December News

It's hard to believe that winter is nearly here!  The 2W Bobcats have been working hard and are ready for a break.  Here's what's going on in our classroom!

Morning Meetings:  Review of growth mindset, sharing information about our family traditions, working together

Reading: Long “e” spelling patterns, reviewing author’s purpose, reading about what it means to be creative. Please note that we will not be staring a new Reading Street unit next week.

Writing: The writing process, information writing, verbs, super-secret holiday projects

Math: Properties of 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional shapes, measuring length in centimeters and inches

Social Studies: Comparing life in the past with life in the present, studying the history of landmarks and buildings in Lawrence, comparing holiday celebrations around the world

Technology: Using iPads to show knowledge of math concepts, research strategies

Have a WONDERFUL winter break!  I look forward to seeing your 2WBobcats again in 2019!

Please note the following dates on your calendars:

December 19 –Birthday breakfast –Happy birthday, Jonah and Eric!

December 19 –Gingerbread STEM –Volunteers needed

December 21 –Winter Parties

December 24- January 8–Winter Recess

January 15 –Science Fair

January 21 –No School

August/September News

I hope that you all had a wonderful summer and that your children are energized and ready for a great year!  This blog will be the best place for you to find curriculum information and important dates throughout the school year.  I will update it monthly, and will send out an e-mail letting you know when new information has been posted.  I will also send weekly e-mails with reminders and important dates once I have full access on PowerSchool.  

Math
We will begin the year with a review of first grade skills and a focus on addition and subtraction facts, as well as word problems.  Please note that we will spend a considerable amount of time this year practicing strategies for not only solving word problems, but explaining them thoroughly and using various strategies for organizing work. 

What can we do at home?  
Let your child teach you some of the addition and subtraction games they learn at school.  Get a deck of cards and make up a game together.  Use daily experiences to create word problems together, and let your child teach you how to solve each problem. Allow your child time to play some of the addition and subtraction games on arcademics.com.

Reading
We will be spending a couple of weeks studying Kevin Henkes and sharing some of his books as a whole group.  During this author study, students will practice many comprehension skills, make connections between stories, and write some of their own fictional pieces using Henkes' style as inspiration.  When I have information about beginning of the year reading testing and an official start date for reading groups, I'll let you know! Our first Reading Street unit is on exploration and different types of communities, and will begin the first week of September.  At that time, I will begin sending home weekly spelling pattern/vocabulary lists for practice.  

What can we do at home?
Read with your child every day.  As you read, pause to talk about events in stories.  Check out some Kevin Henkes books together...they are so much fun, and many contain great lessons about friendship and responsibility.  

Writing
Our first unit is on narrative writing, and will begin the first week of September.  In preparation for that, we will spend the first couple of weeks reviewing sentence structure, basic writing conventions, and writing stories for fun. 

What can we do at home?
Encourage your child to write in a journal or to compose letters to friends and family.  Go through writing pieces together and practice editing (really pay attention to capital letters in the correct places, appropriate use of punctuation, and correct spelling of basic words).  Allow your child time to explore keyboarding games on ABCYA.com. 

Social Studies/Science
We will spend a lot of time over the next week weeks reviewing good citizenship and building our class team.  We will be doing several collaborative projects that allow students to practice working together, and will be conducting research on real-world unlikely friendships.  We have several STEM projects planned to kick off the school year, and will be introducing students to the various types of technology they will use in 2nd grade.

What can we do at home?
Encourage your child to tell you about his or her friends at school.  Talk about ways to work through differences with friends.  Get on YouTube and do a search for unlikely animal friendships...you'll find lots of fun clips to talk about! 

Upcoming Dates...Mark Your Calendars!

August 23 - Parent Information Night - 6:00

August 29 - August Birthday Breakfast 

September 3 - Labor Day - No School

September 7 - 2nd Grade Guest Day - 9:30

September 26 - September Birthday Breakfast

April and May...The Final Stretch!

I can't believe I'm passing information on to you about the end of the school year!  It's been wonderful getting to know your families this year.  We have a lot going on the next month and a half, so please be sure to mark your calendars with the important dates listed below.  As always, let me know if you have questions!

Math
In our current math unit, students are learning about measurement and data collecting.  They have practiced estimating and measuring using inches, centimeters, meters, and feet.  Students have learned to compare measurements and to display them on line plots, bar graphs, and picture graphs.  As a culminating project, students are working in small teams to design a pollinator plant garden plan for our 2nd grade garden box outside.  In addition to researching gardening and pollinator plants in Kansas, students will be surveying another class about their visions for our garden box, displaying that data on a graph, measuring and partitioning our garden box, and putting together a design proposal to present to the Langston Hughes garden committee.

