Week of: October 28th

Upcoming Dates:

Oct. 31 - Halloween Parade at 1:45
Nov. 1 - Teacher Institute Day - No School for Students
Nov. 7 - Trivia Night!
Nov. 27-29 - Thanksgiving Break - No School

*Italics are repeated from last week's blog.
Reading: This week we continue our second reading unit: "Becoming Experts - Reading Nonfiction". This week we will learn to preview a nonfiction book before reading. We will ask ourselves: "How does this book go?". We will also learn that reading to learn and using vocabulary is an important part of growing knowledge.

Writing: We will start a new unit this week: "Nonfiction Writing".  The students will learn to write informational books about topics they know well! This week we will learn that nonfiction writers write about topics they know well. We will also learn that nonfiction writers notice what other nonfiction writers have don in their books and think, "I can try this, too!".

Spelling: This year we will be using a program called: "Words Their Way". We will also use another program called: "Phonics Units of Study".  We will continue to have individualized word lists.  Students will bring their word sorts home on Monday and will be tested on 10 randomly selected words from their sort on Friday.  Please spend time working on the spelling PATTERNS from their sorts at home.  The goal is not to memorize the words, but to learn the letter patterns.

Math:  We will continue our module called: "Place Value, Counting, and Comparison of Numbers to 1,000". This unit focuses heavily on place value with ones, tens, and hundreds.  This week the students will practice and learn to write numbers in all forms: standard, expanded, unit, and word forms.  We will also learn to count the total value of $1, $10, and $100 bills up to $1,000.

Science:  We are hoping to start our first science unit on solids and liquids!  The students will learn the different properties of solids first, and then we will learn about properties of liquids! 

Week of: October 21st

Upcoming Dates:

Oct. 21-25 - Parent/Teacher Conference Week - Early Dismissal on Thursday and Friday (11:00)
Oct. 21-24 - Book Fair Week after school
Oct. 31 - Halloween Parade at 1:45
Nov. 1 - Teacher Institute Day - No School for Students
Nov. 7 - Trivia Night!
Nov. 27-29 - Thanksgiving Break - No School

Reading: This week we continue our second reading unit: "Becoming Experts - Reading Nonfiction". This week we lean to pay attention to details, putting all the pieces together to really know and understand a topic.  We will also learn to generate questions about topics. Finally, the kids will learn to preview a nonfiction text before reading and ask themselves, "How does this book go?".

Writing: We will wrap up our first writing unit called, "Lessons from the Masters: Improving Narrative Writing". This week the students will wrap up their writing pieces for this unit.  They will do some final editing and publishing.  Then we will have a little celebration to end this first unit of writing.  The next week will begin a new unit on nonfiction writing.

Spelling: This year we will be using a program called: "Words Their Way". We will also use another program called: "Phonics Units of Study".  We will continue to have individualized word lists.  Students will bring their word sorts home on Monday and will be tested on 10 randomly selected words from their sort on Friday.  Please spend time working on the spelling PATTERNS from their sorts at home.  The goal is not to memorize the words, but to learn the letter patterns.

Math:  We will continue our module called: "Place Value, Counting, and Comparison of Numbers to 1,000". This unit focuses heavily on place value with ones, tens, and hundreds.  This week we will learn to show three digit numbers in both unit and expanded form.

Social Studies:  We have continued to focus on 5 traits for "joyful independent growth".  This ties in nicely with what we have already learned about growth mindset. This week we will be focusing on "flexibility"some more.  We will also be learning about "persistence".  The kids can say to themselves: "I am getting frustrated. If I try again, maybe I will get it."

Week of: October 14th

Upcoming Dates:

Oct. 17 - Field Trip - All Seasons Apple Orchard - permission slips went home already
Oct. 17 - Family Math Night
Oct. 14-18 - Fun Run Spirit Week - Flyer went home with daily themes
Oct. 18 - Fun Run - 2nd grade will go from 10:00-10:30
Oct. 21-25 - Parent/Teacher Conference Week - Early Dismissal on Thursday and Friday (11:00)

Reading: This week we will start our second reading unit: "Becoming Experts - Reading Nonfiction". This week we lean to pay attention to details, putting all the pieces together to really know and understand a topic.  We will also learn to generate questions about topics.

Writing: We will continue our first writing unit called, "Lessons from the Masters: Improving Narrative Writing". This week we will learn that you can find "craft moves" in any text, anytime you read!  They will learn to be brave and try these new things they have found in their own writing. 

Spelling: This year we will be using a program called: "Words Their Way". We will also use another program called: "Phonics Units of Study".  We will continue to have individualized word lists.  Students will bring their word sorts home on Monday and will be tested on 10 randomly selected words from their sort on Friday.  Please spend time working on the spelling PATTERNS from their sorts at home.  The goal is not to memorize the words, but to learn the letter patterns.

Math:  We will start a new module this week called: "Place Value, Counting, and Comparison of Numbers to 1,000". This unit focuses heavily on place value with ones, tens, and hundreds.  This week the kids will learn to count up and down between 90 and 1,000 using ones, tens, and hundreds.  They will also learn to use the place value chart.

Social Studies:  We have continued to focus on 5 traits for "joyful independent growth".  This ties in nicely with what we have already learned about growth mindset. This week we will be focusing on "flexibility".  The kids will learn to use self-talk to say: "That way isn't working, what else can I try?"

Week of: October 7th

Upcoming Dates:
Oct. 7-11 - Hispanic Heritage Week - See Mrs. Pelling's email for daily themes/activities
Oct. 17 - Field Trip - All Seasons Apple Orchard - permission slips went home already
Oct. 17 - Family Math Night
Oct. 14-18 - Fun Run Spirit Week - Flyer went home with daily themes
Oct. 18 - Fun Run - 2nd grade will go from 10:00-10:30
Oct. 21-25 - Parent/Teacher Conference Week - Early Dismissal on Thursday and Friday (11:00)

Reading: This week we will continue our first unit: "Second-Grade Reading Growth Spurt". This week we will focus on author's craft, noticing what they do and why/how. We will also notice how different parts of a story go together.  Finally, we will learn to think about what the author wants to teach us, the story's "message".

Writing: We will continue our first writing unit called, "Lessons from the Masters: Improving Narrative Writing". This week we will working on adding "craft moves" from mentor authors to our own writing. We will also learn to use the "editing checklist" to make sure our writing is ready to share with others. 

Spelling: This year we will be using a program called: "Words Their Way". We will also use another program called: "Phonics Units of Study".  We will continue to have individualized word lists.  Students will bring their word sorts home on Monday and will be tested on 10 randomly selected words from their sort on Friday.  Please spend time working on the spelling PATTERNS from their sorts at home.  The goal is not to memorize the words, but to learn the letter patterns.

Math:  We will start a new module this week called: "Place Value, Counting, and Comparison of Numbers to 1,000". This unit focuses heavily on place value with ones, tens, and hundreds.  This week we will take the module pre-test, and also work on "bundling" ones, tens, and hundreds up to 1,000. 

Social Studies:  We have continued to focus on 5 traits for "joyful independent growth".  This ties in nicely with what we have already learned about growth mindset. The first trait that we will be discussing is "Empathy".  We will also continue to learn about how to "Talk it Out".  This week we learned about how to find solutions to problems that satisfy the needs of both parties involved.