December 17th 2019

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Happy December! I hope you are all surviving and enjoying this busy and exciting time of the year! The energy is certainly felt in 2nd grade! :)

We have been very busy the past few weeks, despite the unexpected snow days. We enjoyed an all school assembly last Wednesday. During this community meeting the children were reminded how important each and every one of them is to the Robinson School community. The whole school enjoyed a beautiful read aloud by Mrs. Rivet titled Your Here For A Reason by Nancy Tillman. At the end of the meeting the kindergarten shared with us how many hats and mittens have been donated. Then they challenged the whole school to bring in even more. I am proud to say that as a whole school we met that challenge in just two days!!

We have been enjoying our new social studies unit on Mapping Skills. The children have learned about the cardinal directions, map keys, and how to "read" various maps. They have also created maps of Robinson School, including symbols, map keys, and a compass rose. They used their maps to direct someone how to get from the library to the nurse’s office. They recorded themselves giving the directions on Seesaw. Afterwards, we discussed how important it is to give detailed directions, such as walk south until you get to the cafeteria or turn east and walk until you get to the hallway on your right. We are now beginning to learn about the names and location of the 7 continents and the 5 major oceans. We learned a song to help us learn the locations and names of the continents. You can find the song here. These are skills that will lead us into our next social studies unit, Migrations and Cultures.

We are looking forward to starting our next science unit, Earth’s Surface, after vacation. The children will explore the earth’s surface and how it changes. Students will be engineers while they build and test ways to protect a road from a landslide. They will also create a 3D clay model of land and water on earth. This is a fun and engaging unit for the children.

In math we have been learning about telling time on an analog clock. This can be a difficult concept for some, so we encourage you to reinforce this concept at home. This is an area that we will continue to review throughout the year. At this point, the expectation is that the children can tell time to the hour and half hour. The expectation for the END of the year is that they tell time in 5 minute intervals. We have also worked with place value. The children have built various numbers with base ten blocks. They have also explored the value of each digit in a 3 digit number, along with comparing which number is largest by looking at the value of each digit. This past week we also spent some time measuring using feet, inches, and centimeters.

During reading, we have spent some time enjoying holiday books. We have also been learning about making inferences and visualizing while reading fictional texts. The children have learned that when a reading makes inferences they use the words from the book along with their own background knowledge to make inferences about the story. While visualizing the students learned to make a picture in their minds about what they have read. These are skill that the children will continue to practice as they begin to read longer texts.

During writing we have been learning about character traits. Discussing character traits led us to a fun writing activity. We received a letter from Santa explaining that he was looking for some friends to help the elves at the North Pole. The children brainstormed the character traits that they felt Santa would be looking for and the reasons why those character traits would be important to Santa. Next, we wrote letters to Santa explaining which character traits would make them an excellent helper at the North Pole. After the writing the children created their own elves (with real photos of their faces). I will be sending these home soon for you to see! After winter break we will begin our next writing unit on opinion writing.

I hope you find this update to be useful. I want to wish you all a wonderful winter break, filled with lots of fun and family time!!


Upcoming Dates:
December 19th- Winter Party
December 20- Pajama Day Spirit Day and Whole School Dance Party
December 21-January 1st- Winter Vacation

November 8, 2019

Happy November!  I am amazed that today was our 50th day of school already!!!  As usual, we've been busy in 2nd Grade...

We had a wonderful time celebrating Halloween last week! The children enjoyed the Harvest Party and looked awesome in their costumes. Thank you to everyone who helped to make the party a success. We appreciate all of the donations and helpers. We look forward to our next classroom party, the Winter Party, in December.

After spending several weeks reading fictional texts during our Guided Reading groups and focusing on story elements (characters, setting, problem, and solution) and retelling, we moved  onto nonfiction texts this week. This past week the children worked on reviewing non-fiction text features (Glossary, Index, Headings, captions, labels, Table of Contents, diagrams, maps, etc..) by doing a scavenger hunt through a non-fiction text.  We also had an opportunity to read non-fiction texts in our groups and discuss the many new and interesting things we learned.

