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How to- Blogger

How to- Blogger

Blogger How Tos

Blogger Handout

Homework Packet

Welcome Back Letter

We Are Authors

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Math Practice

Multiplication Games


Subtraction Games


Telling Time Practice



Subtraction Games 2


Addition and Subtraction Practice



Making Change


Making Change 2


Money Practice



Many Math Games

Team Up For Reading

Right to Read Week- Wednesday!

Don't forget to wear your favorite sports shirt or outfit tomorrow.  We will be "teaming up" with Mrs. Smith class and Mrs. Zoldesy class.  Do you think I will be wearing Ohio State or Reds tomorrow? Leave a comment.

Our Winner For The Most Words On A Shirt...154!

Walk-a-thon Route

Here is the walking route for the Walk-a-thon on Friday.  I hope to see you there from 12:45-1:45!

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=204397111627040825611.0004a304fbd3b3a62adf7&t=h&z=17

Shirts with Words

Right to Read Week- Tuesday!

Tomorrow is reading words on shirts! Don't forget to wear a shirt with words that you can read.  Your math and writing activities will be based on the words on your shirt. :)

Spelling Word Practice

Don't forget to visit the Daily 5 Computer Site Page for extra practice on spelling words.  I have changed the layout so now all you have to do is click on one link to enjoy all the games.  Happy learning!! :)

Walk-a-thon

Friday is Amelia Elementary’s
Annual Walk-a-thon!

Please remind your child to bring in their pledge sheet by May 19th!  We really hope to have the most collected pledges.  I hope to see everyone on Friday during our walking time from 12:45-1:45.

Right To Read Week

Boy are we in for a wonderful week of reading!  This week your child will be enjoying a week full of activities to celebrate Right to Read Week. 

May 16th

Ready, Set, Read! Students will be introduced to the school-wide reading challenge. We will also enjoy a special program by the Amelia Public Library to get us exctied about summer reading.

May 17th

Read a Shirt Day! Wear a shirt that has writing on it. Students will have a lot to read during the school day. (Please make sure that the writing is “school appropriate”. We will be creating books and graphing the number of words on the shirts in our room.

May 18th

Team Up for Reading! Wear your favorite sports team shirt for the day and team up with another class.  We will be reading with Mrs. Smith's AM and PM kindergarten classes.

May 19th

Celebrity Reader Day! Our class will have a book read to them by Mrs. Dunn!

May 20th

Amelia Tigers Spirit Day! Wear your favorite Amelia Spirit Wear.

Enjoy Your Break!

I hope that you and your family have a nice long weekend.  Hopefully the sun will come out and you can enjoy the warm weather. See everyone on Monday! :)

2nd Graders Have Spirit!

Tomorrow starts SPIRIT WEEK for all students at Amelia in preparation for the OAA! I hope that you encourage your child to participate in all the events.  It should be a fun week!!



Spirit Week Days:
Monday, April 18th: Show your School Spirit (Wear Spirit Wear)
Tuesday, April 19th: Relax & Do your Best on the Test (PJ Day)
Wednesday, April 20th: Dress for Success (Wear your Very Best)

Grandparents Night 2011

Tonight was Amelia Elementary's 2011 Grandparents Night.  It was great to see and meet such special grandfathers and grandmothers.


Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Bell Work- Math Games

Making Change

Count the Money

New Unit

Last week we finished our learning about national landmarks.  This week we will begin a new unit on Ohio plants and animals.  Your child will be the newest Ohio plant and animal expert!  Below is an introduction to our unit.  Make sure you ask your child which plant/animal they want to investigate.

Introduction

Boy, are we in trouble!  All of the Ohio Animal and Plant experts have left for a special mission!  There is no one here who can help all the people learning about our Ohio Animals and Plants! You are registering to become an emergency Ohio Animal and Plant Expert! Your goal is to become an expert on one Ohio animal and plant of your choice and save the Ohio Animals and Plants Project!

Tasks

• Your job is to research our Ohio Animals and Plants by working through this informative project through 3 levels.
• You will need to solve a Scavenger Hunt to help guide you through the animal knowledge to become an expert.
• With the information you collect, you will create a trading card for the animal of your choice.

Process

• First, you will preview the possible Ohio Animals and Plants to which you will become an expert.
• Second, you will become the sole investigator and explore the many facts you will need by reading the information in Level 1. You will need to print out the task and answer the Scavenger Hunt riddles. You will hand this in to your teacher.
• If you pass the initial Ohio Animal and Plant Expert Checkpoint, you may continue to Levels 2 and 3 where you will prepare your information to use on your trading card. The trading card will be given to you by your teacher and returned to your teacher completed.

End of 3rd Quarter

This week marks the end of the 3rd quarter.  I can't believe we are starting the last quarter of the school year.  Time is flying by!  Please be on the look out for report cards coming home the first full week of April.

