Week of: January 4th

  Upcoming Dates:

Dec. 19-Jan. 3:  Winter Break (school resumes Tuesday, 1/4/22)
Jan. 10-14: MAP Testing this week on Tuesday(reading) and Thursday(math)
Jan. 17: Dr. Martin Luther King Holiday - No School
Jan. 31-Feb. 4: Parent/Teacher Conference Week - Thursday/Friday will have early dismissal at 11:00
Feb. 21: President's Day - No School

*Italics are repeated from last week's blog.
Reading: We are starting a new reading unit this week: "Studying Characters and Their Stories". This unit is all about characters and studying how they change and grow.  The students will be making lots of inferences and predictions in this unit! First, we will learn about character traits and how to "stop and jot" to make predictions.

Writing: We will be starting a new writing unit: "Writing Gripping Fictional Stories". This unit is all about character and plot development.  The kids have so much fun making up their own characters and stories! This week we will learn the difference between realistic and unrealistic fiction.  We will also learn to create interesting characters for our stories. 

Math:  This week we will continue our math module, Module 4: "Addition and Subtraction Within 200 with Word Problems to 100".  This is a huge module that covers several different strategies for adding and subtracting larger numbers. Next week we will learn how to add larger numbers using the place value chart as a strategy.  Students will learn how to "bundle" ones to make another ten and how to "bundle" tens to make another hundred.  This is called "regrouping" and will eventually lead us into what we all remember as "carrying the one". 

Social Studies/Science:  We will continue our learning about having a growth mindset all year long.  We are continuing with our science unit: The States of Matter: Solids, Liquids, and Gases.  Last week we learned how to describe liquids by using their properties.  We learned more about "viscous" and "fluid" liquids as well as "transparent, translucent, and opaque".   We have also continued to learn the locations of the 50 states.  This past week we added one more state: Nebraska (NE).  Ask your child about the "New Basket" of vegetables that the chef plans on adding to his soup!

Week of: December 13th

 Upcoming Dates:

Dec. 19-Jan. 3:  Winter Break (school resumes 1/4)
Jan. 17: Dr. Martin Luther King Holiday - No School
Jan. 31-Feb. 4: Parent/Teacher Conference Week - Thursday/Friday will have early dismissal at 11:00
Feb. 21: President's Day - No School

*Italics are repeated from last week's blog.
Reading: We have completed our nonfiction reading unit about using reading skills to become experts.  Each student made a flipgrid video to share a few of the keywords and facts that they learned about their topic.  Ask them to open their "Flipgrid" app and show you our class videos!  Next week we will do some themed reading days that correspond with winter and the season.  We will officially begin our next reading unit when we return from Winter Break!

Writing: We will complete our writing unit this week: "The How-To Guide for Nonfiction Writing". The kids will learn to write informational books to teach their readers about something they know well.  We will be working on editing and putting the final touches on the books that we want to "publish".  Then we will take some time to share and celebrate all of the hard that we did while writing our nonfiction books!

Math:  This week we will continue our math module, Module 4: "Addition and Subtraction Within 200 with Word Problems to 100".  This is a huge module that covers several different strategies for adding and subtracting larger numbers. Next week we will work on learning about the "Arrow Way" for subtraction.  We will also begin learning about another addition strategy: Partial Sums. 

Social Studies/Science:  We will continue our learning about having a growth mindset all year long.  We are continuing with our science unit: The States of Matter: Solids, Liquids, and Gases.  Last week we started to learn about liquids.  We studied 7 different "mystery liquids" and focused on how liquids can be different from each other.  The kids LOVED trying to guess the identity of each liquid!  They also learned a new word to describe "slow moving" liquids: viscous.  We have also continued to learn the locations of the 50 states.  This past week we added two more states: Oklahoma (OK) and Kansas (KS).  Ask your child about Chef MIMAL's hot pot and the can of vegetables that he has added to the pot. 

Week of: December 6th

 Upcoming Dates:

Dec. 10: Report cards go home today.
Dec. 19-Jan. 3:  Winter Break (school resumes 1/4)
Jan. 17: Dr. Martin Luther King Holiday - No School
Jan. 31-Feb. 4: Parent/Teacher Conference Week - Thursday/Friday will have early dismissal at 11:00
Feb. 21: President's Day - No School

*Italics are repeated from last week's blog.
Reading: This week we will continue our reading unit: "Becoming Experts-Reading Nonfiction. In this unit the kids will be learning how learn from, and enjoy, a nonfiction text.  This week each student will complete a final project showing what they have learned about their nonfiction reading topic.  We will also do an end-of-unit assessment. 

