"Acting out" ...in a good way!

 Check out our little rabbits that we used to illustrate subtraction

 next up were the skunks

I thought the kids were very creative with using their leg as the skunk's tail

we all know what happens when skunks are around...shoo weeeee!

Working on Schema

Be sure to ask your child what schema is :)

We are hoping to create a classroom full of "ROCK STARS"

 Here is our classroom behavior chart that we refer to in the students' black notebooks. It is also something new that we are trying this year.  After meeting all of our students and thinking about the different behavior management systems we have used and seen, we thought this one was perfect for our class.  (maybe because I love the 80's haha) This has been a great tool to keep the kids on task and to promote a sense of "family" in our room.  Here is a list of the rules/class contract that the students came up with that we refer to daily.  They also signed the "contract" saying they would always try their best to do the following:

1. Be safe

2. Always be honest

3. Be kind to others

4. Respect others

5. Don't talk while others are talking

6. Keep your hands to yourself

7. Be grateful

8. Be patient

9. Share

 (Outside our room)

Out with the old and in with the new!

 We have jumped right in this year using our new math series enVision MATH.  We, as a county, previously used Saxon Math, but this year it is out with the old and in with the new. (So far so good!)  We are loving the problem-based interactive learning because we all know that students learn best when they have opportunities to interact with the teachers and other students.  It is important for us to let student's know the purpose of a lesson from the start while connecting the new knowledge to prior knowledge in school or in everyday life. Keep that in mind when you are helping your child with their math.  No one knows their child better than you and if there is a way you can relate what they are doing to their real life, it will have a much stronger impact.    The students are responding wonderfully to this program which makes us excited.  Check these rockin' cool students out while they are working together to learn some new problem solving strategies.

A great big thank you!!!

Thanks for all the scrambling to make our first project a huge hit.  The kids loved sharing about themselves and we loved learning about each of them! Here are a few pictures.

New Reading Series

Wow! One week behind us already!  Please be working with your child on their story in their reader.  I understand that the same story can get very old, but please understand that the comprehension test every Monday will count as 50% of their grade.  I am sending home a copy of the test for Iris and Walter.  I, as a parent, would like to know how to help my child study and I thought it would help to see the test first hand.  I am sending home some homework throughout the week that will also help with comprehension and vocabulary.  If you have any questions at all, please feel free to call or text me at 423-494-9065 or email me at frittsb1@k12tn.net.

A few ways to help your child at home...

Parents,
As adults, we often take things for granted.  In second grade, most students have their first experiences with  text books.  Along with this, it's their first experience with using a table of contents, index, and using vocabulary.  All of these are skills that fall under state standards and are very important to help understand the difference between fiction and nonfiction which we will be later building on.  So, as parents, please take a few minutes every night while reading to go over the table of contents.  We introduced it today so some reinforcement at home will help instill this new information.
Just remember that parents have the biggest influence on their children.  We are so excited to be working with your child.  Thanks for doing all you do!

Bethany and Becky