2A Sings...

The past week we've been doing some singing in 2A! Good thing the kids are good singers because I'm NOT!!!!! We continued with figurative language this week and they learned about onomatopoeia. What??? It means that a sound and the name for the sound have the same name: oink, vroom, quack, splash. Authors put these words in to make the book more interesting and they're definitely more fun to read! We practiced reading Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? When I started teaching about it this week I couldn't spell the word:) If I can't spell it...the kids definitely can't spell it, right? Amazingly I found a song on the Internet and now I can spell it!

O-n-o-m-a-t-o-p-o-e-i-a
(Sung to the tune of “Old McDonald”

O-n-o-m-a-t-o-p-o-e-i-a… with a
‘ruff-ruff’ here and a ‘baa baa’ there…
here a ‘vroom,’ there a ‘buzz,’
everywhere a ‘splat! splat!’
O-n-o-m-a-t-o-p-o-e-i-a!

Secondly, we've been 'Exploring Earth' in social studies. As you may have seen we've been labeling states, continents, and oceans. The kids really seem to like this and they know these pretty well. I found a song about the 7 continents:

The Continent Song
(Sung to the tune of “Are You Sleeping?”

North America, South America
Antarctica, Antarctica.
Europe, Asia, Africa.
Europe, Asia, Africa.
Australia.

Finally...we started the Word Choice trait in writing. I've read Fancy Nancy books the last two days and they've started using some of her words. Their favorite so far is merci (thank you). Here is our word choice song:

The Word Choice Song
(Sung to the tune of "Ring Around the Rosie")

Writing with your best words
Finding lots of new words
Sparkle! Dazzle!
The words stand out!

Similes

This week we have had some fun with similes. Students learned that they are an example of figurative language -- they thought that was hard to remember! Basically they know that a simile must include the words "like" or "as" and that they have to compare two things. We discussed that authors use similes so that readers can form pictures in their heads while they are reading. We will learn other examples of figurative language in the next couple of weeks: personification and onomonopeia. Here are some of 2A's similes...enjoy!

The room is as quiet as a lamb.
I am as calm as a kitten. (Jenna)
I am as tall as a dinsaur. (Kael)
I am as loud as a lion. (Emma)
My brother is loud like a dinosaur. (Austin)
I am as rough as a dog. (Alex)
I am as fast as a cheetah. (Donavyn)
I as tough as a rhino. (Bryer)
I am fast like a dog. (Dylan)
The clouds are white like snow.
I am as caring as kitten. (Kailyn)
The lollipop is sweet like honey.
My brother is like a bossy r. (Kael)
The waves are as calm as flowers.
My sister is as nice as a kitten.
Fires are as wild as a shark.
I am as smart as a teacher. (Angelina)
Rock stars are as wild as chimpanzees.

I'm back...and reminders

Wow...I have really gotten out of the habit of blogging. I apologize!!! It's been a little hectic lately...family life, my vacation, kids' sicknesses, school...I'm sure everyone is there with me. I had a wonderful time is Las Vegas, however, I don't know if it's harder planning the trip or coming back!!! Regardless, it's nice to get back to "normal".

I guess spring decided to visit us this last week...what a nice surprise! I hope the sunshine sticks around for a while longer. With the warmer weather the kids think they can start dressing for summer. It's not quite that warm here yet! The building is still quite cool inside and with the length of recess time it does get chilly outside. The mornings are especially chilly and many students spend a good amount of time outside before school starts. Please remind your child of this in the morning when they are trying to leave without a coat! It is also still muddy on the playground so we are still asking students to wear their boots. I also reminded students that the weather is supposed to change by Friday and that there is snow in the forecast. So...please don't put away the winter clothes just yet. Silly weather!!!!!

Another important reminder is that we have Tech Night this Friday. The purpose of this is to share with and thank you and the community for the technology that we now have in our classrooms. We will hold an open house from 5-7 this Friday night. All classrooms will be open for students to visit and to use the technology. In here I will have students showing you how to use the Smartboard and there will also be computer games to use. There is also a free will donation soup supper: potato soup, chili, cinnamon rolls and beverages. Thanks for your support and I hope to see EVERYONE on Friday night!!!!!

Finally, I feel I need to mention that I have had to give many reminders lately about 2nd grade responsibilities. It seems that students have gotten Spring Fever! Yesterday we had a big discussion about this during literacy. We actually had to build our stamina again for Daily 5 because they seemed to have forgotten how to read quietly and correctly and to not talk. I was not very happy about this! I reminded them that we still have 2 1/2 months left of school and that I expect even more from them since we are at the end of 2nd grade. I also reminded them that 3rd grade will be even more difficult with more expectations; I am trying to get them ready for this. Also, a reminder that your child still needs to be completing homelinks almost nightly and reading 15-20 minutes each night. Please chat with your child about this...I appreciate it.

I hope you have a great rest of the week and I hope to see you on Friday. Don't get lost in the fog:)

Readers

Thank you so much to our 2 readers that volunteered last week. The kids really enjoy listening to stories...especially when someone besides me is reading them:) As you may have heard, one of our guests was Les Askelson from KVIK radio station. He asked us to record the pledge and then he would play it once in a while on the station. The kids were very excited about this!!!!! We recorded it the next day and Les played it last Friday. He said he would play it more than once so when I hear of the next time I'll let you and your child know.

If last week didn't work for you to come and read and you would still like to, please let me know. Please send a note or contact me with a day and time that works for you and we'll make that work in our schedule. The note I sent does list the times that work best for us -- they do not include specials, recess, and lunch. Thanks again!