All about the body!

Good afternoon!

I look forward to seeing all of you next week at conferences! Please remember that there will be no school this Friday (teacher recording/reporting day) or next Thursday and Friday due to conferences. I am still missing conference forms from a few of you...please return these as soon as possible to confirm your conference spot. I can't wait to share with you the great things your 2nd graders have been doing in class!

This week, we are wrapping up our study of the human body. We took some time this afternoon to review, and will continue to do so tomorrow. The assessment over this unit will be this Thursday. Tomorrow, students will be bringing home a body system memory game to play. Here are some things you should discuss as you play this game and prepare for the assessment:
* What are some ways to take care of your nervous system, digestive system, and skeletal systems? (for example...wear a helmet while biking to protect your brain, eat healthy foods to promote proper digestion, exercise to keep bones healthy and strong)
* Tell about some of the basic bones of the body (for example...your skull protects your brain, your backbone can also be called your spine and is actually made of many vertebrae.)
* Why are your muscles and bones important? (your bones stand you up and give you shape and your muscles pull on bones to help you move).
* What does your brain do? (helps you remember, think, problem solve, have feelings, etc.)
* What does your respiratory system do? (helps you breathe...oxygen moves into your lungs when you breathe in, and then you breathe out carbon dioxide).
* How does your digestive system work?
* How does your circulatory system work? Why is your heart so important? (it pumps blood all over your body.)

Next week, we will take a couple of days to talk about healthy food choices and the food pyramid. The following week, we will begin a long social studies unit on "Our Past". During this unit, we will compare Native American tribes, learn about the pioneers during a book discussion about "The Josephina Story Quilt", discuss Christopher Columbus, and talk a little bit about the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. As you can see, we will be fitting a lot of information into the month of November!

We are wrapping up our math unit on time. Students will take their time assessment tomorrow, so tonight would be a good time to review telling time, elapsed time, etc. Take a look at the class activity pages from the past week for ideas! On Thursday we will begin our next unit, which is on place value and addition to 200.

In writing, students are currently working on descriptive paragraph writing and the use of the writing process. I look forward to sharing writing portfolios, as well as information on reading levels, at conferences.

Thanks, as always, for all that you do!