All kinds of WEATHER!

2010 in 2nd grade has gotten off to a fun and busy start! I hope that your 2nd graders have been telling you all about the implementaion of the Daily 5 language structure in our classroom. It has been going so well, and I think your children have really enjoyed the new freedom and choice that they have been experiencing during our language block! It has been so awesome to look around the classroom and see 22 students who are engaged in what they are doing and truly enjoying reading and writing! We will spend next week wrapping up the introduction of the Daily 5 and will be starting regular guided reading groups again on Monday, January 25. This had to be pushed back a few days due to the school that was missed last week due to weather...I know that we are ALL enjoying much more pleasurable temperatures this week!

In math, we have wrapped up our study of volume and the use of graduated cylinders, and will begin Unit 11 next week. In this unit, students will explore ways of subracting larger numbers.

Our current writing unit is on poetry, and I have really enjoyed reading so many creative and poetic pieces! So far, students have learned about and practiced couplets, shape poems, and list poems. Next week, we will jump into cinquains and acrostics. I am so glad to hear that several students have enjoyed exploring the new shape poem links to the right at home!

In science, students continue to explore the different components of weather...we have really been able to observe many kinds of weather over the past two weeks! We will spend approximately another week and a half studying types of clouds, precipitation, the water cycle, the use of the Beaufort Scale to rate the strength of the wind, and types of storms. At the conclusion of this science unit, students will begin a short study of Kansas history and symbols as we prepare for Kansas Day on January 29. If you would like to be a volunteer in our classroom the morning of January 29, we would love to have you! Please let me know if you are interested.

Today, 2nd graders learned about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the impact that he had on civil rights in America. Be sure to ask your 2nd grader about what he or she learned about this important man on his birthday!

I hope that you all have a wonderful long weekend!