Second Grade Update – Week of 10/10

Happy Friday!

Thank you so much for attending our parent/student/teacher conference! I appreciated your time and the opportunity to reflect on your child as a second grade student! It was helpful to touch base about all they are doing well as well as their opportunities for growth this year. Thank you! 🙂

This week, a highlight was starting our first book club! Reading groups have enjoyed getting to know the characters in their books, thinking about settings, and sharing the connections they’ve made. 🙂

Next week, I’m excited to have longer days again! An exciting writing project will be personal narratives – students will choose an important/fun/exciting/etc. event from their life and share the story through a 5-7 sentence paragraph. To start, students will review what a personal narrative is, discuss how to structure a narrative story clearly, and then start the planning stage of the writing process to generate and organize ideas. To help your child prepare (and avoid writer’s block!), ask them to share about a few events they remember from their lives. (They will choose one idea for their narrative.) They should be able to share at least 3-4 details about the event.

Below is our second grade update.

Focus Areas for Our Learning Next Week:

• Reading – 
  • In reading groups, students will continue our book clubs using differentiated texts. Students will focus on using active listening skills, following along with other readers, identifying what might motivate characters, and connecting events (cause/effect).
  • 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 decode/encode words that end in “y”. This sound will sometimes be long I and sometimes long e. Students should practice their spelling words for homework so they are prepared for the quiz on Friday.
• Writing – Students will address and mail their “What’s New” letters. Then we will begin personal narratives by discussing the writing process and beginning the planning stage. Students will need to be able to share at least 3-4 details about their event. The goal is a well-written 5-7 sentence paragraph. In ALL writing in the classroom (whether for morning work, reading group responses, etc.), students are reminded to write in complete sentences and to edit their work by reading it aloud and checking for proper capitalization and end marks.
• Math – Students will jump into the world of place value! We will evaluate how the place of each digit within a three-digit number determines its value (732=700+30+2). We will also practice the skill of estimating and reevaluating/refining estimates when giving additional information.
• Religion – We will start our chapter about the Holy Trinity. Students will learn about God as three divine persons – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
• Science – This week, students investigate the effects of rocks tumbling in a river. Based on their observations, they construct an explanation for why there is sand at a beach. This reinforces the effect of erosion on land structures.
• Social Studies – The class will explore how things in our communities have changed over time – transportation, school, technology, etc. This is also great opportunity to touch upon how inspiring change makers have been instrumental in creating a better society by working to change minds, laws, and ways of treating each other.

Other Updates for this Week:

• First Communion Update – Forms were sent home last week. Please submit all forms to the parish office by October 28th. Please also add all of the dates to your calendars.
• Covid Daily Screening – Please continue to do the daily screening. Your diligence is important and appreciated.
• Dates to Remember:
  • Monday, Oct. 10 – No School
  • Monday, Oct. 17 – 2nd grade trip to the Alameda Free Library
  • Tuesday, Oct. 18 – Free dress October B-days
  • Monday, Oct. 31 – Noon Dismissal – Halloween

We look forward to seeing our students on Tuesday! 

All the best,
Catherine