Week 7

Language Arts/Social Studies:

This week was all about Non-Fiction Text Features in Language Arts and Social Studies. We have found many of these features in just about every book and magazine we flip through! We even got to make our own book about the features. See pictures below.

Please help me out by helping to point these out to your child at home during reading or if you see them in a newspaper or magazine. When these things relate to real life circumstances they are more likely to commit them to memory and use the vocabulary!

Math:

In Math this week we ordered numbers, learned about the greater and less than symbols, and even played a game where we had to exchange the cards we drew, taking turns with a partner, to try to order our cards from least to greatest.

Science:

Our weather unit is still going strong! This week we learned about appropriate transportation, attire, and activities for each season. We have also been making weather observations outside. I think we all agree that is does NOT feel like October outside! We will continue to observe the weather next week as well as making our very own Water Cycle. Stay tuned!

**DON'T FORGET**

Monday is Parent-Teacher conferences for you and I and a Holiday for the students. See you Monday! (Your reminder with the time is in your child's folder today)

New Christie PTA Newsletter

Check it out: 

English  http://elist.pisd.edu/eNews/0112_99_Christie_PTA__eNews_Oct_2015_English.pdf

Spanish

 http://elist.pisd.edu/eNews/0112_99_PTA_de_Christie__eNews_Oct_2015_Spanish.pdf

Week Six

Wow! I can't believe it has already been 6 weeks and it's October! Time feels like it is going fast. This week we learned so much. Let's take walk through all the fun things we learned.

In reading/social studies, it was a review week. We read a fun story about mixed breed dogs, and discussed the main characters, setting, and plot. Our students were so smart; they even answered some tough questions about the story to show they understood what they read. We read a poem that was written by a 10 year old from Khazakhstan about kindness. Next, our students got to share by writing about a time that someone was kind to them and helped them with something. It was great to read about how they felt when a family member, friend, coach, etc. helped them out! Then in social studies, we talked about good citizens such as Thurgood Marshall. This week we will dive into our first mind mission. It involves going back in time to the Revolutionary War.  Students are challenged to think about Paul Revere’s mission.  They have to come up with ways to devise a daytime signal to communicate the arrival of the British "by land" and "by sea". Our students are encouraged to collaborate and to think out of the box!

Math was a blast. We finished up working with place value. Students worked really hard to figure out different ways to make 125 using different types of place value blocks. There was some great teamwork involved! Then we started talking about the number line and understanding how to figure out what numbers are missing on the number line. Students had to think about where the numbers started and what the patterns were. They continue to persevere!

Science was a BLAST! We are continuing to be earth experts by studying the weather. We are in the process of learning how to collect data on the weather. Mr. Steele surprised us with a video by giving us a mission. He wants us to figure out how to communicate information about weather. 

Mr. Steele's Weather Video to 2nd Grade

We began our mission by learning about the different tools used for weather, students got to rotate to different teachers to make some tools. We made a rain gauge, a thermometer, and a wind vane. Teamwork and creativity were evident throughout all of second grade. We are rock stars! 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Important reminder:

NO School Monday, October 12 (Parent/Teacher Conference Day)

Week 5 Flew By!

Week 5 flew by! In Language Arts we introduced letter writing. Students wrote a letter to someone in school who’s made a difference. Shout out to Mr. Steele, Ms. Kelly, Mrs. McGlamery, Uriel, Mr. Svatek, and the First Grade Teachers:  our students appreciate everything you do for them! In Social Studies we continued to demonstrate our American Patriotism. We introduced the U.S. Constitution and watched a very interesting video. During Math block we learned all about place value. The Hot Tamales O’s were a big hit this week! We created a place value foldable and used place value blocks to demonstrate different ways to make a number. Students were able to demonstrate place value in standard form, expanded form, and word form. Science really rocked this week! We reviewed natural resources and introduced rocks and minerals. Students enjoyed a nature walk around the school and collected rocks, identified rock properties during our rock observations in the classrooms and in the Learning Commons. Students explored a variety of rocks through station rotation in the LC and referred to our 2^nd grade rock bulletin in order to identify the various rock properties. Science was not dull at all this week! It’s all smooth sailing from this week on!

September 17 was Constitution Day.  Here’s the link to the new 2015-2016 Constitution Day video, which features students from Christie, Carpenter, Clark, and Plano Senior HS.  

Constitution Day video (length --  5:00):

http://pisdtv.pisd.edu/communications/features/E_Tiv294cIXQZQMm2Jgk

Watch the video below-  One of my favorites from the 1970's! 

