Mrs. Carroll's Class

Mystery Reader Flies In!

2010-03-27T12:58:00.000-07:00

Logan's aunt arrived this past week and surprised him as Mystery Reader. Mrs. Cruz discreetly arranged for her sister to fly in from Phoenix- she kept the secret from the whole family. It was wonderful to have her join us!

Winter/Spring Stars of the Week

2010-03-27T12:38:00.001-07:00

We have had weeks celebrating our class Stars. Take a look at the pictures above to see their time celebrating lunch buddies, presenting posters, and posing as Dr. Seuss on Read Across America Day! Don't forget to watch the video of the Zanfardino Family's tribute song to their daughter (sung to the tune of Gilligan's Island). Thank you for making their week special!

Reading Detectives are on the Case!

2010-03-27T12:31:00.000-07:00

Last week we started our Mystery unit during our guided reading centers. Students received their mystery book, their own case file, along with detective hat and badge. Over the next few weeks we will be investigating suspects, writing down clues, and having a lot of fun while learning about this genre.

Mrs. Ng was our January Mystery Reader!

2010-03-27T12:18:00.000-07:00

Happy 2010!

2010-01-09T11:37:00.000-08:00

Class C-1 started 2010 with a bang!

Our field trip to 826 Valencia on Thursday proved to be engaging and educational. The students' imaginations and writing skills were put to the test by Mr. Blue, 826 Valencia's discriminating editor. (Click on the video to see Mr. Blue's reactions to the students' stories.)Students brainstormed a class story filled with unique characters, a detailed storyline, and their own individual endings. Stop by the classroom to see our class book, "The Scientist and the Black Ice". Mrs. Marcus, our student teacher, was able to join us on our field trip! Many thanks to the family members who joined us: Beckie, Christina, Barbara, Melanie, Angelique, Retta, Rosanna, and Mike!

Mrs. Ng joined us on Friday as the first Mystery Reader of 2010! "She read the book How Full is Your Bucket?" which was an enjoyable book with a wonderful lesson about kindness. The students loved having her as a guest!

Mystery Readers- Mr. Hodge and Mr. Carroll

2009-12-22T21:01:00.001-08:00

On Thursday, Mr. Hodge came in and read Dr. Seuss' "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas". Luckily, I had just figured out how to use the video feature on my phone to record a bit of it. Hobie talked to the students about how Dr. Seuss' books are like music with a particular pentameter, a rhythm found in poetry. Take a look at the reading of "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas".

Mr. Carroll came in on Friday and read Mo Willems' "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus". He was very excited to get to meet the students! He has heard all about the class and was finally able to meet them in person. Take a look at "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus".

Polar Express, Craft Day, and Winter Music Concert

2009-12-22T20:33:00.000-08:00

First and second grade students had a ball during Craft Day! Students rotated through classrooms and created lots of fun crafts to take home and share with their family! Many thanks to Ami, Christina, Melanie, and Sonia for joining us for the morning!

On our last day of school, our classroom turned into The Polar Express train depot. Each students received a red boarding pass which I stamped as they boarded the train (aka their desk fashioned into a train seat). Students brought a special belonging and wore their pajamas since the Polar Express picks children up in the middle of the night. We enjoyed Gingerbread boys (Thank you to Cody's Grandma, Barbara), hot cocoa with mini marshmallows, and watched The Polar Express in 3-D!

Students performed a variety of holiday songs for the Winter Music Concert on Wednesday, right after Craft Day. Thanks to the PTO, we have a wonderful music teacher who teaches the children twice a week. Students are using their song books, practicing their parts, and learning performance. Take a look at the video below to hear their singing!

Heritage Dolls and International Potluck

2009-12-22T20:23:00.000-08:00

What is one way to make a geography unit come alive? Have students create a Heritage Doll! Students presented their doll, discussed a bit of their ancestry, and described the clothing of the specific country. It is amazing to see just how far our ancestors have come to create a life here in The United States. We have come from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Russia, Iran, Italy, Germany, The Philippines, Lebanon, Spain, England, Scotland, Portugal and many, many more places from around the world! Be sure to stop in and visit our Heritage Doll bulletin board when you get a chance.

