Elk Meadows Elementary

2^nd Grade

Fantastic Falcon Leader Award Requirements

Showcase your leadership skills by completing 9 required and 9 optional goals for a total of 18 ways to show your most

proactive self.

Leader of Self	Leader of Academics	Leader of Community
Required—all three of the following are required	Required—all three of the following are required	Required—all three of the following are required
Memorize and be able to write your full name, address (including city, state and zip code) phone number, and birth date.	Complete 2,500 independent reading minutes this year. (This will require reading a minimum of 15 minutes every night for 5 nights per week)	Perform a total of 5 hours of service and write about each event.**
Demonstrate respect for self, others and school. (No more than 3 red slips or 3 NI on Report Card under social skills)	Prepare & present a report or project of your choice (for example: Great Brain during Term 3)	Complete 3 writing pieces—each focusing on a different habit or leadership trait
Return 90% or more of your homework during the year on time	Master addition/subtraction facts From 0 to 20	Earn one monthly Leader In Me Award
Optional—complete any 3 of the following	Optional—complete any 3 of the following	Optional—complete any 3 of the following
Have Excellent attendance at school. (This means having less than 10 unexcused absences)	Neatly Complete your Atlas	Participate in the school Art Night
Have no more than 3 tardies for the entire year	Earn an average of 90% on spelling & vocabulary tests over 3 terms	Complete and enter a submission in the Reflections Contest
Memorize the 7 Habits & teach them to a family member **	Count by 2’s,5’s, and 10’s to 100; 25’s to 200; & 3’s to 30	Complete a Christmas Around the World Doll **
Run a mile in less than 15 minutes (4 laps around the field)	Finish the handwriting book using neat & correct penmanship	Perform 5 good deeds and write about them in your “News of the Week”
Brush & Floss your teeth for 2 weeks straight **	Be able to tell time in 5 minute increments	Attend a cultural event and write about it in your “News of the Week”
Go a whole week without watching TV or playing video games **	Recognize and count coin combinations to $1.00	Clean up litter around the school 3 times during the school year
Demonstrate 5 different locomotor skills (for example: skipping, hopping, galloping)	Read 200 Second Grade sight words in 6 minutes or less	Donate or participate in a school wide event (for example: food drive, Jump-a-thon)
Complete your All About Me Book	Complete the 1000 Club	Write about 2 current events in your “News of the Week”

August 2, 2014

Welcome to 2nd Grade here at Elk Meadows for the 2014-2015 school year.  I am new at working with the 2nd grade blog so please be patient with me in my efforts.  I haven't yet figured out :rea. I will learn the rest and let you know when it is up and available with more information.

GREAT NEWS - Our school has received a grant for us to use the Reflex Math online Math Facts practice and assessment tools.  Your child has or will soon bring home a paper giving you information about this program and your child's username, class name and password to begin using this program at home. WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO HELP YOUR CHILD ACCESS AND USE THIS PROGRAM 3-4 TIMES A WEEK AT HOME. It has been proven to substantially help improve children's fluency with basic math facts. 2nd graders will begin by working on addition and subtraction math facts. We, as your child's teachers, can access the account and receive a report on all children and their usage and progress. You, as parents, can sign up for an account to also see your child's progress. We encourage you to do so.

This week in 2nd grade:
Math  - We will be reviewing representations for addition and subtraction
                  equations
                  Math Mountains    an inverted V that looks like a mountain with the SUM  or  TOTAL at the top and the partners or addends at the bottom of each leg. This model can be used for addition and subtraction. In fact the students are taught to see one Math Mountain and form 8 equations from it. 
     For example - a Math Mountain with the number 10 at the top and 3 and 7 on the can create these 8 equations:   
     3+7=10   7+3=10   10-3=7   10-7=3   10=3+7   10=7+3   3=10-7   7=10-3
These are like Fact Families but the mountain model is a better representation that sticks in the students heads.   There will be a Family Letter sent home to help parents understand this model.
    Students will be taught to think of the big number in addition and then count on from there. This can be used with addition and subtraction.
    Students will practice "the Teen Machine" which is just a routine to practice adding 10 and any single digit number.  We do this with cards at the front of the class and it really helps build the kids understanding and fluency with these addition problems.
    Students will explore the relationship between addition and subtraction.
    Students will work with the "Make a Ten Strategy" - this uses their knowledge (we hope) of the combinations that make ten (0+10. 1+9, 2+8, 3+7, 4+6, 5+5 and their inverses).  When a student is given a problem such as 8+6, they should think "Make a Ten" by breaking the 6 into 2+4 then thinking 8+2 = 10 plus 4 more = 14. It seems like extra steps but really is a great strategy for kids to learn as it builds an understanding of the base 10 number system but also helps them with mental math with larger numbers later.
    Students see how a Math Mountain with a sum of 13, an addend of 9 and an unknown addend can be solved with a subtraction problem of 13-9=     .  They can also use the "Make a Ten" strategy to solve this.  "Well 9+1=10 and adding 3 more = 13,  so I added the 1 and the 3 which makes 4. We will do lots of practice with unknown addends.

