weekly update

 Writing:

We finished our last small moment this week.  We are going to take a break from narrative writing, and start non-fiction writing, as well as some fun and creative writing for Halloween.  

Math:

We have been having so much fun in math this week.  The second graders love that all of the learning is game-based. They don't realize they are getting fact practice when they play the games. . . but they are!  This week we learned about odd and even numbers, adding and subtracting to 20. We also talked about finding and using strategies based on what the second graders are already good at (partners of 10 or doubles facts) to help solve problems with bigger numbers. 

Quizzes went home in Friday's mail. I held on to them because I wanted to reassess anyone who didn't get a 3 for even and odd. We spent time on it this week and the second graders did better the second time around!

Reading:

The kids are becoming experts at the topic they are reading about!  This week they looked for expert words that would show they are becoming an expert, and we will use these for when we write a nonfiction piece on the topic we have been reading about.  We rearranged our plans a little bit and will write about the history of Hudsonville as an introduction to informational writing. This will give the second graders some more time to become experts on more topics. Hopefully they will have lots to write about for nonfiction writing!

Phonics:

We have been learning some cool ways that animals tackle hard challenges.  Did you know that an ant can carry things that are 50x their weight?  However, they don't just take an entire potato chip, instead they use their mandibles to break the potato chip into smaller pieces so they can tackle the challenge into smaller bits.  Second graders can do that in reading when they come to a big tricky word.  The second graders are learning some great phonics rules to help them break up wordsFor example, when there are double consonants in the middle of a word, the word will have a short vowel sound. If there is only one consonant however, it will have a long vowel sound.  For example: supper and super, or dinner and diner.

Social Studies:

We are learning about Hudsonville History, and the kids are so fascinated.  Did you know that the surveyor that originally came to check out the land in this area said that the land was useless since it was too swampy and too much of a muckland?  It was the Dutch Settlers that knew how useful this land was, knowing that we could grow lowland crops like onions and celery. Those vegetables give Hudsonville it's nickname. Ask your second grader if he or she remembers what it is!

Homework:

The math worksheet is due by Friday, October 20.

Extra Information:

October 20- Early Release Day

October 31- Halloween: More information will be coming for the parade details. We already have a sweet treat planned. If you want to send in a salty or a healthy snack just let me know!

November 17- Here is the flyer about making pies! We haven't had much class discussion about it, so don't be surprised if your second grader gives you a blank look if you mention it. We want to get through Halloween with them first, but there is some adult planning involved! We would still love some items to be donated to make this a successful day: Second Second Grade Signups Mrs Kunzi's name is on it because she is the one who created the sign ups for all three classes : )