Important Dates:
Friday, June 15th- Highland Playground Tuesday, June 18th- LAST DAY! Walking field trip to Main St. Ice Cream |
This week we visited the Giving Garden, completed more math word problems, created main idea spiders and more! We will be visiting the Giving Garden again on Monday, so long as it isn't raining; please ensure your child has a sweater or coat for the weather. Also, a reminder that we will be attending the Book Fair as a class on Tuesday. If you would like your child to purchase a book during school this is the most ideal time. Please send in a note if you ONLY WANT them to purchase books, not other trinkets. Also, no school for students next week Friday, October 27th.
Students took their first spelling test on Friday. Please sign and return these. Overall they did an excellent job! The sorts they have been using are now done and new words will be sent home next week. Spelling City will also be updated next week. Their next spelling test will be Friday, November 3rd. If your family needs help purchasing new winter clothing, please contact our school social worker, Heather Cantie, at 646-3280 ext 4218. She also works with many local groups to anonymously provide holiday gifts for our families. Thank you! Reading: After reading about spiders we created giant spiders for the hallway. On the spiders abdomen we had the main idea with three details. We then practiced the paragraph writing skill of naming your topic first, then having at least 3 detail sentences, and a closing sentence that restates the main idea/topic. Students will continue to practice this paragraph writing format regularly. In our small reading groups we began other skills and stories. Math: Word Problems As we continue to work on word problems we focused on the skill of ignoring "extra" information that tries to trick us and doesn't help us solve the question. We also practiced adding in our own information when the problem is missing information that is necessary to help us solve the question. Writing: Personal Narrative Students continued working on their personal narrative drafts and ensuring that they are writing with complete sentences. It's very important for students to be starting all sentences with a capital letter and ending with punctuation. This will assist in greater writing success throughout the year. We practiced adding dialogue to our narratives to help the reader feel like they are there in the moment. Science: Balancing and Weighing We discussed the difference between balancing and weighing and ways we use these skills.
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Rain and gloomy skies didn't prevent us from having a great week! Students were excited to begin their next science unit. A flyer was sent home this week regarding our school's upcoming Book Fair. We will be attending the Book Fair on Tuesday, October 24th after lunch. If you would like your child to purchase something during school, this is the ideal time to do so. A smany of you know, trinkets/bookmarks/etc. are also sold at the fair. If you DO NOT want your child purchasing these items and only want them to buy books, please indicate so on a note with their money.
* Please send in an emergency sweatshirt with your child's name on the tag * Pink code of conduct forms should be returned * If possible please send $3 for the PTSA to use for homeroom parties/etc. If your family needs help purchasing new winter clothing, please contact our school social worker, Heather Cantie, at 646-3280 ext 4218. She also works with many local groups to anonymously provide holiday gifts for our families. Thank you! On 11/7 Nick Bruel, author of the Bad Kitty series, will be joining us here at UPES for some wonderful presentations. If you'd like to order a signed copy of one of his books for your child please use the following link: https://fs12.formsite.com/msmdbooks/form37/index.html Reading: This week students learned about finding the main idea in their reading. This can be a very complex skill for second graders. Students were taught that clues for what the story's focus or main idea will be can be found in the title and cover picture as well as on the text of the first and last pages. We compared the main idea to a pizza and the details to the toppings on the pizza that give it flavor and color. In small groups we read about spiders, determined the main idea and details, and next week will do a craftivity with this. Math: Word Problems Students continued solving word problems this week using CUBS and ensuring they write an equation for each problem. This week comparison bars were introduced for word problems where people or things are compared to each other. Students draw their comparison bars (one larger rectangle on top with one half its size below) with a circle next to the smaller rectangle. The circle is for any number that is attached to more or less; if the question is asking how many more or how many less, you know this will be empty. The bars are for the two people or things being compared. Whichever has more gets the larger bar and whichever has the least gets the smaller bar. We then think of it as a math mountain to decide which operation to use and write an equation. Students began using a new online game that can be accessed at home to practice skills. the link for Sumdog can be found on the UPES homepage under the students tab, or through our math review tab on this site. Student's login information can be found there (our class site) as well. To gain access to the site students must use this specific link; they cannot just go to sumdog.com or they will have difficulty logging in. Writing: Personal Narrative Students continued working on their personal narrative drafts and ensuring that they are writing with complete sentences. It's very important for students to be starting all sentences with a capital letter and ending with punctuation. This will assist in greater writing success throughout the year. We practiced adding dialogue to our narratives to help the reader feel like they are there in the moment. Social Studies: Communities Students completed a walk about the room where they read about different kids and decided what type of community they must live in. Science: Balancing and Weighing In preparation for this upcoming unit students were partnered up and put together their scales. Another fabulous week of learning in second grade! We are settling into our routines and expectations. We also began our guided reading rotations and students have done very well during our independent and group meeting times.