Our math lessons have been focused on subtraction strategies such as: counting back, counting up, subtracting 0 and 1, and using what we know about Doubles Facts to help us subtract. The kids also enjoyed playing 2 new games called Salute and Subtraction Top-It. Ask them about these games, as they are great games to play at home to practice their math facts! You can find the directions by logging onto your child’s Everyday Math Account. Their login information is in their Take Home Folders inside one of the plastic sleeves. Once you login, click on the Everyday Math book image to enter the site.  Your child should have brought home their fact triangles last week.  Using fact triangles is a really great way to increase fact fluency. We hope you will pull them out every once in a while to practice with your child.  Second graders need to be fluent (answer within a few seconds) all of their combinations of 10 facts and their doubles facts by the end of term 1.  

During our writing blocks, we have spent time continuing to work on the Looking Back personal narrative stories that the children brainstormed for at home. The children are doing an excellent job applying the learned structure of personal narrative stories. We are currently working on revising and editing their work. Their completed stories will become part of their writing portfolios that will be sent home at the end of the year.  We are also doing a fun writing story about Thanksgiving.  We look forward to sharing these stories with you at conferences.

Our Science unit on Plant and Animal Survival has come to an end.  Our culminating activity was to pick a habitat and create a diorama showing at least 1 plant and animal that lives there and show how a plant depends on an animal or how an animal depends on a plant. The kids recorded themselves sharing about their dioramas.  I shared them with you via email.  Please let me know if you did not receive an email with your child's video.

Now that our science unit is complete we will begin our first social studies unit of the year, Mapping.  We started talking about this topic this past week, and we look forward to some fun, interactive lessons coming up in the next few weeks.

Parent teacher conferences are coming soon! The online sign-up will go live on November 12th at 3:30. Please watch for information to be coming home from the school office. I look forward to meeting with you to discuss the growth that your child has already made in Second Grade.

Lastly, there will be no spelling homework for next week, November 12th-15th. With the shorter week we have decided to spend our spelling time in class doing some assessing as we near the close of term 1.

Enjoy the long weekend!

Upcoming Dates: 

November 11th- No School for Veteran's Day

November 25th- No School- Parent Teacher Conferences 

November 26th- 2 Hour Delay- Parent Teacher Conferences

November 27th- Turkey Trot and Early Release for Thanksgiving Break 

October 25, 2019

We have a lot to share about what's been happening in our classroom over the past two weeks...

In math, we have finished Unit 2, which focused on addition fact strategies. Near Doubles, Turn Around Facts, and the Making Ten strategy were some of the strategies we practiced. The children will continue to use these strategies while playing games during guided math and completing their math journal pages. This week, we started Unit 3. This unit also works on fact strategies but with a focus on solving subtraction facts. Frequent practice of addition AND subtraction facts will help second graders develop math confidence and fluency. If you're looking for ways to help build your child's math skills, please work on fact fluency at home. Second Grade students are expected to know addition and subtraction facts to 20 with automaticity by the end of the school year. Thank you for your help in developing this important skill.

During writing, the children are working on their “Looking Back” stories. They are using the photos and brainstorming sheet brought in from home to write the first draft of their stories. It has been so much fun seeing all the wonderful photos, and the stories are off to a great start! The children also had an opportunity to create their own "monster" and write a creative story about their monster.

Daily 5 is going great and the children are doing a wonderful job! In our reading groups, we are currently focusing on retelling and identifying important story elements (characters, setting, problem, solution). The children will be using the “five finger” strategy to identify the story elements and will use them to help retell stories. These are skills that we will practice throughout the school year.

In Science, we are finishing up our Habitat and Survival Unit. The children have learned about our final habitat which was the ocean habitat. We have also begun library research where the children are researching one habitat (ocean, rainforest, desert) to further their knowledge. This is also our first research project, so the children are learning how to "research" by learning about note-taking, putting their information into their own words, and about non-fiction text features and how they help them understand the test. The children will share what they have learned in small groups. Next week we will begin habitat dioramas, the children are VERY excited about this culminating performance project.

