BUILD Centers

Happy Friday!  I hope you are able to relax on this special 3-day weekend.

This week, we've been so busy, I forgot to pick up my camera and take some pictures! 

Students have been studying Citizenship (our test is next Wednesday!), and students have had fun reviewing the traits of good citizenship by using our visual vocabulary cards and a special pointer when given clues.  We've also been working on our "paper bag" books, which will come home this week. 

You may have been hearing about "BUILD Centers" from your child when they talk about math.  In math, we rotate to different groups during our time.  Students rotate from my table, where we are learning about current topics in math, to "seat" where they finish their "Number of the Day" book and go to their BUILD Center, to Mrs. Compton on the carpet, where they review concepts, such as money and calendar.

The "BUILD" stands for
*Buddy Games
*Using Manipulatives
*Independent Math and Reading
*Learning About Numbers
*Doing Math

Each week (or 5 days), there are new activities for students to work with in the baskets.  It is always a review from what students learned last year, or have learned in the previous weeks of school, so students should not have difficulty completing the activities.  They have assigned buddies, and each day go to a different center.

 Don't forget September 12, our Back to School Night!  The second grade teachers will be introducing the "Math Games" Folders which will go home each week for students to practice playing the games we've learned in Math Groups.  The plan is that once a week, students will have "Game Night" and play with an adult or older sibling with one of the games we've learned in class.  This week, we learned "Plus 1 or 2 Bingo" and "Collect 25 Cents."  Folders will start to become part of the homework the week after (September 16). 

Also coming up THIS FRIDAY - GRANDPARENTS DAY!  :)

Last Week of September!

Wow!  Time is really flying by this year!  Next week brings October and a busy week!  On Tuesday, our Jamestown visitors will teach us about the Powhatan Indians.  On Thursday, we have "Read for the Record" Day, where we will share in the worldwide celebration of reading.  Please look for a note coming home asking for your help with supplies to make this day "extra special."  October also brings parent conferences.  Right now, I plan on conferences being on October 15th (Teacher Work Day) in the late morning/early afternoon.  I will plan evening conferences at another date.  More word on that coming home soon!

This week kept us busy!  We finished our weather unit and brought in a little math by creating our own thermometers.  We'll use these for the next couple weeks in class as we learn how to read the temperature on a thermometer.  Already, students are familiar that if they see a lot of "red" then it's hot.  If the temperature is lower, it's cold! (Not as much red).  See pictures below of students making their thermometers.  They will come home in the next couple of weeks for students to keep and practice.

Please be sure to practice money and basic facts with your child!  Our newest focus in math is shapes and geometry, but these are concepts students must master in second grade!

Have a great weekend! :)

Week 4

Can you believe we have been in school for 17 days???  I can't believe Interims go home this Wednesday!  Whew!

For a short week, we were very busy!  I am including pictures from one of our donations from Donors Choose which we are using during math to help us count money.  These are "magic boards" (which reminds me a lot of "magna doodles")...the cool thing is that they have "screens" that are pages so students can write on the transparencies, erase, and do it all over again!  It's the little things that are sometimes the most fun, right?  Students have worked together, helping one another, on this concept.  We're also reviewing our calendar skills, as well as our basic facts.

I just realized I've done two weeks of math in our blog, so I'll be sure to try to remember to bring the camera out during our Science time next week!

Don't forget about our "in house" field trip with Jamestown.  This is SUCH a cool thing for students to experience!  (October will be here before we know it!).  Also, coming up a little sooner will be our "Back to School Night" on September 13th.  We will be teaching parents how to play some of the neat games we've learned in math, such as "Tens Go Fish" and "Make 10" as well as "Plus 1 or 2 Bingo."  I hope you can come! :)

BUILD Centers and Donors Choose

Wow, another week flew by this week!  Friday, we ended with PALS testing where we assess each student's reading skills to determine whether they would benefit from Title I or Reading Lab assistance, as well as using it as a formal assessment to place students in appropriate reading groups. 

We had a lot of fun this week...so much, I forgot to pick up my camera and snap a few shots!  We are just about finished with our Magnet unit in Science.  Students will explore a bit further on Tuesday, then take a quick assessment on what they have learned (a "checkup").  In Writing, we are beginning to plan and write stories, watching out for those incomplete sentences!  Students have been singing our songs about periods and exclamation marks to help remind them!

Since I didn't have a chance to snap a shot of the kids this week, I thought I'd do the next best thing and show you our BUILD centers.  These are centers that students are able to do during math rotation, after they have finished their Number of the Day page.  These are fun games and activities students get to play that reinforce math skills they should have already mastered.  Each day, students rotation to a different letter. BUILD actually stands for B(uddy games), U(sing manipulatives), I(ndependent math/reading), L(earning about numbers), D(oing math).  This is a great way for students to have choice in their centers (there are several choices in each basket), but also be focused on practicing their skills!

I also wanted to include a picture of our latest donation from Donors Choose! This was a project funded at the very end of last year.  We also received scissors and glue sticks as part of this project as well!  You can check out Donors Choose and all they do for public classrooms by clicking on the link to the side.  It'll take you to our class homepage on the site.  Coming up soon is Sonic September. This is where you can vote on your favorite projects!  The projects with the most votes get funded!  Currently, I have two projects listed:  one for an iPad for our classroom (!) and the other for 3 handheld camcorders so students can record things such as math concepts and for use during our content time.  (I am planning a third one to ask for bar magnets and horseshoe magnets, which we found we needed during our magnet unit!).  Please help us out by signing up.  All you need is your email address, log in each day to vote on our class project, and hopefully we will see one of our projects funded!  Voting starts September 24th, I believe.  I will send home a  note with more details closer to the time.