Remembrance Day Poster

We made this for our Remembrance Day Assembly.

Due Date for Homework

Since Friday is a PD day, homework books will be collected Thursday, November 18.

Reading Rangers

Our in-class reading time is called Reading Rangers. It's modeled after the TVO program which, in a fun way, teaches kids about reading.

Today's topic: The Five Finger Rule - How to tell if a book is a "Just Right" book to practise reading with.

Fridge list #5

For the week of November 15 - 18. Notebooks collected on Thursday, Nov. 18.

List 5A

day
say
ray
cake
lake

List 5B

train
brain
chain
yesterday
today

Nov - Dec newsletter

Monday, November 15

Room 9 Newsletter - November/December

Dear parents and guardians,

It's hard to believe our first term is almost done. This week your child's preliminary progress report will be sent home. Please make sure you fill in and sign page 3 and return it to the school when you come for your interview.

In language, we have been considering "Who Am I?" as our theme for reading and writing. This theme can also carry into your home reading time, as you talk about characters and events in books your child is reading. In writing, we are learning to gather and organize our ideas. One of our main projects is to make a book called My Life Story. I hope you enjoy seeing the work your child has done. Thanks for sending some pictures to make the book more meaningful.

In math, we have recently been working on measurement, using non-standard units. As part of our daily routine and calendar time, we practice counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s, forward and backward. To help your child, please take time and have them count various objects for you. Also, have them look at a group of objects and break it into separate parts, so they can see how two parts add up to make a whole, and become aware of the numbers that fit together.

Our Calendar has homework information on it

In the coming weeks, I am asking you to help your child with some simple homework tasks. The calendar shows that your child is part of a sharing group, and it tells you what day your child will be expected to "show and tell" their item that they have brought (or completed) from home. It takes just a few minutes of your time, and the extra input from home will really help to enrich our learning in our Social Studies and Science units.

Thank you for all your support. I look forward to seeing you and answering any questions you may have at our interview this week.

Sincerely, Mr. Brown

Interview Times: Book on-line

Parents,

If you haven't had the chance to return the paperwork for booking an interview with me, go to this web site and you can do it on-line... very quick and very easy to see what times are available.

http://weathermagnet.youcanbook.me

Mr. Brown

Fridge list #4

List 4A -

dog

got

pop

help

fell

List 4B -

helpful

doghouse

onto

pocket

bottle

Look for the list in your child's agenda. Grade 1s do list A, Grade 2s do list B, with a few exceptions.

As usual, the 5 sentences are due on Friday. Each word is to be printed 3 times for practice with its sentence.

Adults Who Don't Read

I sometimes wonder about adults these days, especially adults who don't read a lot.

I think to myself, "If people aren't getting their news and ideas from reading (ie, books, magazines or newspapers), then they must be getting it through TV or radio, or by just talking to other people they know."

It's not that TV, radio or conversation are bad. It's just that they are pretty limited. You can click off of any news you don't want to hear, and never have to think about it again. You can change the radio station to whatever you want. And, you can talk to just your friends and family who are like you. And, you forget what it is like to ask questions, and be curious. Next thing you know, you lose the one thing that connects you forever with your child. As a result, some people end up "small-minded." Their world is small. They feel uncomfortable with new ideas. They rarely think of new ideas. And worse, they sometimes are closed to meeting and talking with people who might be different. And then, they become protective, and guarded, and then in some mysterious way they become judgmental of others who think differently. And they say things like, "Why would I ever take time to enjoy reading a book?"

And then, as a teacher, I start to really worry, because I send books home every night for a child to enjoy and talk about with their parent, and I'm not sure that it is as fun as it should be.

And it's not the kid's fault.

Parents, reading with your child is not about getting them to learn to read. It's about inspiring within them a love for new ideas, new connections, new thoughts. It makes them truly alive, like we all ought to be!!

Homework Expectations: A slight change

This is the note going home tomorrow (Friday, Oct 29)...

