April 23-27

Here are this week's spelling words:

name
may
ate
stay
grade
play
brave
yesterday
safe
today
game
say

A few reminders about this week.

• Tomorrow, (Tuesday) we go on our field trip to the movies and the park. We will leave at 8:30 and will return around 2:30. 
• Our third and fourth grade friends are testing this week. Our campus is CLOSED to visitors. This includes visiting during lunch or any other time during the day. 
• Reading logs are due every Monday. I know I switched it up on you a bit. Students should read for at least 20 minutes every night. The reading logs are a grade. Please make sure they get turned in.

April 16-20

Welcome to the 6th 6 weeks!! I can't believe there are only 6 weeks left of school with our super second graders! Here are the words for this week:

smelled
spelled
grabbed
filled
spilled
drop
drip
spend
hand
sand

In addition, a new Reading Log will come home with each child today. It is due back on Monday. Students should read for 30 minutes a day. We are working on building our stamina (how long we can read) to prepare for 3rd grade. There is a place for you to initial. This will be a completion grade. Thank you for encouraging reading at home.

On a side note, (actually two) I would like to wish Mrs. Byrd a happy birthday!

Also, tomorrow is our Super Techno Science Night. We are looking forward to a night of fun, science, door prizes and a free dinner! The event starts at 5:30, with the Physics Show at 6:00 and you do not want to miss that!!

Thank you for all that you do at home to encourage learning as a lifelong activity. Have a great week!

This week's Spelling Words

Here are the spelling words for this week:

handle
candle
noodle
cuddle
riddle
poodle
cradle
middle
saddle
fiddle

A few other announcements:

• McTeacher night is tonight at the McDonalds on Texas Ave and Southwest Parkway. Please come join us. Proceeds go to SWV!!
• Our next field trip is coming up! Please sign and return the permission slip by Wednesday so we can get a lunch count in. 
• This week we are working on building stamina when reading. We are reading in class for up to 30 minutes at a time!! We can build our stamina even more by reading at home!
• Last announcement: This weeks starts the Pasta for Pennies drive. The class that brings in the most money gets a pasta party from Olive Garden!! Help us raise money to help those with Lymphoma and Leukemia! 

Spelling Words April 2-5th

Since this week is a short week, spelling homework is due on Monday. Our spelling test will take place on Monday instead of Friday. The words are below. 

nibble

gobble

dribble

tremble

bubble 

tumble

scramble

babble

pebble

scribble

March 5th-9th

This week we are continuing our study of Theme. The theme of a book is the broad idea, message, or moral of the story. We are completing an author study of Dr. Seuss. Read these books at home and discuss the theme of the book with your child. Ask them what evidence made them decide on the theme.

This week's spelling words:
jumped
pumped
fished
camped
tripped
shopped
tricked
missed
winked
stopped
wished
locked

Have a great week!

Week of Jan. 17th

Here are this week's spelling words:

bubble
giggle
carrot
parrot

rabbit
letter
better
lesson

In reading, we are studying character traits. We are spending a lot of time analyzing characters and what makes them unique. How can you practice this at home? When you are reading a book with your child or watching a tv show, ask your child to compare and contrast the character with him/herself. What makes this character unique?

Happy Holidays

Wow! I work with the best families ever!! We had so much fun today and the kids are great decorators!  The second grade teachers became live Christmas trees during our sing-a-long today. We even had a special visitor!

Mrs. Byrd is all smiles in her decorations. 

Second grade teachers dressed to the nines! Tinsel and all!

Yours truly!

We were a little sad to see that we could only bring three kids to decorate. So, when we got back to the classroom the kids decorated me... again! I had a lot more garb on the second time around! This is all possible because of you and your huge hearts! Thank you for donating so many canned goods to families in the Brazos Valley. Many families will have food this Christmas because of your help!

On another note, our class brought the most box tops this six weeks! We had a popcorn party today! 

Once again, thank you for your giving hearts towards myself, our children, and our community. I couldn't ask for better families to work with. I am the luckiest teacher ever!

Introducing...

Meet our elf, Chip. He appeared in our room on Monday while Mrs. Shumbera read us a story. Chip was sent to our classroom by Santa. Chip watches our behavior and reports it back to Santa every night by flying to the North Pole. However, if anyone touches Chip he could lose his magic. We hope this doesn't happen! Here are some of the places we have found Chip so far this week. 

Food for Families food drive

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!! I work with the best people ever! Our class donated a total of 290 cans for our food drive!! Our class brought the most cans and second grade won overall!

