2H Class Blog!: Happy Fall!

Thursday marked the first day of the fall season. On behalf of all the Owls, we would like to wish you a "Happy Fall!" Don't forget, tomorrow, Grade 2 will enjoy "Johnny Appleseed Day!" If you haven't already done so, please send in one apple (any size or variety) to help us complete some apple-licious activities! Thank you for your continued help in making learning fun!

Highlights from our week
*Math: This week in math, we learned a fun new math game! Fishing for 10, a lot like Go Fish, has players seeking combinations of 10. After sorting a deck of cards to only containing numbers 0-10, each member takes 4 cards. Unlike regular Go Fish, however, the Owls had to look for a match that added to 10--for example, if someone wanted to find a "match: for their 7 card, they would need to find a 3 card, because 7+3=10!

Knowing the combinations of 10 is an essential skill to help set us up for continued math success. As some Owl students are already fluent with these facts, they are being challenged to practice fact extensions by "Fishing for 100" (70+30=100) and using multiple addends to reach their sum (4+5+1=10).

*Science: We had another magical week in science! I have to commend the first grade teachers, because these students came into the year knowing SO much already about thinking, talking, and acting like scientists! We had our first ever "science talk" which functions as an open forum to discuss our science thinking. Mrs. Nash and I were blown away by their thinking and conversation skills! Here are the "rules" we agreed upon to make these talks successful all year long:

*Reading: Our Reader's Workshop is fully underway! While we continue to build our independent reading stamina, we've reviewed and practice ALL the great strategies they already know and use! We introduced the use of post-it notes as a way to hold onto our thinking and be able to "talk long and strong" about our reading. We've been meeting with our reading partners, having book talks and coaching each other.

*Reading Buddies: On Friday, we saw our 5L reading buddies again and were challenged to complete a playground scavenger hunt! This hunt had them riding down the slide, running laps, playing a new game, finding a bug, playing hopscotch, and many other fun things! Our reading buddy time is quickly becoming a favorite time of the week among the Owl class!

(Check back for more pictures soon!)

*Writing: On Wednesday, as you may have heard, the Owl Class had their first guest teacher. While I was at all day meeting at the SAU building, they were hard at work continuing with their everyday learning. They enjoyed hearing the story Mrs. Nelson is Missing and then had some fun writing (very!) creative pieces afterwards. I can always count on these kids to bring a smile to my face!