Hip hooray!  Thank you for supporting second grade writing this week.  It was so busy with the talent show, etc., but the Nonfiction Share on Thursday was a great success!!!!!  Have a great Spring Break and we will see you in April!!!!

This week we are transitioning from our focus of our 'Questioning' thinking strategy to 'Monitoring for Meaning'.  We are continuing to work on using multiple strategies at once, but pick one each month to teach in more detail.  During literacy students are continuing to work on their beautiful non-fiction projects.  Some of their work will be displayed in the hallway, feel free to browse!
In science we are observing our greenhouses to see how plants grow at different rates.  We are comparing their growth rates, colors and sizes as they begin to sprout.  Students have been making predictions about which ones they think will sprout first, grow faster and slow the slowest.  Over the next few weeks they will get the opportunity to change their thinking or affirm what they thought might happen.
In math we are continuing to work on measurement and fractions.  We will be using our thinking strategy to see if our answers make sense and check our answers.
Thanks to all the families that have sent letters out for Flat Stanley.  Please keep sending in any photos you may have, we love posting them in the main hallway for everyone to see!

It was great to have the opportunity to meet with many of you to talk about the progress and growth your children have made so far this school year! 
We are continuing to look at non-fiction writing and students are creating amazing work about their areas of interest. 
We are beginning our plant unit and will be planting this week and beginning to observe changes that we see.  This ties in well for math as we will still be working on different types of measurement and we will be measuring the growth of our plants!
Both of us had a chance this week to observe other classrooms to get ideas from fellow educators.  We have some new ideas that we are excited to begin implementing into our classrooms right away!

This week in literacy we are continuing to research and learn about our non-fiction topics.  Students have been learning about the different elements in non-fiction and learning to incorporate them into their writing.
In math we have been focusing on fractions and measurement. 
We are finishing up our community unit in social studies and transitioning to science to learn all about plants!
Don't forget about our parent/teacher conferences this week.  Please check the Sign Up Genius to see what time we are meeting with you.
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090F4EADAD229-february1

This week we are continuing to look at the thinking strategy 'Questioning' to help us as readers, writers, mathematicians and social scientists.  This skill is critical when developing new ideas.  We want to encourage students to constantly be thinking and questioning EVERYTHING!  "I wonder...."
In literacy students are diving into research to find information about questions they have been asking about topics they are interested in.  They have been interviewing, reading books and articles and researching online.  We are also learning how to infer using the information we find. 
In math we are learning all about fractions.  We have talked about fractions within shapes and fractions in collections of things.  The most important thing for students to remember is that fractions are made up of EQUAL parts. 
In social studies students are busy working on their communities.  Each group has developed their own unique community, named it, and drawn a map for it.  It is exciting seeing them take their knowledge and create something meaningful to them.  Soon we will begin putting together our virtual tours online.
Reminders:  Optional parent/teacher conferences are coming up on Februray 13, 15 and 16th.  We will be sending home a note soon with more information.

This month for our thinking strategy we are working on our questioning.  We are learning to ask questions that help us think deeply about what is happening around us.  In literacy we are learning about non-fiction and our questioning is helping guide our research on topics we are interested in.  Their ideas are constantly changing! With so much writing, revising and editing, our need for erasers is growing! If you would send some into class we'd really appreciate it!
In math our questioning is helping us to figure out what our next step as a learner is.  "If I understand how to _____, what would happen if I decided to _____?" 
In social studies we are learning about communities.  They are thinking about what makes up a community, different types of communities and what it takes to have a successful community.  Students will be beginning to create their own communities using what they have been learning about in class.  They are constantly questioning what would happen if one part of a community changes and ideas they have to improve their communities. 
Don't forget to check out the students last literacy project.  Visit their How-To’s at http://msfrachetti.wikispaces.com.Go to the left side and click on 2nd grade research and tech projects.

The new year is upon us! In both Math and Literacy, we are taking this week to review our learnings, analyze our current skills, and create goals for the next few months. It is amazing when we take time to track our growth.  The second graders have worked so hard with joyful attitudes, determination, curiosity and great imaginations!  :)

We DO have school on Friday, January 13th.  Sorry for any school miscommunication.