Our prize will be milk and cookies with Mrs. Hamilton. Plus, it looks like I need to get my limbs ready for some tree decorations! All of our second grade teachers are going to be dressed up like a Christmas Tree!

From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much again for donating. The food will be a blessing to people in our community.

Spelling Words and weekly skills for Dec. 4th-8th

The (w) sound in the beginning or middle of a word = w (wig)

wet
win
went
wind
wish
wash
with
west
wept
swing
sweet
twist


In reading, we are discussing schema (what we already know about a topic) and how it grows as we read nonfiction.

In math, students are learning money, adding doubles, and adding doubles plus one.

In science, students are studying force and motion.

Spelling Words Nov. 28-Dec. 2nd

The (e) sound in the beginning or middle of a one-syllable word= ee (feet)

The (e) sound at the end of a syllable in a word with 2 or more syllables- e (even)

The (e) sound in the middle of a multisyllabic word= e-consonant-e (athlete)

street
seek
complete
athlete
behave
retire
secret
female
sleep
teen
compete
beet


In reading, we are talking about schema (what we know about a topic) and how it helps us in reading. In addition, we are learning how to read to learn, or gain new information. This week we are reading a story about penguins. Ask your child what new facts they learned about penguins.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We would like to wish your family a Happy Thanksgiving. We are thankful for the opportunity to work with wonderful students and parents, which make our job so much fun!

Enjoy the week with your family... no spelling or math homework!

November 14th- 18th

Here are this week's spelling words:

The (e) sound in the beginning or middle of a one-syllable word= ee (feet)
The (e) sound at the end of a syllable in a word with 2 or more syllables = e (even)

feed
fever
meet
elect
need
select
green
even
keep
eleven
greet
behind

In reading, we are working on identifying nonfiction text features such as: title, index, table of contents, glossary, etc.

In language arts, we are continuing our study of adjectives.

Have a great week!

This week's skills

This week we are working on the following skills:

• We are writing a "How To" story. Students are working on stories that tell the reader how to do something. 

• In reading we are studying the difference between Fiction and Nonfiction books. When you read to your child, challenge them to read a variety of books, including Nonfiction books. 

• In grammar we are studying the difference between nouns, verbs, and adjectives. 
• Nouns- person, place, animal, or thing. Something you can touch
• Verb- action word or something you can do. 
• Adjective- a word that describes a noun or verb

Thank you for practicing these skills at home. I really appreciate it! 

Spelling Words

The (j) sound before a,o, or u= jam
The (j) sound before e, I, or y= gem

Jam
Germ
Just
Gentle
Jump
Gym
Job
Gem
Jog
Giant
Gigantic
Joke

Field trip

We are excited about our field trip to KBTX and Tanglewood park tomorrow. Please make sure you wear your SWV shirt (black one) and bring a sacked lunch in a plastic bag with your child's name on it.

Space is limited at KBTX. However, if you would like to join us at the park we will be there at 10:30.

Oct. 31st- Nov. 4th Spelling Words and Skills

The (th) sound = th (that)
The (th) sound = th (think)

that
than
then
math
with
teeth
thick
those
bother
thunder
this
bath

In reading this week, we are looking at the differences between a fiction and a non fiction book. Look around your house for books and have your child tell you if the book is fiction or non fiction. It is important that they can tell you why! :)

This week's reading skill: Retelling a story

This week in reading we are practicing how to retell a story. In order to do this we use our hand. A picture of the hand can be found here. The breakdown is listed below.

Who: Who are the characters?
What: What is the problem?
Where: Where did the story take place?
When: When did the story take place? (Time of day, time of year. etc.)
Why: Why did the author feel this story was important? (Author's purpose)
How: How was the problem solved?

This is a great tool to use at home when you read with your child. One way to make it more fun with your child is to get a garden glove and write the words on the glove. The kids can put it on to retell the story.

On Friday, students will have to label a hand on Friday for their test. Happy Reading!

Spelling Words Oct. 24-28th

The Floss Rule
If a one-syllable word ends in f, l, or s immediately after a short vowel, the (f) sound is ff, the (l) is ll, and the (s) is ss.

hilll
staff
still
grass
stuff
tell
less
dress
glass
call

Spelling Words October 3rd - 7th

The (u) sound in a syllable that ends with a consonant = u (cup)
The (u) at the end of a word or at the end of an unaccented syllable= a (alike, sofa)

This weeks words:
bump          away
extra           just
across         about
stump         apart
alone          run

Thank you for working with our second graders on these words!