Our M.V.P. Connor

Writing is my favorite subject.  Social Studies is my second favorite subject.  Math is my third subject that I like the best.  I like learning about maps in social studies.  I like writing small moments stories.  I like making our social studies word books - Our Place in the World.  I really like school because I really like social studies and science a lot.  I like social studies a little more than science. 

Me on The Map ... My Place in the World

Our new social studies unit is all about the world around us.  We began the unit by finding our place in the world.  We started by reading a wonderful book called "Me On the Map."  The little girl in the book explains how she finds her place in the world.  Then using a great resource created by another teacher, we created our own Me on the Map circles.  (You can find them by clicking on the link below - thanks to www.teachmama.com for a great resource) 

Me on The Map Circles

Take a look at our amazing place in the world and be sure to ask your child what their planet, continent, country, state, and city are! 

Our MVP Addison

I am 7 years old.  I like to go camping every 4th of July. I like to ride the jet ski alot.  My favorite thing to do is math.  I do adding and subtraction. 

Our MVP Sariyah

In 2nd grade we are doing new things in math, like doubles facts and story problems.  School has been awesome this year.  In Mrs. Heath's class everything is fun.  Friends at school are nice.  Everybody is fun, makes me laugh, they are cool, and we are in the same class. 

Classroom Constitution

September 17th is Constitution Day and to celebrate we created our own classroom constitution!  We discussed how the United States Constitution is the basis of law for our country.  Our classroom Constitution will serve as the basis for the rules and "laws" in our classroom.  Just like the original constitution, all of our team members signed the classroom constitution to show that they agree with what it says. We enjoyed our little government in action project.

Patriots Day

In celebration of Patriots Day, our class wrote letters thanking our heroes - firefighters and police officers.  Thank you to Mr. Mazur for delivering them to his firefighter pals (and thanks to him for being a firefighter as well!) and thank you to Miss Houloose for delivering them to her dad, who is the Chief of Police in Papillion. 

We also had the opportunity to show our remembrance by creating a pictorial representation of September 11th, shared by a wonderful teacher at http://primaryparadise.blogspot.com/2012/09/free-september-11th-craftivity.html   The picture shows the Twin Towers, Pentagon, and a badge representing the first responders who were there to help, with the background of our flag.  What a great way to remember our heroes and the events of September 11th. 

Scoot, Scoot, Scootin' Along

I have found the best teaching tool EVER... a simple game called Scoot.  I have to give credit to all the fabulous teachers on Pinterest and on the many teaching blogs that I waste spend time on for enlightening me. 

 The game is simple:  You create a series of cards for practicing whatever skill you are working on (or find ones already made by above mentioned teachers extraordinaire).  The cards might have math problems, grammar practice, spelling or language practice, or even vocabulary questions.  You place one card on each desk, in numerical order.  Students have an answer sheet, which for me is just numbered notebook paper, that they take along with them. 

 Each student begins at their assigned number, reads the question on that desk, and records their answer.  After enough time has passed that all (or most) students have answered their question, say SCOOT.  The students then move on the next card numerically.   So if they were one 18, they scoot over to 19, while the child on 19 scoots over to 20, and 20 to 21, 21 back to 1, and so on.  You can continue scooting the kiddos until they have had the opportunity to complete each card OR until you've had enough and/or are out of time! (The out of time thing happened to us today.  You would have thought that I'd beaten up Santa the way my teammates reacted!)

My kiddos LOVE LOVE LOVE this game!  I love that it serves as both an instructional tool and a movement break at the same time.  I'm sure we'll be playing many versions of this throughout the year. 

Students work on determining if their card is a complete sentence or not!

The Star Spangled Banner

     A few years ago my good friend and Hickory Hill's former music teacher, Ms. Palatas, began a special tradition at Hickory Hill.  Every Friday morning our school would sing America's National Anthem - The Star Spangled Banner.  Being as I am an extremely patriotic gal, it always brought a tear to my eye to hear our entire school population (adults too) singing with pride and honoring the great nation in which we live. 
     One of the biggest downfalls (in my opinion) to our new schedule is that we do not get the chance to meet each day as a school community in the gym.  That means no Star Spangled Banner.  Or does it??
     Flash forward to the second Friday morning of school in TEAM Heath's hideway...  We stood to say the Pledge of Allegiance, as we do each day, when one of our teammates exclaimed...(I forgave the child for blurting out this ONE time!!) Why can't we sing the Star Spangled Banner on Fridays like we did last year? Well, why not indeed?  I don't claim to be a world class singer, but I could lead them in a song.  So we did.  And you know what?  It sounded great! 
    Ok, we probably won't win American Idol or The Voice. And whiel I typically sing with them each week, you'll notice my voice is noticeably absent from the video- I even edited out where I gave them their starting note. You might even notice that the ending gets a bit sketchy--but the important part here is that I have 21, 7 year-olds who are singing The Star Spangled Banner acapella, every Friday morning, because THEY WANTED TO!  How absolutely amazing is that?  So thank you Ms. Palatas for helping me instill patriotic pride in my little friends and thank you to the teammate who was brave enough to ask us to continue this great tradition.
    Please listen to this heartfelt song as we take a moment to remember those who gave their all on September 11, 2001.  We truly do live in the land of the free and home of the brave and I'm so grateful for my teammates who celebrate that each and every day. 

