Second Grade Update – Week of 1/16

Dear Second Grade Families, 

Happy Friday!

This week, students were amazing collaborators AND presenters! It is quite something for second graders to work on a group project and then present together as well! We talked about using speaker voices, never turning your back to your audience, and navigating the art of “who’s holding the poster and how high”. 🙂 I am very proud of them, and you can tell from their smiles that they were proud of themselves, too!

Next week, students will recite their Oratorical Fest selections! Please help them to be prepared. No notes will be allowed, and students should use speaker voices, good eye contact, and a good pace (not too slow and not too fast). Thank you for your support! They will start with:

• Good afternoon. My name is _________ and I am in the second grade. The (poem, speech, prayer, etc.) I will be reciting is _________, written by _________.
• When finished, say, Thank you.

Below is our second grade learning update.

Focus Areas for Our Learning Next Week:

• Reading – 
  • In reading groups, students will continue SUPER magazine. Students will connect the text to their own experiences and ideas, use comprehension strategies to identify the meaning of unknown words, and practice citing evidence from the text to support their answers. As always, there is a focus on speaking and listening skills as we work together in a small group.
  • 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 practice decoding and encoding kn/n/ and wr/r/ words (ex. knock, write). Students will also work with homophones and the prefixes un- and re-. They should practice their spelling words for homework so they are prepared for the quiz on Friday.
• Writing – Students will reflect on the goal they wrote for 2023. They will choose a word that embodies a characteristic they would like to demonstrate during the year – perhaps one that will help them meet their goal! Then they will write about this word – why they chose the word, who in their life lives the word, and how they will be this word.
• Math – As part of measurement, the class will develop ways of conceptualizing proportions. Students will continue practicing strategies for subtraction of 3-digit numbers when regrouping is required.
• Religion – We will begin our chapter about the Church. The church is not only the building, but more importantly, the congregation who gather together and celebrate faith.
• Social Studies – Students will start our unit on discovering our past. We will touch upon our history as a nation, including Native Americans who first lived on the land, explorers who came, and pioneers who created new communities. Conversations will be age appropriate, but we will also address that injustice is also part of our nation’s history and that changemakers were needed then AND now to ensure we always uphold justice, equality, and liberty.
• Science – The class will  consider the insulating and conducting properties of different materials. In our activity, students will test different materials and determine which would make the best oven mitts.

Other Updates for this Week:

• AR Reading – Many students are reading more challenging books these days. I am encouraging all students to use their AR book for their homework reading time (15 minutes each afternoon/evening). This means they can bring their AR book back and forth to school. As soon as students finish reading at home, they should put their book right back in their backpack each evening.
  
• Dates to Remember:
  • Monday, Jan. 16 – No school – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
  • Wednesday, Jan. 18 – Pajama Day!
  • Tuesday, Jan. 24 – Free dress for January birthdays
  • Wednesday, Jan. 25th – Noon dismissal; teacher professional development
  • Sunday, Jan. 29 – Mass (9am) and Open House (10-11:30am) to kick off Catholic Schools Week
  • Jan. 29 – Feb. 3 – Catholic Schools Week

We look forward to seeing our students on Tuesday!

All the best,
Catherine