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Showing posts from September, 2017

The In Class Routine for Turning in Homework

Just like you might have wondered how homework gets from the classroom into your child's backpack ( see this blog post) , you might wonder, "Well how does my child's homework get from their backpack to the teacher?" or perhaps "Why did my child get a missed homework slip when their homework was in their bag?" Here is how it works in room 202. At the very beginning of the year, I establish the expectation with students that they are now in second grade so they will need to become a little more independent. Instead of handing their whole folder to the teacher or putting their folder in a bin, students bring their folder into the room, open it, look inside, and give me any homework or notes that they see inside. If they are unsure of what is inside, they check with me. Then students either put their folder in their mailbox for the end of the day, or back in their backpack. On days when homework is always due (Tuesdays and Fridays) students are expe

Open House is Thursday!

Hello everyone! I hope you and the students can join us Thursday  for Open House. We will be in the classroom for a quick meet and greet and a  few comments from me from 6:30-7:00 pm and then head down to the cafeteria for a curriculum presentation from the second grade team and some information from Ms. Kane until about 7:30 pm. Scroll down for all you want to know about 2nd grade! This is our grade level informational brochure. I thought I would post it here for your convenience. Everything you always wanted to know about Second Grade STAFF Classroom Teachers Ms. Garlisi      Ms. McGrath Mrs. Holm             Ms. Packer      Ms. Mawn             Ms. Pratt Special Education Mrs. Hogan Mrs. Carreiro Mrs. Penney    Reading Support Mrs. Zwolinski  Mrs. Koob Math Support Mrs. Oksanish Specials The second grade learning experience is enhanced by the following weekly classes. P.E.                       40 minutes Music                    40

Math Vocabulary

I am sure your second grader knows what "add" means and "equals" but can they define the math meaning of "difference"? How about "faces" and do they remember "unit" and "combinations" from first grade? With the Common Core State Standards communicating about mathematical thinking is very important and to do so we need a good grasp on math vocabulary. Additionally, besides being able to write and speak math terms like angles and sum, students need to be able to independently read and understand written math directions on their own. In a testing situation, teachers may be able to read what a word says but if a student does not remember it they will not be able to define it (of course in everyday lessons and not on tests, yes we would help). For example, "Write a subtraction equation in which the difference is 6" or "Write a number model in which the sum is 8" would require not only computation but knowing w

Tips on Navigating SpellingCity

I put together a video that walks you through how to log in and has some tips on using Spelling City on a computer or chrome, safari, etc. browser. This should help if your child is unsure of where to click or how to find the current week's word lists (They are always under "lists not in group"). This video is from early 2017 so Spelling City may have a few minor changes since then. Unfortunately I can't quite make a video showing how to use Spelling City with the app, but I did show both ways in class and we will be using Spelling City in class regularly so I can imagine the students will get very adept at it pretty quickly. Many of them are savvier than I am with technology!

The In Class Routine for Getting Homework into Backpacks

Hi everyone!  Sometimes there is a glitch and homework does not get into your child's backpack. I thought you might be curious as to what the homework routine is in class so you know how the homework gets from me to your child's bag. It is an increase of responsibility on the student's part from first grade but I know they can handle it with a little help.  The routine in class we have been doing and talking about for the past week is: 1. I show the class what the homework looks like and give any tips or advice, reading over directions, etc. 2. The mail helper puts the homework in the mailboxes 3. A teacher double checks to make sure everyone who needed a homework got one 4. Students check their mail at the end of the day and put it in their folder* 5. Students tell me if they don't see any homework in their mailbox so I can give them on 6. Students are responsible for taking their own folder and putting in their backpack. *If homework was d

Spelling Routine and Spelling City

SPELLING ROUTINE AND SPELLING CITY Here are some details to help explain our spelling program and how it works. ● We work on a spelling pattern(s) for one week, starting on Monday and ending on Friday. ● Each Friday I give a preview of the next week’s words. The preview is usually the words from the regular spelling list. How students do on the preview helps determine which list they work on for the week (there are multiple spelling lists for differentiation). If your child knows all the words or only got one wrong, he will do List A for the week. Otherwise, your child will do List O, the regular spelling list. Occasionally, but not always there is a third list which your child might get if they only knew a couple of the preview words. ● Later in the year, (not until at least November), on the spelling quiz itself, there will usually be 2-5  bonus words – words that have the same exact spelling patterns we worked on but are not on any of the lists students studied. After al

Friday Folders

What are Friday Folders, you ask? Once a week, on Fridays, your child will bring home all their word in their homework folder but I refer to this day as "Friday Folders". On Fridays, their folder will contain work that has been corrected or looked at by me and returned. Your child will bring this folder home so you can look over his work. I think it is a great way for you to stay up on what your child is working on at school and it also gives you a jumping off point for discussions at home. Please remove the papers during the weekend so they have room to put their reading logs and papers from the next week in there. For example, when you ask, "How was school? What did you do today?" and your child says, "Fine. Nothing." you can use their Friday Folder work to prompt them to give some details such as, "I saw your paper about fact families. What is a fact family anyway?" Thank you!

