Learning To Go Mr. Avery's Class on the Web 

The Grade 2 Field Trip is coming! On Friday, October 13, our class will be traveling back in time on a visit to Old Sturbridge Village. The permission slip and fee request will be sent home at the beginning of October. I’m posting this in advance, to encourage dads and moms who can’t typically volunteer for daytime school activities to plan to join us as chaperones on that day. Our class needs 6 chaperones, charged at the student rate of $20. Please contact me if you are interested.

A current CORI check is required for chaperones. If you need one done, this is the week to do it as it typically takes 3 weeks for them to get back to us.

The educational purpose of the trip is to investigate and learn about economics in a hands-on way, through the lens of local history. We will examine how wants and needs affect the goods and services provided to consumers of a community, and each student will produce an artifact to bring home. I’ve already heard from the kids that several of you have visited the village before! This place is a unique gem, similar to Plimoth Plantation, that I encourage everyone to make part of your weekend repertoire. To learn more and take a virtual tour, visit: https://www.osv.org/

Parent Conferences: I was able to create a signup at Signup Genius that does not require a new or existing account from you. Email invitations will be sent out this afternoon: simply click the link, enter an email address, and type your name in one available slot on the signup page. Email reminders will be sent out 3 days prior to meeting.

Thanks to those of you who have sent in health supplies: a box of kleenex, plain band-aids (non-antibacterial) and a tub of antibacterial wipes. Please send them if you haven’t, and thanks!

Our Daily 5 CAFE focus this week is on activating schema and making connections when we read (part of Comprehension). These are HUGE strategies for young readers. Schema is what a reader understands about anything in life. We have schema about topics like making friends, seasons of the year, and so on. We also have schema for how to solve problems, and how we approach reading. Sometimes our schema is correct and sometimes it contains misunderstandings, which we learn to correct by reading and thinking. We therefore teach young readers to recognize what their schema is telling them and to use it as an access point to understanding what is read by making connections to it. Questions to ask your child during reading (either aloud to him/her or when s/he is reading): What do already know about ____ and what do you wonder? What does that remind you of in your life? This kind of thinking can help students understand characters, plot, and information better. More info is at Reading Rockets, a terrific literacy site for teachers and parents:http://www.readingrockets.org/article/29200/Also this week, students are being introduced to Opinion Writing. This genre is at the heart of most professional writing as we know it, in which an author presents arguments backed up with evidence. To begin with, students will be taught the difference between fact and opinion; how to craft an introduction and opinion; how to use an outline to scaffold their writing; and how to write in complete sentences with correct punctuation and capitalization. We tried a fun game from pbskids.org you can play at home on Facts and Opinions! (click on picture to link to page)

In math this week, students will learn how to use place value to order numbers, e.g.: 253; 258; 340. By understanding the value of the digits, it becomes plain how large numbers are in relation to each other. If you’re following along at home, we are in Book A, Chapter 1, Lesson 4. Also this week, students will take their first test! Tests will be scored and sent home along with a document that explains which questions were testing mastery of a skill/concept, and which were looking to see if students could apply skills at higher levels.

Homework: 1) Math homework begins next week, 9/25. There will be nightly assignments, M-Th, and 2 optional challenges weekly.  2) Math Facts homework begins the week after, 10/2. This involves nightly practice and a quiz every Friday. 3) Reading homework begins the following week, 10/10. Students read every night and complete a reading log to be returned Fridays. More detailed information on homework will be provided on our blog over the next 3 weeks!