* Please send in an emergency sweatshirt with your child's name on the tag * Pink code of conduct forms should be returned * If possible please send $3 for the PTSA to use for homeroom parties/etc. If your family needs help purchasing new winter clothing, please contact our school social worker, Heather Cantie, at 646-3280 ext 4218. She also works with many local groups to anonymously provide holiday gifts for our families. Thank you! On 11/7 Nick Bruel, author of the Bad Kitty series, will be joining us here at UPES for some wonderful presentations. If you'd like to order a signed copy of one of his books for your child please use the following link: https://fs12.formsite.com/msmdbooks/form37/index.html Reading: We worked on our reading fluency skills and will be beginning groups in the next few weeks. We also began to focus on the characters and settings in the stories we read. We discussed that a character's traits are more than just how they look and their age, they're also their personality and the way they act. This week students also began working in their guided reading groups with me. Math: Mountains This week students practiced their word problem solving skills. We are implementing the practice of CUBS. After reading a word problem the first time, they should go back and sentence by sentence Circle important numbers, Underline key words (words that help them know which operation to use), Box the label, and then Solve. They have been very successful in retrieving their knowledge from past years and implementing it into our second grade curriculum. Students began using a new online game that can be accessed at home to practice skills. the link for Sumdog can be found on the UPES homepage under the students tab, or through our math review tab on this site. Student's login information can be found there (our class site) as well. To gain access to the site students must use this specific link; they cannot just go to sumdog.com or they will have difficulty logging in. Writing: Personal Narrative Students continued working on their personal narrative drafts and ensuring that they are writing with complete sentences. It's very important for students to be starting all sentences with a capital letter and ending with punctuation. This will assist in greater writing success throughout the year. Social Studies: Communities As we wrap up our communities units students mapped out their own communities and reviewed the different traits of rural, urban, and suburban communities. This week was one of extremes, records high temperatures and the start and finally some cool fall weather at the end- for this we were thankful! Students had a very fun week with two exciting visits from Mr. Wirth. On Wednesday he did a STEM (Science Technology Engineering Math) activity with the students on structures. They discussed what made a sturdy structures, tall structures and towers they know, and then created their own with marshmallows and toothpicks! Then, on Thursday they went on a virtual field trip using Ipads to visit some amazing structures including the Eiffel tower and Mayan Ruins. We wrapped up our week with a school-wide community celebration. During this assembly we all met and celebrated student successes including those who were selected by their teachers for Terrific Kids (4th and 5th grade) and Character Cadet (k-5). Congratulations to Elizabeth Braun who exhibited Responsibility all month long! In October we will be looking for a student who possesses the character trait of Patience :). We continue to work on the practice of following directions the first time they are given and showing ownership of our actions and control of our bodies.
* Please send in an emergency sweatshirt with your child's name on the tag * Pink code of conduct forms should be returned * If possible please send $3 for the PTSA to use for homeroom parties/etc. If your family needs help purchasing new winter clothing, please contact our school social worker, Heather Cantie, at 646-3280 ext 4218. She also works with many local groups to anonymously provide holiday gifts for our families. Thank you! Reading: We worked on our reading fluency skills and will be beginning groups in the next few weeks. We also began to focus on the characters and settings in the stories we read. We discussed that a character's traits are more than just how they look and their age, they're also their personality and the way they act. Math: Mountains We began using Xtramath, an online program, to practice our math facts. During our classroom instruction we practiced the skills of using doubles facts to aid in other problems. For example, if I see 8+9 = ? I can think "I know 8+8 is 16, and 9 gives me one more, so my total must be 17!" Or if I see 8+7=? I can think "I know 8+8 is 16 and 7 is one less, so my total must be one less which is 15!" Writing: Personal Narrative This week we chose a small moment from our heart maps and began brainstorming the story we will write. We jotted down the quick who what where and whens, and then added the first, next, then, and lasts. This will aid as we go to write our full story and add more details to these quick notes. Social Studies: Communities As we continue to learn about communities, we created a lap book of the information we learned! We discussed the transportation used in each community, the types of animals we might see, the distances of buildings and homes from each other, and the populations. Science: Matter We did a quick lesson on matter on Friday in connection to a story we read, Ada Twist Scientist. In this story young Ada is extremely inquisitive, students brainstormed what character traits made Ada a good scientist. We then discussed types of matter, made a hypothesis and created slime! Our first "green" newsletter is here! We had a great week and tried to stay cool all week long as the temperatures kept rising! We are really beginning to settle into routine and are working on meeting the second grade expectations in controlling our voices and bodies. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in the Giving Garden and are looking forward to returning. Below are some friendly reminders and our classroom news!
* Please send in an emergency sweatshirt with your child's name on the tag * Pink code of conduct forms should be returned * If possible please send $3 for the PTSA to use for homeroom parties/etc. From our social worker, Mrs. Cantie ... If your family would like help purchasing new winter clothing, please contact me at 646-3280 ext 4218 to make the linkage to Warm the Children. I also work with many local groups to anonymously provide holiday gifts for our families. Thank you! Reading: We worked on our reading fluency skills and will be beginning groups in the next few weeks. Math: Mountains We continue to work with math mountains to find missing addends and totals. Students have worked on strategies such as counting up and down, and making a ten. Writing: Personal Narrative We began discussing the components of writing a personal narrative this week. Students brainstormed small moments that are near and dear to their heart. We will use these moments from our heart maps to inspire our personal narrative writing pieces. Social Studies: Communities Students are learning about communities in this social studies unit. We have discussed the 3 different types of communities and compared their similarities and differences. |