God Bless America!!

What In the World is This 3 on My Child's Paper???

On Monday your child will be bringing home their first "graded" spelling test.  You will notice that I have indicated a "1", "2", "3", or "4" on their test - followed by the words "Beginning", "Progressing", "Proficient", or "Advanced".  In the Papillion-La Vista School District we do not utilize a standard A,B,C, D, F grading scale.  Instead we assess based on the standards and the student's mastery of the standards. The visual below is a document that I created to help the students to understand what each indicator means.  These are the same indicators that you will find on the quarterly report cards.  The goal for each student is to be proficient or advanced in all academic areas.  If you notice a 1 or 2 on an assignment, this is an indication that your child still has room to grow in their understanding of the concepts covered on the assignment.  These concepts would make a great focus for homework practice.  If you ever have a question about an assignment, standard, or grade - please do not hesitate to contact me!    

:)  Mrs. Heath

 

 

Our MVP Andrew K

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     My name is Andrew.  I am 7 years old.  My sister Jordyn is in 6th grade.  My favorite subjects are math and science.  I also like reading.
    I took a trip to Vermont this summer to see my grandparents and cousins.  we hiked and swam. 
    I play baseball, basketball, and this fall I started playing soccer and lacrosse.  It's lots of fun.  I like to rid my bike too.
    I like nature.  I like Legos and I collect Pokemon cards. 

My Favorite Things - Paragraph and Essay Writing in 2nd Grade

We put self portrait covers on our "My Favorite Things" essays.  Can you find your 2nd grader??

     Do you know what is hard to do when you are a 2nd grader?  To learn how to write a paragraph and an essay! But here on TEAM HEATH, we rocked it in the first few weeks of school!  All of our teammates worked very hard to get their thoughts and ideas about their favorite things onto paper while telling about themselves in an essay.
     The very first thing that we had to learn was how to write a paragraph.  Did you know that you have to indent every time you start a new paragraph?  Also, each paragraph can only talk about one thing.  When you want to switch to talking about something new, you have to start a new paragraph!
     We learned that when you write an essay you should have an introductory paragraph, then a few paragraphs that tell the meat of your essay, and a concluding paragraph.  All of the paragraphs work together and flow nicely into an essay that covers one main idea.
     Our essay was all about our three favorite things.  We began by introducing those three things in our introductory paragraph.  Then we wrote one paragraph (3 total) for each of our favorite things.  Finally, we wrote a conclusion that tied it all together.
     As you can see, we worked very hard learning to write paragraphs and essays.  I hope you enjoy reading a few of them.  Be sure and complement your 2nd grader on their fine paragraph writing in their Friday Journal each week!

My Favorite Things

By Kamira

        My name is Kamira.  I am 7 years old.  I think school is great.  In my bag I have these things:  a family picture, a medal, and a picture of my brother.

      I brought a family picture because I love to go places with my family.  I like to go on the rides with my mom and dad.  I love to go on the roller coasters.

     I also brought a ribbon.  I brought it because it is special to me.  I like to do gymnastics and learn new stuff.  I am in level 6 and it makes me happy.  I keep it in a bag up high so my brother can't get it.  I got it from gymnastics.

      Last of all I have a picture of my brother.  I brought it because it makes me happy and sad.  I love my brother so much.  I'm scared for him to get hurt.  I like to look out for him if he gets hurt I will be shocked.

      I enjoyed telling you all about me.  I want to read about other kids in our room.  I am looking forward to a great school year at Hickory Hill Elementary School.

My Favorite Things

By:  Landyn



     My name is Landyn.  I am 7 years old.  I think school is fun.  In my bag I have these things:  ice breakers, a trophy, and a necklace.
     I brought a trophy because I like winning.  I like to play hockey.  I played it last year.  I played it when I was five.
     I also brought a necklace.  I got it for Christmas last year.  I put it in my bedroom.  I got it from my grandma.
     Last of all, I have icebreakers.  I brought it because I like to eat icebreakers.  They're good.  They are sour.  Have nay of you tried them?  They are colorful.
     I enjoyed telling you all about me.  I want to read about other kids in our room.  I am looking forward to a great school year at Hickory Hill Elementary School.