2H Class Blog!: Nov. 11th News

It may have been short, but our week sure was productive! Thanks for all of your help with our "Turkey in Disguise" homework. It's funny, I sent home 19 turkeys, and didn't get one back ;-) I think it's safe to say, these "turkeys" will stay safe this Thanksgiving!

*Reading: The owls have been having more fun than ever during their reader's workshop. As we're in our last stages of our nonfiction reading unit, they have grown enormously with their ability to sustain reading, pull out important information, talk about their learning, and, most recently, compare information across texts. This is a lot of work for second graders---thank goodness it's engaging and fun!! Early last week, they each Owl received a "topic baggie". In it, there were 2-4 sources about a topic of their choice. They had so much fun digging in and learning even more as they read each text! It was some of the best reading work I've seen all year! Check them out!

All of this hard work, is gearing them up for our nonfiction reading celebration in which they will use their new learning to teach others what they know! We'll be working on that during this upcoming week. Be sure to ask your child about their topic and some of things they have learned.

*Book Orders: November Scholastic Book Orders were sent home last week and are due Monday, Nov. 14th. If you’re interested in buying any books as holiday gifts, you can order online and send me an email letting me know to keep the books until we can work out a time for you to pick them up—just let me know! You can also send a paper order and check in an envelope if you prefer ordering that way. I will send home one more book order before the holiday (Scholastic is pretty good about getting books delivered quickly!).

*Community Project: On Friday, you received a notice asking for a black & white photo of a place in Stratham. Our owls enjoyed studying Mo Willems' book Knuffle Bunny and seeing how he incorporated photos of his hometown. They are anxious to begin crafting our own story using photos from our community. Please have photos emailed by Friday so we can begin this work. Stuck? Take a look a Ms. Riley's blog post for inspiration! We thank her for sharing this great project idea with us!

*Report Card Envelopes: Progress reports were sent home in folders today. The purpose is to report attendance and to provide you an opportunity to familiarize yourself with the document. We don't fill out progress reports for students until the January marking period. Please sign and return the envelopes. The progress report is for your records.

*Field Trip: Just a reminder that this Wednesday, SMS Second Graders will be heading to Strawbery Banke! Students should dress for the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes as we will be walking in and out of exhibits. A big thank you to Madeline's dad and Sophie's mom who will be chaperoning our trip! Just a reminder that students will need to bring a packed lunch for our trip. Several students have returned an order form requesting a bagged lunch from the cafe. If your child will need this option, please send the order form back by Monday. (If you need a form, just send me an email!). It's bound to be a great day! Let me know if you have any questions!!

Enjoy the long, Veterans' weekend! Thank you to all who have served or are presently serving our great country!