The Bacher Blog For parents of students in Room 16 Monday, September 30, 2013 Fundations: Unit 3 is only a ONE WEEK unit! It focuses on closed exceptions...these are vowels that are closed in by consonants but make a long sound. The closed exceptions are -ost, -ild, -ind, -olt, and -old. We will also be introduced to our first set of Level 2 trick words: again, away, which, when, more. Please make sure your child is completing his/her Fundations packet a little each night! It is due on the day of the test. When packets are handed in after the test, they are considered late. Important Announcements: Be sure to look at the back of this paper for the Homework Log It can get cold in our building. You might want to make sure your child dresses in layers and has a sweater/sweatshirt everyday. I can't control the air in my classroom Progress report grades will be posted by 4:00pm tomorrow. Please note that these grades will be changing. This is the beginning of the school year. Your child is in a very developmental point of school...there can be good grades and bad grades. We will discuss your child's progress at conferences. Conference times will be coming home tomorrow. I wanted to send them last week but realized I was still waiting on a few responses. I wanted to make sure everyone was set with a time before the schedule ended up becoming crazier. Thanks for your patience! The Daily 5/Work on Writing Last week I introduced DWL (Daily Writing Language Practice). I will be alternating weeks between DWL and DOL. DWL focuses on writing traits...currently we are exploring what makes a good topic. After practicing over a period of a few days, students will create their own written sample that focuses on the topic of that packet. DOL focuses more on editing and grammar versus writing. Everyday Math We'll continue with Chapter 2 as this week goes on. Again, this chapter focuses a great deal on addition strategies. We'll be exploring doubles facts, turn-around facts, using addition as the opposite of subtraction, and fact families. Using an addition/subtraction facts table, we'll discuss the fact that if you know certain facts, you can easily know it's turn around fact (example: 3 + 8 has the same answer as 8 + 3). Continue to push the memorization of addition facts at home! This is an absolute MUST in 2nd grade! Homework: Reading Log: “Nature Is Very Busy” – read every night Math Log: Mon. – H.L. 2-3 Tues. – H.L. 2-4 Wed. – H.L. 2-5 Thurs. – H.L.2-6 Fri. - H.L. 2-7 Fundations packet: U3 packet due Friday, 10/4/13 The Daily 5/CAFÉ time/Reading: I have been able to meet with 8 students so far for a one-to-one conference. I figure it will take me over the course of the next two weeks to meet with every child. As I meet with each child, I listen to them read and listen for strengths and areas of weakness. From there, he/she is assigned to a goal on the CAFE board. I make sure they have I PICK books in their book bags and then set a date to meet with them next, making sure they know what I'll be looking for. Over time, I'll be able to create strategy groups, but for now I meet one-on-one every morning. I thought we'd be done with Officer Buckle and Gloria, but it looks like we need a couple more days. By the end of this week, I plan to focus a little more on nonfiction. We'll begin exploring butterfly life cycles using some nonfiction resources. Science/Social Studies: This week we will discuss ambassadorship and what it means. We will also be designing paper butterflies to actually mail to Mexico to symbolize migration. Recommended Website: www.abcya.com This is website that focuses on some basic skills. You can select a grade level from grades K-5, and it will provide a variety of activity links. Examples include: storybooks, sight word activities, bi-lingual activities, and more. 1