What happens if my child forgets their homework?

Hi everyone! Let me tell you a little more about the homework routine. What happens when someone forgets their homework? Well, every time your child forgets to bring their homework back I send home a missed homework slip. It tells you what happened and has a spot for your signature. If I do not see the missed homework slip signed and returned to school I send another one or email you to see if you were aware. In the beginning of the year, I let students adjust to the homework routine for a couple weeks, then if they are still forgetting homework after that, they may have to do their homework in school that day. I usually acknowledge that they completed their homework in school that day on the missed homework slip. The reading log cannot be done in school; however, all other homework could be made up during the day. If I notice your child is having a lot of difficulty remembering their homework we will discuss some strategies for helping them. Some general tips for homework succ

First Scholastic Book Club Order!

Encouraging reading is one of the most important things we can do to help your child succeed. It can be tough finding the right books to keep them interested, which is why I am so excited that our class will be participating in Scholastic Reading Club this school year. I am sending home several reading club fliers today. Orders are due no later than THURSDAY September 14. Your child can also order from dozens of other fliers by logging in online. You can also order by returning one of the paper order forms and check written out to Scholastic ( no cash please). We will place an order in November or December too so if you want to order books for holiday gifts you have two chances. There are science books, chapter books, picture books, $1 deals and more! With Scholastic Reading Club: - Every book you buy earns FREE Books for our classroom library - You can choose from handpicked, grade- and reading-level-specific books for your child - You'll find the best values on a varie

Sharing Schedule/AKA Show and Tell

We will be starting a show and tell - I call it sharing - schedule next week..  Once a week - on Tuesday -  several children will have the chance to bring something in if they like. We will take turns until every has one turn,  then everyone can get a 2nd turn and so on. The list will be posted in the classroom so students will know in advance when it is their turn. Show and tell should be saved for those days, unless students have something that relates to what we are working on in school such as rocks when we do our pebbles, sand and silt unit.  More guidelines: no live animals allowed. I suggested if something is valuable, special or expensive students should have permission from you to bring it in. Most of the time things are okay but there is always a chance of something getting lost or broken. Students were asking about bringing in iphones, tablets etc. for sharing. If they are brought in they will not  be allowed to connect to the school wifi or internet. They can show us the

Homework is Starting Soon

Hi everyone! This week we will start homework procedures. I would like to explain the usual routines. There are two types of homework: the weekly reading log and nightly homework (occasionally there is a long term project). Our Language Arts "Week" starts each Monday and ends on Friday. Therefore, on Monday nights your child will bring home a reading log which also includes their spelling words. Their reading log is to be kept at home until Friday. Reading logs are  due on Friday . I won't take them early because students may read on Friday morning before school and need to record it.  The second grade home reading policy is that students read about every night for 10-15 minutes. The spelling quiz is on Fridays. Your child will receive a spelling menu on Monday attached to their reading log and they will write their spelling words on it so they know what words they need to practice. Your child will choose one activity from the menu to complete on Wednesday . Of cours

Helping a Texas Classroom Rebuild

Hurricane Harvey may be over but countless teachers and students lost everything from their schools and classroom. Some schools are able to replace much of what was lost, but some are not. And you know teachers spend a lot of their own money on classroom supplies, so when everything is lost, all those items they bought from WalMart, Target, Amazon, etc. are gone too. Teachers and their classes around the country have come toegther and started to "adopt" classrooms in need. What does that mean? A teacher signs up to help a Texas teacher and contacts him or her to find out what he/she needs and when it is needed by. To start the year out, since we have pretty much everything we need here in Littleton, I thought it would be a kind and "heart-ful" thing to do to adopt a Texas classroom too. I reached out to Ms. Kim Manuel in Friendswood, TX, which is just south of Houston and right on the ocean. Kim's school was completely flooded and everything is lost. She told

Specials Schedule

We are off to a great start! We have been pretty hot on the second floor, but it won't be hot for long! Here is our specials schedule. Please help your child to remember to wear sneakers on gym days. FYI The computer lab will not be open until next week, so if you haven't sent in earbuds yet for your child to use with ipads and the computers there is time! MONDAY: ART TUESDAY: PE THURSDAY: MUSIC FRIDAY: LIBRARY

Teacher Contact Info

Miss Mawn's Contact Info One of the keys to make this year a great year will be for good communication! Here is all my contact information: E-mail: rmawn@littletonps.org Phone: 978-855-4552 Blog: http://secondgradeshakerlane.blogspot.com/ The best way to reach me is e-mail! However, if you have an urgent matter please call the school or if your child has  a dismissal change, please send a note to school with your child or call the office. I cannot guarantee that I will be able to check e-mail during  the school day. That being said, I check e-mail at least once on weekdays. If you e-mail me and expect a response but do not hear back within 48 hours, please e-mail again to make sure I receive it! Please check back here during the school year for regular updates!