Spelling Practice At Home

Please remember to practice your spelling patterns during the week.  You will have a "Show Me What You Know" on Friday.  Your goal should be to play 1-2 nightly on the Daily 5 Computer Sites Page.  Happy Learning!

Can you put the Lincoln Memorial back together?

Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument Puzzle

Lincoln Statue

5 dollar bill

Lincoln Scrambler

Our Wheel of Wow P.J. Jam!

The students enjoyed their Wheel of Wow P.J. Jam on Friday. We celebrated our excellent behavior with a little dance party. The students also presented Mrs. Hoffman with her goodbye gift and hugs. Below are videos from the dance party and our class gift to Mrs. Hoffman.

Literacy Night...TONIGHT!

I hope to see you and your family tonight at the Literacy Night! It is a wonderful free event for our Amelia families.  Your child will receive a free book, snack, and a seat at the best puppet show around.  See you tonight!

The Great Mail Race

Today we finished finding schools to mail our letters to for the Great Mail Race.  We will be sending them out this weekend.  Hopefully we hear something back soon!

National Landmark Models

This week we have had so much fun continuing our learning about national landmarks.  The students have been completing their landmark pamphlet to summarize their learning. They have also been creation the landmarks out of  play dough! Below are a few pictures of our creations from yesterday...the Jefferson Memorial. Enjoy. 

National Landmark Tour

On Monday, we began our "Information Meeting" about our bus tour to D.C. and New York to explore national landmarks.  The students enjoyed videos about each place and were excited to visit.  Below are pictures of students posting notes to our KWL chart about national landmarks and learning from Google Earth.

Measurement Practice

This week we began our study on measurement. Your child has been practicing using CM and INCH rulers to find accurate measurements. We have also worked on finding equivalent measures for a foot and decimeter.

Homework 3-14/3-18

Homework Calendar
Match It!
Missing Letter
Sentence Writing
* If you need an extra copy of the Home Link Math packet please let me know.*

Our New Project! The Great Mail Race

The Great American Mail Race is a project in which students “race” to get letters across the country to as many different states as possible before the end of the school year. This ongoing activity reinforces letter writing skills, grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure, as well as map skills in a fun and interesting way! Click on the Great Mail Race page for more details!

Measurement Unit

For Math we will start to investigate measuring.  Please visit the website below to practice many types of measuring.

Measurement
Fun Brain Measure
CM Practice
Inch Practice
Vocabulary Match

Daily 5 Computer Sites

Here are the Daily 5 computer sites for today. Enjoy.

Pearson Activities

Sentence Match It

Sentence Unscramble

Which Word

Crossword Puzzle

Word Search

Hang Mouse

Bell Work

After you finished FAST Math, please visit the site below to help you learn more about fractions. Happy Learning! :)

Fraction Practice

Homework 2-22/2-24

Your child will have a shorten spelling list and homework packet since we will only be in school for 3 days next week.

Homework Calendar

Word Unscramble

Spelling Practice

Fraction pg. 1

Fraction pg. 2

Class Captain Winner!

Our Class Captain!

100th Day of School

Yesterday was our 100th day of school.  The students enjoyed working with fractions, measurements, and graphing. I can't believe we have been in school for 100 days!

Class Captain Videos

This month we have been learning about the government.  We have identified leaders such as the mayor, governor, and president.  We also discussed that all the leaders have to be elected by people.  To help create a real-life connection for voting/elections, the students organized campaigns and ran for the Class Captain.  Each person running for the Captain had to give a speech and create a poster to tell how they would give leadership,  provide a service, and solve problems.  Below are short videos from some the class speeches. Enjoy.

Homework 2-14/2-18

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Homework will be due on Thursday since we don't have school on Friday. Thank you

Homework Calendar

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Page 2

Valentine's Day

Please remember to send in your child's Valentine's Day cards on Monday.  We will not be having a party but the children will get a treat bag and pass out their cards to their classmates.  Happy early Valentine's Day!

Out of the building!

I will be out of the building tomorrow in the PM and all day on Monday.  My twin sister and dad are running their first marathon in LA.  :)

Poetry Race Winner

Congratulations to our Great Poetry Race winner from last week! Remember that even if you don't have many people to read the poem to, you can write tally marks next to the person's name for each time you read the poem. Reading and rereading has been shown to improve fluency for students. This will help the overall ability to read new words quickly and fluently.

Extra Literacy Practice Going Digital!

With West Clermont's new reading program, Reading Street, we are lucky to have an online site for our students to visit.  I will be posting weekly readings, games, and activities for your child to practice at home.  When your child has finished their reading, game, or activity please remind them to click "I'm Done" so that I can give them credit for completing their assignment.  If internet access is limited for your family, please let me know and I can make other arrangements for additional reading practice at home. 

