Week 17

 Dear Parents,

        This week in math we began a new unit on place value and comparing and ordering numbers to 1,200. We looked at number lines counting by 1’s and added the missing numbers. We then placed numbers on an open number line by first finding the midpoint. Then we compared two numbers as greater than, less than or equal to. On Friday we finished up by ordering numbers from greatest to least or least to greatest.

          In the reading/writing  combined unit this week we learned about facts and opinions as we read What’s Cool to Read. This was a nonfiction writing that had both facts and opinions about a book that a student thought everyone should read. They  were then tasked to write their own book review. We also read a nonfiction piece about . we began a new unit called effects of wind and water.  We then took a comprehension check in which the students used the text to be word detectives to answer the questions.

           In science we started a new unit called effects of wind and water. We set up our unit and went on a scavenger hunt to see if we could notice effects in our school yard.

          On Friday we had a fun filled day! Our Spirit squad members went from room to room singing and cheering! We had Polar Express Day. We drank hot chocolate and ate popcorn as we watched it in our PJs, withy our favorite stuffy and having our shoes off! Those were three of our Boosterthon incentives. Next week we will have tech time, an extra recess and free time! Thank you for participating in our Boosterthon fundraiser!

 

• Next week is Swim Week, Mon.- Thursday. Look in your child’s Coyote Folder for two important Letters. Both are also attached. One is what to wear to school on Monday as well as what to bring in a large bag. The other is about coming to observe the swim class on Wednesday. You will first check in at CRE, then drive yourself to the pool. You will be let in at 10:15. The letter has the address of the pool.

Week 16

 Dear Parents,

           This week in math we continued learning about division. We had a total number of cupcakes and had to place them in boxes. We also solved problems where we had a total number, we knew how many cupcakes were in each box, but did not know how many boxes we had. We solved division as repeated subtraction as well. We had a review of odd and even numbers and then took our assessment on Friday. Our favorite activity was when we listened to The Doorbell Rang and used Cookie Crisp Cereal to divide the 12 cookies amongst the children who kept reading the doorbell.

            In reading and writing we read Wilma Rudolph Against All Odds. We learned about nonfiction text features. We analyzed a prompt and will be writing about how Wilma was a leader and  we will give an example that supports that premise. We also took a comprehension check on Wednesday.

            In science we finished up graphing our weather for 8 days, learned more about severe weather and took our unit assessment on Friday. We also are working on winter projects. Our room is beginning to look festive! We have a special gift and card we will be giving you right before winter break! The children are so proud of the work they are doing. 

             We also have a surprise visitor in our room. It is an elf who is looking for kindness. When he sees it, he leaves a note and then moves around the room for a little mischief. If anyone would like to write a note from our elf telling his name and where he has come from. Also what kinds of kind things he’s looking for in the room such as children helping with cleaning up their area, or making sure someone knows directions, or holding a door or whatever else you would like to write. First one who contacts me can be our elf!

 

*We did an amazing job of collecting money through Boosterthon. Our class has raised over $1,400 for our school. I appreciate your support! A huge thank you to Thuytien Vu for volunteering to decorate our door for the holidays! It looks amazing! A big thank you also goes out to Jennifer Speer for being our next parent to sharpen all our classroom pencils for the next 6 weeks! I appreciate all you do to partner with me to ensure your children love learning and growing at Coyote Ridge.

Week 14

 Dear Parents, 

        This week in math we finished up measuring to the nearest inch, foot, yard, centimeter and meter! We took our assessment on Friday. We have had lots of fun practice as we measured things around the room, measured different paths that had many parts and figured out the difference between two paths!

         In writing we worked on a special gift for you that they will be bringing home before our Fall break. We also are working on editing, revising and writing final copies of our imaginative stories. This process takes longer as the children try to take over most of their own editing and revising!

          In reading we read a Scholastic News article about Veterans, took a district reading check point independently, read Rabbit’s Snow Dance  , two dramas, and Hollywood Chicken  as we reinforced the skills author’s purpose, story structure, create mental images, and figurative language! We had lots of valuable discussions about these stories and skills as we filled out graphic organizers.

           In science we began our unit on weather. We are learning to measure temperature on a thermometer, and read a rain gauge. We are tracking our weather on a chart for 8 days!

Week 13

 Dear Parents,

        This week in math we have been busy measuring with nonstandard units ( paperclips, blocks) and standard units ( inches, feet, yards, centimeters and meters. We have been estimating the sizes of objects with these standard units, then checking to see how close they were.

         In writing we worked on Veteran acrostic poems. We will give these to the Veterans on Monday as we made copies. We also are continuing to edit and revise our imaginative stories. Some have even started their final copies!

         In social studies we have learned about our government at the city, state and country levels. We have created a flip book about who our leaders are, what they do and where they work. 