All second graders celebrated our different heritages with a bountiful potluck. We had no idea there would be so much wonderful food! Thank you families for your support and making this a memorable part of second grade.

Totem Animal Masks

2009-12-22T20:06:00.000-08:00

Students did a remarkable job with their totem animal masks. After studying Native Americans and learning about totem pole animals, students chose an animal that represented them. We had a wide array of animals representing different characteristics: strength, freedom, curiosity, intelligence, and fear. Students chose one characteristic and wrote about a time that they felt this way. I couldn't have been more impressed with the students' ability to have a specific vision in their mind and work meticulously to achieve it . Students layered paste covered newspaper strips to create a basic shape on an inflated balloon. Once that had dried, we gathered scraps such as paper towel tubes, cardboard scraps, and foil to shape our masks. Finally, we used masking tape to secure the facial features on. Christina and Angelique graciously donated fur fabric and feathers to add some extra pizazz to the masks. Be sure to come and see these masks in person!

The Star of the Week Was An Absolute Joy!

2009-12-22T19:55:00.000-08:00

This past month, we had a JOYFUL Star of the Week! She bounds through the classroom with enthusiasm and curiosity. Her week was filled with fun with special sharing and visitors! She shared her favorite belongings, Dad came in and read Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, and her Aunt came for a special lunch. What a week it was!

B. is Star of the Week!

2009-12-05T07:54:00.000-08:00

B. had a wonderful Star of the Week! He brought in his sharing sack and proudly displayed some of his treasured possesions. His poster made all of the students laugh because it had six different "magazine covers" showcasing him. His father, Mr. Barker, joined him on Thursday for a special Colombo's lunch. This past Friday Mr. Barker gave a superb reading of one of B.'s favorite books, Harry Potter. I have just learned how to post video on the blogs just in time to capture the animated storytelling of Harry Potter.

Stars of the Week and Mystery Readers

2009-11-14T10:37:00.000-08:00

We have had several shining stars the past couple of weeks for Star of the Week! They came in and shared their special items: paper models of the titanic, stuffed animals, special stockings, played the piano, and brought in special pets. They had memorable lunches with their families and heard wonderful words of love in the family letter written especially for them. Each week was topped off with a special friendship poster filled with compliments written by each C-1 students for the special star.

Mystery Readers continue to be such an enjoyable part of our week for the students. It means a lot to see parents, siblings, former teachers, office staff, and other school employees surprise them for a special reading visit. Most recently, we had Logan's mother, Mrs. Cruz come in and read wonderful stories about the fall. Mrs. Peterson, Pacifica School District's Chief Business Official, came in to read Do Like Kyla to the students.

Last week, we were fortunate to have Angelina's mother, Mrs. Patane, come in and read a wonderful story about thanksgiving to the class. We are very fortunate to have readers all around us who teach us that books are important to them as well. Thank you Mystery Readers!

Finishing Touches

2009-11-14T10:16:00.000-08:00

Our Art/Social Studies time has been spent putting the finishing touches on our animal masks. Students carefully added cardboard pieces, egg cartons, more newspaper, and aluminum foil to create 3-D animal masks. They were very busy adding final newspaper layers and painting up a storm. The pictures of the masks you see here were taken before students painted the eyes. Be sure to come and see the finished bear, snake, dolphin, crab, raccoon, otter, horse, owl, and rabbit masks in our classroom!

**Special thanks to Angelique and Christina for bringing in fur material and feathers for our project** A special thank you to all the parents who have recently brought in pencils, prizes, stickers, baby food jars, and a brand new pencil sharpener (Thank you Melanie!).

Problem of the Month: Palindromes

2009-11-14T10:04:00.000-08:00

First graders, second graders, and third graders worked together this week on our Problem of the Month (POM). The POM is broken up into different levels, starting with Level A and then getting progressively more challenging. Level A's task was to come up with different equations which equaled four, eight, and twelve. Students worked in pairs to write down equations. They worked very well as teams, noticing the pattern relationships that the equations had. We found out that there are 5 different equations you can make to add up to 4, there are 9 different equations you can make to add up to 8, and there are 13 different equations you can make to add up to 12. Do you notice the pattern? Students also discovered that when listing the different equations there is a number order to the digits. Can you see any other patterns?

