Second Grade Update – Week of 10/23

Happy Friday!

This week, one highlight was bean-counting in math as we dove into concepts about place value! Students did a fantastic job estimating, revising estimates as they uncovered additional information, working as a whole class, AND working in partners! I was impressed with their collaboration and enthusiasm for learning!

Next week, students will get creative with an art docent lesson with Mrs. Lane as well as a science experiment called Cornmeal Canyons! We will enjoy traveling over to the MakerSpace for science and exploring the effect of water on land. 🙂

Many students are still working on identifying nouns, adjectives, and verbs. In your nightly reading, it would be helpful to stop every once in a while and have your child identify different words in the text. For example:

– Your child reads:“The little girl ran down the sandy beach.”
– You could ask and reinforce: “Which words are adjectives in this sentence? Right – “little” describes the girl and “sandy” describes the beach!”
This type of reinforcement is very helpful to ensure students can recognize and use parts of speech accurately.

Below is our second grade update.

Focus Areas for Our Learning Next Week:

• Reading – 
  • In reading groups, students will continue book clubs. Our focus is not only on the story, but group dynamics – following along with the text as we read, raising quiet hands to contribute thoughts, and listening to others respectfully. 
  • At night, students should read aloud to practice fluent reading skills. Please encourage your child to observe punctuation, read at a good pace, and read the words as they appear in the text (no deletions or substitutions). 
• Grammar/Spelling – In Superkids, students will practice adding -ed and -ing endings to base words, including words that end in “y”. Students should practice their spelling words for homework so they are prepared for the quiz on Friday.
• Writing – Students will continue drafting their personal narratives, focusing on writing in complete sentences and developing a clear beginning, middle, and end. The goal is a well-written 5-7 sentence paragraph. Some will be longer!
• Math – Continuing with place value, we will practice breaking three (and even four) -digit numbers into their expanded form to highlight the true value of each digit. We will test our understanding with some base ten riddles and then have fun making place value robots!
• Religion – We will continue learning about the Holy Trinity (one God in three divine persons) with a focus on God the Father. Students will practice the Glory Be prayer.
• Science – This week, students will make hypotheses and investigate the formation of canyons. In the activity, Cornmeal Canyons, students create a model landform using cornmeal. Then they drip water over this “land” to observe how water can change its shape and to understand how, over long periods of time, canyons can be formed through a similar process. It will be messy fun for sure!
• Social Studies – Students will explore our fifty states on a map and review the purpose of a map key and a compass rose to interpret and use a map.Students will use a compass rose to interpret directions on a map. We will also start discussing continents and oceans.

Other Updates for this Week:

• First Communion – Please submit all registration forms to the parish office by October 27th. Please also add all of the dates to your calendars. The Rite of Enrollment is scheduled for November 5th.
• Excessive Talking – After two months of school, students know our classroom agreements and my expectations. We have had numerous conversations about the impact of side conversations and talking when it is an inappropriate time. It disrupts the learning environment and needs to be curbed. Going forward, after three disruptions in a single day, I will send a PCF home with a reflection piece as well. Signed PCFs and reflections are due the following day.
• Covid Daily Screening – Please continue to do the daily screening. Your diligence is important and appreciated.
• Dates to Remember:
  • Tuesday, Oct. 17 – Free dress October B-days
  • Thursday, Oct. 26 – Art Docent!
  • Thursday, Oct. 26 – K-5 Town Hall Meeting, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
  • Friday, Oct. 27 – First Communion registrations due!
  • Tuesday, Oct. 31 – Noon Dismissal – Halloween
  • Wednesday, Nov. 1 – All School Mass – All Saints Day 9:30 a.m.
  • Thursday, Nov. 2 – Mini Maker’s Fair, 5-7 p.m.
  • Sunday, Nov. 5 – Rite of Enrollment (all First Communion candidates must attend)
  • Thursday, Nov. 9 – End of First Trimester
  • Friday, Nov. 10 – No school: Veterans Day Observed

We look forward to seeing our students on Monday!

All the best,
Catherine