          In science we have been having fun learning about magnets- how they can push and pull with their magnetic fields. We dug for buried treasure to find objects that are magnetic. We realized that some metal objects stick to a magnet, but they have to have iron in them. Aluminum and coper do not stick to magnets. We also found that wooden, plastic and rubber items were also nonmagnetic! We finished doing a magnetic/nonmagnetic sort!

            Thank you for all the wonderful conversations during conferences about your kiddos! It was so nice to share his/her learning with you! If there is anything I can do to help you partner with me to help your child, please don’t hesitate to call or e-mail me!

Week 12

 Dear Parents,

            This week in math we finished up our unit on time and area. We took our assessment and also did some fun math activities with fruit snacks. We also started our unit on nonstandard units of measure.

             In writing we had several lessons such as show, don’t tell emotions and character traits, writing sentences of varying lengths, adding details, and describing gestures. The students were challenged to use at least two of these in their writing. We are revising and editing by ourselves, Ms. Carpenter and with a partner. Next week we will take them to final copy.

             In reading we took a reading checkpoint independently. This was not for a grade. We teaching skills to independently read/listen to a story, take notes about each paragraph, find our answers in the text and write where we found them. We are learning the difference between folktales and Fairy Tales. We listened to several of each. We used graphic organizers to learn more about  chosen stories. We learned about story structure and filled out a graphic organizer about Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs. 

              In science we continued to learn about force and motion as we blew up a balloon, played tug-o-war and blew bubbles. We know that a force can be a push or a pull.

Week 11

 Dear Parents,

        We had an exciting week this week as it was Red Ribbon Week. We saw a Magician who captivated us! Thank you PTA. We also had the Wonder Wagon visit our school! We had a wonderful time doing a STEM activity! Thank You Mrs. Speer, Mrs. Pugh and Mrs. Dulin for volunteering and helping our class!

        In Math this week our focus was telling time to the hour, half hour, quarter hour, 5-minute increments and to the minute. Please help reinforce this skill at home as our assessment is next week! It has been very hard for some, but I think we are getting the hang of it!

       In writing we mapped out our imaginative story after choosing a character, setting and event. We began writing our rough drafts. We will revise, edit and publish next week! I can’t wait to read these stories. Your children have quite the imaginations!

          In reading we read Serious Farm and came up with the central idea as we filled out a graphic organizer together. We also read Gingerbread for Liberty and took a very difficult comprehension check. They powered through and did their BEST!

           In science we began our unit on force and motion. We set up our unit, went over our vocabulary and we had an exploration with a marble and some play do. We also had a wonderful STEM Challenge with Super K and her Wonder Wagon. We had 50 Legos to use to build a strong, tall and sturdy structure! It has been a great week!

 

Dear Parents, ( I only have three parents who have not signed up. Remember, I can do a phone conference if needed.)

         It’s time to sign up for Fall Conferences. Click on the link below to get to my sign up Genius. When signing up, please let me know if you would prefer an in person conference or a phone conference in the comment section. If you could, please type your name and your child’s name in the comment box as well. I have a lot of beginning of  year testing information to share with you and prefer that we meet in person in my room, however, if you cannot meet in person I will do my best to update you over the phone. If none of the times provided meet your schedule, please let me know and we will work something out.

 

Link to Sign up Genius:

 

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0B4CAFA82AA02-52527137-fall 

 

Week 10

 Dear Parents,

         This week in math we finished up our unit on two digit subtraction with and without regrouping. Most of the class is solid in this ski8ll, but a few students could use some extra practice at home. 1 or 2  problems a night could really help your child. On Friday we practiced both addition and subtraction with and without regrouping. It can be confusing for them to switch back and forth.

          In writing we are wrapping up our individual narrative writings and we will be beginning our imaginative stories next week. They love to write fiction! They will choose a setting, character, problem and solution!

         In reading we learned the skills of themes and reinforced what we knew about point of view. We also read a Scholastic News about Smokejumpers and answered questions for a grade. When these graded papers come home, it is helpful if you go over what your child missed with them and where to find the information. We read the story together and discuss all the important information. Right now I am guiding them very much as we do these. We examine the questions, decide what’s asking and if the answer can be found in the text. We find the paragraph together , then they read by themselves to find the answer. 

         In science we continued our unit on sound and met with a group to plan like an engineer to solve a problem. The groups selected their materials and began to build their devices. We also had a Pumpkin Science day where we learned about the growth and parts of a pumpkin. We estimated the weight, diameter, and height of the pumpkin. We opened it up and estimated the number of seeds. I took the seeds home, washed and dried them so we could have a taste of raw pumpkin seeds and roasted ones. There were 445 Seeds!

• Congratulations to Fabian and  Nevaeh for being recognized at our Recognition Rally!

 

                 * Can’t wait to see you at the Fall Festival tonight!

 

*I will be sending out a  Fall Conference sign up Genie on Sunday. I can’t wait to talk to you about how we can partner together to best serve your child.

Week 9

 Dear Parents,

       This week in math we have been working hard on learning two digit subtraction, with and without regrouping. Thank you for your support at home and working with your child. This is always confusing at first, but we’re getting it! 