Our first class celebration, the Harvest Party, will be on October 31st. The children may bring their costumes in a bag marked with their name and will be allowed to put them on for the party. It is a Robinson rule that we don't allow weapons, face paint, or masks. If your child doesn't want to wear their costume, that's fine too!

I will be organizing the class parties this year. I have sent a list home with each parent who has offered to donate an item or their time for the parties. If you have any questions about party assignments, please just let me know. Thank you for all the donations that have already come in to help support our classroom parties. If you have not yet sent in a $6 donation for the holiday parties there is still time. These donations will be used to pay for the crafts at each celebration.

It is hard to believe we are almost the end of another month. The cold weather is approaching, so please be sure your child comes to school with a jacket or sweatshirt to wear out to recess. We go outside everyday.

Thanks for all you do and have a wonderful weekend!

October 14, 2019

It is hard to believe we are heading into the third week of October! The cold weather is approaching. Please be sure your child comes to school with a jacket or sweatshirt to wear out to recess, as we go outside everyday.

We have a lot to share about what's been happening in our classroom over the past two weeks...

In math, we are finishing up Unit 2, which focused on fact strategies. Near Doubles, Turn Around Facts, and the Making Ten strategy were some of the strategies we practiced. The children will continue to use these strategies while playing games during guided math and completing their math journal pages. The children will be taking the Unit 2 assessment at the end of this week. When the completed assessment comes home please be sure to sign and return it to school. In Unit 3, more fact strategies will be developed with a focus on solving subtraction facts. Frequent practice of addition and subtraction facts will help second graders develop math confidence and fluency.

During writing, the children are continuing to work on their personal narrative stories. The children are learning how to edit and revise their stories so they can write a final draft. They are also beginning to write creative, descriptive monster stories. The students will have fun designing and writing about their own monsters!


On Wednesday your child will be bringing home a homework assignment titled “Looking Back” Please help your child find a photo of a recent special event/ moment from their life to use for this assignment. Please help them attach this photo to the homework sheet, then help them use the homework sheet to brainstorm all about the photo. The students will use the photo and brainstorming sheet to write the first draft of their next personal narrative story. It is always so much fun to see all the wonderful pictures the children bring in! This homework assignment is due back on Friday, October 18th. There will be no other homework next week.

Daily 5 is up and running and the children are doing a wonderful job! In our small reading groups we have been focusing on predicting, making connections and retelling strategies. Over the next few weeks we will focus on identifying important story elements (characters, setting, problem, solution). The children will be using the “five finger” strategy in small reading groups to identify the elements and retell stories. These are skills that we will practice throughout the school year.


During science the children have visited the desert, rainforest and the pond habitats! While visiting these three habitats we have learned all about the animals and plants that live in each habitat and what they need to survive. We have also discussed how the plants and animals in these three habitats depend on each other to survive. The children did a great job writing a BLOG about their visit to the rainforest, enjoyed playing trivia during their visit to the desert, and wrote letters to landowners persuading them about the importance of preserving the pond habitats. Next week we will visit the ocean habitat and collect and share data like scientists. During the week of October 21st the students will break into groups and conduct research on three of the habitats with the library media specialist. As a conclusion to this amazing science unit each student will create a shoebox diorama on the habitat of their choice. If you have not sent in a shoebox for your child please send one in by next week.


Our first class celebration, the Harvest Party, will be on Thursday, October 31st. Mrs. Frazier, Mrs. Siano, and myself have worked together to organize the celebrations for us this year. If you have any questions or concerns about the parties please me contact me. Thank you so much for all the donations that have come in to help support our classroom parties! It is always a wonderful time for the children!


Thanks for all you do I hope you had a wonderful long weekend!


October 15th- No School Professional Development

September 27, 2019

The past two weeks we have really settled into many of our routines, and we are working nicely as a classroom community.  Below are some highlights I’d like to share…

Daily 5 is off and running great!  The children now have 4 choices to make during our language arts blocks.  Those choices include:  Listen to Reading, Work on Words, Work on Writing, and Read to Self.  We are doing 3 “rounds” each day, each lasting 15-20 minutes.  It’s neat to see kids working on a variety of tasks independently for such a lengthy amount of time.  Now that we have our Daily 5 routines down we are excited to begin reading with our reading groups!  This week I met with all students at least twice.  Our groups focused on making predictions in our reading.

