October 20 - 25

Dates to Remember

Tues. Oct. 21 - Field trip to the Darien/Woodridge Fire Station

Friday, Oct. 24 - PTO Family Halloween Party  6:30 pm

Week of October 27 - Parent Teacher Conferences

Thurs. Oct. 30 - Spooky Story Day

Friday, October 31 - All school costume parade  1:45
                              Classroom Party  2:00

2nd Grade Concert  
Please remember to send a flashlight for your child to use during the concert.  It will be returned after the program!  

Reading 
Next week we will discuss the author's purpose for writing.  We'll learn to look carefully at the unlikely friends in Owen and Mzee.  Owen, a frightened young hippo was separated from his family during a tsunami, and bonded with a tortoise named Mzee. 

Grammar lessons will focus on possessive nouns.  

Writing - We'll be writing Halloween stories about our costumes or scary stories.  
Math 
We will continue to work on place value and numbers to 100.  This week we'll identify and write numbers that are 10 more and 10 less than given numbers. We'll identify odd and even numbers and use data from a chart to solve problems.   

Fast facts are "+3" this week.  Continue to practice math facts at home!  

Estimation Jar Winners - Arianna and Charlie
Positive Paw winner - TJ Harvat
New Student of the Week - Gage

Reminder ~ Progress Reports should be signed and returned as soon as possible.

October 13 - 17

Parent Teacher Conference Sign Up!!

Parent Teacher Conferences are the week of October 27.  Sign up will be online through Sign Up Genius. You should have received an email and link earlier today.  If you did not, please let me know.  

Progress Reports were sent home with all students today.  Please sign and return it to school on Tuesday.  

Dates to Remember

Monday, Oct. 12 - No School  Columbus Day

Tuesday, Oct. 21 - Field trip to DWFD  12:45  Please return permission slip asap

Friday, Oct. 24 - PTO Halloween Party

Week of Oct. 27 - Parent Teacher Conferences

Friday, Oct. 31 - All School Parade 1:40  Everyone is invited! 
                        Classroom Halloween Parties  2:00 - 3:00

Musical  Our 2nd grade musical will be held in the Lakeview gym on Thursday, November 20.  Ms. Wyse is asking each student to bring a small flashlight to school to be used for the concert.  I will store them in our room and they will be returned after the concert.  

Math  We finished the week with a topic test on subtraction strategies.  Our next topic will focus on Place value to 100.  We'll start by modeling tens and ones, then look for different ways to read and write the same number.  We'll also use symbols to compare numbers ( <, >, and = ).  

Reading  This week we will read Owen and Mzee.  It is a story about 2 animals that formed a bridge of friendship, that also helped them live happier lives. Students will learn to look for information to determine the author's purpose. We'll discus context clues and different strategies to find the meaning of unknown words in a text.  

Grammar lessons will focus on plural nouns this week.  

Estimation Jar Winner - Lindsy
New Student of the Week - Sean
Positive Paw Winner - Gage

Have a great fall weekend!

It's October!

Reading
We're going to do our first close read this week using the text, Weird Friends: Unlikely Allies in the Animal Kingdom.  Close reading is a careful and purposeful rereading of a text to "dig deeper".  We'll read the text 3 times and look for a different purpose each time.  

Grammar lessons will focus on proper nouns.  

I'm so proud of our class!  Almost every student returned their September reading log!  They enjoyed having a Show & Tell Day today!  Next week we'll vote on a reward for October!  Thank you for your support in filling them out at home.  

Thank you for filling out the Name Jar information this week.  We had some wonderful conversations about the origin of the students' names!  Students wrote in their journals about their names!

Math
We have been working on Subtraction Strategies.  This week we'll continue to relate addition to subtraction as well as to problem solve with 2 step problems. We'll have a topic review near the end of the week, then begin Topic 4, Working with Equal Groups.