        In writing your children have taken off by planning his/her individual narrative writing project. The children are excited to write about their experiences and are doing an excellent job so far. We also have learned about nouns, Proper Noun s, plural/ singular nous and abbreviations! 

         In Social Studies/ reading we read Big Red Lollipop and took a comprehension check. We discussed how the story was written in first person. We also discussed what it means for a story to be written in  third person .We listened to The Compromise Kid video and discussed how we can compromise when we are having a disagreement. We used words like compromise, decision, and disagreement. We talked about antonyms and synonyms for these words. In science we continued with our unit on sound. We used tuning forks to see and feel vibrations. We talked about volume as loud or quiet sounds. We listened for low or high pitches and talked about how the sound waves differ for those pitches. We read and highlighted an article about sound. On Thursday, we put together a book about sound, highlighted it and glued it in our science notebooks.

Week 8

 Dear Parents,

      In math this week we began two digit subtraction with and without regrouping. At first they confuse it with the addition we have been doing, but practicing at home will help with this transition. The class is getting more independent with their problem solving skills each morning!

      In writing we wrapped up our class project about the first day of school and published it! We are very proud of the writing we did together. We are looking forward to launching our individual narratives next week.

       In reading and social studies we read a story, thought about the words, read questions and decided the best answers to those questions. We went back to the text to prov e our answers. We went back to the story and highlighted words that described sea stars. We figured out the author’s purpose for writing the story. Soon we will be taking these assessments on our own. We read Being a Good Citizen  and figured out the author’s purpose in writing this story. We filled in a graphic organizer together. We began researching our book about Texas Symbols and worked hard filling in missing information, writing sentences and drawing pictures.

        In science we began our investigations about our new unit, Sound Energy. We listened to what happened when we strummed a rubber band on  a box with a hole cut in the top. We predicted how it would sound when we made the rubber band tighter. We realized that sound energy causes vibrations. We also used a drum to make vibrations. We wrote about our observations in our science notebooks.

Action Items

• We have only three days left for stuff the pantry- see below items that can be brought to school. We have not had any donations in our class.
• Thank you Madeline and family for bringing in more individual bags of goldfish!
• We still need a few more pumpkins on our vine!
• Cultural dolls are due Oct. 15^th- see below
• Please send in $3.00 for our Fall festival grade level basket for the silent auction

Week 7

 Dear Parents,

            In math this week we continued adding two digit numbers with and without regrouping. We also added number strings which is adding four two digit numbers. In problem solving we focused on the two step problems. They were working very hard and earned many sparkly stars for their charts. We are also getting charts filled up and are making trips to the treasure box. 

             In writing we began a class narrative about our first day of second grade. We are taking this paper through the process of brainstorming, writing our opening statement, organizing facts in chronological order, drafting our paper using the graphic organizer and writing a terrific closing sentence. We will be continuing this paper next week.

              In reading/ social studies we watched as the teacher took an assessment, thought through each question, and went back to the text to fin d the answers. Wev listened to the important Book and wrote our own page for a class book. We read the story Spoon and focused on the author’s purpose for writing the story. On Thursday, we celebrated Johnny Appleseed’s birthday as we read about his life and mapped his travels. We also tasted apples, dried apples, freeze dried apples, Apple Jacks cereal and, had apple Juice. Thank you to those of you who sent in he apples! 😊

             In science we have been reading about combining Matter. We had the task of choosing materials to build a boat, writing a plan to build, then building our boat. We tested them to see if they could float.

              *  A Big thank you to the Luu family for sending in Goldfish for our class members who do not have a snack! 

              * There is an electronic newsletter attached. A paper copy will be sent home Monday!

               We had a GREAT Field Day! Thank you to all the parents that came and cheered us on! We were really good sports and cheered for all our teammates!

Week 6

 Dear Parents,

         We began learning about adding with regrouping numbers. This is a very difficult skill mat first, but I promise I will teach and support your children until they understand. This is why we started math homework this week, for extra support. By Thursday they were ready for a challenge. They were to try 5 problems by themselves. Most gat all 5 correct, some 4, and some three. They are getting it. Sometimes it can take a couple weeks until they feel confident with this skill.

            In writing we wrote our BOY writing sample. We will see great growth in the MOY sample to the EOY sample. We use a rubric to rate the level as a draft, but then will take this piece to final copy.

             In reading/ social studies we focused mainly on social studies as we learned about our rights as citizens. We celebrated Constitution Day, and learned all about its purpose, who , where and when it was written. I was born on Constitution Day! It was a big birthday for me, so lots of fun things happened that day. I appreciated all the kind notes and gifts. We tied in research by researching some of the famous Americans who signed the Constitution. We also researched 4 American Symbols.

           In science we had several fun learning activities as we changed the physical properties of matter as we cut, bent, broke, sanded and melted matter. We recorded those changes in our science notebooks. Part of these activities was creating a paper airplane. Congratulations to Parker who came in first place and Nicholas who came in second place for their planes flying the greatest distances.

