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.