Dates To Remember:

Tuesday, October 7 - Literacy Night at Ide  5:45 pm
Wednesday, Oct. 8 - Picture Day
Friday, Oct. 10 - Early Dismissal  12:00
Monday, Oct. 13 - No School  Columbus Day
Tuesday, October 21 - Field Trip to the Fire Station
Friday, October 24 - PTO Family Halloween Party at Ide


New Student of the Week - Ashlyn

Positive Paw Winner - Alyssa

Estimation Jar Winners - Lindsy, Sean, Cam, and Gio

Have a great weekend!

  

Sept 29 - October 3

Reading

This week we'll be reading the text, The Name Jar.  It's a story about a little girl who recently moved to America from Korea and is getting used to a new school. Students brought home a "questionnaire" on Friday.  Please take a few minutes to answer the questions relating to your son/daughter's name.  This will be helpful as we discuss their names this week!

Our discussions will focus on determining the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to an area.  We'll also use information from illustrations to show knowledge of the characters and setting in the story.

Please help your child to return their completed September reading log on or before Wednesday, October 1.  Our class voted to have a Show and Tell Day as their reward!  All students who return completed logs will be able to bring an item for show and tell on Friday, October 3.

Math

This week we will finish our chapter on Addition Strategies and take a Topic test on Tuesday.  Our next Topic will be Subtraction Strategies.  

Fast Facts  The first set of 8 fast facts is being sent home on Friday, Sept. 26. Please encourage your child to pull the doubles facts from their addition flash card box.  They will be quizzed on the facts on Friday and should know them without hesitation.  No fingers...

Social Studies

We will begin our first unit in social Studies this week, Where We Live.  We'll begin by previewing new vocabulary.  Our first few lessons will focus on laws, voting, and our community.  We'll also learn about city maps, symbols, and how we use maps to find locations.

Music

Ms. Wyse has been talking to the students about their upcoming musical, A Bugz Christmas.  The concert will be on Thursday, Nov. 20 at 7:00 pm in the Lakeview gym.  Mark your calendars!  Also, Ms. Wyse is looking for parents to help make headbands for the students to wear at the concert.  If you are interested in helping, please contact Ms. Wyse at jwyse@ccsd66.org.  Please follow the link below to get the lyrics and listen to the music for the show.

  2nd Grade Musical

Dates to Remember

Wednesday, Oct. 1 - Reading logs due

Tuesday, Oct. 7 - Literacy Night at Ide

Wednesday, Oct. 8 - Picture Day

Friday, Oct. 10 - Early Dismissal  12:00

Monday, Oct. 13 - No School  Columbus Day

Friday, Oct. 24 - PTO Halloween Party  6:30 - 8 pm

September Birthdays  - Filip - Sept. 1

                                  Maddie - Sept. 24

                                  Aleck - Sept. 26

New Student of the Week - Filip

Positive Paw Winner - Arianna 

Estimation Jar Winners -TJ, Cam, Sean, and Aleck

Have a great weekend!  

Fall is in the Air!

Math  

We've had our first Topic test and are now working on Topic 2, Addition Strategies.  Lessons next week will focus on Doubles Facts (2+2, 4+4...), Near Doubles (3+4. 7+8), adding in any order, different ways to add 3 numbers in a row, and making a "10" to add.  

Reading

We will be reading Chester's Way this week and our lessons will focus on making text to text connections and learning about character traits.  We'll also compare and contrast characters in the story.  Our grammar lessons will focus on nouns. 

Literacy Night at Ide is Tuesday, October 7th at 6:00.  If you are interested in attending or want more information, follow the link below.  

Literacy Night

Reading logs - The class has voted on a reward for returning in September reading logs ~ Show and Tell Day!  Please encourage them to read 20 minutes each night and fill in their home reading log.  They should be returned on Wednesday, October 1.  

Thank You to the Rivera, Harvat, and Majchrzak families for donating money for classroom books.  We love getting new books and will enjoy reading the new ones we were able to purchase for our classroom library!

Estimation Jar Winner  Aidan

Positive Paw Winner  TJ

New Student of the Week  Ariella

Dates to Remember:

Thursday, Sept. 25 - Early dismissal

Magazine Turn in Days:  Tuesday, Sept. 23
                                    Thursday, Sept. 25
                                    Tuesday, Sept. 30

Wednesday, Oct. 1 - Reading Logs due

Tuesday, Oct. 7 -Literacy Night at Ide

Wednesday, Oct. 8 - Picture Day

We're Getting in the Groove!