*For My Readers scroll to the bottom of the page and for  Games and Activities click "To Do"*

Pearson Reading Site: http://www.pearsonsuccessnet.com/

Student Log In Information:
Username- first and last name ( all 1 word)
Password- reading

Dog Ate Your Homework? No worries...

 I will now be uploading all homework to the blog so that you and your child can have access to additional copies. 

Homework Calendar

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Page 2

Page 3

We are in the middle of a poetry unit, and this week your children wrote some amazing poems! They wrote acrostic poems using the letters of their names, which will be hanging in our classroom soon on the writing wall. Be sure to take a look the next time you stop by! They also wrote some fantastic Cinquain poems. Cinquain poems are very structured poems which allow the poet to focus on using descriptive words in their poetry writing. Take a look below at some of the Cinquain poems your children wrote:

Puppies
cute, huggable
playing, running, hopping
They explore a lot
Mammals

By Sarah


Cats
furry, cute
eating, sleeping, killing
Cats are fast
Mammals

By Brayden


Rhino
strong, mad
smashing, hiding, charging
It's horn is strong
Mammal

By Xander


Animals
big, small
swinging, running, crawling
Animals are cute
Animals

by Kaylee

Our Favorite Song!

Out Tomorrow!

I will be out of the building tomorrow at a technology conference. I can't wait to see you all on Friday when I return.  Happy learning while I am gone. :)

Moon Site

Today you will get to visit the Moon Research Site.  Enjoy your searching and learning about the moon.  Don't forget to write your learning on the slip from Mrs. Hoffman.  Happy Searching. :)

Click here for the Moon Research Page

Researching Continents

The learners of 115 have been hard at work researching the seven continents. They have spent the last two days pouring through a mountain of books, looking for fascinating facts about the continent of their choice. They have begun making posters complete with pictures and facts about the continent. Be sure to ask your child which continent they're researching.... You just might be surprised what they have discovered!

Conference Times!

Last week your child brought home a conference request form.  Due to the missed school days on Thursday and Friday, I only received a few back today.  If you would like a conference please send me an email vaneman_l@westcler.org or add a comment to this post with your requested day.  The conference days are Feb. 2 and Feb. 9 from 5:00-8:30. I look forward to showing you your child's work and progress from 2nd quarter.

Snow Day Work Make-Up

I hope you and your child enjoyed your time in the snow last week.  Due to the missed school days, Mrs. Hoffman will be giving the spelling test for last week tomorrow and the spelling for this week on Friday.  I have cut down the amount of spelling words for the test on Friday.  Please continue to work on the homework packet throughout the week and help your child with the long i spelling patterns for this week.  Thank you so much for your support at home!

Animal Fantasy Writing

Last week, the students finished and published their animal fantasy stories.  The students brainstormed possible writing ideas, used a web to gather their thoughts, and practiced using voice in their writing.  After their books were finished, the students wrote a letter to a student in Mrs. Van Eman's 3rd grade class at Mercer Elementary to tell why and how they created their story.  The students Skyped with Mrs. Van Eman's class on Friday to tell them the stories were on the way.  Mrs. Van Eman's class read through the stories and letters yesterday and are going to write their author a letter back with their thoughts about the story.  

The Great Poetry Race Returns!

  This week in your child's homework packet you will see the selected poem for the poetry race. Please encourage your child to read the poem aloud to as many people as possible and record the names on the back of the poem. The student who has read the poem the most will be recorded and posted on the blog.  Let the race begin! :)

Creative ways to Communicate

This week, we have been learning about creative ways to communicate. I showed the class some pictures of some friends from the University of Cincinnati who visited Africa recently. While they were there, they spent some time with children in a school in Otho Abao near Kenya. While there, the children wanted to send drawings to America of their daily life or what they wanted to be when they grow up. I brought in these drawings for the children in our class to see. The learners in 115 decided to draw pictures to send back to Africa about their life and what they want to be when they grow up. I will take these drawings back to my friends at UC who will take them to the children in Africa in March. Below are pictures of the artwork from the learners in 115.

Last week your children began a geometry unit. We have been reviewing shape names and learning about lines and points. This week we will continue to work with shapes and begin exploring 3-dimensional shapes.

I am currently in the classroom 5 days a week and will continue to increase the amount of time teaching until I begin teaching full time beginning on January 18th, so you may hear your child talking more about me teaching. I am enjoying every minute of working with your children. They are such a wonderful group of second graders!

Getting back into the swing of things!

Wow, what a great week! I was so happy to see everyone this week and get back to learning.  Please continue to keep up with the homework and nightly reading.  Your child will be taking their DIBELS fluency assessment on Thursday.  Reading every night will help your child be successful on this assessment.  If you need books or support with the nightly reading please let me know.