Dear parents and guardians,

Up to now, I've been checking homework notebooks daily, and I've seen some very consistent results from most of the class. However, I'm changing the routine slightly. I will still be giving a "fridge list" of words each Monday, printed in the agenda. From the list, 5 sentences are to be printed in the homework book, and the fridge list word from the sentence should be printed 3 times extra, after the sentence, for practice.

NEW: Homework books will be due at the end of each week (refer to our class calendar). Books will be collected for checking, and returned at the beginning of the next week.

Since homework books are collected at the end of the week, this gives more flexibility at your end. Your child can print one or two sentences a night, or as an extra incentive, if they complete them all before hand-in day, I will accept them early.

I think this is fair and will be helpful at your end and at this end as well : )

Thank you!

Mr. Brown

Fridge List #2 Oct. 25 - 29

1. mother
2. about
3. went
4. what
5. yes

One word for each day of the week, Monday through Friday. Make a sentence with the word included, showing that you know its meaning. Don't forget to use upper and lower case and punctuation correctly. (ie. question marks on question sentences)
Then, to practice spelling of the word, print it 3 times under your sentence.

Fridge List #1

For the week of October 18 - 22

first
next
last
why

Starting Tuesday, for homework print a sentence using the day's word correctly.
To be done in the homework notebook, which is kept in the front of the agenda.

The homework sentence is checked the following morning, and time is provided for students to exchange their home reading book.
GB

Home Reading Starts on October 18th

Does my child have homework? Yes!

It's now official - I'm sending home one book at your child's learning level each day in their zip-lock reading bag in their backpack. Two on the weekend.

Parents I'm asking you do your part each day to spend some quality time sitting with your child and having them read the book to you. Then, take a few minutes and talk about the story and the characters and what it means to your child.

You never know where this conversation might take you!

Mr. B

What's new in Homework Land

Dear parents and guardians,

It has been an exciting two weeks since Room 9 was re-organized. I sense that the students are getting to feel more relaxed with me, and with each other, and that we are starting to settle into our routines.

Some parents have been asking: What is my child's homework? As I outlined in our letter at the start of the year, the best use of home study time is to enjoy reading a book with your child. Developing a love and a familiarity with reading all kinds of books is the most important daily "study" activity you can do with your child.

"But what else can I do to support my child's learning?" you might ask.

Try practicing counting with them, in the following ways:

1. Count forwards to 20, 30 and beyond.
2. Count backwards from 10, 20, 30 and beyond.
3. Start counting at any number and count forward or backward.
4. Count upward in 2s, 5s, 10s.
5. Play dominoes, or play snakes and ladders or yahtzee to practice simple addition skills.
   

Based on some notes I've received in student agendas, a few of you are inquiring about spelling tests. I will be soon be sending home a "fridge list" of spelling words, approximately every week, for students to practise and use at home. We will have a quiz on some of the words from the list each week. My emphasis is not just on the correct spelling of the word, but more importantly, can your student use the word legibly and appropriately in context of a sentence?

I'll try to post the fridge list here on the day we put it into our agendas.

Thanks for all your support.
G. Brown

Spelling words - #1

always
never
please
safety
buddy

Sentences:

1. You are always nice to me.
2. Never do that again!
3. Please line up quietly.
   
4. For safety, don't run on the stairs.
   
5. My best friend is my buddy.
   

These words are from our story, Officer Buckle and GLORIA.

Ideas for word practice:
ALWAYS - make a set of letters for this word. See how many words you can spell with those letters. (Answer: AWAY, WAY, SAY, LAY, WAS, SAW, LAWS, SLAY, SWAY...)

Try the same for each of the spelling words. Answers to come soon.

Printing Skills

One of our daily routines for the first few weeks of school will be to practice our printing skills.
When checking your child's agenda, look for letters sitting on the base line, and a full space between each word. One of the most common errors in early printing development is to ignore the base line and spacing.

In our daily penmanship time, we are practicing each letter of the alphabet.