Week 5

 Dear Parents,

         In math this week we worked on base 10 relationships to 120. We had an assessment on recognizing our coins both front and back. We learned the addition strategy for doubles and near doubles. We also practiced adding our addends to get the sum. We played make ten, go fish. We learned how to use two or more numbers to make 10. The first person get rid of his/her cards won! This is a higher level game for some with lots of mental math and encourages automaticity of our math facts. We continue to work on our problem solving strategies with a BME, or beginning, middle, and end chart of the problem. This helps fill in the number sentence so we can solve the problem. On Friday we celebrated Dot Day by creating fun Dot activities. We also created an orchard of trees which showcased our base ten relationship skills. 

     In reading and social studies, we read The Great Fuzz Frenzy  and made connections. We read The Dogs of Bedlam Farm and created a class book. We read WE Are Good Citizens and answered some comprehension questions. We watched a Brainpop Jr. about Community Helpers. On Friday We read more Dot books and created Dot drawings. We also made a dot writing about kindness.

       In writing we learned about using a word wall and a sound wall to help us write. We continued working on our books and some started their second one! We took two days to learn about Patriot’s Day and write an acrostic poem about PEACE. On Friday we focused on using our dictionary to look up words to spell or to know the definitions.

Week 4

 Dear Parents,

 

      In math this week we continued practicing building and decomposing numbers to the hundreds place. We practiced our word form, standard form, model and expanded form. A practice page we did together went home on Thursday in the blue folder. We added 10 more to a number or took away ten from a number.These skills will be tested on Monday.

       In language we continued wring our books, practiced our handwriting, and learned how to be brave spellers, by stretching our words and writing the sounds we hear. We are using our spelling dictionaries, alphabet chart and consonant cluster chart to help us use our sounds correctly.

        In reading we read Picture Day Perfection, talked about the character’s external and internal traits, and took a comprehension check. We also read a Scholastic News and answered questions about the article. The main idea of the article was how to strengthen your brain!

         In science we began our new unit on The Properties of Matter. We are learning to classify objects by their physical properties. We set up the unit in our notebook and did our first hands on activity. We learned that spaghetti noodles and markers are not flexible, but rubber bands and pipe cleaners are!

          It was a short week, but we accomplished a lot of learning! Have a wonderful weekend with your families!

 

Week 3

 Dear Parents,

       In math this week we focused on Base Ten Relationships to 120. We started Money Monday. This is our practice on counting money. Please start counting coins with your children. We always start with the coin with the largest value and go to the coins that have the smallest value. If a quarter, three pennies, a dime and two nickels were on a desk, we would line them up in this order: 1 quarter, 1dime, 2 nickels, 3 pennies. We would count up underneath the coins by adding the next amount to each coin. Example 25, 35, 40, 45, 46, 47, 48. Those coins equal 48 cents. This skill takes time to master for some students and your help is appreciated. We also started Time Tuesday. On this day we practice reading time. Right now we are only doing time to the hour and the half hour. We also kept practicing writing our numbers in standard form, model, expanded form and word form. I am so proud of my second graders!

       In writing we focused on finishing our beginning, middle and end three sentence writing. We began our first book using authors as mentors. We looked at books written by David Shannon, Mo Willems, Lois Ehlert, and Steven Kellogg. We are very excited about our books.

      In reading we learned about setting as time and place and connected it to why the setting is important to the story. We read Clark the Shark and took a comprehension check. We read a scholastic News about manners. We began a Manner’s Poster. We learned about internal and external traits of characters.. We read Violet the Piolet and talked about her character traits. We filled out a graphic organizer with the story details: characters, title, author, setting, beginning, middle and end.

        In science we learned about what engineers do and why they do them. We talked about the difference between a scientist and an engineer. We practiced our science vocabulary cards and took our unit checkpoint. We set up our second unit in our science notebooks. We also took a BOY science assessment to see what your child remembers from first grade.

        We went to the Library on Thursday. This will be our weekly day to go. Please have Library books back in your child’s backpack each Thursday so they can check out new books.

          I will give your child 3 new books on his/ her level on Tuesday. On holidays your child will not need to fill out the reading log. Our beginning of year testing should conclude by the end of next week. We then will begin reading Groups the following weeks. Books will not come home until after we have read them in group and had lessons over decoding the words. I will leave three books in the bookbag at all times. These should be used for the reading logs for children reading books that are levels 12 or 18. This will reinforce our group lessons and ensure their progress in reading. The level on the books is usually on the back of the book in the top corner. Students reading leveled books 28 or 30 can choose a book from home or read the books I provide. Lease make sure these book bags stay in your child’s backpack. They will bring them back to school every day.