Schoolhouse Rock Constitution Video

Week 4 was Anything But a Bore!

Week 4 was anything but a bore!  

We sang patriotic songs during our Language Arts and Social Studies time; we discussed fact families in math and who can forget about our awesome Earth experts making observations during science?  So many great things are happening within our classroom AND in our school garden.  Did you know we have a thriving ecosystem right next to our school?  Well, we do and we love observing nature and it’s entire splendor.  Especially since “Scientist” is our name and “observing” is our game.  It’s what we do.  Here’s a picture of one of our Earth experts taking notes in his Science notebook; just one of the many wonderful things happening here.  Stay tuned for more news next week! 

Diving into Curriculum Week 3

Three weeks in and we are getting in to the groove of our routine and really diving into curriculum!

This week in Language Arts and Social Studies we have been reading, researching, and learning about our country's national symbols as well as our Texas state symbols. This unit on citizenship could not have come at a better time than right here around Patriot Day (September 11th). We are still distinguishing Texas symbols from those symbols that represent the United States of America, but we are having a blast with them!

Here are a few of our symbols from an assignment we did with our Social Studies books:

In Math we are continuing to work on Addition and Subtraction using different strategies. Next week we will be wrapping up Unit 1 and preparing for Unit 2, which will include Place Value so stay tuned for that the week after next!

We have learned to be Super Safe Scientists in Science this week. Our Science Notebooks are finally set up for the year. After learning about what makes a good Scientist last week we were ready to move on. We have signed our Science Safety Contract, made a Title Page, All About the Author Page, and practiced Making Observations. 

Below are a few examples of our Making Observations pages.  We observed a pencil using a hand lens.

Making Observation entries:

Thank you for joining us at Watch Dog Pizza Night on Thursday. We look forward to seeing more of you again soon. 

*DON'T FORGET* 

Tuesday Morning at 7:30 is Coffee with Mr. Steele for all parents. This is an excellent time to get any and all Christie related questions answered straight from our great principal himself! 

Other upcoming important dates:

Thursday, 9/17- 

Kindness Initiative Assembly at 8:00 a.m. for Kindergarten-2nd

Citizen of the Month in the Learning Commons at 2:00 p.m.

Monday, 9/21- Individual Picture Day

Off to a Great Start!

Second grade kicked off with great success this past two weeks. We want to thank all parents and guardians for remaining flexible as the school amends dismissal procedures to better serve all of Christie. Also, we want to extend another thank you to all those who attended Parent Information Night/Open House. We dove into an engineering STEAM activity our first week of school called Fantastic Elastic.  All second graders collaborated, troubleshooted, and explored variables while creating their wind-up toys.

This week, second graders will continue testing in both, Math and Reading, so teachers and administrators can attain a strong baseline for the needs of each child. We would love to see each student come to school with a well-rested mind and a healthy snack.

Important September Dates:

10 - Watch Dog Dad Night @ 6:00 p.m.
15 – Parents Coffee with Mr. Steele 7:30 a.m. 

17 – Kindness Initiative Kick-Off, K-2 8 a.m., 3-5 9 a.m.

21 – Individual Pictures

24 – PTA Family Picnic

Below are some of the books we read together as a class last week.  These books will set the climate for our class this year, as well as introduce classroom routines and rules.  In Social Studies we are learning the characteristics of a good citizen, and students worked hard to set up their science notebooks.  These notebooks will be used for note taking in science.  Math found us diving right into addition and subtraction math facts using the doubles and making ten strategies.  Math homework papers went home with your students last Monday-Thursday.  Please make sure your child completes their math homework page and reads for 20 minutes each night.  We ask that parents sign their child’s reading log Thursday night and return it to school on Friday for the teacher to check.

You're Finally Here! was used as a humorous way to welcome students back to school.

You're Finally Here Video Preview

The Recess Queen helped us learn indoor and outdoor recess rules.

The Recess Queen -- Book Trailers -- Children

Julia Cook was a guidance counselor prior to becoming an author.  Her books teach children problem solving skills through literature.  We have been reading some of her books to your children so that they can begin to solve some of their own problems.  

Watch this video link for more information about Julia Cook and her books.

Julia Cook Interview 

 

We also read the following two books written by Kevin Henkes: 

 Wemberly Worried- deals with feeling nervous

Wemberly Worried Book Trailer

Chrysanthemum- celebrates diversity and teaches kindness

Click on this link to learn more about the author Kevin Henkes.   Kevin Henkes