August 31-September 4

Team Peake,

It's hard to believe that it's almost September and that we have almost been in second grade for a whole month together. The kids are off to a great start, becoming better readers, writers, mathematicians and citizens! One of the many things we have discussed and practiced together has been how to become better readers by choosing texts that are a good fit. Each week your child will have the opportunity to Book Shop in our class library as well as our school library on Wednesdays. Our class library is arranged by genres rather than levels so students can become more independent in selecting "just right" books in the real world where books are arranged in this way. When choosing a book children are trained to go through the "I PICK" acrostic poem in our classroom that states:

I- I choose a just right book.


P- What is my PURPOSE in choosing this text?
I- Does the text INTEREST me?
C-Do I COMPREHEND the words?
K- Do I KNOW how to read most of the words?


Students also have a bookmark in their book baskets that have the same poem. Please ask your children about how they choose books in the classroom and encourage this same process at home, at the public library, book stores, etc.

I have noticed that many children have written about building their "reading stamina" in their Friday Journals. They are referring to a time called "Read to Self" where they practice reading their "Just Right" books independently. We spent the first couple of weeks building up to 20 minutes of reading without stopping or getting tired as a class and this is now a center choice for students while I work with individuals or groups during guided reading. I am happy to say that this group is more excited about reading than ever before...MANY of them choose to Read to Self before anything else because they cannot wait to dive into their books. I will send a detailed letter explaining our Daily 5 Center time in folders this week.

Here's a small glance into what we are covering this week:

Phonics:

Decoding and Spelling Multisyllabic words that include CVC patterns (closed syllables: ex: cat, mop, tim), CV patterns (open syllables: ex: hi, go, me) and CVCE (Magic E syllables: ex: time, take, pole)

Multisyllabic word examples:
concrete
humid
cupcake
compensate
tadpole
dishpan

Our Magic E Spelling Test will be this Friday with our Red Words that were in your child's agenda last week. After this week all of 2nd Grade will be giving Spelling Tests weekly rather than biweekly. 

Reading:

Identifying an Authors Purpose

Writing:

Drafting, Editing/Revising, and Publishing a Narrative Piece. 

Math:

Commutative Property of Addition and Reviewing our study of Place Value to the hundreds place all the way to 1000. 

Social Studies:

Identifying the different roles of our government at the state and city level.

Important Updates and Reminders:

Please join our closed Facebook page to view pictures and quick reminders throughout the year. 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/teampeake/ click on the link and it will send me a notification that you would like to join our closed group. No one will be able to view our information without being accepted by me. 

Congratulations to our newest Star Student, Robert! We are so proud of our new friend Robert as he is dedicated to learning each and every day. He is caring to his friends and his teacher as he always greets us with a smile every morning. We are thankful for his positivity and look forward to learning more about what makes him so special this week. 

Way to Go, Robert!

Our class would love nine pairs of black socks to use as erasers for our dry erase boards. We have 4 pairs already as I had mentioned the need to a parent in passing so we have shared them. If you are able to donate these as a wish list item, please email me.


Thank you all so much for the gift of your children.

All the best,
Jean Peake