Week 29

 

 Dear Parents,

             This Week in math we focused on fractions. We looked at fractions that were halves, fourths, and eighths. Then we looked at 1 whole. Next we saw more than two wholes. We wrote about them as fractions and mixed numbers. We reviewed on Friday. The test will be Monday.

               In writing this week we researched famous Americans, decided the central idea of our sources and wrote what they were most famous for in their lifetime. The people were Amelia Earhart, Alexander Hamilton, Irma Ragel and Thurgood Marshall. We cited our sources and discussed important vs. unimportant facts.

                In reading /Social Studies we read an all about maps article and created a map of our bedroom or dream bedroom. We read the passage Experiments with What a Plant Needs to Grow and took a comprehension check. We read the story Jack and the Beanstalk and learned how to retell using the most important parts from the beginning, middle and end. On Friday we read the Scholastic News “ Girl who loves to Grow”. 

                 In science we began our new unit on pollination and seed dispersal. We observed many kinds of seeds. We looked at them and decided how they get dispersed. We had three investigations that modeled how seeds get dispersed by wind, water, and animals. We wrote in our science notebooks about what we learned.

 

Next week is our second week of our spring student led conferences. All conferences are in person and your child must attend as he/she will be leading the conference. Your child will practice the day before your time so he/she will be prepared. See my sign up genius below and choose a date and time. I will send a reminder home in your child’s blue folder the afternoon before. I am looking forward to meeting with you to allow you to see how your child thinks about his/ her learning in second grade. These are only before and after school because your child needs to attend. During my conference period your child is at specials. Please sign up today so that I can prepare for next week.

    

                 Conference sign up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0B4CAFA82AA02-55831204-spring

Week 28

 Dear Parents,

                     This was a tough week for me because I missed my kids. I severely injured my right knee and ended up in the ER last Saturday. I was told to stay completely off of it or I could cause more damage. I was cleared by my doctor on Thursday to go back on Friday. I am back today and loving to see my class. I know they had great learning even though I could not be there a lot of the week. I hand-picked the best subs I know.

                     In Math on Monday there was a fun Lucky charms math activity for St. Patrick’s Day! We were to start our economics unit, in which we switch from earning Sparkly Stars to earning Dollars. At the End of this nine weeks we will have a Movie day. The students will buy their ticket, drink and snacks with their own money. This is always a fun day as they learn to budget and spend their hard earned cash on what they want. There was a fun Scoot around the room for them to complete the Leprechaun Base ten scoot. The rest of the week we focused on learning fractions.

                    In Writing we focused on researching changes in communication, recreation, and transportation. We also learned how homes, schools and toys changed over time. We created a flip book that summed up this information for a grade.

                    In reading we read a Scholastic News Article called “A Visit to Ireland”. We also colored a map of Ireland. We also read a story called The Growth of a Sunflower and created a flow chart that showed each stage of growth. We read another Scholastic News Article called” She Planted Millions of Trees”. They took a comprehension check. We read the book Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring. We created Plants and labeled the parts with different craft items. This continued into science.

                  In Science this week they participated in a talk, Read, Talk, Write activity with a focus on the vocabulary words: plant, roots, stem, leaves, flower, fruit, seed, structure, function, and basic needs. They were able to dissect a plant and see all the parts as they documented them in their science notebooks. They finished the unit, reviewed and took their unit check point assessment.

                   Next week begins our spring student led conferences. All conferences are in person and your child must attend as he/she will be leading the conference. We will practice on Friday so that he/she will be prepared. See my sign up genius below and choose a date and time. I will send a reminder home in your child’s blue folder the afternoon before. I am looking forward to meeting with you to allow you to see how your child thinks about his/ her learning in second grade. These are only before and after school because your child needs to attend. During my conference period your child is at specials. 

    

                 Conference sign up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0B4CAFA82AA02-55831204-spring

 

Week 27

 Dear Parents,

   This week in math we focused on 3 digit addition and subtraction stories. We wrote them, solved them and represented them with base ten blocks. We worked hard solving them. We also did two step  problems where we had three numbers in the word problems. We found out that we had to solve 2 problems. The answer to the first problem begins the second problem with the third number.

   In writing we finished up our Helen Keller reports. They were so proud of all their hard work!

   In reading we shared our timelines! They turned out so  adorable! We read about a graphic novelist named Joseph Bruchac. We began our own graphic novel. On Thursday we organized all our work in our pockets and chose one special project to hold on to until conference time. A Conference sign up genius will go home after spring break. Your child will be leading the conference and be presenting his/her leadership notebook to you.

    In Science we started our new unit, called Physical Characteristics and Needs of Plants. We discussed what plants and animals need to survive. We set up an investigation and will continue it after spring break.

     I was so pleased that many of you were able to come to our open house. It is a time to celebrate the growth and learning we’ve accomplished this year! I hope you all have a restful spring break and enjoy some family time!

     When we return our sparkly stars will be on hold as we earn dollars for our economics unit!