In some cases, I will be sending home extra printing practice sheets if extra work is needed. These extra practice papers can be returned to me for checking; however, feel free to check them yourself for base line and word spacing.

Thank-you.
GB

What does "Ready for School" mean?

Things they need:

A clean pair of running shoes to keep at school for gym class, and for wet days

Boots for snowy days

Coat, hat and mitts for cold weather

A lunch bag with their name on it


Things to do:

Get a good night's sleep. In bed by 8:30 or 9

Get up in time, and leave time to go to the bathroom, get brushed and combed, and eat breakfast.

Get the agenda checked and signed, and in the backpack and placed in a special place.

Make sure there is enough healthy food for two nutrition breaks.

Printable version

First Day News

Grade 2 - Mr. Brown's class

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Dear parents and guardians,

Hello! It is a privilege to have your child in my class and to have the opportunity to teach them at Parkdale this year. My role as teacher is to provide the time, place, and instruction every day that will allow your child to get the skills they need to succeed. I hope that you, as parents, will understand that your support and partnership with me is needed to make this work.

Let me suggest a few ways that I will be counting on your daily support:

1. Enjoy a story or information book with your child every day. Take time to talk with them about what is in the book. I will send home books at their learning level. Your help is needed to make sure the book is read and returned the following school day. If this doesn't happen, I will let you know by way of a note in the agenda.

2. Establish a daily routine for waking up on time, getting packed and ready for school, including checking and signing their agenda. I will look for your signature every day, just as you should check for my signature and other notices each day.

3. It is worth a talk if you have any questions or issues with what is happening in my class with your child. The school phone number is 905-545-6216. If you prefer email, please add your email address on the part below.

Meet the teacher night is Wednesday, September 22, 5 - 6:30 pm.

I look forward to meeting you!

Sincerely,

G. Brown

click for a printable version of this letter with tear-off portion

Reading Rockets

Parents,
Here is a great web site, full of fun ideas for summer reading and literacy activities for your child.
http://www.readingrockets.org/article/391

The parent page from the same web site is here:
http://www.readingrockets.org/audience/parents

It's That Time of Year

Reports are done, and soon to be delivered. The few activities that remain are things like: Play-day, Totem Pole re-dedication, and some special printing, drawing and math activities. This week is also a theme-day week, with Hat Day on Monday, Sports Jersey Day on Tuesday and a couple of others.

The final week of school is always a special week for teachers and students, because a year of work, learning and personal interaction has now passed. What remains is a collection of many classroom memories, and a set of learning skills that have grown and are ready to be carried into the next year of study, and on into life.

I have been glad to work with each of my students this year. It has been a privilege to know them and to have a part in their growth and development.

Liquids and Solids

Our science unit on liquids and solids is coming to a close. We did an experiment on mixing different solids and liquids with water and observed the results. We learned about the water cycle and changes of state from solid to liquid and liquid to solid. We looked at how an egg changes state when it is cooked. We even talked about how lava changes from liquid to solid when it cools outside of the volcano.

In Social Studies we are studying homes around the world. We are learning about the globe, the oceans, the continents, the compass rose, and types of climate. We are comparing our home to a home in another climate.

Spring Reading Assessments

Good news - every student has made a step forward in their reading skills. Some much more than others. Look for my note in your child's agenda.

At this point in the school year, it becomes very obvious that students who are reading regularly - with interested support and opportunity for discussion of what they read - are developing more fluency in their reading.

What is fluency? It is the ability to read faster than word by word. When fluency is developing, the student can read phrases and entire sentences. They begin to notice the punctuation such as periods, commas, question marks and exclamation points, and it changes the tone of their voice. They also begin to use expression and inflection as they understand what they are reading at the moment they are reading it.

Students who do not regularly practice reading at their instructional level will be hindered in their development of fluency.

Our home reading participation this week has been at an all time low. We are averaging only 5 to 8 students a day who continue to take books home every day to read with a parent. Guess what? Those are the students who are showing the most improvement in their fluency.