At this time they have 2 choices for kids to make during Listen to Reading:  Raz- Kids and Epic.  Hopefully you all received your login information for Raz-Kids.  This is a great program to use at home because it is tailored to your child’s reading level.  Also, the kids can use their Raz-Kids time towards their 15 minutes of reading for their reading log. Epic is another wonderful program that offers a variety of books for the kids to listen to, but is not geared towards their individual levels.  You can also use this program at home, however it does require a monthly fee to sign up:  https://www.getepic.com/


We have been talking about Personal Narratives during our writing time.  We learned that these are true stories about things that have happened in our lives.  The students are currently writing a personal narrative of their choice as we learn about the structure of personal narrative stories.  They have learned how to "hook" the reader with an Opening, use transition words to tell the important events in order, write a Closing, and editing our stories.  It's always a good idea to talk to your child about what they could write about, as they sometimes forget all the fun things they do outside of school!

In Math we wrapped up Unit 1 and began Unit 2 this past week. We having been using our math rotations during most of the lessons. The kids are excited to have 3 different activities during the math block. The various activities are: Teachers Choice, Technology, At Your Seat, Hands-On, and Math Facts. "Teachers Choice" is when small groups of kids working on a similar skill level meet with me. For "Technology" the kids have the choice of Dreambox or Games on the Everyday Math website. "At Your Seat" is typically math journal pages that reinforce the day's lesson. Finally, "Hands-On" is usually a math game that is part of the Everyday Math program.

We are also currently working on the first science unit of the year, Plant and Animal Survival. We took a Nature Walk outside around the school to look for living things. We also worked in groups as engineers, creating a "Pollinator" tool that could pollinate flowers if bees were no longer able to do so.  Each group shared their design with the class and demonstrated how the tool picks up the pollen and carries it to another plant.  Every group had a successful design!  We are now discussing various habitats and why certain plants and animals live where they do.  We took a virtual "trek" through the rainforest this week.  It was fun to see some of the plants and animals that call the Rainforest its home.  The children will now be taking what they learned from this experience to write a travel BLOG of their adventure.  So fun!!


Upcoming Dates:
Tuesday, October 1st- Grade 2 School Store
Wednesday, October 2nd- Picture Day
Monday, October 14th- No School, Columbus Day
Tuesday, October 15th- No School, Professional Development

September 15, 2019

We are off to a great start here in Second Grade! I am really enjoying getting to know each of the children! We have spent a lot of time talking about classroom expectations, routines, and establishing the culture of our classroom. Here is a glance into what has been happening in your child's second grade classroom these past two weeks. 

We spent most of our reading blocks reviewing the Daily Five structure. For those new to Robinson or those unfamiliar with Daily Five it is a literacy structure that allows for differentiation in the classroom and provides consistency. It is an integrated literacy instruction and classroom management system that is used during our literacy block. While I am working with small groups for Guided Reading, the other children have literacy “tasks” that include: Work on Words, Work on Writing, Read to Self, Read to Someone, and Listen to Reading. It takes a few weeks for me to assess all of the children and to determine their reading levels and while I am doing that, the children will build their stamina in each of the "task" areas. The children have been able to do 3 rounds this week consisting of "Read to Self, Work on Writing, and Listening to Reading." 

In math we have been working on Unit 1. This unit does a lot of review of concepts learned in first grade and allows time for us to establish math routines in the classroom. We've focused on number scrolls, number grids, and combinations of 10, and learning about equivalent names for numbers. 

During our writing blocks, we have begun to talk about Personal Narrative stories which is our first unit in second grade. The children have had the opportunity to brainstorm ideas for their stories and have completed their graphic organizers. Next week they will begin drafting their first personal narrative story. 

I also assessed the children on the 100-second grade high frequency words. This is done periodically throughout the year to see what words your child needs to practice. These words will become part of their weekly spelling words that they will practice at school and home.

