weekly update

Thank you so much for all the birthday wishes, treats and cards! It was a big one and it was fun celebrating with the second graders! We also had a Star and SOAR celebration on Friday! The second graders had cupcakes and a craft day!

Writing:

We finished our first review on movies, and are now working on restaurant reviews.  The structure is the same no matter the topic, but there are a few different elements when writing about a restaurant rather than a movie. The second graders are thinking of reasons why they may like a restaurant (appearance, price, food, tvs to watch the game, friendly staff, quick service, drive thru option, etc.). If you need permission to take a night off of cooking, and have your child go to the restaurant that he or she is writing about, "to help with research" then I say go for it!  I mean, for research purposes only! 

We have been working like crazy on Valentine cards and many of the second graders are already done! Ask your second grader if they are done or how many more they have to write. The second graders can always write our a draft of a message on a scrap of paper and bring it to school if they want to do a little work at home this weekend!

Math:

We are working on measuring.  We talked about the importance of making sure to measure in a straight line, and to make sure there weren't any gaps as we used "teacher feet" and "giant feet"to measure objects around the classroom.We also made inchworm rulers and found things that are larger, equal to, and smaller than a foot. I think every single thing in our classroom has been measured!

Reading:

We are digging into longer books, and stopping and checking for understanding.  One thing that sometimes happens when we read is that we get distracted - by the pictures, sounding out words, or by something going on around us. So, stopping to think about the characters, setting and, major events will help make sure that we are keeping track of our own reading.  We also how to infer, which helps when the author doesn't give us all the information we need to understand the story.

Phonics:

We have been hired!  The BLC (Bigger, Longer, more Complex words) Construction company wants us to work for them!  We have been learning how to demolish words, and also to build bigger words.  Ask your child how to spell a really hard word, like our word of the week: optimistic.  See if he or she can walk you through the steps of writing out syllable lines, making sure there is a vowel in all the syllables, tell you if the vowel is open or closed. These second graders have some great word construction skills.

SEL:

Ever feel irritable?  We learned all about this word this week.  There is an OPTIONAL homework to talk about this feeling with your child. 

Homework:

The math paper is due by February 9.

Extra Information:

Monday, February 5 - Our 100th Day of school! We are going to have a couple of fun activities to celebrate this milestone!

February 12&13- Mid-Winter Break! No school.

February 14- Valentine's Day Party.  If you want to send in a snack let me know!

Specials Calendar

This calendar is already in the pocket of your child's homework folder. It's on the back of the January calendar : )