Second Grade Update – Week of 9/12

Dear Second Grade Families,

Happy Friday!

This week, students enjoyed a read-aloud about “The Girl Who Never Makes Mistakes”! It’s a humorous tale with a lesson about the value of taking risks, trying your best, and continuing on when things go differently than planned. We followed it up with our music reflection piece, “Try Everything” by Shakira. If you don’t know it, give it a whirl – it’s catchy and encouraging! 🙂 

In science, students reflected on what qualities make a good scientist and why – being curious, observing, experimenting, reflecting, AND persisting even when we are wrong the first time. Wonderful!

Fostering growth mindsets in second grade is something that we aim to weave throughout each day – curiosity, learning from mistakes, and trying again are important components to ultimate success in anything!

On a side note, I asked students if they would like our music reflection songs posted on our Clever site, and they were very enthusiastic about this idea. So as long as I can find a recording I can post, I will include all songs under “Fun and Mindful Moments” on my Clever page. The first two music reflection pieces are now available. 🙂

As we look to next week, we will do a project using adjectives to describe our unique families! A great preparation for this at home is to brainstorm with your child and come up with some adjectives about YOUR family! Examples: fun-loving, adventurous, funny, kind, good-hearted, faith-filled, responsible, affectionate, loyal, hardworking, dependable, artistic, etc.

Below is our second grade update.

Focus Areas for Our Learning Next Week:

• Reading – 
  • In reading groups, students will start our first SUPER magazine and practice skills for reading and understanding informational texts. In groups, we will also practice listening skills, following along with focus, and participating respectfully.
  • Students will get their “just-right” reading level range and will choose AR books from our library based on that range. We will also review our process for AR in the classroom:
    • Choose a book in your AR range
    • Read the book thoughtfully and thoroughly
    • Complete a reading log about the book
    • Complete the comprehension quiz
  • 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 decoding and encoding sh and ch words as well as words ending in -tch. Students should practice their spelling words for homework so they are prepared for the quiz on Friday.
• Writing – The class will review the structure of a well-written paragraph. Then we will discuss facts versus opinions and students will draft an opinion paragraph. Their focus will be creating a topic sentence with a clear opinion statement. Then they will add at least three supporting reasons for their opinion. The following week we will use these paragraphs to practice editing and revising, illustrating, and sharing with a group.
• Math – Students will demonstrate their fluency with math facts through 20 using the number rack. We will practice counting by 5s and 10s from various starting points (example: 13, 18, 23, 28, 33, etc.) and comparing numbers using <, >, and =.
• Religion – We will continue learning about the Bible, including the Book of Psalms and the Gospels. We remember that listening is a way of learning and showing respect.
• Science – We will start our first unit and explore how water can create changes on the Earth’s surface over time. Our anchor phenomenon for this unit is a pair of rivers that flow together but look very, very different from one another. Students explore what causes rivers to have such different colors. During this introduction, students will generate observations and questions about the phenomenon and create an initial conceptual model to explain the phenomenon. During the unit, students will gather clues during and after each lesson in this unit to help them improve their explanations. Even if students don’t know the perfect answer yet, they are going to learn a lot throughout the unit and will have an opportunity to change or add to their first explanation. This is the work of a scientist!
• Social Studies – Students will complete a project that includes describing their unique families using adjectives. They will have an opportunity to share their work with classmates in an upcoming week. 

Other Updates for this Week:

• Family Picture – If you weren’t able to send in a family photo this week, please email one to me this weekend so that I can print at school. Children will need this picture for a project. Thank you!
• Covid Daily Screening – Please continue to do the daily screening. Your diligence is important and appreciated.
• Dates to Remember:
  • Thursday, Sep 15 – Uniform Exchange 8am
  • Tuesday, Sep 20 – Free Dress September B-Days
  • Friday, Sep 23 – No School – Elementary Staff Day
  • Wednesday, Sep 28 – Noon Dismissal

We look forward to seeing our students on Monday! 

All the best,
Catherine