Nonfiction Book Clubs

For the past several weeks, we've been working on how to be a good nonfiction reader. We've learned lots of strategies, but the one we really have been focusing on is pushing past the WOW facts and pushing our thinking beyond just "wow that's so cool" or "this fact really surprises me" and going deeper by saying "wow I had no idea snakes unhinge their jaw to swallow their prey whole. Now I wonder how that's possible because we can't unhinge our jaws when we eat." Students have been meeting in clubs to share their facts and ideas and also learn from each other. This is huge because lots of times their thinking may change or extend from what they've already learned in their book. 

We've become expert nonfiction readers and are ready to move on to series book clubs this week! 😃

Tree Hill🌳🍃🌻

I'm Last Friday we had an amazing field trip to Tree Hill nature center. We got a preview of our upcoming science unit on habitats and adaptations! 

Students (and teachers too🙂) had some amazing animal encounters and visit with nature. Ask them what they learned and saw. 

He's Here!!!!

Welcome to the wonderful world Cooper Matthew Nowicki! He was born early in the morning on March 4, 2016 weighing 7lbs 7oz and measuring 20.1 inches long. Everyone is doing well! We congratulate the Nowicki family!💙

Mrs. V will be back with us while Mrs. Nowicki is home with Cooper. 😃

Sweet, happy family!!!! We love you guys! 

Ahoy, is a boy!!!💙

This Friday we had such a wonderful morning as a classroom family celebrating Mrs. Nowicki and baby Cooper. 💙 

We had a morning filled with games, snacks, gifts and of course, LOVE! 

Please enjoy the pictures from our time together, and thank you to everyone for your thoughtfulness in showering them. 

How big is her belly??

We "Whaley" love you Mr., Mrs. And Cooper Nowicki!!! 💙💙💙

We sure did have fun "sail"ebrating you! 

Shanghai Circus! 🎪

This year we are celebrating our time together at the greatest school on Earth, and what better way to celebrate than going to the circus! We had a blast watching these amazing acrobats perform with such skill, precision, and agility. Here are some pictures from the trip. 😃

Anthony, Kieran, and Adam got to interact with this clown. It was so funny! 

BINGO!

Reading is an integral part of our day. We read independently, together as a group, and with partners. We read during writing, math, and science. Reading is the foundation for everything we do. To emphasize how important reading is, our amazing principal goes above and beyond to motivate our young readers by giving them fun opportunities if they've met their nine week reading challenge. This past nine weeks' reward for reading 25 books for the nine weeks was BINGO! The kids had an absolute blast, and so did Mrs. Phillips. 😊 She loves being with her students! We have a system in place to be sure that everyone meets this challenge; our reading log. Students are supposed to log their reading in class at the end of independence reading, as well as, their nightly reading. That's 10 times to log a book in just one week, so you can see how easy it should be to meet this goal. Please help remind your student the importance of this habit so they can be sure to meet the next reading goal and experience something fun! 😊

Stop and Jot

Last week, we discovered that the most powerful tool for a reader can be a partner. This week, we are working in stopping and jotting during our reading so that partners are able to have meaningful discussion. As second grade readers, we need to be able to discuss not just what the text said, but what we are THINKING and why. Stopping and jotting is a wonderful tool for our readers to be ready with some great thoughts for discussion with their partner. We are going through lots of sticky notes! 🙂

We've learned that our hits need to be "deep", not just restating what the text says. An example of a deep joy would be "I think the author was trying to tell us that the girls were special when the text said 'the girls were shiny'. I think this because it reminded me of a shiny new car and how it stands out and is special to have." 

Another example is "I think maybe the little girl might be really appreciative and grateful to be on the soccer field because the text said she thought it looked like a sea of grass with real goals and not like the alley with two smooshed garbage cans for a goal."

When readers are thinking this deeply, they can REALLY make meaning of the story and discuss it with their partner. 

Adrian and Arushi are busting discussing their jots once they reach their stopping point. 

Andrey is busy jotting his thinking about the text he and his partner are reading.