I am Learning to add Detail to my Writing.

Room 8 has been learning how to add detail into our writing to make it more interesting. We can think about the questions: Who? What? Where? When? How? and Why? to help us add this detail.
We have recently started swimming again and chose this shared experience to write about.

We went to the pool and we did jump jam. I thought my watch was lost but I didn't care. It was an hour. It was amazing. We did jump jam for an hour. The best part was free swimming for 3 minutes. When we got out it was cold.

My Reflection

I think that I did a good job of my writing because it is really long and I tried hard to add detail. It is tricky to add detail because it's hard to think of different things really fast. It is important to add detail to writing because it makes it longer and more interesting.

I am Learning to Solve Subtraction Problems by Counting back from the Largest Number.

I am in Toru for maths and we have been learning how to solve subtraction problems by counting back from the largest number. We started with single digit numbers and moved on to double digit numbers.

My Reflection

I think that I did an amazing job of counting backwards. It is easy to solve subtraction problems by counting back. It can be tricky when the numbers are bigger. 

I am Learning to Find Information from a Text.

I am in Thumper Group for Reading. I am Reading at Green Level 14. We have been learning how to find information from a text.  We read the nonfiction book Cats and made a mind map to show the different facts that we learned.

My Reflection

I think that I did good to find different facts about cats. It is kind of tricky to find facts in books because you have to turn a million pages. I liked reading about cats because they are cute!

I am Learning to Draw Patterns.

Room 8 made flower headbands for the Term 4 Wearable Arts Show. We copied and created new patterns to put onto the different petals. We worked hard on our art and had a lot of fun making and displaying it.

I am Learning to Recognise and Read Long Vowel Sounds and Silent E.

I am in Max group for reading. We are at the green reading level. We have been learning about long vowel sounds and how a silent e can change the vowel sound in different words.

Success Criteria:

- correctly identify words with long vowel sounds and silent e.

- correctly identify the long vowel sound in the words.

- read words with and without the silent e and notice the difference.

My Reflection
I think that I did a good job reading the words with long vowel sounds.
I find it pretty easy to read long vowel sounds in stories.
It can be tricky to read a word without the silent e first and then change it with the silent e.

I am Learning to Ride my Wheels Safely.

Room 8 has recently taken part in Wheels Day. We were able to bring our bikes, scooters, skateboards or other 'wheels' to school. It was great to see all of the different ways that we can get around besides driving. It was important to wear our safety gear and act sensibly. We all had a fun time!

I am Learning to Identify 2D and 3D Shapes.

In Room 8 we have been learning about Geometry. We have looked at different 2D and 3D shapes and their different parts. We learned that shapes have different numbers of sides, faces, edges and corners of vertices.

We had a lot of fun making monsters out of different shapes!

My Reflection
I like him because he has seven eyes. He is a rectangle and if he was 3D he would be a rectangular prism. I found geometry hard because you have have to remember all of the different names of shapes. It is easier to count the sides and corners of 2D shapes than 3D shapes. If you stare at a drawing of a 3D shape it looks like it moves and changes!

I am Learning to Write a Cinquain Poem.

In Room 8 we have been learning how to write a cinquain poem. These poems have a special order that the words have to be put in. We have practiced writing cinquains in our writing books and published our most recent poems on Spring.

Success Criteria:

- All words must relate to the topic.

- The second line must contain two adjectives.

- The third line must contain three verbs with an -ing ending.

- The fourth line must be a four word sentence about Spring.

Spring

New, amazing

Zooming, running, jumping

Hot at the beach

Sunny

My Reflection

I found it hard to write a cinquain poem because you have to think of a four word sentence.

It was easiest to write the adjectives to describe spring.

I like my poem because it is about Spring and I used some interesting words.

I am Learning to Use Punctuation Properly.

Last week we celebrated Matariki with a pyjama and breakfast morning at school!

It was lots of fun and gave us good ideas to write about. Our focus in writing has been on using different types of punctuation correctly.

I need to:

- Use at least two different types of punctuation.

- Use the punctuation in a way that makes my writing more interesting.

- Put the punctuation in the right places.

This morning we had Matariki breakfast at school! We wore pjs and watched a movie. It was fun!

My Reflection

I think that I used exclamation marks well.

It is sometimes tricky to use punctuation marks because it is hard to know where to put them.

Next time I could try to use different types of punctuation, like question marks.

I am Learning to Say Before and After Numbers to 20.

I am in Toru group for maths. We have been learning to say before and after numbers in the range from 1 to 20.

I need to:

- be able to count forwards and backwards from 20.

- know what number comes before a number within the range 1 - 20.

- know what number comes after a number within the range 1 - 20.

My Reflection
I think that I did good. I found it easy.
I think it is easier to say the after numbers because it is like counting.
I think I could say before and after numbers for numbers that are bigger than 20.

I am Learning to Recognise Contractions.

I am in Max group for Reading, we are working at Green level. We have been learning to recognise and read contractions.

I need to:

- read contractions correctly

- understand that they are a shortened version of two words

- match a contraction with the words they are short for

My Reflection
It is easy to match them because contractions are short for the words.
It can be tricky to match them because sometimes the contractions look like a different word.
If I got stuck with contractions in class I could ask a friend next to me.

I am Learning to Try New Things

We took part in a trial soccer clinic. We learned a new game called 'Shark Attack' and played a game of soccer in a big blow up field! The message of the lesson was to try new things and give it a go even if you feel nervous.

Success Criteria:

- take part in the games

- treat peers and team mates with respect and be a good sport

- have fun!

I am Learning to Float with an Aid

Room 8 has been visiting the school pool on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. We have been learning to be safe in the water and using this time to gain confidence and to enjoy being in the water.

To be able to float in the water with an aid I must be able to:

- feel comfortable getting my face and hair wet

- use a pool noodle correctly (under my armpits)

- keep my feet off of the ground

My Reflection

I am proud of how I can float on my back with the pool noodle.

It can be tricky to swim underwater all the way across the pool.

I like being in the water because we get to play with the noodles.

I am Learning to Chunk Words

I am in Max group for reading. We have been learning how to chunk words to make them easier to sound out and read.

I need to:

- look for parts of words (chunks) that I know to help me read new words.

My Reflection

I am proud of how I knew where to cut the words so that they were in chunks.

It is easy to cut the words.

It can be tricky to chunk up the big words.

I am Learning to Read a Bar Graph and Answer Questions

I am learning to read a bar graph and answer questions

I need to:

*read the question

*read the data (information) on the graph

*identify the lowest (fewest) and highest (most) bars

*read the quantities

*compare the data on the graph

*answer questions about the data (information) on the graph

My Reflection

I am proud of how I could see what bars were biggest and smallest easily.

It can be tricky to know what number the bars are up to when they are in the middle of two numbers.

Next time I can ask someone next to me for help.

I am Learning to use Capital Letters and Full Stops

I am learning to use capital letters correctly:

I use a capital letter at the beginning of a sentence.

I use a capital letter for the word ‘I.’

I use a capital letter for names of things.

I am learning to use full stops correctly:

I use a full stop at the end of a sentence.

My name is Thomas. I have a brother. And my favourite colour is red.

My Reflection

I used full stops and capital letters really well. I found some parts tricky because there are full stops and capital letters everywhere. Next time I could make my writing better by writing more.

Welcome to Year 2 2018

Welcome to my Learning Journey for 2018.

I am in Year 2, Room 8 and my teacher is Miss Clegg.