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!