Experiences Abound!

Our science focus is on weathering and erosion.  As a model of our earth changing both fast and slow, we used a rock tumbler with the aid of water, sand, and gravel.  Here are our pre and post pictures of our rocks.


During the month of December, our word study focus will be on high-frequency words.  Each student has an individualized list.  We will also be working on handwriting and fine motor skills with our variety of activities.

We are writing and reading nonfiction like experts.  This week our work was writing chapter books about a topic we are experts about.  Our students are writing at least four chapters.  They are writing fast and furiously to get their ideas down on paper.  We are learning about nonfiction through mentor authors like Gail Gibbons, who lives in Vermont and has written over 120 books.  

Not only are we authors ourselves, and learning about authors, we also experienced a webinar this week with Jacqueline Woodson! We read her book titled, The Day You Begin.  We also pulled out books she mentioned that she's written titled Each Kindness and The Other Side.

I look forward to seeing you at the concert, this Wednesday, December 12th.  Children arrive at 6:15 in our classroom, the concert will start at 6:30 pm.  

Thank you for all you do,
Jen Belisle

Learning in Action!

 Our second graders enjoy spending time in our afternoons reading!  We are reading fiction and nonfiction books right now.  I'm so proud of their sustained reading time, effort and growth.

 
Here we are engaged in a science task about the water and landforms. This week we focused on water, wind, and weather.  We will use this knowledge to help understand weather and erosion. 

Our St. Michael's interns Mr. Foley, Ms. Lauren and Ms. Megan each taught a math lesson focused on comparing problems.  We are learning multi-digit subtraction in class using multiple strategies.  We are practicing subtraction into the previous decade using an open number line as well as decomposition.  I'm proud of their ability to work thoughtfully, practice skills in games like 6 rolls, and express their math thinking in a verbal and written format. 

We are writing our first nonfiction book!  We created expert and interest lists.  We created our own dictionaries.  We have started our brainstorms and created the chapter topics for our books. 

Mrs. Wheeler visited us twice this week.  She taught us about care for babies as well as a lesson about personal space.  I appreciate Mrs. Wheeler's team teaching with our students.

It was fun to celebrate with the whole school watching Frosty the Snowman on Friday.

December is a busy month, please enjoy it.  I look forward to seeing you all on the night of December 12th for our winter concert. 

Thank you for all you do,
Jen Belisle