What to expect next week

Another exciting week ahead. Please have a discussion with your students about behavior expectations, we are getting excited for the break and getting quite squirmy.

Math- More practice with adding requiring regrouping.
ELA- Writing: We will continue to work on our story middles.
           Reading: We are still working on using our chunky money strategy
           Spelling: We will have our leveled spelling test on Monday (only worry about the first 10
                           words this week as I am finding 20 seems to be a lot, we will do the last 10 next
                           week.
Social Studies- Exploring the climate of Saskatoon, what would we pack for a trip to this prairie                                   community.
Science- Recognize that magnets have polarity, demonstrate that poles may either repel or attract                       each other, and state a rule for when poles will repel or attract each other.
Art- Creating winter art for the Winter concert.
Health- Reviewing our expectation in the classroom and hallways as grade 2 students and finishing
              up our healthy meal ideas from last week.

Have a wonderful weekend and see you all on Monday :)           

November 29, 2019

Hello Room 4 parents,

What an exciting week of learning!

Today we had our pillars of care assembly. Ethan, Sage, Hailey and Arash took home our pillar of care awards for this month. During the assembly we got an exciting performance from Mr.Lancee and Mr.Mahon for raising over 400 dollars for Movember. Check out their amazing performance of baby shark:

After our assembly we continued a investigative math task from yesterday. Students watched a clip sharing a jar filled with chocolates. They were asked what they see, think and wonder. Then they estimated how many chocolates are in the jar, identified an estimate that was too high and an estimation that was too low. Then we came o the carpet and looked at 2 pictures one of the number of bags to fill the jar and the other showed how many chocolates were in each bag. Students used this information to solve how many chocolates were in the jar. After we did our math calculations, we came back to the carpet to see a clip revealing how many chocolates were actually in the jar. Check out our great work:

Following our math task, we had a practice for our Winter Concert which is next Wednesday we are looking very cute doing our pattern dance! After gym we had buddies and then read more of Charlie and the Chocolate factory and wrote about our favourite part so far.

Yesterday we did paper quilling art for the first time, we are excited to see how we can put these skills to use in the future. Check out our art:

Going Home:

• Science center field trip forms, we go on December 11th and are in need of volunteers :) please let Miss.Cox know if you can come join us for this great learning experience!

Reminders:

• Winter Concert is DECEMBER 4 (NEXT WEDNESDAY) please arrive at 6:00 pm

November 26, 2019

Today we read some more of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and then learned how to summarize what we have read so far. We each wrote a few sentences explaining what we remembered happening so far in the novel.

In math we learned how to add 9 to a number using a ten frame, this is preparing us for adding with regrouping. Check out our great work so far:

We also started a health lesson about eating healthy foods, we made a plate of what our ideal dinner would look like. Tomorrow we will look into what a healthy meal looks like using the Canada food guide. 

Reminders:

- Fluoride sheets due TOMORROW

- Pillars of care awards Friday at 8:15 am

November 25, 2019

Today we started our day with ignite. After ignite we wrote our writing prompt story beginnings.. I must say that I am impressed by how much these kiddos have grown in their writing abilities! After gym we learned about strategies for adding and subtracting, 0, 1 and 2. We noticed that there is a pattern and any time you add or subtract 0 the number remains the same. We finished our morning with word work centers.

After lunch we came in and did quiet reading. Then we watched a Bill Nye movie on magnets and recorded facts which we heard in the movie. To end the day we read a story called if you're not from the prairie and made oil pastel prairie landscapes.

Check out some highlights from our day below:

November 24, 2019

Hello Room 4,

A big thank you to everyone who was able to make it out to parent teacher conferences last week. If you have not yet had a chance to meet for a conference, please email me to set one up at your earliest connivence.

We have a busy week of learning ahead of us, so I hope this has been a restful weekend for you all. Here is what you can expect in the week to come:

ELA
Reading- Continuing chunky monkey reading strategy. Home reading program will begin again after a break last week to finish off reading testing.
Writing- We will be wrapping up our study of story beginnings by having a writing prompt assessment early this week. This will lead us into our next topic of study, how to plan a story middle.
Spelling- Leveled spelling week, check backpacks for these Monday.
Math
We will be moving on from place value and begin exploring strategies for adding and subtracting numbers 0-10 (ex. anything plus or minus zero remains the same).
Science
Comparing a variety of magnets strength and attraction.
Social Studies
A day in the life of a resident of a prairie community.
Art
Prairie landscapes
Health
Healthy eating, portions and Canadas food guide.

