Spring has Sprung!

What an eventful yet beautiful day!

This morning in Daily 5, the students reviewed what buddy reading should look like, sound like and feel like. Lately, we have struggled with checking for understanding so we took some time today to review why it is so important. We also met in our small groups and added a poem to our poetry journals.

In P.E. one of our students fell off of the equipment and broke his arm. I talked with mom at the end of the day and she said he is doing much better. Mrs. Armstrong (the PE teacher) was so impressed with the students when this happened. They rose to the occasion, listened for the directions and did exactly what they were told to do. Way to go 2^nd graders!!! This group of kids is so incredibly helpful, caring and generous.

In science, we continued to learn about weather. So far we have focused on rain and snow. This week, our focus is lightning. After we read the books A Letter to Amy by Ezra Jack Keats and Water Dance by Thomas Locker, the students created their lightning pictures using the Picture Writing Process.  Tomorrow students will write I Poems about lightning.

Promised Pictures

Dodge & Z-Puppets :)

Good morning!

Yesterday we went to the Dodge Nature Center for a lesson called Air Around Us. The students had a wonderful time using wind meters and learning about the air we breath.  Students’ homework last night was to share the writing they did in class about something they learned and their favorite part of the field trip.  

We also took our spelling tests yesterday and reviewed our classroom rules.

This morning, students met in guided reading groups and did their Daily 5 jobs. When the students return from specialists, we will read our weekly reader which is about endangered animals and how we can help them. We will also watch Moreland Today and have our healthy snack, pineapples. In math today, we will be taking a common formative assessment that looks at students’ money counting skills. Our hopes are that after Unit 10 is finished, students will show growth when given the same assessment after learning and practicing this skill.

At 1:20, we will go to the gym to watch Z-Puppets perform! This is a wonderful program that the students at Moreland will be working with to learn about different coping skills for everyday stressors.  Z-Puppets did a family event last night and another this morning.

Friday folders will be sent home today. Please be sure to check out our weekly newsletter and other information inside.

I hope you have a wonderful day and weekend!

**Pictures of Dodge and Lorax will be posted this evening**

The Lorax Earth Day Project Pictures Coming Soon!

Good evening,

Today was yet another busy day in 2^nd grade! Reading was filled with meeting in guided reading groups, reading to self, listening to reading, word work, and writing. We watched a great video about the water cycle and weather in science. We compared the water cycle to the life cycles of butterflies and frogs. After lunch, Ann Luke came to our classroom and taught us all about yellow and orange fruits and vegetables. The students learned which fruits and veggies have the most vitamins and what each vitamin does.

In math, we learned about the decimal point when counting money. We used calculators to add money and make discoveries about the decimal point. We also played a “Count the Coin” game on the iPad using the Apple TV. We turned the game into a game show type competition. The kids had a great time and worked together really well.

Tomorrow is library day and book buddy day! We will be doing an art project with our kindergarten reading buddies.

Have a wonderful night!

Happy Earth Day!

Today we read the stories The Lorax and Dear Children of the Earth. We talked about ways that we can help keep our planet clean and safe. Each student took a “Lorax” picture and wrote about 4 ways that they would help the Earth if they were a Lorax (pictures will be posted soon).

In math, students practiced writing amounts of money in dollar and cent notation. We learned why there is a zero in $12.04 and how it is not written as $12.4 because that would be a different amount of money.  Students then used a special code to figure out how much different words cost including their name and two vocabulary words.

Hopefully tomorrow’s commute won’t be too bad and the snow will miss us!!! The kids and I are ready for some much needed sun and warmth! Have a wonderful evening.

**If you would like to chaperone our field trip on Thursday at 12:15, please let me know. We are still in need of volunteers! **

Go Away Snow!

Good evening!

I finally have a night to blog! With the Neighborhood Bridges performance coming up along with a couple of things I do outside of teaching, I have found myself having little to no time at all to keep up with the bog L

Our Simple Machines Lego Unit has been so much fun! The students have been making a lot of connections between the things we have made so far, to things in the real world.

We took most of our Unit 9 math test yesterday. There is one part of the test that we still have to take which we will take tomorrow or Monday. Unit 10 is all about money.

Today we finished writing Snow Haikus—how appropriate with this crazy weather!! The students did a great job with such an interesting type of poetry.

On Tuesday we went to a program called Trek to Respect. Ronald McDonald taught all of us to respect our friends, respect our community, and to respect ourselves.

Ann Luke from the University of Minnesota came yesterday and taught us about green fruits and vegetables. She also talked to us about the importance of eating breakfast.

On the 25th we will be going to the Dodge Nature Center. We are still looking for parent chaperones to join us. If you are available to join us, please let me know by Monday.

Have a good night!

Get Your Rear In Gear

On April 21st I am participating in the Get Your Rear In Gear 5k Run/Walk for Colon Cancer. I have lost two very important people in my life to this cancer and am looking for donations to support my efforts to build hope and beat colon cancer.

Below is a link to my donation page:

Click here -->Support Ms. Maczko!!

GO AWAY WINTER!

I’m not sure about you, but this winter season seems to never end!!! We began our Simple Machines Lego unit on Monday. The students explored gears and how to make them turn faster and different directions. Today, students were challenged to create a Merry-Go-Round. One of our rules is that our Legos need to stay on our kit cover so that we don’t lose pieces. I have been a stickler at making kids follow that rule since the pieces in these kits are SO tiny and blend in really well with the carpet.

Yesterday the magnet evaluators came and observed us learn about creating snow pictures using the Picturing Writing Process. After they visited, Teresa, our Magnet Facilitator told them that our class was a looping class and they said that they could tell and were really impressed with the students. Yay!!! In math, we learned about perimeter and calculated the perimeter around our classroom. In reading, we learned about taking responsibility and also when to use “I” and “me” in our writing. Ann Luke came and taught us all about fruits and vegetables that are red. At the end, we got to taste test “healthy pop” which is made of one container of 100% frozen juice and 2 liters of bubbly water (NO SUGAR!!). It was delicious!

Today, we continued to practice “I” and “me” and discussed our MAP goals for the end of the year. The students had a good idea of putting their end of the year goal on their desk to remind them to slow down and do their best. We visited the library and practiced picking out “good fit books” using the 5-finger rule (if you read a page and don’t know how to read 5 of the words, it is too hard). In math, we learned about measuring longer distances using the mile. We also practiced 2 digit addition and subtraction. At the end of the day, we met with or kindergarten book buddies. Our healthy snack this week is cherry tomatoes and basil.

Hopefully the snow won’t cause too many problems for tomorrows commute. Be sure to dress your child appropriately.

THATS A LOT OF SUGAR IN SNAPPLE!