Weekly Update

Writing:

The second graders have been working so hard on their nonfiction books!  Everyone finished and turned them in on Friday. These are books that the second graders wrote themselves, but with step-by-step guidance for each page. Next week the second graders will write mini-books all on their own, using all that they have learned. I will still, of course, be teaching lessons on how to write really great informational pieces, but the second graders will be writing their mini-books at their own pace. They will decide their topic on their own, what features to include, and how many chapters to have. I'm excited to see what they write!

Socia Studies:

We wrapped up our first two social studies units with a test and a final map drawing. The second graders have learned about citizenship, community helpers, types of communities and map features. Next week we will return to bigger phonics lessons (We have a phonics lesson every day, even when we use part of our time for social studies.) and start a mini unit on powerful word patterns. We will also be adding some of our SEL curriculum into our morning and afternoon meetings.

Math:

We finished the week by with a math test!  The test measures how well the students are doing with place vale, skip counting, adding and subtracting, and telling time. I'm planning on sending these home next week with an end-of-the-unit report, the mid-unit checkpoint, and any additional assessing attached.  

Reading:

We have been sticking with the informational genre for reading this week, and we will next week too. This week we talked about in-depth information and the content-specific vocabulary the second graders will find in their informational books. We decided using those really specific "expert words" shows that an author really knows their topic well. We also decided it would be a good idea to include expert words along with expert facts in our own writing whenever we can. 

Homework:

The math page is due by October 24. This page is an example of the math talks we have been doing this week. Solving problems with symbols and deciding which symbol to solve first encourages math problem solving and lays the groundwork for early algebraic thinking. We have been working hard on elevating our math talks by asking clarifying questions. Two favorites are "Can you tell me more about that?" and "How did you get your answer?" because even if they got the same answer, very often the second graders get there a different way. So if you have time you can do a mini math talk at home. Put that homework between you and solve puzzle while your second grader solves it on their own. Then talk about how you each solved it and see if you got the same answer. If you didn't get the same answer then you will have a really great math talk!

 

Extra Information:

The PE order is open, but closes on October 21!

Did you know that Mr Beimers maintains a Facebook page too? You can find it here: HPSParkPE/ and on the side of this blog : )

Weekly Update

Writing:

Everyone has chosen a topic, filled in a planning map of all the information they know about that topic, grouped that information into chapters, and written an introduction. This group of second graders are strong writers and I think their books are off to a great start! This book is the guided practice stage of our informational writing unit. We are going through each part step-by-step. Next week we will work on writing different chapters that are related to the main idea of the book. The second graders will work on chapter and section headings, label a diagram, and we might even get to writing a conclusion next week.

Math:

The second graders are learning how to add and subtract with numbers in the 100s.  We are also working on how to read clocks, telling time to the 5 minutes.  If you have an analog clock at home, see if your child can tell you what time it is.  Ask them how they know the difference between the hour and minute hand. We talked about how the minute hand is longer and reaches out to the minutes on the clocks at school. One of the students said they remember which hand is which because the word hour is shorter than the word minute, so the hour hand is the short one. Telling time is part of our measurement unit, and the second graders have been having fun learning about linear measurement too. Last week we measured giant magic beans using unifix cubes. Then we used cube measuring tapes to measure all kinds of things in the classroom, including each other : )

Social Studies:

We are learning all about maps and how they show features of a community. We are even making maps of our own! The second graders went outside and drew some fantastic maps of their playground last week. If you have some maps at home show your child different types of maps. They have really been interested in looking at maps in class.

Reading:

We are continuing our unit on learning how to read nonfiction books.  We learned that we don't have to read an ENTIRE nonfiction book to understand any section because they don't build on each other like chapters in a story do. We will continue this work next week by highlighting really helpful features like headings, bold words, a glossary, and an index.

Homework:

The two-sided math page is due by October 17.

Extra Information:

October 15 - Skating Party at Tarry Hall

October 27- Picture Retake Day

October 30- All-School Halloween Parade at 9:30

Second Grade Sign Up Genius

October 31- No School 

October Specials

 

Weekly Update

Writing:

The last small moment stories of the semester are scored and the second graders already wrote their informational pre-assessments! The second graders are going to grow so much as writers this year that we will return to narrative writing one more time to get a score for the final report card. Next week, we will be diving into the steps to write a nonfiction piece. 

Math:

Unit 1 math tests went home in folders on Friday. Attached is a score sheet from the gradebook software we are using. It is almost as new to me as it is to you, so please let me know if you have questions or if something doesn't make sense. We now are full swing into our second unit!  The second graders are exploring and reviewing what they know about place value with three digit numbers, and will soon be adding and subtracting double digit numbers. Telling time is also thrown into this unit and it is a tricky skill and will be for most of the students for a little while. Any practice telling time in an analog clock you can do at home would really help!

Reading:

We are still in our nonfiction reading unit, which lines up great with our nonfiction writing. The second graders are reading non-fiction books on whatever topics that they want to learn about, which is really fun. They are collecting interesting facts and topic-specific words they find. We have also been talking about the main idea in informational books - which can be tricky. We try to ask ourselves, "Why did the author write this book?" and "What does the author want me to think about this topic?" We have also been learning the features authors use in non-fiction books, which the second graders will be trying to include in their own non-fiction writing.

Social Studies:

We have been studying rural, urban, and suburban communities, and the different helpers found in all  communities.

Homework:

The 5-Star Sentence practice page is due by Friday, October 10.

Extra Information:

October 30- Halloween Celebrations throughout the day

October 31- No School

I forgot to post these last week! The second graders had so much fun tie-dying, even though they had to practice being patient - and sometimes work through frustration when rubber bands broke and plastic bags ripped. They did great. This really is a great group of kids!