GB

This week's list: long u words

use, used, uses, using, you, tube, cube, rule, true, blue, to list a few.

The full list is in your child's agenda.

Friday Spelling Quiz

This week's list of "ee" words had the best test scores ever.

Congratulations class!

Grade 2 Math Assessment

Last Friday I conducted a math assessment that was designed by the school board.

This optional assessment will help me in my planning for our math in term 3.

The assessment provides data in three areas of numeracy: Number Sense, Number Relationships and Operational Sense.

Our highest score was 38/50 (76%). Our lowest score was 21/50 (42%). The average score for our class was 27.7 (55%).

I will provide some further details soon.

The Lull After Report Cards

I was explaining to the class a few days ago that this is not the time of year to get lazy. It's tempting for everyone, because of the familiarity with routines and a high comfort level with each other's personalities, to become lazy. When students (and teachers!) start to think that they know all the important stuff already, then their minds start to wander, and they lose interest in making the most of the learning moment.

We've worked hard to get two-thirds of the way through our school year. We've all made great gains in our writing and reading skills. We are more confident communicators, and we're better at taking responsibility for our work time. It would be a shame to let it all slip away now, because we just didn't feel like paying attention or working our hardest. It would be wrong to be happy with a B or a C grade and then start to "coast" to the end of the year.

On the contrary, this is the time when we should see the very best of our students' work. This is the time of year that should be the most exciting, because ability levels are increasing. Capacity is growing.

carpe diem - seize the day

This is my Easter challenge to myself, my students and my parents: Seize the day and make the most of every opportunity to learn or practice something new. Don't throw away the moment. Press toward the last day of school and bring all of the year's learning to a fine culmination!

Parenting and your Student

Home Reading Report

Well, I can safely say that about 6 out of 19 students are REGULARLY bringing in their green tracking sheets to the classroom.

Approximately one-half of the class, on any given day, will show up with no reading bag, and they will usually tell me, "I didn't get time to read last night" or, "I forgot it at home" or, "My mom forgot to put it in my bag." I never let my students blame their mom for something that is their own responsibility. Yes, parents can help organize the kids in the morning, but this is the perfect age for children to become responsible for simple, routine things, such as packing the backpack.

After all, we expect them to pack it up at school, don't we?

Mr. Brown

What's coming up

I just realized I made an error on our agendas today. I incorrectly recorded Report Card Day as March 23. It is actually March 30.

Spelling Quiz this Friday. The list:

all 7 days of the week, circle, square, triangle

Family Traditions homework

Hi everyone,

I hope you have all had a great holiday, and that there has been an opportunity to relax and connect with your friends and family.

Have you taken a bit of time to talk with your child about a special family tradition(s)? I sent home some instructions and a sheet where your child is to write a simple report (a few simple sentences, including a few important details) about a special tradition and what it means to them. I plan to collect these reports on Monday when school resumes.

In my opinion, the conversation you have with your child is even more important (in the long run) than the writing of the report. If you have talked with your child about a special family tradition that you celebrate, then it will be straightforward for them to write the ideas down. Since the students are just writing a rough draft, I won't be assessing spelling. The important thing is to get the ideas and relevant information recorded, and then we will tidy it up in class.

Thank you for your involvement in our Social Studies and literacy.

Mr. Brown

The Reading Tracker Tells a Tale

This is great to see. Our Reading Tracker improved in the days after parent-teacher interviews. You can see the exact date where student home reading suddenly increased.

I hope that everyone's reading at home was able to continue over the Christmas Break! Don't forget to use the blue sheet to track holiday home reading.

Working with Clay

Sometimes art class is all about trying something new. In this class, our first session working with clay, we were experimenting and discovering what was possible. We learned new ways to shape and mold clay: making a pinch pot, a coil pot, flattening, smoothing, carving, marking and cutting were some of the techniques we tried.

Our follow up lesson was to make Christmas ornaments with home-made clay from flour and water.

Science - Discovering properties of Water