MATH
We wrapped up chapter 6 this past week and the kids did a very nice job on their math assessments!  We are going to continue working on our subtraction skills with our Mad Math facts and regrouping practice.  In the Unit 7 letter that went home this past week, it gave you a sneak peek on what to expect during this unit.  We will be continuing to explore number patterns that help reinforce numeration skills.  We will also practice skills and strategies for adding multiple 1-digit numbers together.  We will also have some time to practice collecting data and graphing it in various ways.  Over the past few weeks the kids and I have been talking about how my expectations of them are continuing to grow both academically and personally.  In addition to solving various math problems, they will be working on creating written responses to explain how they solved the problem.  Being able to explain how you arrived at an answer is an important part of math communication and development.

WE ROCK
This week we will launch our ROCKS AND MINERALS Unit.  Your children are about to become geologists!  They will explore, discover, and investigate the incredible world of rocks and minerals.  Last week I sent home the permission slip for the High Touch, High Tech event that the 2nd graders will be participating in.  We are really fortunate to have these scientists come and spend the morning with the kids on Thursday February 20th.  It will be an incredible event filled with hands-on learning.  Please return the permission slip and money as soon as possible.

TAKING A CLOSER LOOK
The students in 2-3 are working using SIGNPOSTS to expand on their understanding of written texts.  We are moving beyond just being able to identify the "who, what, where, and when" of a story.  We are now taking a closer look at the "why and how."  Why is a character behaving in a certain way?  Why does he/she feel a certain way? How will this development in the plot change the story?  A few weeks ago, I introduced the kids to 2 signposts, AHA MOMENTS and CONTRASTS/CONTRADICTIONS.  We used the story, The Happy Lion, to practice with these two Signposts.  This week, the kids will continue practicing being able to identify the AHA Moment(s) in a story.

THEY'RE GRRRREAT!
As we wrap-up our persuasive writing unit, the kids will be creating their own cereal boxes and writing persuasive letters to General Mills.  This week we will look at the components that make up a cereal box....the design, the nutritional information, the ingredients, the games/toys.  Students will share possible reasons why people choose to purchase certain cereals.  Using that information, they will go to work creating their own cereal that will be a MUST HAVE on any shoppers list.  Stay tuned for the final products.

VALENTINE'S DAY
We are going to have a fabulous celebration on Friday afternoon thanks to our wonderful volunteers Mrs. Svoboda and Mrs. Nam.  Big Shout-out to Mrs. Nelson for helping to organize our upcoming festivities.  Thank you also to Mrs. Phillips, Mrs. Brandenburg, Mrs. Brambarov, and Mrs. Armstrong for providing the treats and supplies for our party.

Don't forget, TUESDAY is the 100th day of SCHOOL!  There is no school on Monday February 17th!  Don't forget to checkout our photos galleries! I hope you've all had a wonderful weekend.

-Danielle

AU BBQ......I mean BARBIE!

G'day mates of 2-3,

After a long flight, we are happy to be home from Australia!  We had a chance to enjoy the movie Finding Nemo on our flight home.  Boy, did we get a lot of snow in Arlington Heights!  Looks like we will have to pack away our cozzies for awhile.  What are cozzies you ask? Well, during our AU unit, we learned that Australians have their own slang called Strine (Say Australian in your BEST Aussie accent to hear where the word Strine came from). We learned that cozzie is Strine for bathing suit!  Upon our arrival home, we celebrated by having a barbie with our cobbers (bbq with our friends).  Check out some of our photos from our celebration!

SNOW Much Fun!!

It was a kid's dream outside for recess today!  I was on duty for AM and PM recess so I brought my camera out to take photos of the kids enjoying the winter wonderland.

January Roundup!

Hello 2-3 Families,

I think it is safe to say that January has been an interesting month.  We have only had 1 full week of school.  Hopefully Mother Nature has gotten all of the madness of her system and we can return to our "normal" routines.  While our schedule has been a bit choppy, our learning has plowed forward with full steam!  Here is a look at what we have been up to this month.

G'Day Mates!
Colin told you guys about our flight to Australia a couple weeks ago and we have been having a blast in the Land Down Under.  We have learned about the history of Australia, the people who live there, the culture, the land, and some AMAZING animals that can only be found on this incredible continent (Well,  in the wild that is).  Make sure to keep an eye on your mailboxes next week as you should receive something from your little travelers.  As we wrap-up our time in Australia, the students will be presenting their research projects on an Australian Animal this week.  Once our presentations are done, we will be able to "fly" back home on Friday!  

Multiplication and Division
While we are still working on our addition and subtraction facts, our Unit 6 math lessons has focused a lot on the beginning skills and strategies of multiplication and division.  We have learned how to create arrays and divide things equally among a group of people.

ARRAYS

DIVIDING EQUALLY

We will take our Chapter 6 math test on Monday!

Persuasive Writing
Last week we launched our Persuasive Writing unit.  The "ingredients" of persuasive writing include stating your opinion, giving reasons to support your opinion, and knowing your audience.  Over the past two weeks we have been working with the texts, I Wanna Iguana and I Wanna New Room.  These hilarious stories have been a great way to introduce the skills of persuasive writing.  This week, the kids worked on writing letters to YOU about a pet they should be allowed to have.  Next week, the kids will continue practicing their persuasive writing skills by writing a book review on I Wanna Iguana OR I Wanna New Room.  This week you also sent your child to school with cereal boxes.  Over the next couple of weeks, the kids will create their own cereal and write persuasive letters to General Mills about why the company should produce the cereal they created.  I can't wait to see what the kids come up with!

VARIETY SHOW
The kids are doing an AWESOME job with our CUPS song.  I told them it was important to get the lyrics down before we start practicing our routine with the cups.  Well, they are ready so we will begin learning the cup portion this week.  Jeremy (my husband) is coming in Friday afternoon to record the kids singing so we can add their voices to the music track.  I will post that track for you next weekend so your child can continue to practice at home.  I can't wait for the Variety Show!

Next week we will resume spelling and fluency practice.  Just a reminder that JANUARY READ CALENDARS are due on Monday! Don't forget to visit our photo galleries for Mystery Reader and Star Student photos. Have a safe and warm weekend!

- Danielle

Our Week by Colin

Hello 2-3 Families,

Please welcome our first student blogger of 2014, COLIN!  Colin would like to tell you about our week in 2-3.

This week in math we learned comparison number stories.  There are bigger numbers and smaller numbers in these problems,  We make a number model to solve the problem.  This week we flew to Australia! We learned the digeridoo is a type of instrument.  It can also be very hot there.  I want to learn if it snows in Australia.  There are lots of kangaroos in Australia.  Have a GREAT weekend!

 - Colin