Second Grade at Shaker Lane - Room 202

Did you child do well overall with the first grade curriculum? Are you curious about  the second grade team's philosophy on enrichment? Our philosophy for enrichment is digging deeper. What does that mean? Digging deeper means taking what students know and working with that knowledge. Can students apply that knowledge from kindergarten and first grade because they have internalized it? Can they use what they know to approach a more difficult problem in the same area? Can they teach it to someone they know (you will see that question on our math unit self-assessments)? Can they explain what they know verbally  and  in writing? We want to help our students be able to convey their knowledge. In today's world, whether in older grades, on the ol' MCAS, or in the workplace, people need to be able to explain their thinking clearly and thoroughly so that they can get their message across to others. So first we need to look at metacognition - they understand what they kno...

Learning and Playing the Hundreds Grid Game.

Wondering about Xtra Math? If your child attended our school last year, they did Xtra math in school. This year we will be using Xtra math 2-3 times a month in school but I would ask you have your child try to do it twice a week at home. Occasionally I will assign homework on Xtra Math and your child will need to log in and do it that night to get homework credit.  You will notice that working on math facts is just a small portion of our math program and we spend most time working on math concepts and skills and math vocabulary. A big focus is also working on the Common Core State Standards Standards of Mathematical Practice, such as explaining your mathematical thinking (ie. How do you know the number 73 is larger than the number 48?) We strive for balance so that students leave second grade with a good base in all areas of mathematics. Wondering "What is Xtra Math?" Here is what the website says: XtraMath helps students transition from counting or calculating the basic...

Recently your child brought home an flyer for  Xtra math.  When you get a chance, log on with your child to Xtra math using the information on the flyer.  Xtra math  is a fun math fact website where your child can practice math facts using technology! No more paper flash cards like when I was in school. Practicing math facts is not the be all end all of classroom mathematics (see the Common Core State Standards) but familiarity with facts is very useful. All second grade classes have a goal this year of helping students master math facts this year. The expectation is that at the end of second grade, students should have mastery of basic addition and subtraction facts. Yes, subtraction too! In school we will be doing Xtra math as a class about twice or three times a month (we will also be doing other activities in class to increase math fact fluency) but I would recommend you have your child go online to Xtramath.org one or more times a week. Each time your...

Now that explaining your mathematical thinking is included in the Second grade common core state standards  and  it is included frequently in our new edition of Everyday Math some questions have arisen. Explaining your mathematical thinking verbally and coherently in writing is a developing skills for second graders. It comes gradually and is not like a light bulb getting switched on. Rest assured we are working on it in class together and students have the chance for independent practice. It is just the beginning of the year so we need not be anxious and worry that students need to be great at it right now. The second grade standards are standards to meet by the  end  of second grade. I think some mathematics sites have some really good information for parents. One of my favorites is  this Scholastic post. Click here. Several of my favorite sections I will quote below but head over for the full post. "Learning how to use  language  and mathem...

Writing about what friends do!  Wobble stools work well during handwriting! 

Today we learned the math game Fishing for Tens! Ask your child how it works! 

Hi everyone! I made  a 10 minute or so video, going over some information about a few things you may find helpful about room 202. If you've been following the blog and getting the emails from me, you know most of this but there is one or two pieces of new information you could catch. Thanks!

I saw this on Pinterest and love it! It may give you some good ideas if you want to help your child with math.

What are Friday Folders, you ask? Once a week, on Fridays, your child will bring home a special "Friday Folder". This folder contains 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. 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?" Today, most students chose to use an orange homework folder that I just received ( Sometimes some items teacher orders for September are delayed or delivered to the wrong person. I had ordered some orange homework folders that just came in.) to put their Friday Folder pape...

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...

Parents, here is a copy of the book order letter sent home today. If you would like to order something for your child, see the flyer, go online,  and there are thousands of books (even for younger and older siblings) and usually are at affordable prices! Thanks for supporting our classroom! Class Code -  DXDDG Order Due Date -   09/20/16 Dear Families, This month’s Scholastic Reading Club flyers are now available! Please take a few moments to explore the selection together and let your child help choose books he or she is excited to read. You can order online at  scholastic.com/readingclub , where you’ll find a wide selection of quality children’s books that are just right for your child’s reading level and interests. Or return your paper order form to me with a check made out to “Scholastic Reading Club.” Remember, you help our class earn FREE Books and supplies with every order. Thank you for supporting your child’s reading both at home...

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"). 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!

i 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 du...

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 in...

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 short reading log with spelling included and one math homework page (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/spelling assignments 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 home reading log is fairly brief. It will simply be a spot for students to mark whether they read at home or not, for how many nights, and you must initial it for them to get credit for returning it. The spelling quiz is on Fridays...

Flexible Seating? What's that? Your child may have come home from school in the last few days talking about flexible seating or saying that they sat in a "beach chair" or "camp chair" or using words like "wobble stools", "tall table" and other new terms. These are all part of the flexible seating environment in room 202. What is flexible seating? According to Edutopia, (who sums it up way better than I could) Flexible Seating provides students with learning environment that they need. "Flexible classrooms gives students a choice in what kind of learning space works best for them, and helps them to work collaboratively, communicate, and engage in critical thinking". The flexibility also allows for innovative partner and group work using technology. It is adaptive and can change with the students' needs or the students can try a different type of seating that might work better for them. For example, if many students in a classroo...

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 they 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. ● 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 all, the point is not for them to only get 100% on...

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! 

We are off to a great start! It might get on on the second floor on Thursday and Friday, 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 WEDNESDAY: none THURSDAY: LIBRARY FRIDAY: MUSIC