Happy Fall!

Happy Fall everyone! We have loved the cooler mornings the last couple of weeks and have taken full advantage of a cooler recess time! Second graders love recess at St. James. The last couple of weeks have been full of fun! We counted to 1000 recently using straws as an introduction to our new math module dealing with place value, counting, and comparison of numbers to 1,000. Students worked as a team to bundle 1000 straws into units of 10, then units of 100, and finally 1,000. They were so proud when they finished such a big job.

We’ve also been reading all about glaciers and how they can change the surface of the earth. We learned that glaciers are HUGE and can move very slowly, however sometimes a glacier can move quickly, even up to 150 feet in one day. The students watched a tutorial on how to draw a glacier. Check out their work! They are so smart and very talented artists.

If you didn’t know, second graders start every morning with reciting the classroom rules. Each week a new student is chosen to lead the group in reciting the rules. We like to start our day with high expectations. Other classroom jobs are pencil sharpener, door holder, and line leader. The students take these jobs very seriously and I am proud of their pride in our classroom.

Rule Reader

At least once a week the class participates in “workshop”. Workshop is a series of stations set up around the room that students rotate through. Stations are designed each week to practice skills that were introduced such as new spelling sounds, counting strategies, language art skills like synonyms and antonyms, and writing skills. Workshop also builds responsibility in the students as they are their own boss and must complete the tasks independently. This week the students were so diligent in their workshop stations and showed a great amount of hard work and accountability.

Second grade is looking forward to Book Character Day on October 30th. Students are allowed to choose their favorite book character and come to school dressed as that character.

*Parent conferences are next week, October 15th starting at noon. I look forward to meeting with parents and sharing the awesome work that has taken place thus far in second grade.