1/22-1/26

Looking Ahead To Next Week:
Memory: The Fourth Commandment-Honor your father and your mother

Spelling: ai: air, train, chair, laid, fair, rain, mail, brain, paid, obtain,
Phonics: Sounds of c
Grammar: Commas Review--commas in a series, commas in a date, and commas in a letter
Reading: Main Idea
Math: Test Wednesday
Science: We will begin our unit over Ch. 10 Changes in Matter (physical and chemical changes) A study guide for lesson 1 will be sent home on Monday, and we will have a test over lesson 1 on Friday.
Writing: 5 paragraph paper over your favorite season

Important News and Information:
-Our next noon dismissal will be on Wed., Feb. 7th
-Mark your calendars for the Zion Auction coming up in March.

In science, we have been talking about the properties of matter. We learned about an architect and engineer named Simon Rodia who looked closely at the properties of shapes and different materials in order to create his strong and stable Watts Towers. The kids tested out some designs of different shapes and discovered that the properties of a triangle prove to be the strongest shape. 

The kids each built a tower with the goal of it being strong and sturdy enough to withstand high winds from the blast of a fan. It was fun to watch them apply what they learned from Simon Rodia into their own structures. 

Practicing contractions

In chapel, we sat with our 8th grade buddy class. 

We then did an activity together where the kids wrote why they love Zion and made snowflakes together. 

After reading Stone Fox together as a class, the kids broke off into literacy groups where they discussed the text and answered questions about what they've read. 

1/16-1/19

Looking Ahead to Next Week:
Memory: The Third Commandment-Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
Spelling: oa/ote: coat, soak, boating, floated, soaking, throat, moat, vote, remote, hotel
Grammar/Phonics: Contractions
Reading: We will be reading our 3rd Quarter whole class novel, "Stone Fox." The kids will take a written quiz, as well as an AR quiz over the story to measure their comprehension of the text at the end of the week.
Math: Test on Tuesday
Science: We will continue to learn about matter. This week will focus on liquids and gasses.
Writing: 5 paragraphs about their favorite season of the year

Important News and Information:

-Spring Auction Round Up is coming January 22nd through 26th! We are looking for donations for the Zion School Auction March 16, 2018. You can drop them off before school all week at the main school entrance or the Early Childhood entrance. For every $25 in donations, you will receive a ticket for an opportunity to win 2 FREE Auction Tickets! Need donation ideas? Grab a leaf off an Auction Trees to help you shop. Any help is appreciated! Thank you for your generosity!

-2nd grade sings at the 10:30 service this Sunday! Feel free to stay after church for Zion's open house from 1-3pm.
-Next week is National Lutheran Schools Week. There will be dress up days, and lots of fun activities throughout the week. For the month of January, chapel offerings are going to Cambodia. Throughout next week, we will be learning about Cambodia and what missionaries are doing in the country in an online mission trip video series.
-The dress up days for the week:

Monday: P.J. Day

• Wear pajamas/sweats
• May bring one stuffed animal/pillow
• May wear slippers (bring change of shoes for outside)

Tuesday: Fashion Disaster Day

• Unlike every other day, you have to try to look horrible
• Mismatched clothes, clashing patterns, and kooky outfits!
• Jeans optional

Wednesday: Buddy Class Color Day

• Our class is wearing purple! Jeans are optional!

Thursday: Ultimate Spirit Day

• Do you have the Spirit in you?
• Wear your Red, White, and Black to show your Zion Lutheran School Spirit
• Jeans optional

Friday: Sports Day

• Put on all your sports gear to be the ultimate athlete!
• Jerseys, pants, hats, but no props (balls, bats, etc.)



Finding the mass of objects using a balance

• Jeans optional

Working on our art to display at church for National Lutheran Schools Week

Practicing math facts with a game of concentration!

Working on coding with Bob

1/8-1/12

Looking Ahead to Next Week:
Memory: The Second Commandment- You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.

Spelling: ee: see, free, deer, peel, tree, weep, beep, need, freedom, wheel
Grammar/Phonics: Mid Year Test--this will be a test we will be working on throughout the week. This test will not be taken for a grade. Instead, it will be used to show me how the kids are doing in grammar and what are some things we still will need to work on this school year. 
Reading: Nonfiction text features
Math: We will not get to a test next week, however, we will continue to practice our 100 addition facts, and our 25 subtraction facts. 
Science: We will be finishing up Lesson 1- What is Matter, with an in class poster assessment next Thursday, followed by a STEM activity on Friday. 
Social Studies: We will be learning about Martin Luther King Jr.