What can we do at home?
Allow your child time at home to explore the measurement and data activities on Blackboard.  Work together to measure things in your house or outside.  Conduct a family survey for fun, and help your child put results on a graph.

Reading Street
Next week, we will be finishing our 6-week long unit on creativity.  Our next unit is on changes in the world around us.  Students will study a variety of genres and will practice drawing conclusions, sequencing, looking at facts and opinions, and identifying plots and themes.  As we approach the end of the school year, I will be meeting with reading groups less.  The last spelling/vocabulary list for the year will come home the 2nd week of May.

What can we do at home?
Continue reading with your child on a regular basis.  Allow your child time to get on Reading Blackboard.  As summer approaches, encourage your child to sign up for the summer reading program at the Lawrence Public Library.  I will be having a book club in Devictor Park in late June/early July...please look for that information in a few weeks if you are interested in having your child participate.

Writing
For the remainder of the school year, students will be learning about opinion writing.  We will tie this writing unit in with our math and science projects.  Students will practice stating an opinion, defending it with several good reasons, and using vocabulary that would persuade and audience to agree with their opinions.

What can we do at home?
Encourage your child to write in a journal at home, or to write stories.  Explore the keyboarding activities on Blackboard.

Science
2nd graders are currently researching ecosystems and the adaptations plants and animals must have to survive in different places.  We will wrap up the school year with a unit on personal care, the body systems, and living a healthy lifestyle.

What can we do at home?
Early this week, students are bringing home information about our final at-home connection project.  Please assist your child in completing this project on time so that we are ready for our ecosystem zoo in just a couple of weeks!

Important Dates - Mark Your Calendars!

April 17 - 2nd Grade Music Program

April 23 - Reading MAP testing

April 24 - Lied Center Trip - "The Gruffalo"

April 25 - April Birthday Breakfast - Happy birthday, Matthew!

April 25 - 2nd Grade Ecosystem Zoo - 12:30-1:30 - Please plan to attend if possible!

April 26 - Math MAP testing

April 30 - Body Venture field trip

May 2 - May Birthday Breakfast - Happy birthday, Ruth and Donald!

May 9 - June Birthday Breakfast - Happy birthday, Chelsea and Justin!

May 9-10 - Aimsweb testing

May 14-18 - Teach the Class Week - Information coming soon!

May 16 - July Birthday Breakfast - Happy birthday, Ayana and Henry!

May 23 - Last day of school!  Have a great summer!

March News

It was so wonderful meeting with all of you at  conferences!  Thank you for your patience and flexibility with re-scheduling the meetings that were cancelled due to the weather.  Here's what's going on in our classroom this month!

Math
Students are learning how to identify coins and bills and are counting mixed groups of coins.  We are focusing on sorting coins to better skip-count, and are practicing showing amounts in different ways.  Students are practicing using dollar signs, decimals, and cent signs when they represent different amounts of money.

What can we do at home?
As you shop with your child, encourage him or her to help count out money and to figure out how much change you may get back after a purchase.  Allow your child to explore the money games on Blackboard.

Reading Street
In our current unit, students are exploring various questions about creativity.  They are reading fiction and nonfiction pieces of text and using them to compare and contrast, summarize, sequence, predict, and distinguish fact from opinion.  During our reading block, students are independently working with new vocabulary words, spelling patterns, and written responses to reading.

What can we do at home?
Check out the at-home extensions on Blackboard.  Read with your child every night, and encourage discussions about text.  Continue working with your child on assigned spelling patterns and vocabulary words.

Writing
Our 2nd grade scientists have been working hard on writing lab reports!  In this unit, we are studying the scientific process and designing and carrying out explorations that tie in with our current science unit.  Students are being encouraged to write like experts, and are learning to use scientific vocabulary in their writing to help others better understand how the world works.

What can we do at home?
Check out some of the keyboarding activities on Blackboard.  Support your child with weekly Kidblog homework.  Encourage your child to go back into his or her writing to edit and revise.

Science
This week and next, students are studying the states of matter.  We are doing a variety of experiments and observations that deal with solids, liquids, and gases.

What can we do at home? 
Engage in scientific conversations with your child.  Encourage him or her to make observations and to predict what will happen in different scientific situations.  Cook something together, and discuss the states of matter you see in various ingredients.  Do they change?  Why?

Genius Hour
Next week, students will be participating in their second Genius Hour project! They will practice choosing a question to investigate, researching to find answers, and putting together presentations to teach their classmates.

What can we do at home?
Help your child think of a curious question.  Do a little research together!

Upcoming Dates...Mark Your Calendars!

March 9            No School

March 16          No School

March 19-23    Spring Break

March 28         Birthday Breakfast - Happy birthday, Rebecca and Macyn!

April 25           Birthday Breakfast - Happy birthday, Matthew!