We started "Star of the Week" today!  Each week one child will be chosen to be our "Star" for the week.  That child gets to bring in photos and other special items that tell about themselves.  We will display those items for the entire week, and the child will get to present their items to the class on Fridays.  Last week I got to be the 'Star"! It was a fun way to demonstrate what "Star of the Week" might look and sound like.  When it is your child's turn to be Star of the Week a notice will come home letting you know.  

**Second Grade Homework starts next week! Please check your child's folder daily for homework assignments, beginning Monday, September 16th. On Mondays, your child will bring home their weekly Spelling Words on the back of their "Spelling Tic-Tac-Toe" sheet. Your child will be expected to practice their spelling words at least two nights per week. The Spelling Tic-Tac-Toe sheet will have a variety of choices for your child to pick from in order to practice their words. 

Also, second graders are expected to read for at least 15 minutes per night. Your child will bring home a "Reading Log" on Mondays as well. We ask that they keep track of their weekly reading and return the "Log" on Fridays along with their "Spelling Tic Tac Toe" sheet. Both of these sheets should remain in your child's Take Home Folder all week and will be passed in on Fridays.We strongly encourage that your child read daily for enjoyment and/or extra practice.   

In addition to spelling and reading, your child will have math homework two nights per week. Most weeks this will take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The math homework is due back the following day. Thank you for your help and support on homework.

**Just a reminder that Curriculum Night for 2nd Grade Parents will be on September 16th from 6:00-6:45pm. I look forward to seeing you then! 

Welcome 2019

Hello and welcome to my classroom website/blog.  I am very excited to be your child's classroom teacher! We are going to have so much fun learning and growing together this year. I’ve had a wonderful summer with my family.  I feel refreshed and ready to begin a new school year with you and your child. Here is a picture of my family from this summer. We had a lot of fun spending time at the beach and having extra time to just hang out!

My hope is to post updates to my BLOG every other week letting you know what is happening in the classroom.  I also like to share websites, games, and links with you throughout the year that you might find helpful exploring at home with your child.

I will send an email letting you know when I have made a new post.  

Our first day of school will be on Tuesday, August 27th.  Second graders will meet their teachers in the gym.  We will spend the first few days of school getting to know one another, exploring our classroom, and discussing expectations and routines.

 I look forward to getting to know your child.  If at any point you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at jlongo@westfordk12.us.

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May 31, 2019

It's hard to believe that we have only 2 weeks of school left! This is always such a bitter sweet time of year. The energy is high in the classroom! Although we are finishing up a lot of curriculum areas, we are still quite busy in 2nd Grade. 

The children have done a wonderful job being patient over the past couple of weeks with all of our end of the year assessments. The children have completed their 100 High Frequency Assessment, their final writing prompt, End of the Year Math Assessment, and their individual reading assessments. This information will be passed onto your child's third grade teacher. I am extremely proud of their growth and all that they have achieved this year! 

In addition to testing, we have also had a lot of learning time! In Science, the children finished up our unit on Earth's Surfaces. The children have discovered that both wind and water can affect the land in both big and small ways. In the final science lesson, the students had the opportunity to "be engineers" and to work in groups to find a solution for stopping a landslide. The children used various materials to build levees and then had the opportunity to test their designs and discuss what they would do to improve their designs if they didn't work as well as they would have liked. 

In Math, we have continued to work on Unit 9. This unit has a focus on Equal Shares and Whole Number Operations. The children learned how to divide shapes and use fraction vocabulary to name the shares. The children also used this skill to measure lengths to the nearest half-inch. Finally, we worked on a new subtraction strategy called "Expand and Trade" which helps the children subtract multi-digit numbers. 

Our Writing blocks have been spent finishing up their Informational Country books. The children have done a wonderful job and are excited to share them with you at our Second Grade End of Year Celebration. We also reviewed personal narrative and the children wrote a personal narrative story about a Second Grade memory. 

SAVE THE DATE

What: Second Grade Celebration 

When: June 11th at 9:30 

Where: Room 7 

The children are excited to share several different writing pieces with you from the school year. We hope that you can join us! We ask that you make arrangements for siblings if possible so that this can be your second graders time to SHINE!!! We look forward to seeing you there! 