Week 2

 Dear Parents,

            This week in math we focused on the place values of tens and ones. We used coins and place value blocks to build numbers. We then learned to draw the pictures of coins and place value blocks to represent two digit numbers. We had our first graded quiz over this skill. We then used what we learned to solve word problems drawing coins or place value blocks. On Friday we learned how to fill in our number grid. We will do one of these forms every Friday.  This form helps the children represent numbers in standard form, word form, expanded form and model it with blocks. The place values of the numbers we put on it will increase as the year progresses. In second grade, we do numbers up to 1,200.

             In reading we began learning how to be independent during guided reading groups. Right now we have not begun groups as I am conducting individualized testing. Your child may go to the classroom library to bring books home until we begin reading groups and they have on level books. The entire class took their reading and math istation tests. We continued reading and learning about good citizenship as we read Good Citizens from our reading book. We read Our Class is a Family and created a book about our class family.

             In writing we learned the steps of the writing process. We brainstormed ideas, read books to get ideas, and wrote topics that were close to our heart. I introduced our spelling dictionaries that will be used to help with our writing. We are learning to think it, picture it and put it on paper!

             In science we learned what scientists do and who they are. Ask about our fun rotation from class to class learning about a geologist, a zoologist, and an ichthyologist. We finished writing about what scientist we may grow up to be. We also learned about our science safety rules. A paper went home about those rule. Please read this over with your child, both of you sign it and return it to school by Monday. If I haven’t received your child’s back, I will put another form in his/her blue folder. On Friday we took our science safety quiz.

               We had our 2^nd grade parent orientation last night. It was great seeing so many of you there. If you were unable to come, you can find a copy of a packet of information about 2^nd grade in your child’s Coyote Folder. You may also use the link Below to watch the presentation:

 

2^nd Grade Parent Orientation

 

I hope you all have a restful weekend with you families! Remember, no question is too small. If I can help you in any way, please let me know.

Week 1

 Dear Parents,

        What a great first week we had.  I absolutely adore your children. It is going to be a fantastic year. I look forward to partnering with you to help your child be well prepared for third grade. Please make sure your child brings a snack and a water bottle to school every day. If they forget a snack I do have a bin where they can get Goldfish or Cheezits. We do have nut allergies in our room, so if you donate any snacks, please check that they are nut free. I will be asking for donations when I run out of snacks. I bought over 100 snacks so they should last a while. We also had two parents donate snacks. Thank you Ashley Pugh and Jennifer Speer! You are making children happy in our room!

         In math we set up our notebooks and learned about intentional problem solving. We talked about what questions we ask each other as well as how to figure out what the problem is asking. We learned about our math boxes and the manipulatives we can use to help us solve problems. We also learned about using number lines, part/part/whole boxes and number sentences. Next week’s math is going to focus on counting groups of coins. Please practice with your child at home this weekend and all next week as that will be our math focus. This can be a difficult skill for second graders.

         In writing we compared the writing process to creating a playdo sculpture with brainstorming, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. We set up our writer’s notebook and wrote about our first day of school. We also brainstormed ideas that are close to our heart that we could use as topics for other writings. We copied a poem to show our handwriting at the beginning of the year. They grow so much in this area. And , yes- after winter break we learn cursive.

          In reading/social studies we learned about our gathering spot, how to turn and talk with a partner as well as good listening expectations. We created a class treatment agreement about how we as a class should treat one another. We talked about good manners and completed a matching sheet. We worked on our reading stamina and quiet independent reading while staying focused on our book. 

         On Monday we will begin our reading log. The students are to read 15 minutes every night , Monday-Thursday and mark it on the sheet found in their blue folder, behind their sticker chart. I check them each Friday.  For now they can read any books you have at home or take a book home from my classroom library. After assess their reading on istation and a few other district tests, I will put them in reading groups and leveled books will be coming home. I usually allow them to keep 3 books in their book bags before collecting one. Rereading books that they have already read is invaluable and builds confidence. These book bags will start going home on Monday. Please make sure the book bags stay in your child’s backpack so they come back to school every day. Your child should just take a book out to read it and then put it back in the book bag. Last, they fill out the chart in the blue folder. This blue folder should also stay in their backpack to come back to school every day.

        In science  we learned about what scientists do and who scientists are. We set up our notebooks and wrote about which scientist we’d like to be.

      

* There is a digital copy of our second grade newsletter attached to my weekly e-mail to you. I also gave you the Enrichment rotation. Please make sure your child wears tennis shoes on PE days. We are the green special each day. Additionally this week you can look below for general school information.

Please contact me with any questions. We will work together this year to help your child GLOW!

Weeks 36-37

 

Dear Parents, 

          This was our last full week of school- and our las class e-mail. It just seems like yesterday I met their shy, smiling faces at the door on the first day of school! My, has this year flown by as we had fun learning together!

           In math this week we finished up our unit on economics and took our last math test of the year. We now know how to make a deposit or a withdrawal, how to save or spend responsibly, and who is a consumer or producer. We also know how to be responsible as a person who loans or borrows something.

          In writing we all finished our animal reports and shared them with the class. It was so sweet to see how they praised each other on their excellent work as well as were using our knowledge about animals from science to have discussions about all the interesting facts that were shared.