Reading  We're finished with our Fall Reading and Math assessments!  Next week we'll continue our launching of Daily 5 by working on Read To Someone. We'll discuss, model, practice, and build stamina.  The students will learn to sit EEKK and check for understanding while partner reading.  

We'll begin on our first Literacy Unit, Friendship.  We'll read books and do activities focusing on "What it means to be a good friend".  We'll learn about character traits and compare and contrast various characters in the texts.

Literacy Night at Ide is Tuesday, October 7 at 6:00 pm for all Ide families. Follow the link below for more details!

Literacy Night at Ide

Math  This week we'll continue to work with subtraction by writing subtraction sentences to solve problems about comparing numbers.  We'll write related addition and subtraction sentences.  They'll learn that every subtraction fact has a related addition fact.  We'll also use objects to model addition and subtraction problems.

We'll take a Topic 1 test at the end of the week and then begin Topic 2, Addition Strategies.  

Spelling  Your child will be given their first word sort.  A letter will come home explaining the program, Words Their Way, as well as an explanation of many different sorts you can do with your child at home to practice their word patterns.   No test will be given this week.  

Science  We will learn about the last of the 5 food groups, the Grain Group.  The students have learned not only why we need to eat a balanced diet, but what those food can do to maintain a healthy body.  

Dates to Remember

Tuesday, Sept. 16 - District Magazine Kickoff

Thursday. Sept. 18 - Fall Book Fair and Ice Cream Social at Ide

Thursday, Sept. 25 - Early Dismissal  12:00

Wednesday, Oct. 1 - Reading Logs are due

Tuesday, Oct. 7 - Literacy Night at Ide

Wednesday, Oct. 8 - School Pictures


Positive Paw Winners  Ariella  and Joseph 

Estimation Jar Winners  Lindsy and Alyssa

New Student of the Week  Mikella

It was so nice to see all of you at Curriculum Night!  I enjoyed meeting with you again and hope I was able to answer some of your questions about 2nd grade. Feel free to email me if you have any specific questions or concerns.  

We had a GREAT week!  Have a nice weekend!

It's Official... We Are the Cheetahs!

Curriculum Night for 2nd grade parents is Tuesday, September 9 at 6:00.  The evening is for parents only please.  We will talk about this year's curriculum, daily procedures, and signups will be posted for volunteers.  You'll get a better idea of what is expected in 2nd grade.  I'm looking forward to seeing you all again!  

Reading  Students will be taking the MAPs Reading and Math tests this week.  It is a test taken on the computer similar to those they took last year.  The kids should be familiar with it.  Our class will be taking the tests on Tuesday and Thursday morning.  

We have been working on our Daily 5 structure and are building stamina during Read To Self.  This week we'll learn how to choose "Good Fit" books.   We'll begin Work on Writing and learn what good writers do to develop independence.  We'll be reading several selections to learn how to make good text-to-self connections.  

We'll also begin working on the comprehension strategies, Check for Understanding and Cross Checking for accuracy.    

Science  We have started a unit on nutrition and have met "Little D and the Royal Food Family".  We have learned the importance of eating foods from all 5 food groups.  Ask your child what they have learned about the milk and meat groups.  This week we will learn about the vegetable and fruit groups.

Math   We'll continue to work on our first topic, Understanding Addition and Subtraction.  This week we'll practice writing subtraction sentences and discuss separating parts from a whole and comparing two different parts.   

Dates to Remember 

Tuesday, Sept. 9 - 2nd Grade Curriculum Night  6:00 - 7:00 pm

Mon. Sept. 15 - District Magazine Drive Kick Off

Thursday, Sept. 18 - Book Fair and Ice Cream Social at Ide  6:30 pm  

Thursday, Sept. 25 - Early Dismissal  12:00


Estimation Jar Winners  Ariella U.
                                   Arianna R.
                                   Aidan P.

Positive Paw Winner  Joseph D.

Have a great weekend!