Weekly Update

Writing:

The second graders are working on their next small moment! They are working to show what great writers they are by including some of what we have spent the past month learning about: good leads and wrap-ups, showing not telling details, dialogue, transitions, and onomatopoeia!  I can't wait to read these stories when they finish next week!

Social Studies:

We are in a Communities and Citizenship unit in Social Studies. We have talked about community helpers and businesses in our community and also how communities help with our needs (food, shelter, water, air). The second graders learned features of three different types of communities: rural, urban, and suburban.  Next week we will learn more features and the second graders will make a decision about what kind of community they would like best to live in and why.

Math:

The second graders finished the first math unit this week. The tests will go home next week so you can see how they did and we will are moving right along with the next unit. We started off by learning all about Jessie and the Beanstalk and his magic beans! We then counted how many magic beans we have and found we have over 1,000!  We explored efficient ways to count them and the second graders and ended up using organizing all the beans into little cups. They then put 10 beans into each up and putting those 10s into groups of 10. They worked together to count by 100s and found out we have over 1,000 beans! These beans will soon be part of a math workplace. 

Reading:

Next week we are going to start our next unit on nonfiction reading.  Ask your child what he/she is interested in reading and learning about.

Homework:

The math page is due October 3.

Extra Information:

October 3- Color the Park

October 30- We will celebrate Halloween on Thursday October 30. In second grade we don't do one hour of a party, instead we do fun activities throughout the day! We will also be taking part in the school-wide parade. We won't have parent volunteers, but would love to see you at the parade! More information will be coming in the next few weeks. We still need a few supplies for the day. If you are interested sign up here: Sign Up Genuis

October 31- No School

Weekly Update

Writing:

We planned out our fire drill story as a class and the second graders are almost done planning their own next small moment! We spent a lot of time this week talking about the craft or writing. The second graders learned how to write different tag lines so they don't always have to use "said", but can use "whispered", "yelled", or "answered". We talked about the importance of using feelings, and how powerful sound words can be. Ask your second grader about onomatopoeia! 

Phonics:

Our class got a new phonics mascot: A dragon named Gus! He's not so great at phonics yet, so the second graders have to teach him a lot! This week in phonics we worked on learning to spell some common homonyms. We read some jokes with homonyms and figured out exactly what makes them so funny. Ask your second grader about these ones:

Math:

We are working on adding and subtracting up to 20.  The homework that went home Friday will help the second graders practice what we are doing in class. We have our first math test on Tuesday of next week, so it would be great if you could help your second grader get their homework done before then - just to get that extra practice in. Something that will for sure be on the test is even and odd - not just identifying even and odd numbers but also explaining why those numbers are even or odd.

Reading:

This week I was able to assess just about every second graders' reading by listening to them read and having a discussion about the book they read. I do this throughout the year during reading time, but informally. Three times a year I will do it formally by doing a running record and then record the scores to keep track of each students' progress. The STAR test is another way we formally assess and track student achievement. STAR parent reports went home Friday. If you have questions or concerns about what is on there please email me.

Homework:

The two-sided math page is due by Friday, September 26 (Early Release Day)

Extra Information:

September 24- Picture Day

September 26- Early Release Day

October 3- Color the Park

Thank you so much for helping your second grader get into Spirit Week!

They all had fun with the dress -up days!

Weekly Update

We do so many extra activities and projects throughout the year that we need a little help with supplies. This week both second grade classes used bandanas and pony beads to make bracelets. If you would be willing to support the fun, teambuilding, and service projects that we do in second grade we have made a Sign Up Genius list. You can access it here: 2nd Grade Supplies Thanks for all your help and support of all we do in second grade!

Writing:

The second graders finished their first small moment story of the year last week. Next week we will be scoring them, writing goals, and starting the next small moment story. This time around we will all be writing about the fire drill we had on Friday. Writing about the same event is a great way to share examples of leads, transitions and wrap ups as well as dialogue. The students will be sharing ideas and examples and learning from each other.

Math:

We have been working on making partners of 20 this week as well as focusing on doubles facts. Facts to 20 are a priority for the first few units because fact fluency is essential to everything we do in math for the rest of the year. Studying the doubles facts is a great way to talk about odd and even numbers. In second grade we want the students to be able to not only identify numbers as even and odd, but also be able to tell how they know.

Phonics:

The kids have been learning about the r controlled vowel and how it can be a little tricky! There are so many words that sound like the er, but are actually spelled with an ir or ur. We also continued our study of high frequency words and vowel teams. These last two areas are ones that we will come back to often!

Reading:

We have been talking about how the best way to get better at any skill is practice, practice, practice and to get better at reading we all have to read, read, read!  We worked on fluency and word solving strategies this week as well as building stamina to give us that essential practice.

SEL:

The second graders made bracelets in class to represent the three words from our class charter. We made them on Friday and our two high school football player volunteers helped us. Each student chose three colored beads, one each to represent each of the three words we chose for our charter. They then put the  beads on a strip of a bandana to make a bracelet.  Not only does this help our class feel like a community by having matching bracelets, but it's also a daily reminder of how making the right choices helps build the classroom environment the second graders decided they wanted in our classroom charter. The picture of the charter also shows the actions the students came up with to help achieve the goal of a safe, happy, and calm & relaxed classroom environment.

Homework:

The math paper is due by Friday, September 19.

Extra Information:

Check out our Spirit Week dress up days:

September 24- Picture Day

September 26- Early Release Day

October 3- Color the Park