Reminders:
Pillar of care assembly Friday at 8:15 am

Going Home:
Fluoride teeth cleaning forms
Student picture orders and class photos

November 14, 2019

Another busy day of learning!

Today we started our day with ignite and music. Once we came back to class, we had calendar and did a phonics activity using the 'th' blend. First we highlighted all the 'th' blends we saw in our 'th' story. Next we colored 'th' blend pictures in an illustration for our story. After this, we came to the carpet and clapped every time we heard a 'th' blend in our story. We went back to our desks and used our letter tiles to make as many 'th' words as possible. We recorder these on the whiteboard. While we were using the tiles, Miss Cox tested us on our 'th' recognition individually. Many students are having difficulties recognizing this blend in the middle or ending of words. Almost everyone is able to recognize it at the beginning of a word. We will continue to practice this skill. Check This 'th' activty out:

After our literacy activity, we went out for recess because our gym time today was moved to the afternoon to accommodate div.2 swimming. We came back in and did our basic facts quiz (sent home) and word work centers. 

After lunch we did silent or partner reading and continued our 'th' hunt. We then learned how to change numbers by adding and removing tens or ones blocks. This skill is difficult for us, so we will have to revisit it. 

To end our day we created jobs and resources to add to our Saskatoon 'Window' stay tuned for an updated picture of this. We then had phys-ed.

Going Home: 

- Week 9 spelling list 'th' family

- Math basic facts quiz

- Some students have homework from the place value task (check backpacks for this)

Reminders:

- Conferences are now available for booking online. If you are having troubles please email Miss.Cox at sajcox@cbe.ab.ca. Conferences are an essential part in our learning process as we continue showing what we know leading up to December report cards. I expect to see everyone there.

- Fun lunch November 21, order now to eat some delicious pizza!

- Reverse your age day November 20

- No school November 22 for conference

- Conferences November 21 and 22

A student has lost a puppy dog key off of their key chain in the coat area, please keep an eye out for this item as it may have been dropped in a backpack or shoe or accidentally picked up.

November 13, 2019

What a busy start to our week!

We have been learning about peer feedback and how to give this in a positive way. Today students used peer feedback to identify beginning story elements in a friends story. Students used a checklist and provided their peer with 2 stars (what they liked) and 1 wish (something that could be modified). Tomorrow we will be doing self assessment and then moving into writing our second draft of our stories. Check out these examples of great feedback:

We also started a new novel study this week! Students came into see our classroom turned into Willy Wonkas factory, unfortunately this only lasted a few hours before it was vandalized by someone outside our classroom. Miss.Cox is currently in the process of rebuilding this inside our classroom. We are earning 'wonka bars' (envelopes) filled with the occasional golden ticket to enter into a draw for a fabulous Willy Wonka prize pack. Everyone is very excited and we are loving the story so far! 

Today we typed up our learning goals with our buddies for conferences next week. 

We also have a new Ed assistant practicum student in our room, Ms.Belle is helping us with our literacy, mathematics and the occasional reminder of class expectations.

Reminders: 

- Conferences are now available for booking online. If you are having troubles please email Miss.Cox at sajcox@cbe.ab.ca. Conferences are an essential part in our learning process as we continue showing what we know leading up to December report cards. I expect to see everyone there.

- Fun lunch November 21, order now to eat some delicious pizza!

- Reverse your age day November 20

- No school November 22 for conference

- Conferences November 21 and 22

* Spelling lists (th family) will be sent home tomorrow* 

What to expect next week (November 12-15)

Here is what to expect for the week of November 12-15

Reminder: No school Monday

Math: Working on place value centers

ELA: Reading strategy: Chunky Monkey and continuing reading testing. Begin Charlie and the
                                        Chocolate Factory novel study.
          Writing: Re-writing the beginning of our monster stories
          Spelling: Leveled spelling test and 'th' family/blend

Social Studies: Continuing work on exploring jobs from Saskatoon/resources, adding this to our                                   window

Science: What are magnets attracted to? What characteristic do these items have in common?
                Predicting if magnets will attract objects based on this knowledge.