           In reading we have been reading scholastic News articles to support our science unit on animal behaviors and environmental effects. We read Look Over There 

And Splash, Chomp, Yum!

           In science we finished our food chain unit and realized which parts of the food chains were producers and which were consumers. We then matched up puzzle pieces of animals, their environment and the effects of the environment on them. 

           I did not get a chance to thank all of you for all the special notes, flowers,  treats and gifts you sent in during Teacher Appreciation week. I felt VERY appreciated. The PTA had a surprise for us each day as well. We have such wonderful, supportive parents at our school. I am truly grateful.

            I always get a bit sad and nostalgic as the year comes to a close. It was truly my honor to have partnered with you this year to help your child be the best that he/she can be. This was such a creative, kind, loving group of learners. I will truly miss them. I look forward to seeing you one last time, next week at our awards ceremony:

   

      *The office has set up preregistration forms for parents attending the EOY Awards Ceremonies (May 22^nd at 9:40-10:30). This will help us have the visitor badges printed ahead of time, so parents aren’t waiting ( if you do not preregister be sure to bring your driver’s license): sign up by using this link:

 

2nd: https://forms.gle/JDgHJGhhjEP8qjDg9

Week 35

  Dear Parents,

      In math this week we have been doing math problems related to borrowing or spending. We have been counting money and counting how many weeks it takes to pay someone back. We have been talking about who is considered a responsible borrower and who would be considered an irresponsible borrower. We even talked about who we should choose to lend things to.

       In social studies/ reading we made a map of all the continents and oceans of the world. We learned about Cinco De Mayo and tried a tortilla. We also learned about Community Helpers. We made a flow chart to show the steps of how apples wind up on the shelves at our store.

       In writing we have been working very hard on our individual animal projects- some of us even finished! We are having so much fun researching and sharing the information with our classmates.

        In science we have been learning about animal food chains. We looked at 5 different habitats and the food chains we could see there. We read an article about animal food chains and who is a producer as well as a consumer. We even talked about decomposers! We are moving on to the next unit which is all about how environmental factors affect both animals and plants.

Week 34

 Dear Parents,

       This week in math we continued learning about pictographs and bar graphs. We read the title, learned to read the key, noticed if the numbers went up by 1’s, 2’s, 3’s 5’s or 10’s, and learned how to interpret the information to ask our own questions. We took our assessment on Friday.

       In Writing we finished up our class research paper on the Great White Shark. We worked on a special Mother’s Day Project – SHHHHHH. 😊  We began our individual research paper on our chosen animal. We are so excited to work independently to show what we’ve learned.

        In reading/social studies we learned about the rain forest and researched a toucan. We then made a directed drawing of this colorful bird. We did this project for Earth Day and Arbor Day. We read the story Sea Otter Pups and took a comprehension check. We also labeled and colored a map of North America.

        In science we finished reading about animals’ Behaviors and Characteristics and completed a puzzle as a group. We took our unit assessment and began our next unit called Food Chains.

       A BIG thank you to all the parents who contributed to our friendship fruit salad. The children enjoyed it and ate every bit of their large cup of fruit! We even had enough to share with another classroom who didn’t have enough. We showed what good friends we could be. We also had a friendship paper for which we went around looking for friends who liked or did different things. A friendship scavenger hunt! 

      Another big thank you to the parents who wrote the poem on our pillowcase, end of year project. It was greatly appreciated. The pillowcases will go home the last week of school.

       I can’t believe it is already May! Enjoy the weekend with your families.

Week 33

 Dear Parents,

           This week in math we took our district end of year Math CBA test. It covered the second grade TEKS taught this year. We began our unit on graphing. We are learning to read bar graphs and pictographs. We also are learning to tally answers to generated questions to create our own bar graphs.

          In writing we are continuing to write our class paper on the Great White Shark. They are really enjoying this project and cannot wait to start their individual papers. At the library this week they chose an animal for their individual research paper.

          In reading/social studies we learned all bout Earth Day and worked on several projects. We wrote a promise to the Earth, filled in a small book with blanks and drew illustrations. We also read a Scholastic News about How lollipops are made to go along with our study of producers and consumers.

         In science we have been learning all about animal characteristics such as eye shape and placement, the size of ears and limbs, and body coverings. We are realizing how all these characteristics help the animals survive in their habitats. We did hands on stations in which we listened to each other with two different sizes of ears, we looked through four different eyes, felt and observed body coverings and limbs, made animal tracks in sand and paddled like a duck in a tub of water. We had so much fun learning together!

Week 32

 Dear Parents,

         In math this week we finished up our unit on plane and 3-D shapes. We took our assessments on Thursday. This is a challenging unit as they needed to be able to count sides, edges, vertices, faces and know the names of these shapes. The last question on our assessment combined 2 3_D shapes and asked them to count the edges, vertices, and faces of the new 3-D shape. Getting this answer correct earned them a $10.00 Bonus. Congratulations to Carter and Olivia for getting the answer correct.