0+8

1+7

2+6

3+5

4+4

5+3

6+2

7+1

8+0

Third graders did a fantastic job teaching second graders about Level B which introduced students to two-digit subtraction. Way to go Vallemar students!

Totem Animal Masks- November

2009-11-03T11:37:00.000-08:00

Over the next few weeks will be learning about Native Americans' customs, rituals, and focusing on a unit about totem poles. Each student is in the process of choosing an animal that represents them. This is based on the different meanings associated with the animal. For example, an otter represents kindness and a bear represents strength. We began creating our paper mache masks this week. If you have any extra cardboard tubes, aluminum foil, or flat pieces of cardboard lying around we would love to have them.

It Feels like Fall!

2009-11-02T19:28:00.000-08:00

Students and their families did a fantastic job on the Fall Houses. Each house was unique and individual to each student. There were castles, spooky houses, fall houses, and more. Parents joined us on Thursday morning to take a look at the fun details that were added to the houses. Great job students!

The Halloween Parade was a blast on Friday as students marched around the courtyard and upper playground. The day was filled with fun, treats, and Charlie Brown! As much fun as Halloween is, it was nice to come to class on Monday after the sugar rush was finished and get back into our normal routine.

Examining Different Kinds of Soil

2009-10-24T16:18:00.000-07:00

C-1 scientists discussed what they already knew about soil and learned about the importance of different types this past week. Students formed small groups to feel the contents of four different mystery bags. They needed to use words adjectives like coarse, bumpy, smooth, fine, and rough to describe the texture of the contents. They discussed what type of soil it could be and Mrs. Carroll revealed the contents of each bag leaving the groups to verify their guess. At four different science centers, students used hand lenses to examine the color and texture of clay soil, topsoil, sandy soil, and rocky soil. We will continue to work on our second science unit of the year, Earth's Materials, throughout the next month.

Star of the Week Really Shines

2009-10-24T16:10:00.000-07:00

B. was a WONDERFUL Star of the Week! She did an excellent job presenting her poster and taught us many new things that we didn't know about her. She loves rock climbing, American Girl, and Chinese food! On Thursday, her parents joined her and her brother for a special lunch- Colombo's sandwiches. This certainly was a fun week for her!

Mystery Readers

2009-10-24T16:07:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Niehaus, Mrs. Callister and Mrs. Carroll's mom and dad came to read to C-1 over the past two weeks. Mrs. Niehaus gave a theatrical reading of The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. Mrs. Callister donned her pirate scarf, boots, and earrings for the reading of How I Became a Pirate. Finally, Mrs. Carroll's mom and dad had a chance to meet the students that Mrs. Carroll has been talking to them so much about. The students really loved Seven Silly Eaters! All of the readers did a wonderful job!

Fire Safety Week

2009-10-09T17:00:00.000-07:00

It was an honor to have local heroes, Pacifica Fire Department firefighters, lead a fire safety assembly this week. All three second grade classes listened attentively as the firefighters discussed what to do in case of an emergency. This is a great time to develop or remind your children about your family's safety plan, Where should you meet in case of an emergency?
For more information about creating a family plan visit Sparky the Fire Dog.
*Remember to change your smoke detector batteries during every Daylight Saving Time.   Next DST: November 1st**

Mystery Reader #2

2009-10-09T16:46:00.000-07:00

We had a former C-1 student and big sister of a current student come to our class on Thursday! As the Mystery Reader clues were read aloud to the class her little sister's smile kept growing and growing. The door opened and she came in to read to our class. There was no surprise that she did a fantastic job reading to the students!

Star of the Week

2009-10-09T16:40:00.000-07:00

We had our very first Star of the Week and what a STAR she was! The week kicked off with a presentation of her favorite doll, book, and poster of photos. She read aloud from Junie B. Jones on Tuesday. Thursday was a special treat because her mom joined her for lunch and brought food from her favorite place, McDonald's. Finally, she received a friendship poster filled with compliments written by her classmates. We really enjoyed getting to know her better and celebrating her week!

