The second graders worked in small groups to give a short presentation about simple machines to their peers.  We will be learning a great deal about these amazing little machines!

Shantanu, Andre, Ellie & Karina

Will, Tommy & Hailey

Megan, Addison, Simon & Jude

Helen, Charlotte, Soma & Mikolaj

                       

Drew, Lauren, Iraj & Yupeng 

Iraj & Shantanu Check Out the Simple Machine Table

Hailey Waits For the Next Instruction

Our New Friend, Helen, Enjoys The Scotia-Glenville Museum Mini Machine!

Jude Moves the Metal Marble Around the Mini Machine Maze

Tess Listens Carefully to Instructions for her Paper Helicopter

Ellie is Working the Rope & Pulley Marble Machine...Check out all the Ramps (Inclined Planes)!

Mikolaj is Playing with the Mini Machines!

Katie is Showing the Domino at Rest (Potential Energy) & Yupeng is About to Demonstrate Kinetic Energy...Look Out For Falling Dominoes!

Soma Uses Great Force to Lift Karina!

Simon is Using Force to Try to Lift the Load (Tommy)!

Tommy Sits on the Giant Lever

We kicked off our Simple Machines Science Unit with an amazing visit from the Scotia-Glenville Traveling Museum.  The children were able to hear a very informative presentation on the basic types of simple machines, and then we were able to explore the different stations.  Everything was "Hands On," and I can assure you that all the students had a BLAST!  We learned about levers, inclined planes, pulleys, wheel & axles, screws...just to name a few.

Helen & Ellie Create a Helicopter

Charlotte...Thank you for sharing your mother & grandmother with us!

Many thanks to Charlotte's mother and grandmother for sharing some time with the children as Mystery Readers!

Charlotte listens with NaNa

Charlotte's mom reads from Love is My Favorite Thing

Your children continue to work on reading an analog clock (with hands).  Most of the students can read the hands to the hour (4:00, 12:00, etc.), but many are still having difficulties with reading a clock when the hands show a half hour (4:30, 12:30, etc.).  Please practice these half hour times at home as we will be reading clocks to the quarter hour next (4:15, 4:45, etc.).

A wrist watch with hands is a great holiday gift!

Please also review coin names and values with your children:

penny - 1 cent
nickel- 5 cents
dime- 10 cents
quarter- 25 cents
half dollar- 50 cents
dollar coin- 100 cents

Counting coins on a regular basis will help your student at school.

Can your child count by 5s?
Can your child count by 10s?  (0, 10, 20, 30, 40...)  or (0, 15, 25, 35, 45...)
Can your child count by 25s?  (0, 25, 50, 75, 100)!

Your children are finally drafting their endings for their personal narrative writing pieces.  We are entering the revising/editing stages.  We have been focusing on correcting our ending punctuation marks...the period (.), the question mark (?), and the exclamation point (!).  The children have been working with a writing partner.  Partners assist each other with this process.

 We have also worked on correcting "run on" sentences (I went to the closet and I grabbed my coat and then I ran to the door and I went outside...).

Addison's mom read 'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving & The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash

Thank you for reading to us!

Thank you to our first Mystery Readers!

The students enjoy our Mystery Reader

Lauren's dad read The Great Kapok Tree

Second graders celebrated Veterans Day at an assembly for the entire Slingerlands school.

Meredith & Dhaif wear their red, white, and blue!

Lauren decorates a card for a child at the Marillac Shelter 

Megan & Will send their love to a child at the Marillac Shelter

Volunteers from the Marillac Homeless Shelter visited our 2nd grade classroom to discuss homelessness with the children.  As a school...the students of Slingerlands will help support this community service program.  Each grade has been assigned a set of items to donate to the children at the Marillac Shelter.  The 2nd graders are being asked to fill our classroom donation box with the following items:  shampoo, soap, body soap, or deodorant.  If you are able to send one of these items to school with your child, we will be on our way to filling our "Giving Box!"  Thank you for your generosity.

Shantanu writes words of encouragement for a child at the Marillac Shelter

Marillac Shelter Volunteers speak to our Class

The "Primary Pumpkin" weighed 4 pounds! Hailey's name was selected from the "Winning Weight Pile."  Congratulations Hailey:)

Second Graders Listen Carefully to Fire Prevention Tips

The fire department officials

speak to the children on October 9th, Fire Safety Day at Slingerlands!

Create an escape plan with your family.  Test your smoke alarms & change the batteries in your smoke alarms once a year.

Thank you Mrs. Naumovitz... for bringing Elephant and Piggie to Slingerlands!

2nd Graders listened to several Mo Willems books as Elephant and Piggie acted out their parts!

The 2nd Graders loved meeting the characters, Elephant and Piggie!

Your children are settling into our 2nd Grade routine very nicely.  They are becoming more confident in the homework routine as the days pass.

 I wanted to include the spelling schedule on the blog in case you were confused about your child's spelling responsibilities.

The first two spelling units were introduced in school...we worked on setting up a heading in the spelling journal for each spelling assignment, and we talked about the margin (the red line on the paper).  You begin writing to the right of the margin.

Sample Heading:

Spelling                                                          10/6/15
Unit #3                                                            Sentences 

Then we talked about numbering each item and skipping a space between items...best writing, capitalization, punctuation, underlining the spelling words for sentences, and making sure we understood what the spelling word means.  Sometimes your student will have to look up a definition or have a discussion with you regarding the usage of the spelling word.

Your child will do his/her work in the front of the journal (try not to skip pages) and take his/her tests in the back of the journal.  Please look for your child's test every Thursday & place your signature on that test page so that you may keep track of how well your student is testing.

Spelling will follow the same routine every week (spelling runs Thursday to Thursday):

Day #1:  Thursday- Take your test in school & receive new list (after pre-testing new pattern words)                                    Bring new list home & find a safe place for it!

                                 Homework: Write each pattern spelling word #1-6 in its own sentence –this                                          week the pattern is “am” (check for capitals, punctuation, and underline your                                        spelling word in a sentence).  Your student must think of his/her own sentences                        and write them in the spelling journal.

Day #2:  Friday-      Hand in your 6 pattern spelling word sentences when you come to school.

                                 Homework:  Begin to study your new list of words over the weekend.

Day #3:  Monday-   Homework: Write sentences for your last 4 words (these are 2nd grade priority                                     words).  Write sentences #7-10 in journal & study for spelling test on Thursday.  

             

Day #4:  Tuesday-  Hand in sentences #7-10 in spelling journal when you get to school.

                                Homework:  Place all 10 spelling words in Alphabetical order (ABC order).  Use                                 the planning paper first & then copy words from planning list into your spelling                                   journal.  Study for your test!

Day #5:  Wednesday-  Hand in both planning paper & spelling journal when you get to school.

                                     Homework:  Write all 10 spelling words 2 times in journal & then highlight                                          the letters in the spelling words that show the pattern of the week. 

For example:  This week you will trace the letter a and the letter m in all spelling words that contain                           that pattern.       stamp,   stamp                                    Study for test tomorrow!

Day #6:  Thursday-  Hand in words written 2 times and highlighted when you get to school.  Take                                         test!

And the week begins again with a new list.

Hope this helps. 

What a Great Looking Group!!!

Katie and Drew Get Down to Work

Addison settles into 2nd Grade!