Weekly News 9-12-25

 Weekly News 9-12-25

*Sneakers needed Tuesdays for PE

*Library books are due back on Mondays

    Thanks for your support with homework folders this week! 

MATH    We have completed Unit 1 of Reveal Math and will now start Unit 2, which will focus on place value. We are working to master oral skip counting (2s, 5s, 10s) and counting groups of 10s and 100s. Students love to use slates to practice mental math work every day! We are playing lots of games to build our fact power (knowing facts quickly).

READING    I have finished assessing each student’s reading and will use this information to set individual reading goals and plans. I will share this information soon. This week we learned to share our favorite part of a story in writing. Next week we will work on story elements (characters, problems, setting, solution) in reading workshop. 

SCIENCE  Our first unit is on animal biodiversity. We built background knowledge about animals, their habitats and care-taking habits. Next up is our first investigation exploring animal classification. Go2 Science also kicks off next week with Mission Artifacts which takes place right here in Maine!

WRITING    This week we worked more on complete sentences (subject/predicate) and uppercase letter/end punctuation. We brainstormed details about ourselves and wrote “About Me” pieces, using a rubric to check our own work. We practiced both revising and editing our writing as we went through all the stages of the writing process. 

SPELLING/PHONICS  We have completed our first spelling unit on short a words (we are also reviewing short a in our phonics program). Our spelling program gives students many opportunities to practice their words through a variety of language activities such as rhyming, using context clues, proofreading, analogies and more! Our newest second graders are learning the new spelling routines quickly. Next week is short e, which is often a more challenging sound for kids to hear.

*We have worked hard on our school and classroom procedures. We are building our work stamina back up. Our class community is forming quite nicely and we are a kind and supportive group! 

Beth Pols

Free Choice Friday painting

And some Free Choice Friday Legos and dolls

This crew liked the Bakugan toys

All About Me self portrait

We drew pictures of ourselves to go with our wonderful writing

Illustrator at work!

Playing with the trains

Working on a final copy of our first writing piece

Friday's UFLI Star of the day!

Brainstorming details during writing

Partners giving writing feedback

More writing conferences

We practiced how to give feedback.

Sharing ideas at our first writer's meeting

Playing a math game

Weekly News 9-5-25

 Weekly News for 2-P 9-5-25

*Sneakers are needed for PE on Tuesdays.

*Library books will be due back on Mondays (after next week).

*In math we have completed the beginning of the year math assessment and started Unit 1 of Reveal Math. So far we’ve worked on our math stories, problem solving strategies and math tools. We are reviewing number formation as needed and using math tools such as pattern block templates and number grids. The kids are enjoying lots of games that help target foundational skills, such as skip counting, number sense and addition strategies.

*During reading workshop we have been reading books and writing about them. I have started assessing each student’s reading and will use this information to set individual reading goals and plans. Students are doing Lexia daily, at their own level, which gives them sequential instruction that responds to their needs as they work. We have kicked off the 2nd grade UFLI Phonics program and the kids are showing me their fantastic skills!

*We started our first writing unit on sentence structure, sentence elements and “about me” sentences. We learned to frame our sentences with capital letters and ending punctuation. 

*We did our first spelling pre-test on Friday and differentiated spelling lists will come home next week as we begin our first unit on short a words. 

*Homework folders (which are plastic envelopes) will come home Monday for the first time with spelling lists and a book to read. We will add math homework soon. 

*We are off to a great start and today when the kids shared their favorite part of second grade, many of them said things like: seeing my friends every day, getting to do EVERYTHING, having fun at recess and specials, and reading lots of new books.  Yay, second graders!  There is a great year ahead of us!

Beth Pols

Every UFLI lesson brings a UFLI Star of the Day...Friday's star holding the "prize." You get to keep the UFLI STAR bear on your desk until the next lesson.

Sorry, it's sideways! We started our first Mystery Science unit and we are trying to figure out what animal is making so much "poo" in Texas's Bracken Cave.....

A lovely birthday celebration on Friday!

The birthday boy enjoyed his snack with pals!

Playing The Number Grid Game in math

This game helps us count by 1s and 10s fluently.

We played a silly game called "Hog Call" where you have to walk around the room with your word card and find your match to make a compound word!

Roll and Read with Partners

We wrote about ourselves this week!

We played a FUN game called CLAP, BOOM, SNATCH!

Drawing pattern block designs in math

Recess fun!

Scavenger hunt around the room