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

August 24-28

Team Peake,

It was great to see most of you at Orientation last Tuesday! Please take the time to watch the following video that explains all of the amazing benefits that the Sarah Smith Education Foundation provides for our children. http://www.sarahsmithelementary.com/foundation/index.cfm

We are going to have another busy and fun-filled week in second grade!

Here's a look into the curriculum:

Phonics: 

Magic 'e'

ex: make, use, time, poke

"e" at the end of a word has the power to jump over one consonant to make a vowel say its name.

*please see child's agenda for the week's red words

Reading:

Comparing and Contrasting between texts.

Grammar: Common and Proper Nouns

(Please see Links tab for a game if you would like your child to practice this skill)

Math: 

Continuing our study of Place Value

Social Studies:

Continuing our study of government.

Writing:

Personal Narratives

Working with Editing Buddies

Important Updates and Reminders:

Congratulations to our newest Star Student, Isa Dowdle! Isa is a kind, hardworking, and curious friend who encourages others to do their best. We are so thankful to have Isa as a part of our class family and look forward to learning more about what makes her so special this upcoming week. Way to go, Isa!

August 17-21

Team Peake,

We had a fantastic first week together in first grade! You truly have amazing children who have come to school each day eager to learn. Thank you for supporting this at home. I look forward to seeing each of you at Orientation this upcoming Tuesday at 5:30. Please bring any questions that you may have about second grade. I will have a lot of information prepared to discuss with you about what to expect this year and how to stay connected with our class. I am THRILLED to have this evening with you all as I missed it last year while on Maternity Leave. :) Please arrange for childcare as this evening is not for the children, but for parent/teacher collaboration.

Please encourage your child's independence as they will have more responsibilities this year, including keeping up with their agenda. Each morning your child will write down his or her homework in the given subject as well as any important words to memorize throughout the week. This is where our class will be keeping the Red Words for the week. I will not be posting these online as your child will keep them in their agenda.

If your child has trouble throughout the day and has moved his or her clip to "parent contact" this is where I will write a small note that is to be signed and returned the following day.

We will be continuing and expanding upon the previous weeks' skills.

Important Updates and Reminders:

Congratulations to our newest Star Student, Jackie Dwyer! This spectacular student has been welcoming and gracious to our new friends and has shown great kindness to all of her classmates and teachers by always lending a helping hand. We are thankful for Jackie and look forward to learning more about what makes her so special this upcoming week. Way to go, girl!


Our classroom could benefit from having a dehumidifier. I would like to add this to our wish list because our end of the school does not have the best central air system.




As always, please e-mail me with any questions or concerns.

Have a great week!

Jean Peake

August 10-14

Greetings Team Peake!

We had a fantastic first three days together last week and are ready to take on a full week of learning in second grade. The children (with some assistance from me) came up with our Essential Agreements that we will follow for a successful year. I was very impressed with their ideas and reasonings behind each agreement.

1. Be caring.

2. Keep personal space. 

3. Be respectful.

4. Be safe.

5. Have fun!

Here is a glance at the curriculum for next week:

Phonics: Reading and Spelling words that have the Short /a/ and short /i/ spelling. 

ex: skip, that, rap, fit

We will also begin decoding multisyllabic words that follow this specific pattern.

Grammar: Identifying the Subject and Predicate of a sentence and organizing words into alphabetical order.

Reading: Identifying the sequence of events in a variety of texts.

Math:  Addition and Subtraction fluency.

Social Studies and Science: Begin our Unit of Inquiry into the structure of our government system.

Writing: Writing a personal narrative.

Important Updates/Reminders:

Congratulations to our first Star Student, Tyler Barcus! Tyler is very enthusiastic about second grade and is already showing a commitment to learning and growing with his friends. Way to Go, Tyler! We look forward to learning more about what makes you so special this upcoming week.

Thank you to those who have already brought in items from our class wish list. We have enough Emergency snacks for the time being, so you can wait to bring those in until further notice.

I would also like to thank you for ensuring that your child is on time to school each morning! Each member of our class was on time every day last week! The students have benefited greatly from this as they can complete their morning routines with ease.

Please mark your Calendar for August 18th. We will have Second Grade Orientation at 5:30. More details will follow. We will discuss many important topics about your child's second grade year.


All the best,

Jean Peake