April 30 (PM)  Body Venture Field Trip - Let me know if you'd like to volunteer!

February News

We have been busy, as always, in 2nd grade!  Please look over the current curriculum information and make note of the important dates below on your calendars.  As always, thank you for all that you do to support our classroom!

Math

In our current unit, students are exploring shapes.  Specifically, they are learning to explain the properties of both 2-dimensional and 3 dimensional shapes, and are learning to identify and create shapes that have lines of symmetry.  

What can we do at home?

Explore the games and activities on Blackboard.  Look for shapes in and around your homes.  Have your child describe the shapes using property words like angles, right angles, vertices, flat faces, curved faces, and edges.  

Reading

This week we are wrapping up our Reading Street unit on working together.  In our next unit, we explore a variety of texts on the importance of creativity.  In this unit, students will practice the comprehension skills of describing fact and opinion, comparing and contrasting stories and ideas, and using clues within a text to draw conclusions.  At this time, we are also reading Mr. Popper's Penguins as a whole group.  

What can we do at home?

Read with your child each night. Take turns reading and asking each other questions about the text.  Allow your child time to explore the at-home connections on Blackboard. Allow your child to re-read or pre-read leveled texts on Blackboard.  

Writing

As a tie-in to our current science unit, our class is working on a variety of expository writing opportunities.  We are using the design process, as well as the scientific process, to write reflections and science booklets.  

What can we do at home?

Find a fun and easy science experiment to do with your child.  Write about it together!

Science

Today in class we finished our Dyson Idea Box engineering project.  Your child's commercial will be on Seesaw by the end of the week, so be sure to check it out!  Next week, we will explore famous inventors in history and brainstorm ways to improve and test various existing inventions.

What can we do at home?

Look over the instruction sheet your child brought home about our next at-home connection project on inventions!

Upcoming Dates - Mark Your Calendars!

February 12 - Valentine boxes due...please do not send valentines with your child before this day!

February 14 - Valentine's Day Parties

February 16 - No School - Teacher Work Day

February 19 - Invention projects due

February 21-22 - Parent Teacher Conferences - Sign up on Skyward!

February 22-23 - No School

February 28 - Birthday Breakfast - Happy birthday, Van!

January News

Happy New Year!  I hope you all had an enjoyable and relaxing holiday.  We are back in business here in 2nd grade!

Math

Next week, we will be beginning a short unit on telling time.  In 2nd grade students practice telling time to the hour and half hour, set clocks to 5-minute intervals, and learn to distinguish between AM and PM.  We will explore both analog and digital clocks.  As we look closely at analog clocks, we will observe the lengths of the hands as well as how the hour hand moves closer and closer to the next hour (for example, when 10:55 is shown on a clock, the hour hand is actually nearly to the 11).

What can we do at home?

Explore the resources and games on telling time on Blackboard.  Frequently ask your child to tell you what time it is.  Invest in an analog clock or watch for your child. Support your child in completing Wednesday night math homework.  

Reading

We will be taking a very short break from Reading Street to do some whole group activities and to finish up mid-year assessments.  The week after next, we will pick up where we left off in our "Working Together" unit.  Students will work with a variety of fiction and nonfiction texts and will explore and discuss ways that people have worked together in history, as well as the reasons it's important to work with others and strategies for doing so effectively.

What can we do at home?

Allow your child to access IStation at home for leveled activities.  Continue to work on new spelling and vocabulary lists when they come home.  Read together for fun frequently.

Writing

Our next writing unit is on expository (how-to) writing . In this unit, students will perform a variety of science experiments and learn how to use the scientific process to create lab reports.  Experiments will focus on the forces of motion.

What can we do at home?

Make sure that your child is completing his or her blog homework each week.  Encourage your child to journal at home.  Check out some of the free keyboarding games that can be found on Blackboard.

Social Studies

We will continue our study of past/present and changes over time this month by exploring Native American history, comparing and contrasting prairie life long ago with life now, and looking at how famous inventors and inventions have impacted history.

What can we do at home?  

Have discussions with your child about why inventions have changed over time.  Encourage your child to independently read about famous people in history.

Science

This week and next, we will be celebrating the beginning of winter with some Snowy Science!  During this mini-unit we will be studying the life of Snowflake Bentley, exploring symmetry in snowflakes, and learning some of the science behind snow!  We will also begin my favorite winter read-aloud...Mr. Popper's Penguins!

What can we do at home?

If it snows, take your child outside to play!

Upcoming Dates...Mark Your Calendars!

January 1-3              No School

January 15               No School - Martin Luther King Jr. Day

January 31              Birthday Breakfast - Happy birthday, Lily and Elina!

February 16            No School

February 22-23      No School

February 21-22      Conferences

February 28           Birthday Breakfast - Happy birthday, Van!