Weekly Update 1/26

Hope you had a wonderful weekend! We have a busy week ahead.... 

** This is the first week with the new homework. I hope you saw the notice that was sent home on Friday. If not, it is also posted under my Homework tab. Please let me know if you have any questions. 

Writing

This week, we will be focusing on finishing up and revising/editing the student’s restaurant reviews. This will be done through the use of checklists, peer conferences, and teacher conferences. Our hope is then to write a final draft of the restaurant reviews. 

 

Reading

Our focus is going to be on inferring and visualizing to help the students with their reading comprehension. The goal is to have students combine their background knowledge with clues from the text to make a reasonable inference. We will talk about, draw, and record what they infer and visualize during reading to facilitate their comprehension. 

 

Math

We are going to continue working with place value, focusing on comparing two-three digit numbers using the symbols <, >, =. Secondly, we will be using arrays to decide if a number is even or odd and to help us find the sum of repeated addition equations. 

 

Social Studies

We enjoyed our imaginary plane ride last week and are currently in North America and focusing on Mexico! Be sure you ask your child what they have learned about the culture of Mexico and how it compares and contrasts with the United States. 

Our next school spirit day is coming up on Friday, January 23rd.  It’s Pajama Day!!!!!!

Weekly Update 1/19/15

Welcome back from a LONG weekend!  This week will be short, but also busy and fun…

 

Writing
We are continuing our Opinion Writing Unit by reviewing some of our favorite (or not so favorite!) restaurants.  We will discuss how to use voice and the special language of a Reviewer in our pieces. 

 

Reading
This week will be a continuation of last week as groups practice making predictions before, during, and after reading. 

 

Math
The class will be working on place value activities, comparing 3 digit numbers, and also arrays (an introduction to multiplication).

 

Social Studies
We will meet with all the 2^nd grade classes to “fly out” as we embark on our trip around the world.  We will “visit” each of the seven continents over the next few months to learn about our amazing world.  This is a very exciting unit for students and we are eager to get started!

 

**Starting next week, 2^nd grade homework will look a little bit different.  Please look for a note coming home at the end of this week detailing all of the changes.**

 

Weekly Update 1/12/15

A look at the week ahead....

Writing

We will continue working on our Opinion Unit. This week's focus is going to be on lively leads that state the writer’s opinion, but also grab the reader's attention. The students will also begin writing their first piece, which is a restaurant review. They will be encouraged to have supporting details and linking words to help with their transitions.

Reading

In reading, we will continue working in small, guided groups at the students' instructional level. Our focus will be on making connections and predictions before, during, and after reading. These strategies help to increase the students’ reading comprehension.

Math

We will be working on addition problems with three addends, comparison number stories, and on data collection (sorting, tallying, and graphing data).

Content Areas

In Science, we will be taking our Properties of Matter assessment on Wednesday. We will also begin our next Social Studies unit, which is on Mapping Skills. The students will learn about Cardinal Directions and how to use a Compass Rose to help them understand a map. 

Exciting Project 

This week the students will get to create their own "Snowpal Friend" and write a descriptive paragraph about their friend (what he/she looks like, likes to do, etc). Then, the students will design their own wintery snow globe!

**Important Reminder**

- There will be no school next Monday, January 19^th in observance of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday.

 - There is also no school on Tuesday, January 20^th due to a district-wide professional day.

Spirit Day

Tomorrow Westford Public Schools will be having a town-wide spirit day.  Please come dressed in your Patriot’s gear to show your support for the Patriots in their quest to reach the Super Bowl!

Weekly Update 1/5

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a relaxing and enjoyable vacation!

 A look at the week ahead…

Writing

We will begin our unit on Opinion Writing. Students will learn to write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic they are writing about, state an opinion, supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking words (e.g., because, and, also) to connect their opinion and reasons, and provide a concluding statement. Our first assignment will be reviewing a restaurant.

Reading

In reading, we will continue working in small, guided groups at the students’ instructional level.  Our focus will be on making connections while reading as a tool to help with comprehension.  The children will be encouraged to make text-self, text-text, and text-world connections.

Math

Our focus this week is going to be on learning the vertical addition algorithm. The students will learn how to set up the problem correctly and the steps needed to solve 2 and 3 digit problems with this strategy. This is the "old school" way of adding with carrying that many of us learned in school. 

Content Areas

In Science, we will resume our unit on Matter. This week's focus will be on the 6 properties (color, shape, size, odor, texture, weight) of science and how to sort solids, liquids, and gases by those properties. 

I am looking forward to keeping you connected to our classroom via this blog. I hope you find it helpful!