The week before break we learned about Thanksgiving and turkeys. We learned how to differentiate between fact and opinion. We began learning to subtract using mental math and took a math test on topic 9 (adding two digit numbers with regrouping). We wrote about thankfulness and practiced friendly letter writing as well.
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This week we continued to work on adding two digit numbers with regrouping. We also started writing a paragraph describing the things for which we are thankful. We continued with our plants unit and did an experiment with celery. See the daily blog page to read about our science experiment.
We read a an informational article about a fox that lives in the city. We took notes on facts about this seldom seen neighbor. We read Chinatown, in which a boy who lives in Chinatown tells about the culture and activities in this very busy place. We noted the many ways the author described the sights, smells, and sounds of Chinatown. We also read, A Trip to the Firehouse in which a class visits a fire house on a field trip. At the firehouse, they see different firetrucks and even help wash one. We also learned about firefighters in the past and compared them to firefighters today in our Scholastic News. Ask your child how firefighters are different now than in the past. Fun Fact: Do you know why dalmatians are firehouse dogs? Dalmatians have a long history of working with horses. When fire equipment was horse-drawn, it made sense for a firehouse to have a dalmatian to direct the horses, keep them company, and guard the firehouse. This week we started studying plants. We planted seeds and began to observe the plants as the grew. We will continue to watch our plants throughout next week. We observed the height of the plants and the number of leaves. In addition, we discovered that plants move so that their leaves turn toward the sun. We learned plants make their own food using photosynthesis. Ask you child what plants need to make their own food.
In the Meet the Masters Art Program we learned about the art of Frederic Remington. Remington was well-known for his artwork of the American Western Frontier. Students made a 3D sculpture in the class inspired by Remington’s bronze sculptures. In math we are adding two digit numbers with regrouping. This is an important standard that second graders need to master. Students who have a strong basis in the basic math facts are having the most success. Please continue to work on the Rocket Math papers that come home in the weekly homework and Friday Folders. Your child will greatly benefit from knowing these facts. Don’t forget that there is no school on Monday, November 11 in honor of Veteran’s Day and that school is dismissed at 12:50 everyday next week due to conferences. This week we began our unit on plants. We learned why leaves change color in the fall. We learned about the different parts of the plant and what each part does. We read The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree and made apple sauce. We made it in a crock pot and in student-made solar ovens! Then we compared the two. The students enjoyed the activity and learned a great deal. The students dressed in costume and paraded around the campus in their various costumes. November has finally arrived and we'll be focusing on our plant unit and adding and subtracting two-digit numbers in the coming weeks.
This week we began our unit on plants. We learned why leaves change color in the fall. We learned about the different parts of the plant and what each part does. We read The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree and made apple sauce. We made it in a crock pot and in student-made solar ovens! Then we compared the two. The students enjoyed the activity and learned a great deal. The students dressed in costume and paraded around the campus in their various costumes. November has finally arrived and we'll be focusing on our plant unit and adding and subtracting two-digit numbers in the coming weeks.
This week the second grade students presented a song about respect to the entire school at the Lion’s Den assembly on Friday morning. We practiced all week to be ready. The students made signs that spelled out the word respect to hold up at the end of the performance. They sang a song that said to respect yourself, respect others, and to respect the school. In the classroom, we talked about other places we could show respect, including at home, at the park, and at the grocery store. The students did a great job singing and making their signs. In math we began doing mental math with two digit numbers. We learned techniques to add two digit numbers in our head. One way is add the tens, then add the ones. Finally, add the two sums together. For example: 26 + 35 = ____. First add 20 + 30, then add 6+5. Then add the two sums 50+11=61. So, 26 + 35 = 61. Or, you can add 30 to 26 to get 56, then add the 5 ones from the 35 to get 61. In reading, our focus skill is to categorize things that are the same in same way and be able to explain how they are they same. As part of our nature and fall theme, we read a story about squirrels and looked for things in the story that are the same about all squirrels.