         In writing we finished up our procedural writing project, wrote our end of year writing sample to a nonfiction writing prompt, and began our new class project, writing a report about a Great White Shark! We learned they can be more than 20 feet long. When we lined up 20 rulers, they were amazed at the size!

         In reading/Social Studies we learned about the map skill of borders. We looked at the bordering states of Texas. We also read about consumers and producers and their definitions. We made a circle- rama to show what we learned. We learned about facts and opinions and opinions, did a whole class sort and wrote about our favorite facts. We also read the story The Best Habitat for me and filled out a graphic organizer for a grade.

         In science we began our unit on animals by talking about what we thought animals needed and did not need to survive, then put it on a T-chart. We chose an animal name from a bag, drew the animal and discussed how that animal’s physical characteristics help it survive. We looked at the eyes, ears, teeth, and skin examples to talk about these characteristics.

         Have a wonderful Weekend!

 

 

Dear parents of PreK – 2^nd grade students, 

 

State testing will begin soon across the district and state.  Our campus will be participating in STAAR testing on the following dates:

 April 24^th & 25^th  (Science); and May 2^nd&3^rd  (Mathematics).

This is a state mandated test. Because of the confidentiality and security of testing, please note campus adjustments to support staff and students: 

 

• NO VISITORS WILL BE ALLOWED ON CAMPUS ON THESE DATES and this includes no lunch visitors. Please ensure that your child has a proper lunch prior to the day starting to reduce lunch drop-offs. 

 

Please reach out to your child’s homeroom teacher if you have additional questions. We thank you for your support during this very important state assessment process. 

Sincerely, 

Mrs. Thompson (Asst. Principal & Testing Coordinator)

Week 31

 Dear Parents, 

      What an exciting day we had on Monday! In second grade we watched the live feed and watched as 3 different cities across America went into totality. When it was in totality here, we went to the door by our room and saw the darkness. We watched as the light of the sun shone again outside, but only saw the eclipse on live feed. It was a day to remember!

        In math we have been learning the names of our 3-D shapes, and  the number of faces, vertices, edges or flat surfaces they each have! We have been using 3-D shapes to help us count those faces, vertices, edges or flat surfaces. We have been comparing those solid figures and looking for real world objects that are those shapes.

        In writing we began our individual procedural papers. We drafted, revised for specific prepositions, edited and took them to final copy.

     In reading/social studies we continued on with our map skills. Knowing our directions on a map is an important skill. In reading we focused on eclipse pages, read a scholastic news on butterflies and took a comprehension check. We also learned more about goods and services and completed a sort. On Friday we read a Scholastic News called April Fools Insects and took another comprehension check.

          Science has been so exciting as well! We have watched our butterfly larvae eat, grow bigger and shed their skins. They are in the pupa stage safe inside their chrysalises, all except one. One caterpillar attached himself to the lid, but then never turned into a chrysalis. This was a good example how nature works. Some insects don’t survive. They are eaten or never go through full metamorphosis. We are watching and waiting for our adult butterflies! In the meantime we are learning vocabulary, watching interesting videos and reading about the stages in the life cycles of butterflies and grasshoppers.

Week 30

 Dear Parents,

         This week in math we have focused on plane shapes. We learned the names of all the polygons from triangles ( three sides, three vertices) to dodecagons (twelve sides, twelve vertices). A polygon is a closed two-D shape made up of an equal number of sides and vertices. It was really difficult to count the sides of a dodecagon, but we did it. Next we will learn how to draw these shapes.

          In writing , we finished up our class project on how to draw a crab and began our individual procedural papers. These will continue into next week. I can’t wait to read all the things my class knows how to do!

          In reading/social studies, we read two different versions of Jack and the Beanstalk. We compared them and took a comprehension check. We read and discussed informational pages on Making Good Choices together as a class. The students added the flip page to their journal to explain what earning, saving, and spending mean. On Friday we read the Scholastic News Article, “Something Big is Coming”. We are all excited about the solar eclipse!

        In Science our butterfly larvae arrived just in time for our new unit, Life Cycles of insects. We will be learning about the different stages in the life cycle of both a butterfly and a grasshopper. We will be watching as our butterfly larvae turn into a pupa and then an adult. This is such an exciting unit for our second graders!

Week 29

 Dear Parents,

              This week in math we finished our unit on fractions. We made a fraction book and started making our fractionpillar! We took our assessment on Wednesday. Our upcoming unit will be on two dimensional shapes.

              In writing we worked together on a procedural text. We wrote a how to draw a crab paper. We researched and wrote the materials list that someone would need to draw a crab. We thought out the steps using descriptive words and prepositions to explain to our readers. We drew step by step pictures to make it very clear. Next week we will write our individual procedural papers.

