Recycling!

We are so excited about recycling in our classroom! Right now, we are recycling 1) paper 2) bottles/cans/juice pouches and 3) glue bottles/glue sticks! We are really excited about becoming more responsible about our environment! I have included some photos of us working on our "glue boxes" for our Glue Crew! So far, we have 9 classes that have signed up to join us!

Voice Threads

We are just about finished completing our "Voice Threads" in our class! Students took their book reports they completed at home and turned them into book talks, focusing on the beginning, middle, and end of a story.

The difference between a Voice Thread and a Photo Story is that you can comment on anyone's Voice Thread. This can be done by typing, recording your voice, or by telephone. Please feel free to comment on your child's voice thread (just remember--some are still working on theirs!). I hope to have the Photo Stories up soon so you can also view them!

The students were so excited about these two projects. Because they are our first, they are a little rough, but we know the more we create, the better they will become! :)

www.voicethread.com
login: youelcm@lcps.k12.va.us
password: classroom

Welcome to the Glue Crew!

As a class, we have discussed ways to help the environment. We participate in the school recycling program with bottles and juice pouches. We recycle paper in our classroom. Our next step is to become the Jouett Elementary Glue Crew!

The Glue Crew is where we recycle glue bottles and glue sticks by collecting, cleaning, and packing the items to be taken to a local Walmart, who will make sure that the items will be sent to a proper recycling facility. When you think of how much glue is used in a school, especially an elementary, it really adds up. We've seen how, in a week, how much paper is being recycled that would normally be in a landfill. The same with bottles. The students are excited that we are doing our part to help the environment! We are decorating boxes for the other classes that are participating and will be in charge of collecting glue bottles and sticks each Friday. It's still a "work in progress," but I think we're going to have a lot of fun learning as we go! :)

More information can be found at http://www.elmersgluecrew.com/

Presidential Speech to Students

Thanks to those that have already sent in your blue forms! If you have not, and you would like your child to view the speech made by President Obama, encouraging school children to aim high and succeed, please send in your blue form on Friday. This is the day we will be viewing the speech! Thanks! :)

Homework and Announcements for the week of September 21-25, 2009

Announcements:

*PTA is sponsoring a contest for membership. The more parents that join, the more privileges our class can earn! Please consider joining this wonderful organization. They do so much for our school and our students! A second set of yellow information forms went home last week in your child’s folder.

*Thank you to all the parents who are helping their child keep up with assignments, such as reading logs and, recently, our book reports! We hope to go to the computer lab this week and create our Voice Threads about our books! We are also finishing up our matter Photo Stories. Be looking for those to be posted on our class wiki soon!

*Our Math “Temperature” test will be on Tuesday. Since this is a subject we have covered in our Weather unit, it is a performance assessment, where your child will be tested on how well he/she can use the thermometer when given a specific temperature (to the nearest 10). Our Weather unit test will be this Friday. Please be looking over the study guide with your child each night! J

Monday, September 21: Resource: P.E.

1. Reading Log

2. Weather study guide

Tuesday, September 22: Resource: Art

Math: Temperature 2.19 performance assessment

1. Reading Log

2. Weather study guide

Wednesday, September 23: Resource: P.E.

1. Reading Log

2. Weather study guide

Thursday, September 24: Resource: Music

1. Reading Log

2. Weather study guide

Friday, September 11: Resource: P.E.

Science: Weather 2.6 test

Have a great weekend!

New Project

Thanks to all the parents that have helped with our book report project this week. So far, it looks great. With this project, each student will create what is called a voice thread (see examples on our class website from last year), and do a "book talk" about the book they chose.

I need your favor with one more step for this project. If you could, please send in the book that your child read so that we can take a photo of it for the Voice Thread! We will be going to the computer lab on Tuesday to create these, so if you could send it in right away, it would be much appreciated! If you no longer have the book, that is okay. We will look up the title/author using "Google Image" and, with permission, will use that photo for the Voice Thread.

Thanks to everyone for supporting your child's education! :)

Weather Wordle

We created a wordle about weather. Each person said one or two words that reminded them of weather on the first day of our unit. Check it out! :)

Announcements and Homework for the week of September 14 – 18, 2009

*This week for homework, students will continue to fill out their Reading Logs. In addition, your child needs to choose 1 book they read during the week and fill out the book report sheet. This is due on Friday. We will then use what students have written to create a book talk on their book!

*Picture Day is on Wednesday, September 16th! Forms went home already, but I have some extra if you need them.

*We are beginning our Weather unit (2.6) in Science. A good way to help your child study for this unit is to discuss the weather on a daily basis, and even have your child watch the weather on the news!