Also, we read a story about a brother and sister who set off on a walk around a pond to pick blueberries. Along the way they notice clues of different animals who have been there. We categorized the animals as we read. With your child, talk about the animals mentioned in the story. (The story includes ducks, raccoons, beavers, otters, sunfish, and garter snake). How many of them has he or she seen? Talk about times you have visited a lake, pond, or river. Ask your child what kind of clues did the children see to know the animals had been there? Fun fact: In the story the children spot the skin of a garter snake. Did you know that lobsters , like snakes, regularly shed their outer covering? After shedding, lobsters often eat their old shell because it contains minerals to help harden their new shell. The highlight of our week was the Pumpkin Run. Students ran to help raise money for the school. We also shared our Simple Machine projects. We had all sorts of balance scales, catapults, levers, ramps, pulleys, and inclined planes. Students had a Simple Machines Expo on Friday afternoon to try out each other’s machines. You can view a slide show of the projects on the Simple Machines tab of this website.
In math we continued to define and classify plane shapes and solid figures. We took a Math test on the topic on Thursday. Please look for the test in the Friday Folder. Monday was Columbus Day and we read in Scholastic News that Columbus kept a journal. We looked for the main idea and details in Columbus' journal about the voyage to the new world and the people he met when he arrived. We studied antonyms this week, which are words that are opposites. Building vocabulary in this way helps students become better readers and writers. Practice at home with your child. Try to think of antonyms for different words. On Thursday we had an earthquake drill as part of the Great Shakeout. Our Nordstrom key to success this month is respect and kindness. Second graders will be presenting at the Lion's Den assembly. It is time to start scheduling conferences. Please look for a blue memo from me on Monday to help me choose a time that fits with both of our schedules. We finished Math Topic 4 and took a test on our place value skills. The test went home in the Friday Folders, so be sure to look for it. We have started a new topic on Geometry. We learned the differences be between plane shapes and solid figures. We also discovered that a shape with three or more sides is called a polygon. In addition, we read The Greedy Triangle, by Marilyn Burns. Ask your child to tell you why the book is called The Greedy Triangle.
We read Henry and Mudge and the Starry Night. In the story Henry and his family go camping with Henry's dog Mudge. The Henry and Mudge series of books are great chapter books for second and third grade readers. As second graders, students need to figure out the meaning of compound words. We do this by thinking about the meaning of the individual words and what the word means when the words are combined. For example home + work is homework, which means work that you do at home. We played a fun compound word game on the SmartBoard. Students were engaged and learning about compound words while having fun. Students should be working on their simple machine project for homework. Please see the Simple Machine Project page. You can also visit my Pinterest Board http://www.pinterest.com/rendeez/simple-machine-projects/ to see some sample projects. Please contact me if you need assistance. This week we read Exploring the Parks with Ranger Dockett, a nonfiction book about a real park ranger from New York City and the things that he does each day as part of his job. Then, we had a visit from one of our own local park rangers, Ranger John, who also happens to be a Nordstrom parent. Be sure to read the class blog to find out more about Ranger John’s presentation.
Ask your child what kind of things does a park ranger do? Try to get him or her to name a few specific tasks. Then ask if he or she would like to be a park ranger some day? In math we are investigating plane shapes and solid figures. As much as possible we are doing this so that the children can be involved with direct, tactile, and visual exploration of the geometric shapes. Have your child name some three dimensional shapes in your home environment. For example, a cereal box is a rectangular prism and a paper towel roll is a cylinder. See what other solid figures you can find at home. We learned about the two sounds the letter C makes with the Ctrain. We found out that when C is followed by the letters E,I,Y it makes the /s/ sound, otherwise it says /k/. We made our own Ctrains and they are hanging up in the classroom. Students should be working on their simple machine project for homework. Please see the Simple Machine Project page. You can also visit my Pinterest Board http://www.pinterest.com/rendeez/simple-machine-projects/ to see some sample projects. Please contact me if you need assistance. This week we continued working on place value in math. We learned how to figure out what number is before or after another number. We also learned what numbers come between two numbers. In addition, we worked on ordering numbers from least to greatest. Also we learned to spell out the numbers as words.
In our science unit on Simple Machines we are learning about different types of simple machines and how we use simple machines everyday. Students will be making a simple machine project for homework over the next two weeks. Please see the Simple Machine Project page. You can also visit my Pinterest Board http://www.pinterest.com/rendeez/simple-machine-projects/ to see some sample projects. We also enjoyed some "our class alone" time on the new playground as a class reward on Wednesday. Please look for book order forms in the Friday Folder. Use the code GQJD2 when you order to help benefit our classroom library. Students are always excited to receive books when the book box arrives. |
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August 2014
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