                In reading/ social studies we learned about wants and needs, watched a Brainpop Jr., and took a quiz. We read the story Jack and the Beanstalk , completed a story structure chart as a class and learned how to retell the story. We took our reading Checkpoint on Wednesday. On Thursday we had an egg hunt. In the eggs were directions for us to follow to complete a picture. It was so much fun finding the eggs! There may have been a little treat inside as well!

                 In science we did an experiment in which we had a “bee” visit flowers to pollinate them. We wrote down our observations in our science notebooks. We took our unit assessment on Wednesday over pollination and seed dispersal .

                Everyone has signed up for a conference! Your children are doing a great job so far. We finish up our student led conferences next Wednesday. Thank you for participating! Your children are very proud of all they have accomplished this year- and so am I!

Week 28

 Dear Parents,

    It was great to get back after spring break! We were all a bit tired, but we got right back into the swing of things. In math we began our unit on fractions. Our chant is: “The top number is the shaded, the bottom number is the parts.” The parts we are learning are halves, fourths and eighths. They are doing a good job understanding that to be a fraction you must have equal parts.

     In writing we have been researching famous Americans all week: John Hancock, Irma Rangel, Thurgood Marshal and Theodore Roosevelt. We read two websites and used a book to learn about their contribution to our country. We sited our sources and had to decide the three most important things each person has done. We had a lot of fun learning about these amazing Americans!

      In reading we read a Scholastic News article called “Why is the River Green?” We answered comprehension questions for a grade. As this is the last nine weeks, I am no longer returning papers that are unfinished. If something is incomplete, it will now count as an incorrect answer. I am letting go to help my students be more independent and check their work before turning it in to me. We also  read a book about Spring and wrote about why we love the Spring. We were sure to use our transition words. We read a story from our reading book. We learned how to evaluate information and filled out a graphic organizer together. We listened to the story Experiment with What Plants Need to Grow and focused on cause and effect. We worked on a cause/effect worksheet  for a grade. Lastly we read a Scholastic News article called Time to Climb and completed a reading checkpoint.

         In science we started a new unit on how seeds can be dispersed by water, wing, or animals. We had two days to explore stations to experience each type of sed dispersal. We watched videos and discussed our vocabulary words. We wrote about our observations in our notebooks.

  

Here is the link to our student led conference sign up genius. Your child will be conducting the conference.  He/she will be showing you his/her leadership notebook, goals, a chosen project,  as well as a reflection page on which he/she reflected on his/her second grade year by answering questions.

 

 https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0B4CAFA82AA02-48613759-spring

Week 27

 Dear Parents,

        This week in math we finished up our unit on 3 digit addition and subtraction with regrouping. It’s been a long journey, but the class was successful on the assessment. I am so proud of their hard work!

         In reading and writing this week we focused on researching famous Americans and learning how to cite the sources we used. We are using articles, websites, and books. They are learning about how to have the courage to take risks others before you, have not. Leaders live an excellent life! We will continue this research after Spring Break.

         In Science, we finished up our unit on plants. We planted grass seeds and watched them grow- or not grow. This was a good lesson in learning the basic needs of plants. The over watered plants did not sprout. The rest of their environment was the same. We learned it also mattered how deep we planted the seeds. Some students had a lot of blades of grass grow- others a blade or two. We are moving on to a new unit on seed dispersal. How do seeds get to where they begin to grow. We will be experimenting with air, water and “animal” dispersal of seeds upon our return from our break. The plant cups will go home today.

          A BIG thank you to those of you who braved the weather last night to come to open house. We were showcasing all of our projects from the beginning of the year until now. The halls are completely decorated with amazing work. The student pockets will go home today if you were unable to come. The wonderful work in the hallways will stay up until after parent conferences and then will go home. 

          Parent conferences are coming. Upon our return to school, a sign up genius link will be sent out. These conferences will only be for before or after school as your child is the one running the conference. I will have some mid-year testing information to share, but our second grade leaders will be presenting their leadership notebooks and talk about their goals and learning experiences in second grade.

         I hope you all enjoy a wonderful Spring Break with your families!

Week 26

 

Dear Parents,

          This week in math we continued with three digit addition and subtraction, with and without regrouping. We solved many word problems and had to switch back and forth from addition to subtraction.

         In writing we continued researching Helen Keller as a class. After collecting all our information in a time line order, I modeled how to take our notes and turn them into sentences. Partners worked together to make the rest of their sentences. They revised , edited and wrote their final copies. 

         In social studies we reviewed the cardinal and intermediate directions and used a compass rose to answer questions about a map. 

         In reading/writing we began researching changes in communication, recreation, transportation, homes, and schools. We are continuing this into next week as we create a flip book showing what we have learned. We have begun the capital, cursive letters. Cason and Carter can write their names in cursive!

         On Thursday we discussed what a LEAP year was, got a hoppy and a gummy frog and had many Frog related activities. Learning can be so much fun!

• Please send in your timelines by Tuesday. They are a grade and will be put out in the hallway for open house. I really appreciate your help in getting these done. Several students have said they haven’t started as of yet. Let me know today if the package of materials got misplaced and I’ll send more home.