We're Having a Party!

The second graders in Room 7 have been hard at work writing true stories. They have published more than 30 stories! Each student has:

• Planned their true story by telling the events across the pages
• Added details and dialogue to bring the events to life
• Gone back to polish their work and make sure they have the important things like punctuation! 

We hope to see everyone at Open House to celebrate! 

What is a Ticket to Leave?

Hopefully you have seen math papers coming home with your student each day! One of these papers is called a 'Ticket to Leave.' This is a formative assessment that students complete each day to demonstrate their understanding of the material that was covered in the day's lesson. Today's 'Ticket to Leave' looks something like this:

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The numbers in the top corner are the grading system. E stands for Exceeds Expectations, M stands for Meets Expectations, WT stands for Working Towards Expectations and B stands for Beginning to Understand. I use the information that the assessments give me to provide additional instruction for students who need it. The challenge or bonus questions on each assessment are always optional. 

Tickets to Leave are a great way to keep up with what your child is learning in math and to ask them more about it. If you have any questions feel free to email me! 

Starting the Year with Growth Mindset

This week the students in Room 7 were introduced to the idea of a "Growth Mindset." Growth Mindset is an idea that was developed by Dr. Carol Dweck. In a growth mindset you flip the script from saying things like "I can't do this" to "I'm going to learn how to do this". In second grade we focus on the idea that our brain is like a muscle and that it takes practice to get good at doing things. My hope is that students realize that academic struggle helps them become stronger, more successful learners. 

Did your child come home talking about perseverance, Mojo, or strengthening their brain? I hope so! For more specific information and resources regarding growth mindset check out the images and links below.

This chart highlights phrases students can use when something is challenging or new:

We watched this Class Dojo video together where Mojo encounters a math problem that stumps him and almost gives up:

Edutopia has compiled a great overview of growth mindset and resources for parents and teachers. That can be accessed here:  https://www.edutopia.org/article/growth-mindset-resources