*Thank you to everyone who has sent back Interims on such a timely basis! A copy will be coming home in your child’s folder for you to keep! 

Monday, Sept. 14: Day 1: Art
1. Reading Log (10 min)
2. Book Report sheet

Tuesday, Sept. 15: Day 2: P.E.
1. Reading Log (10 min)
2. Book Report sheet

Wednesday, Sept. 16: Day 3: Music
PICTURE DAY!
1. Reading Log (10 min)
2. Book Report sheet

Thursday, Sept. 17: Day 4: P.E.
1. Reading Log (10 min)
2. Book Report sheet

Friday, Sept. 18: Day 5: Library
BOOK REPORT SHEET DUE!
*Have a great weekend! 

Interims, Reading Logs, Book Orders

Interims come home today, Thursday! They will have a slightly different look to them, but the procedure is the same. Please sign that you have seen your child's interim and return it the next day in your child's homework folder.
Then, we will send you a copy of the Interim for you to keep at home. Please remember that this is your child's halfway point grade - it can raise or lower, based on your child's work and efforts from now until report cards, in October! :)

Reading Logs: I did not realize that on the reading log, it said it was due on Friday. I will still collect these on Monday, and put a new log in your child's folder. Sorry for the confusion!

Book Orders: A new book order is coming home in your child's Thursday folder. If you would like to order online (and we had 3 parents do so on the last order!), the procedure is the same. I will send home a reminder note in the folder about it! :)

Homework and Announcements for the Week of September 8-11, 2009

Announcements:

*Thanks to all the parents who have volunteered to help in our classroom. If I have not contacted you, please let me know! I would like for our volunteers to start coming in either this week or next week, unless you have otherwise noted it on the letter.

*School pictures will be next week, September 16^th. There were forms that went home in your child's folder last week. If you need an extra one, please let me know.

*PTA is sponsoring a contest for membership. The more parents that join, the more privileges our class can earn! Please consider joining this wonderful organization. They do so much for our school and our students! Yellow information forms went home last week in your child's folder.

*Thanks to all the parents who are signing the agendas each week, and filling out the paper in the Thursday folders. This lets me know that you are checking your child's folder and agenda each day! J

*Homework this week will be the Reading Log and any math fact sheets that are in your child's folder. You will notice a change to the Reading Log. Mrs. Watson, another second grade teacher, has graciously let us borrow her reading log. It is a definite improvement since you can now list your child's book and author, which makes it easier for AR quizzes.

Tuesday, September 8:
Resource: Music

*Reading Log

Wednesday, September 9:
Resource: P.E.

Math 2.6 Basic Facts test (add/subtract to 18)

*Reading Log

Thursday, September 10:
Resource: Library

Math 2.10 Fact Families test

*Reading Log

Friday, September 11:
Resource: P.E.

Science: Matter 2.3 test

Math 2.26 Problem Solving test

*Reading Log

Have a great weekend!

Great News!

I am so excited, I had to share the news! We've gotten a donation to our project posted on "Donors Choose"!!!!! What a great feeling it was to receive an email that we had received a donation from "Robbye in VA." If you haven't checked out our project request, please look to the post below for the link. If you know of anyone, or any business, looking for a tax-deductible donation, please point them our way!

This Week

Wow! This week has really flown by! We were PALS testing the first part of the week, and we're already almost at Thursday! Students have done very well with their testing and I hope to send results home soon.

Students are getting into "matter" now that we have started a new project. On Monday, we did a "scavenger hunt," where we searched our classroom and the outside playground for objects that were either solid, liquid, gas, or a combination of any of the states. On Tuesday, we took that same list and took photos of the objects that we saw. Today, we went to the computer lab to begin our "matter movie," using the program, "Photo Story 3." (a free download from Microsoft). We will be working with the laptops to work on our "movies" again this Friday. Students have been very excited about being able to use the cameras, as well as being able to make a movie! Once finished, we will post our completed stories online if not on our blog, then to our class wiki (I will post a link on the blog and the class website). I hope to have these completed next week! Our test on matter will be September 11th.

Speaking of technology, we were limited to using only 8 digital cameras. I have submitted a request using the website "Donors Choose," where public school teachers can request funding for items we would like to use in the classroom. Due to cost, I have asked for 5 cameras at this time. If you know of someone who is looking to help others, or a business that would like to sponsor a worthy cause, you should pass this link on to them:
http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id=309166


One last note: you will notice a change to our reading log coming home next Monday. Mrs. Watson has generously let me copy her log, which looks fantastic, to use for our class! The difference will be now that your child will need to put the title and author of the book, and fill out a face based on if he/she liked the book or not. I think this will really help our students with AR, and on knowing which books to take a quiz!