Health: Personal Space/ Keep your hands to yourself

Art: What is an illustration

November 8, 2019

What a great Friday!

We have been working on recognizing how the place of a digit effects its worth. Yesterday we played a game, using this concept to create the biggest number possible with 3 dice.

We have also been working on creating interesting beginnings to our story, focusing on what is needed in a beginning. An introduction to our main character, setting and problem.

In science yesterday we went on a hunt for magnetic objects around our classroom.

Today we finished up our poppy wreath and made beautiful poppy art using oil pastels. Look for these coming home tonight and check these out:

We also presented our poppy poem. Ask me about this poem. 

Reminders:
- No school Monday
- Reverse your age day November 20
- Conferences November 21-22
- Book fair November 21 & 22
- Bring back signed time capsules ASAP please :)

November Calendar

November 6, 2019

What a busy start to our week! We had our 'an' family spelling test yesterday... it was our best spelling test yet. Congrats grade 2's!
Monday we looked at 4 interesting ways to start stories, yesterday we practiced using these to re-write a dull beginning to a story.
We have also been working on learning how to write numbers to 100 and how to use our understanding of place value to create the biggest number possible using 3 random digits. Check out our work from yesterday:



On Monday we learned about graphs and made a class graph showing what candies we brought in our lunches... we followed this activity by reading 'The Berenstein Bears and Too Much Junk Food' and discussing how we can eat treats in moderation. Check out our graph:



In science we started our magnetism unit by exploring which item stuck to a magnet and which did not. After this we discussed common traits between both piles of items. We decided that metal sticks to magnets, almost always.



In social studies we have been exploring natural resources found in Saskatoon and which jobs these resources create for the people who live there. We have looked at what its like to be a miner or a farmer so far.

We have also started a school wide kindness challenge to go along with our pillar of the month, care for kindness. Students write kind acts that they have completed on a piece of confetti and it adds to our schools goal of filling up the throw kindness like confetti bulletin board. 



Today we had an indoor recess because students voted that they did not want to go back outside into the cold.

Things that have gone home this week:
1. Spelling lists (leveled) some students have asked why they may get the same list more than 1 week in a row, students must get at least 16/20 to move to the next level of this spelling program.

Reminders:
- Remembrance day assembly Thursday at 10:30, feel free to join us.
- No school Monday
- Reverse your age day November 20
- Conferences November 21-22
- Book fair November 21 & 22
- Bring back signed time capsules ASAP please :)

Stay warm & have a nice night!

- Miss Cox

What to expect next week (Nov.4- Nov.8)

What to expect in the week to come: 

Math- Continuing our work with place value: place value practice centers will be introduced. 

ELA- Students will continue their work around story beginnings. New reading strategy- chunky monkey. Reading testing cycle 2 begins. Spelling test 'an' family. New spelling list (leveled spelling program week).

Social studies- appreciate how a community’s physical geography shapes identity. How does the landscape of Saskatoon influence the lifestyle of these prairie people. 

Science- Exploring liquids wrap up. Intro to magnetism. 

Art- Making our poppy wreath for remembrance day

November 1, 2019

What a wonderful week! I hope everyone had a happy Halloween.

Yesterday we started our day with Ignite and music. After music we made our October title pages for our time capsules and then went to gym. After gym we visited Miss.Cox's store and had 10 dollars of 'credit' each to buy materials to make monsters. We had to plan out our monsters and price their cost prior to purchasing our items. Once we purchased our items, we created our creatures. Check it out:

After lunch, we had our pillars of care assembly. Congrats to this months winners, Zainab, Huzaifah, Declan, Adele and Joey! 

To finish our day we did a writing task and had a just dance dance party for an indoor recess. 

Going home:
- Parent council fundraiser forms
- November calendar
- October time capsules. (PLEASE RETURN NEXT WEEK)

Reminders:
- No school November 11, 2019
- Class photo day Monday November 4, 2019

Note: We may have indoor recess on colder days, students will have opportunities for movement breaks and indoor recess play options. We have typically taken recess at 1:15pm as this is when students are most in need of a break in our schedule.