Week Reflections

What a week! We had a half-day but didn't skip a beat of learning. We had an eventful week, learning some very challenging concepts. We have been working on how to politely disagree, and confidently agree with each other as peer collaborators. This week we spent a daily 20 minutes in the lab focusing on proper keyboarding skills, and practiced "surfing the web." It has been very beneficial to understand how these students grasp technology. Today was fun because we were able to truly focus on the solar system, and the students loved it. Ask them what M-V-E-M-S-U-N means, and they should be able to give you TWO answers.

Have an amazing weekend! Remember, no school on Monday!

Mastery Club

This is a club for those students in Mrs. Ramirez's class who are interested in achieving "above and beyond" the normal classroom expectations.  All you have to do is learn all about the topic, and then come tell Mrs. Ramirez the answers during your recess or lunch break, or before or after school.  You can become a 1 star member or achieve even higher levels of greatness!
Although you may use your notes to study from, you must memorize the Mastery Club answer, because you will have to tell Mrs. Ramirez the answers without looking at your notes. You are limited to one Mastery Club challenge per day. If you don't pass your challenge the first time, you may try again the next day.
Each time you answer a challenge correctly, you will earn one star. After you pass 15 challenges, you will earn a place on our classroom "Mastery Club Hall of Fame."

Get started by checking out the list of Mastery Club challenges posted inside your folder. And remember, in the Mastery Club, learning never ends (thank goodness!) Click below for the link!

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9NoSxIdQjgnQ3h1QUotZ203MEk/edit?usp=sharing

Educational Raps & Songs!

We have been really cramming the actual schedule, and it has been a lot to handle! The kids have been doing their very best to maintain focus during the lessons, even though it is a lot of materials to cover.

At the end of the day, we try to do an auto-rap (using an App from the ITunes store) or a tweet to sum up our day! They are student-led and quite hilarious.

We also learned a song about an urban community, and a rural community.

Check out our Auto Rap of Today

Check out our Auto Rap of Yesterday (Amazing Vocabulary Words)

Bullying Lesson

Today was a fun yet intriguing day. I taught the kids an old but true lesson about bullying. I had each and every student start off with a blank sheet of notebook paper. I talked about how it looked, asked them how it felt, and we admired the beautiful blank sheets of paper. Then, I instructed the kiddoes to DESTROY the papers...(some bit them, some stomped, some yelled, some crumpled, some pinched, etc.) After 30 seconds of hurting the paper, I asked them to sit down and flatten out the destroyed paper. They flattened the paper out as best as they could, but we couldn't help but notice the crumples and the "scars" left on the paper, even after we did our best to flatten it out. We had an in-depth conversation about how those marks will always be there, and how hurtful words crumple our hearts, and kind words do their best to un-crumple them. What started off as a funny and goofy activity became incredibly powerful. It was an awesome lesson, one that I hope they carry with them in their hearts, forever-words are so powerful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daily 5 in Action

We are practicing WORK ON WRITING currently! Check it out!

Cross Checking

We do the Daily 5, and the CAFE which you will hear about at Curriculum Night on 8-26. However, the CAFE implements strategies to help the students become better readers. One strategy we worked on was called- CROSS CHECKING...and it has the students ask themselves three questions: Does what I read look right? Does what I read sound right? Does it make sense?

1st Day of 2nd Grade

We survived the first day of 2nd grade....YAY! It was a LONG day full of rules, procedures, and expectations. However, through all of the day, I was continually reminded of how blessed I am to have these darlings in my class. We have already gotten some laughter in our day. We also started our DAILY 5 program, and introduced READ TO SELF. We made a chart, and began practicing today. Enjoy these cute pictures.

WOW, OPEN HOUSE WAS A HIT!

Oh my goodness, OPEN HOUSE was amazing! I had all of my students show up, and most of the darlings even smiled amidst their nervousness. I am so excited about this year. It was wonderful to see all of the new and familiar faces. It is always a joy on "OPEN HOUSE" when previous years students come and see you. We are going to do many fun things this year, I am thrilled. 

I will send home a reminder this week, but incase you see this before- send a framed picture of your child into class. I aim to make our classroom feel like their "home away from home," and allowing them to place a special picture frame somewhere in the room really does that!

Thank you again for stopping your busy day to pop in and meet me, it truly adds to the joy of being an educator.

See my little 2nd graders on Wednesday morning!

Love,
Mrs. Ramirez