HERO HERALD
October 2, 2015
Can you believe that is already October? I can’t! The first month of school has flown
by. I know that I have loved every minute of the school year so far, and I hope your children
have, too. We have been so busy, and we are getting settled in to school routines. We have
also been working hard at being ready, respectful, and responsible over the last month. They
have been making progress, and your children should be very proud of themselves. They are
showing that they are all heroes, each and every day. They work well together, and
constantly help each other to learn and grow. Our classroom community allows students to
be brave and try things they’re not used to doing. I know we can keep up this hard work!
This week, in Reading Workshop, we practiced growing our ideas and we talked about
problem solving strategies. We also talked about what to do when you see a word you don’t
know in a story. They remembered SO MANY tricks and strategies from first grade that could
help them! We made an awesome chart to hang in our classroom. In Writing Workshop, we
immersed ourselves in small moments by reading and writing them. We are looking at things
that master writers do, to see what makes a powerful story, and to guide our own writing. We
learned that Jane Yolen, a master author, likes books that touch her head and her heart, so
that she can think about the story and feel it. We want our writing to do that! In math, we
worked a lot with addends and sums this week, as well as with explaining why and how we
arrived at our answer. We can’t just pick one! We looked at patterns that could help us to
memorize facts. Memorizing these basic math facts, as well as practicing to count up or
count back from any given number, are important skills for second grade. I appreciate all
your support in working on these each night with your child. In social studies, we are talking
about all of the features found in a community. We are creating two dimensional versions of
these features to make our own communities. This is an exciting project!
Second graders also participated in the reading portion of the MAPS assessment this
week. They worked hard, and stayed focused. Additionally, they have earned half of my
marble jar so far! They are well on their way to the first reward. I also wanted to say THANK
YOU to all the families who sent in a large snack container for the class. We really appreciate
it; our snack has definitely been helping us to stay focused through math.
Reminders
Monday is Day 6: Art
Math homework is always due the next day.
The writing journal is due on Friday.
October Book Orders are due Thursday, October 15th.
Please remember to obtain proper clearances if you haven’t already done so, and
plan on volunteering or chaperoning this year. 
Table talk: Conversation starters for the dinner table.
Tell me about the interview biography activity you did with a
partner.
What makes a small moment story powerful?
What have you created for the community project?
How can you count back to find 10 – 4? How would you count on?
Have a great weekend!
Becka Cancelosi