Important News and Information:
-No School this Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day
-Reminder that 2nd grade sings at the 10:30 service on Sun., Jan. 21st at 10:30a.m. Open House at Zion will be that afternoon. 
-During the month of January, our offerings will support the mission work in Cambodia which is organized by Lutheran Hour Ministries. Students in grades K-4 were given change boxes to collect their offerings this month. During National Lutheran Schools Week, students can bring these change boxes to chapel on Wednesday, January 24th. Through our offerings, we can help spread the word of Christ across the world!

-National Lutheran Schools Week is coming up January 22 – 26, here are the dress up days:

Monday: P.J. Day

• Wear pajamas/sweats
• May bring one stuffed animal/pillow
• May wear slippers (bring change of shoes for outside)

Tuesday: Fashion Disaster Day

• Unlike every other day, you have to try to look horrible
• Mismatched clothes, clashing patterns, and kooky outfits!
• Jeans optional

Wednesday: Buddy Class Color Day

• Double double here comes trouble!
• Match your buddy class by wearing your assigned color
• Jeans optional

Black	PS Douglas + PS Lohman	3 Bevirt
White	PS Linneman	3 Kuhlmann
Grey	PS Mudd	4 Maddick
Brown	PS Hoehner	4 Ernstmeyer
Pink	PS Rouland	5 Cornejo
Navy	PS Stanglein	5 Crenshaw
Red	K Lail	6 Riemenschneider
Orange	K Reed	6 Preusser
Yellow	1 Bernhardt	7 Murray
Blue	1 Tyler	7 Wondrasch
Green	2 Smith	8 Braddy
Purple	2 Beach	8 Beaty

Thursday: Ultimate Spirit Day

• Do you have the Spirit in you?
• Wear your Red, White, and Black to show your Zion Lutheran School Spirit
• Jeans optional

Friday: Sports Day

• Put on all your sports gear to be the ultimate athlete!
• Jerseys, pants, hats, but no props (balls, bats, etc.)
• Jeans optional

In grammar to practice adjectives, the kids worked in small groups to describe a mystery item using adjectives. The rest of the class had to guess what the mystery item was based on the adjective clues. 

We discussed the difference between fiction and nonfiction this week. The kids each picked a nonfiction book to read from our classroom library. They then took turns to share with the class one fact they learned from their book. 

In grammar, we described pictures using adjectives

Working hard in guided reading

Practicing adding the er and est suffix to words during centers

In science, the students worked in groups to observe properties of matter

1/4-1/5

Looking Ahead to Next Week:
Memory: The First Commandment- You shall have no other gods.

Spelling: ear/ath:  hear, near, fear, dear, smear, math, path, bath, aftermath, Sabbath

Grammar: Adjectives
Phonics: er and est word endings
Reading: Fiction v. Nonfiction
Math: We will begin to learn and practice subtraction facts. We will have a test on Friday. This test includes their regular written test, as well as a 25 subtraction fact test, and a 100 addition fact test. A reminder that the goal for the students is to finish all 100 of their facts in 5 minutes or less, and their 25 subtraction facts in 2 1/2 minutes.
Science: Ch. 9 Lesson 1 Properties of Matter--We will not have a formal test over this unit. Instead, the kids will be demonstrating their knowledge through a poster at the end of the unit.
Writing: 5 paragraph paper over Christmas Break

Important News and Information:
-2nd grade sings at church on Sunday, Jan. 21st at 10:30 a.m.
-2nd Semester means that our class is increasing our required reading homework to 40 minutes, 4 times each week. This increase is to help continue to improve fluency, comprehension, and overall reading ability for our young readers.
-The last day to take AR tests for 3rd Quarter is Wednesday, March 7th.
-Another change for 3rd quarter is that writing will now count as a grade. A writing portfolio of each student's work will be sent home at the end of the quarter so you can see their writing, as well as examples of how I graded their writing. I have conferenced with each student and together, we created an individualized writing goal to focus on for this quarter.

Practicing our 3rd Quarter High Frequency Words

Reading Scholastic News Articles

Each student created a "How many ______ are there in our school" question that they wanted answered. We then walked around and counted what we found. Back in our classroom, the students practiced their double digit addition skills by adding their information together with a partner's information. 

In grammar, we reviewed types of sentences. 

On Friday, Mrs. Helmkamp came to our room and set up an escape room type activity where there were clues and lock boxes all around the room. The kids had to work together to solve the clues in order to open the locks to get their prize. It was a great chance for the students to work on their problem solving skills and continuing to work even when things get tough--"don't give up!"