Christmas Surprises!!! :-)

In early November my students wrote a letter to our President, George W. Bush. We had great hopes that he would write us back! In the middle of November I received a package in the mail from the White House! I was pleasantly surprised to find a letter and a picture of our President inside. I was very excited, but decided to wait and surprise the students with it as part of their Christmas gift from me. I had made copies of each student's letter and then I made copies of the letter that he wrote them, and a color copy of the picture that he sent. I glued them on construction paper and laminated them. The students were so excited to get them today, they had given up hopes that he would write to us. My wish is that this will be something that the students will keep forever and share it with generations to come!

Polar Express and Pajama Day!
Merry Christmas from Ms. Morgan's 2nd Grade Class!

Check this out!

We have had a great past 2 weeks. The children really enjoyed the snow that we had all day last Monday (Be sure to check out the photos!). We also had a wonderful lesson with our Media Specialist, Mrs. Massey, about states of matter. In this lesson the students were able to watch a snowman form from a liquid, to a solid, and back to a liquid. We "built" the snowman in our classroom and the students predicted how long it would take for "Bob" to turn into a liquid. The predictions where anywhere from a few minutes to 11 days!!! We made him at 9:00 this morning and as of now 2:40 pm "Bob" has lost his head and is barely hanging on, but has not completely melted yet! Below you will find a picture of "Bob" right after he was made. Have a wonderful weekend!
"Bob" The Snowman!
THIS JUST IN...Bob completely melted at 11:00pm. He lasted 14 hours!!! Until next time Bob! :-)

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great week of learning! The students learned all about the first Thanksgiving, Pilgrims, and Indians. I want to also let everyone know that I am very thankful for each one of my students and their families this Thanksgiving! I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and wonderful week off!

Happy Thanksgiving from Ms. Morgan's Class

Turkey Treats!

Thanks to Blakley's mom for the "cute" Pilgrim Hat Cookies!

Class Play: Parts of a Book

The "Cast Members" had a great time learning their lines and the "Set Crew" did a wonderful job planning and creating the set. A big "Thanks" goes out to Mrs. Neal's and Ms. Wright's class for being our audience! I hope that you will take time to view the pictures and the video exerts from the play. Have a wonderful weekend!

What's Happening???

We are moving into a different genre in Reader's and Writer's WS. Our new genre is Non-Fiction and Informational texts including research and note taking. The students will learn all about the parts of a non-fiction book with a class play that we will be working on this week. They will have the opportunity to read different types of non-fiction texts and will be taking notes on what they read and research. This unit will have lots of fun lessons that the students will never forget. They will research Thanksgiving/Indians, Famous people from Georgia ending with a presentation including dressing like the person they researched, and researching and presenting information on Christmas Around the World. We will have a tasting event of foods from other parts of the world. This will be an exciting time of learning for all students! I hope to post pictures of these events as they take place.

Fun Times!

We have had a great past 2 weeks in 2nd grade! Last week we celebrated Johnny Appleseed's Birthday with an apple snack everyday! On Friday we made apple pies, and apple cider. We also enjoyed a picnic lunch outside. It was such a beautiful day! This week we were very busy learning about connections in Reader's WS. In Math WS we are counting money and counting back change. We are continuing to write Narrative pieces in Writer's WS. Today we had a Behavior Reward Movie party! The students earn a ticket for each day that they are on blue. They used the tickets to get into a movie, buy popcorn, cokes, and candy. Great fun was had by all! Have a wonderful Fall Break and check back next week for classroom pictures.

Hands on Science

The students enjoyed learning about Matter: Solid, Liquid, and Gas. We created a science experiment at the "Marvelous Matter Soda Shop". Using Orange Sherbet (solid), Sprite (liquid), and the world's smallest sundae glass (solid) we saw that when Sprite was poured over the sherbet it created a gas and turned the solid into a liquid. The students also brought in an example of a Solid, Liquid, and Gas from home to create a Matter Museum in our classroom. Pictured Above: 1st: Marvelous Matter Soda Shop, Ms. Morgan. 2nd: Lakeisha brought in a hand drawn balloon for an example of a gas. 3rd: Blakey cut out a picture of Chocolate Milk for her example of a Liquid. 4th: JJ brought in a balloon filled with Gas, a bottle filled with a Liquid, and he used a key to show an example of a solid. A lot of learning and fun was had by all!

Next Week

We have a VERY busy week ahead. Please check out the following items:
*Johnny Appleseed week. We will celebrate Johnny's Birthday everyday this week with a special activity.
*Bookfair-All week!
*Grandparent's Day Tuesday, September, 23. We look forward to spending time with our grandparents!
*PTO for K-2nd Grade Tuesday, September, 23. Parents will meet with the teachers and discuss procedures and other classroom items. The 2nd grade time is 7:00-7:30. We hope to see all Parents! The children will have a movie and snack in the gym and will not be able to come to the classrooms.
*Spelling, Dictation, and Vocabulary Test on Friday.

Have a wonderful weekend!

September

Well, we survived the first month in 2nd grade and are well on our way another great month. The 4 1/2 week Progress Reports will go home today. Please sign and return and let me know if you have any questions about your child's progress. If the grades are not where you think that they should be please know that we have 4 weeks left before the grades are final for the 1st 9 weeks so there is still time to work harder and pull those grades up. Please know that I feel that your child participating in sports and other extra curricular activities are very important to your child's development and health however, we must all remember that school and homework should still be number one. Though I know it's hard to have a balance between, school, sports, other activities, and family time please don't loose focus on what is important. Please encourage your child's success in school by letting your child know that school is very important and will have a great impact on their future. Thanks!

Items to Remember

*Wear tennis shoes for PE on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.
*Ice Cream on Fridays only (for students that have not been on yellow or red that week).
*Fluency HW every night! It only takes 1 minute!
*Math HW most Tuesdays and Thursdays of each week.
*Spelling, Dictation, and Vocabulary Test every Friday.
*Remember to check your child's Homework Folder each day for important information.

Box Tops & Soup Labels

Please continue to send in Box Tops and Soup Labels. We are using the Box Top money to help cover the cost of our new playground. The Campbell's Soup Labels are used by Coach Neal to purchase needed PE equipment. Thanks for all of your help!

Favorite Websites for Students

www.internet4classrooms.com

www.gcssk12.net/PowerZone.htm

This is a great website for students to practice all levels of reading. It teaches lessons on letters, sounds, words, and reading practice. It also has games and movies. The children love it!
http://www.starfall.com/

This website has a little bit of everything. Check it out!
http://www.kids-space.org/

This website allows students to create their own story. It is sort of like an online madlib! It is very educational and so much fun!!!
http://www.pbs.org/kratts/crazy/madlibs/index.html