Happy November! As usual, we've been busy in 2nd Grade!
We had a wonderful time celebrating Halloween this week! The children enjoyed the Harvest Party and looked awesome in their costumes. Thank you to everyone who helped to make the party a success! We appreciate all of the donations and helpers! We look forward to our next classroom party, the Winter Party in December.
Over the past several weeks, we have been reading fictional texts during our Guided Reading groups and focused on story elements (characters, setting, problem, and solution) along with the 5 Finger Strategy to retell a story. Now, we are moving onto nonfiction texts. This past week the children worked on a KWLQ Chart. The K and W are completed before reading the text. The K stands for "What the children KNOW" about the topic. The W stands for "What they WANT to know" about the topic. Then after reading, the children complete the L which is "What they LEARNED" from reading the book, and the Q which is "QUESTIONS they still have" about the topic. We have also spent some time reviewing non-fiction text features (Glossary, Index, Headings, captions, labels, Table of Contents, diagrams, maps, etc..)
In Math, we have begun Unit 3. The focus of this unit is on addition and subtraction fact strategies. The students solved a practice open response problem using their own fact strategies. Then we discussed their drawings and explanations and the children had the opportunity to revise their work if needed. During another lesson, the children wrote subtraction number stories and generated related addition and subtraction facts. We also spent time discussing "fact families" by using dominos and fact triangles to explore how 3 digits become a "fact family."
We hope that your child is practicing their facts at home at least 2 nights per week. Suggestions for ways to practice are on the back of the weekly Homework Graph that is sent home every Monday. Thank you for your support with this as fact power really helps the children with their everyday math.
During our writing blocks, we have spent time continuing to work on the Looking Back personal narrative stories that the children brainstormed for at home. The children are doing an excellent job applying the learned structure of personal narrative stories. We are currently working on revising and editing their work. Their completed stories will become part of their writing portfolios that will be sent home at the end of the year.
Our Science unit on Plant and Animal Survival is coming to an end. We spent time exploring the Ocean Habitat and the children became experts on one ocean animal. Then the children presented their information to their classmates in order to learn more about various ocean animals. We are looking forward to doing some library research where the children will get to pick one of the habitats that we study to learn more about. Finally, our culminating activity will be to pick a habitat and create a diorama showing at least 1 plant and animal that lives there and show how a plant depends on an animal or how an animal depends on a plant. Thank you to everyone who has already sent in a shoe box. If you haven't already done so, please try to send in the boxes by November 7th. Thank you!
Parent teacher conferences are coming soon! The online sign-up will go live on November 6th at 3:30. Please watch for information to be coming home from the school office. I look forward to meeting with you to discuss the growth that your child has already made in Second Grade.
We will be going to the Concord Youth Theatre next Thursday, November 8th. We will be leaving Robinson at 9:15 and will be back in time for our regular lunch. The children will be eating their morning snack on the bus. Therefore, we are asking that you send their snack in a separate bag from their lunch and in containers that can be thrown away. Thanks for your help!
Upcoming Dates:
November 7th- Author Salina Yoon visits Robinson
November 8th- Field Trip to Concord Youth Theatre for Willie Wonka play
November 12th- No School for Veteran's Day
November 19th- No School- Parent Teacher Conferences
November 20th- 2 Hour Delay- Parent Teacher Conferences
November 21st- Early Release for Thanksgiving Break
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