Talent Show- We will be having a casual Second Grade Talent Show. The children are invited to show off a talent. This is completely optional and just for fun! We ask that the students "sign up" with their teacher so that we can plan accordingly. This is just for second grade students and is done during the last full week of school. We will do one day of "outside talents" and another day of "inside talents." We are planning to do the show on June 12th and 13th. We will watch the weather as it gets closer and let the children know ahead of time which day they will be presenting. They are also required to bring any equipment or supplies that they may need to demonstrate their talent. If your child is doing a physical activity, they need to come with the necessary safety equipment (helmet, pads, etc) for their talent. If they need equipment that can't be taken on the bus, we will need for you to arrange dropping your child off. This is a wonderful way to come together as a second grade class and celebrate the end of the year as well as their unique talents!! 

Additional Upcoming Dates: 

June 5th- Second Graders attend the Crisafulli Orchestra Performance at Robinson 

June 11th- Second Grade Celebration 

June 12th- School Dance Party

June 12th and 13th- Second Grade Talent Show 

June 14th- Move-Up Day at Crisafulli 

June 17th- Last Day of School (Early Release at 12:20) 

Thank you for a wonderful school year!!! I feel very lucky to have spent my time with such wonderful children and families. It's always hard for me to say good-bye, but I know that the children are ready and excited f to move onto the next step in their education. Please remember to come visit!!! Thank you again and I hope to see many of you at the Second Grade Celebration.

It's hard to believe it's May already! We have been very busy since I returned from maternity leave. Thank you again to Ms. Dee for all of her hard work while I was out.  It made my transition back so much easier.  Here are some highlights from the past few weeks...

During our Reading time we got back to reading some more fiction texts with our guided reading groups.  We discussed and practiced some of the skills we've talked about throughout the year.  Our discussions focused on vocabulary, predicting, and re-telling.

Everyone has been working hard during ancestor research in the library.  The kids were really excited to begin looking at the books about their countries. We all began our research by learning about the geography of each country.  After researching geography each child had a chance to find information about some things they were wondering about (food, animals, holidays, famous landmarks).  Thank you to all the parents who have come in to help with this process.  Your support is much appreciated.

This past week during our Writing time we have started using the information we found in our research to write informational paragraphs.  We talked about how to begin a paragraph by using an introductory sentence.  Then, we demonstrated and practiced how to turn our notes into fluid sentences.  The children are doing so well- I am very impressed at how quickly they are learning to write their paragraphs.

We have spent last two weeks learning about South America. We learned all about the amazing Amazon Rainforest and the animals that live there. We created fun masks for Carnival, postcards about our trip to Brazil, and colorful travel brochures. It was a wonderful trip to a warm tropical continent! Sadly, this will be the last stop on our journey around the world. We will be “flying” home to North America next week.

Last week all second grade classes enjoyed the Ghana program, a PTO sponsored enrichment program. As always Mr. Joe and Ms. Vida were a pleasure to have at Robinson. The children learned all about what it is like to travel to Ghana, a school day in Ms. Vida's village, and daily household chores. The kids all loved the singing, drumming, and dancing!

In Math we have recently completed unit 8 and started unit 9.  Unit 8 explored 2-D and 3-D shapes, partitioned rectangles into rows and columns, and learned strategies to determine the total number of objects in equal groups. In Unit 9 we will continue to partition shapes into equal shares and apply these ideas further to explore measurement and learn new subtraction strategies. This unit is an introduction to fractions!

Thank you so much for all of your generous donations for the Family Fun Basket.  Our basket is very full and looks awesome!  I hope to see many of you this Friday at the Family Fest at Crisafulli School where our basket will be auctioned off to raise money for our school.

May 9^th- Safe Routes to School Program

May 10^th- Robinson/Crisafulli Family Funfest

May 14^th- Second grade school store

May 22^nd- Field Day

**Save the Date: 

June 11^th

Room 7

End of the Year Celebration

9:30-10:15

Parents are invited to come and see you child's work from their travels around the world. We look forward to seeing you all there!