Second Grade at Shaker Lane - Room 202

For your information, here are first trimester benchmarks for second graders. These align to the common core state standards and are taken into consideration for determining student progress in the fall trimester. Second Grade Benchmarks aligned with the Common Core 1st Trimester MATH Represent and solve word problems involving addition and subtraction. Use addition and subtraction within 100 to solve one- and two-step word problems involving situations of adding to, taking from, putting together, taking apart, and comparing, with unknowns in all positions               e.g., by using drawings and equations with a     symbol    for the unknown number to represent the problem.   Add within a sum of 20 using mental strategies. Determine whether a group of objects (up to 20)  has an odd or even number of members. Understand that the three digits of a three-digit number represent amounts of hundreds, tens and ones               e.g., 706

There are no spelling words this week due to the very short week and I did not send a reading log home. Math homework went home Monday and is due Tuesday (The Kakooma puzzle). The optional  Greg Tang Thanksgiving Math Challenge went home yesterday and is due back on Nov. 28th.   This is optional and students who complete it will be entered into a prize give away at www.gregtangmath.com ! Thank you!

It's time! I have started to put together a volunteer schedule. So far I have only the first part of the fall up but I will be posting additional slots. For now, please choose one or two slots to sign up for. Every few weeks I will add a few more slots and you can sign up for more.Just a caveat, our schedule is very challenging this year and there may not be many other days of the week or times of day I will be able to add. Look at the sign up here or click below: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c084daaa92ea3f49-volunteer

Math homework will often be a variety of puzzles from Greg Tang Math which incorporates fact practice and problem solving along with a variety of other concepts in a fun way. (some of these are games on his website,  www.GregTangMath.com  )  We do these in class several times a week and I always provide instruction, but in case students forget what to do or you would like some info, I made a video on how to solve each puzzle.  Here is the video for Equato.  Enjoy!

Did your 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 know

We are going to be doing some fun pumpkin math activities and looking for some volunteers to come in and help us on Wed. October 25th (1:30-2:30pm) and some folks to send in supplies. I apologize for the last minute nature of this; however the idea was just discussed among staff yesterday. It sounds like it will be a lot of fun! Sign up here at Sign up Genius! Thank you!

Hi there! Soon (as in the next two weeks) I will be looking for classroom volunteers. That sign up will go up in a few weeks, probably closer to November 1, so be on the look out for that. The volunteer sign up will also be on this blog. Thank you!

Now that explaining your mathematical thinking is included in the 2nd 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 mathematical thinking benefits children i

I am using Sign Up Genius to schedule Fall Conferences. Please head over by clicking here and sign up for conferences! Thanks and look forward to seeing you then!

 Please note due to the short week, your child will  not  have new spelling words and spelling homework this week. We will return to the spelling program next week and do some in class review this week. There will be a reading log sent home, due Friday. Math homework is usually Monday night, but since we had no school on Monday, math homework will go home on Tueday. It will be a math puzzler and there will be a video how-to posted on the blog. Also, I am trying something new. I will be sending home missed homework slips via Google Drive. You will receive an automatic form email if your child does not turn in homework before lunch time on the day it is due. (homework turn in reminders are written on the easel daily, shown on the TV, and I give verbal reminders to the class and sometimes individually before marking homework missing, fyi) . This will save paper and time and probably make it more likely that you will be in the loop and can help them remember to send it in the next

Math homework will often be a variety of puzzles from Greg Tang Math which incorporates fact practice and problem solving along with a variety of other concepts in a fun way. (some of these are games on his website,  www.GregTangMath.com  )  We do these in class several times a week and I always provide instruction, but in case students forget what to do or you would like some info, I made a video on how to solve each puzzle.  Here is the video for Snake and Kakooma.  Enjoy!

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

Math homework will often be a variety of puzzles from Greg Tang Math which incorporate fact practice and problem solving along with a variety of other concepts in a fun way. (some of these are games on his website, www.GregTangMath.com )  We do these in class several times a week and I always provide instruction, but in case students forget what to do or you would like some info, I made a video on how to solve each puzzle.  Here is the video for DigiCross and NumTanga. Enjoy!

This week we discussed that at some time every teacher has to be out, whether for a short time (like a meeting) or the whole day. Teachers get sick, teachers get sent to trainings, etc. We talked about the book Miss Nelson is Missing, in which the teacher goes missing and the students have a substitute. Together, the students brainstormed rules for when a substitute is here. They thought about what would need to happen for everyone to have a good day, be a happy class and have the substitute be able to compliment them to me. We came up with this list (all the students' ideas) and it has been posted in the room. Feel free to use this poster* or the topic when discussing how school is going with your child! *This is an older picture but our current sub rules list is almost exactly the same (except "no pranks"!).

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

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

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

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!

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