    I know that for some parents this seems like extra steps. However, we are trying to meet the needs of all students and help them understand the concepts not just the facts. If they do that they have a better foundation of understanding upon which to build higher level concepts. Also different children learn differently so we teach things in several ways to try to help all students.

Language Arts - We will be using a new Houghton Mifflin Harcourt basal reader and related materials for teaching high-frequency words, vocabulary, phonics and spelling, grammar, reading accuracy, comprehension and fluency, we will also use it for some of our writing instruction.
     Each week the students will bring home a list of High-Frequency Words and Spelling Words. They should study the spelling on all words on both lists. The High-Frequency Words should be more of a review as they should know these words. The students will be tested on 15 words from these lists; 8 from the  main spelling list, (2 review words for struggling spellers or 2 challenge words for those who don't struggle as much with spelling), and 5 words from the High-Frequency Words list.
THE SPELLING TEST WILL BE EACH FRIDAY.

HIGH FREQUENCY WORDS
around      or     be     pull     five     take     help     until     next     walked

SPELLING WORDS - words with CVC pattern   (Consonant, Vowel, Consonant) and short a, i
sad,   flat   dig   if   jam   fix   glad   rip   list   kit   win   mast 
  REVIEW   as   his
  CHALLENGE    sandwich     picnic

Rotations - 4-5 times a week (depending on how many classes are on track) students will be going to a rotation class at 10:45 - 11:30. These classes will be Art, PE, Science/Social Studies, and Music, and the additonal class will teach about the Leader in Me Habits or additional Science/Social Studies topics. To these classes we are mixing students from all classes so that it gives the students and teachers experience with different class groupings. Hopefully your child will get to know more of the 2nd graders in the school.

PLEASE CHECK THE BLOG WEEKLY FOR UPDATES ON SPELLING WORDS AND OTHER INFORMATION.  WE MAY ALSO LIST IN PLANNERS IF ADDITIONAL AND IMPORTANT INFORMATION IS PLACED ON THE BLOG THAT WE FEEL PARENTS NEED TO BE MADE AWARE OF.

  

Parent Teacher Conferences--Take 2

It's almost time for Parent-Teacher Conferences again (March 12-13), time seems to be flying by! To schedule an appointment-- use the Online Scheduler which can be found on our schools website: http://schools.jordandistrict.org/elkmeadows/ --then select the Online Scheduler icon/link.
Choose "Elk Meadows Elementary" from the drop down list and click "go".
Enter our school's password: "Falcons"
Enter your student's "Student ID". If you do not know the Student ID, use the LOOK UP STUDENT ID button to access the system.
Verify the student's birth date
Check the box next to the name of the teacher you would like to meet with.
You will then see the available time slots for the teacher you selected.
Select times that work best for your schedule.
Enter your email address if you would like and email reminder sent to you.
When you have finished, you can confirm your appointment details and print your conference schedule.
If you are having trouble signing up for an appointment, or none of the selected times will work for you--please feel free to call or email me and we can set up another time to meet.

Looking forward to seeing you all soon!

Spelling Week #19

more
store
stand
star
blew
flew
new
stone
sting
ring
I'll
early

BONUS
learned
brought
though

LIGHT PINK SENTENCES:
A new ring at the store has a stone like a star.
Stand still or the bee will sting you.

DARK PINK SENTENCES:
I have learned that people grow and become old.
I had an idea, though now I cannot remember it.

Spelling Week #14

Spelling List Week #14

All Spelling Words (both LIGHT & DARK PINK LISTS)

boat
coat
float
long
along
belong
paw
fawn
tall
wall
almost
earth

Challenge Words on DARK PINK LIST
light
country
picture

Sentences:
LIGHT PINK
The fawn ran along the tall wall.
Did that boat belong to the man in a long coat?

DARK PINK
My mother took a picture of my father in the country.
The sun gives light to the earth.

If you cannot remember which list your child is on-- please feel free to leave a comment or send an email to your child's teacher! Thanks!

Spelling Week 12

We have decided to create 2 different lists-- one that includes easier & less second grade words and one with more challenging & additional words.
Your student will either come home with a light pink list-- 12 words or a dark pink list--15 words. Please have them study their spelling daily, there are many activity ideas on their homework folder. They also need to be studying the sentences on the back on the list!

Week 12
candy
went
sent
take
like
puppy
time
didn't
by
my
Bonus Words: (light pink list)
--also
--which
"I liked the note he sent me"
"The bus went by my stop on time"

Challenge Words: (dark pink list)
--thought
--something
--always
--often
--together
"I thought they would do something together again"
"There are often important things happening in the world"

Spelling Update Weeks 8-9

In the coming weeks, we will be updating our spelling program to better suit the needs of our individual students. Please be aware that changes are in the works--look for an update in the next few weeks. We will also be discussing this at Parent-Teacher Conferences.

Due to the short week this week and Halloween at the end of month, we will be assigning and testing spelling on a different schedule. Your students will receive their Week 8 words tomorrow, but will not be tested until. Tuesday, October 22. On Tuesday the 22nd, they will also take home Week 9 words. The test for Week 9 will take place on Tuesday, October 29th.

Week 8

the

that

them

day

may

made

was

of

if

a
favorite
children

  

Week 9

some

come

home

fun

funny

run

running

ran

us

use
black 
Halloween