Mystery Reader #1... Ofelia

2009-10-05T19:25:00.000-07:00

Vallemar parent, Ofelia, was our first Mystery Reader of the year! Mrs. Carroll had both of her sons as second grade students and has a special place in her heart for Ofelia and her family. She did a wonderful job reading Abiyoyo. Her props and theatrical presence enchanted the students and they unanimously decided that she should return... but next time to teach Japanese. She is a parent of many talents. Thank you for joining us as Mystery Reader, Ofelia!

Public Speaking, Here We Come!

2009-09-27T17:35:00.001-07:00

Take a look at C-1's Donor Choose project!

Public Speaking, Here We Come!

Posted using ShareThis

Seed Notebooks

2009-09-24T18:04:00.000-07:00

During the past several weeks, the students have been learning rituals and routines in Writer's Workshop. Today really sparked everyone's interest because Writer's Workshop helped their stories come to life. Armed with a bagful of photos, students proudly cut, glued, and decorated their very own Seed Notebooks. The notebooks will be a special place where their stories will unfold throughout the year. Learning the writer's craft through class mini-lessons will help add shape, voice, and technique to their writing. Encourage your child to think of weekend experiences as stories to add to their Seed Notebook. Students may also keep a notebook at home to jot down experiences on the weekend. No story is too small! From trips and birthdays to dinners at home with family, we learn so many "seeds" can be turned into marvelous stories!

Take a look at photos of Team C-1 sharing their wonderful photos.

Germs, Bacteria, and Viruses... Oh My!

2009-09-19T09:35:00.000-07:00

Team C-1 has been busy working as young scientists studying our first science unit: What Makes Me Sick? We have learned that bacteria and viruses cause colds, flus, and chicken pox. Germs spread easily, so having good health habits is very important. Coughing into our arm, using tissues, and washing our hands help us prevent the spread of germs. During the past three science lessons we have: made clay models of bacteria and viruses, used spray bottles to demonstrate how sneeze spray can travel very far, and made germ catchers. On Thursday and Friday, we made our germ catchers to model how mucus (in our case, Vaseline) traps dust which contains germs. Students observed their card with Vaseline and we noted what we saw. After making predictions of what the card would look like on Day 2, we observed small insects and dirt particles trapped in our germ catchers. Talk about a sticky way to show the powerful job of mucus!

Go Team C-1!

2009-09-05T11:15:00.000-07:00

This week we kicked off a wonderful start to second grade! The first week of school has really focused on creating a community and getting to know each other better.
Several projects that we worked on were: All About Me T-Shirts, name mobiles, and self-portraits. We launched into reader's workshop and the new Envisions math series, focusing on addition and subtraction strategies. Students are learning new math vocabulary: sum, difference, subtraction sentences, joining, and whole. In reader's workshop, we have been working on routines of good reading. Reading is thinking and it's important to not disturb your neighbor while reading. During each workshop, students have a different book nook, or quiet place for reading. After the daily mini-lesson, which focuses on a comprehension strategy, students read quietly while I work with guided reading groups.

We had a "ribbon" (yarn) cutting ceremony for our classroom library grand opening! Students went book shopping in the classroom library and are learning how to pick "just right books". "Just Right" books should fit you like a comfortable shirt. They are not too big and difficult to understand. They are not too small by being too easy and quick to read. Take a look at one of our students modeling easy, challenging, and just right shirts.

            Summer in a Bag presentations were fantastic! Each student brought a bag filled with items that represented the different things they did this summer. Students wrote a description of each item on index cards and presented these objects in front of the class. Students were told to practice the night before and on presentation day they did an excellent job projecting their voices and making eye contact with the audience.
            Be sure to review the homework packet that was sent home on Friday. The cover assignment sheet describes daily assignments. Homework is sent home on Fridays and due the following Friday. Enrichment pages are optional but encouraged. Your child should be spending no longer than thirty minutes working on homework (this excludes nightly reading).
            If you have any questions please feel free to email me at: kcarroll@pacificasd.org. I will go over classroom routines at Back-to-School Night on September 15th. I am looking forward to a wonderful year with you and your children!