Writing: We will continue our writing unit this week: "The How-To Guide for Nonfiction Writing". The kids will learn to write informational books to teach their readers about something they know well.  We will work on editing and revising our nonfiction writing.  The kids will also be doing some goal-setting for their writing as well as adding special text features!

Math:  This week we will be starting a new math module, Module 4: "Addition and Subtraction Within 200 with Word Problems to 100".  This is a huge module that covers several different strategies for adding and subtracting larger numbers. We will start off the unit by learning about the "Arrow Way" for addition.  We will then move into the "Arrow Way" for subtraction. 

Social Studies/Science:  We will continue our learning about having a growth mindset all year long.  We are continuing with our science unit: The States of Matter: Solids, Liquids, and Gases.  Last week we were able to apply our knowledge about the properties and materials of solid objects. The kids were challenged to build a tower out of a variety of solids objects.  The tower needed to be 45cm tall and be able to withstand the "wind" (fan blowing). It was definitely a challenge, but the kids had lots of fun and it was a great learning experience.  We have also continued to learn the locations of the 50 states.  This past week we added two more states: Oregon (OR) and Nevada (NV).  Ask your child about the "New Vat" of soup and the ore that is used to stir it! 

Week of: November 22 and 29

 Upcoming Dates:

Nov. 24-26: Thanksgiving Break - No School
Dec. 10: Report cards go home today.
Dec. 19-Jan. 3:  Winter Break (school resumes 1/4)

*Italics are repeated from last week's blog.
Reading: This week we will continue our reading unit: "Becoming Experts-Reading Nonfiction. In this unit the kids will be learning how learn from, and enjoy, a nonfiction text.  This week we will learn how to compare two, or more, books on the same topic.  We will also work on retelling what we have about an entire topic, not just one book. We will wrap up our nonfiction unit with an assessment and celebration in the coming weeks!

Writing: We will continue our writing unit this week: "The How-To Guide for Nonfiction Writing". The kids will learn to write informational books to teach their readers about something they know well.  We will work on our introductions for our nonfiction writing pieces. The kids will also be rereading what they have written and they will look for ways to make their writing more clear and easier to read.  

Math:  This week we will continue our work with Module 3: "Place Value, Counting, and Comparison of Numbers to 1,000". In this unit the kids will learn all about place value as well and composing and decomposing numbers.  It will set the foundation for adding and subtracting larger numbers later on in the school year. This week we will learn how to order numbers in different forms.  We will also learn how to find 1 more, 1 less, 100 more, and 100 less than a given number.  Finally we will work on patterns and be able to continue complex number patterns. At the end of next week, we will have a final assessment to close out this math module. 

Social Studies/Science:  We will continue our learning about having a growth mindset all year long.  We are continuing with our science unit: The States of Matter: Solids, Liquids, and Gases.  Last week we focused on the materials that solids are made from and how the properties of those materials useful.  We have also continued to learn the locations of the 50 states.  This past week we added two more states: Idaho (ID) and Montana (MT).  Ask your child about who does the dishes in Chef MIMAL's kitchen.  It's "Ida" and "ManTAn"! (Idaho and Montana)

Week of: November 15th

 Upcoming Dates:

Nov. 17: Picture Retake Day 
Nov. 18: Virtual Family Reading Night
Nov. 24-26: Thanksgiving Break - No School
Dec. 10: Report cards go home today.
Dec. 19-Jan. 3:  Winter Break (school resumes 1/4)

*Italics are repeated from last week's blog.
Reading: This week we will continue our reading unit: "Becoming Experts-Reading Nonfiction. In this unit the kids will be learning how learn from, and enjoy, a nonfiction text.  This week we will start to work on learning about a topic across several books that on that topic. We will work on learning about subtopics within our main topic and how to compare them across multiple books and resources.

Writing: We will continue our writing unit this week: "The How-To Guide for Nonfiction Writing". The kids will learn to write informational books to teach their readers about something they know well.  We will learn how to write in a way that helps our readers to picture the information that we are sharing.  We will also work on our introductions for our nonfiction writing pieces. 

Math:  This week we will continue our work with Module 3: "Place Value, Counting, and Comparison of Numbers to 1,000". In this unit the kids will learn all about place value as well and composing and decomposing numbers.  It will set the foundation for adding and subtracting larger numbers later on in the school year. This week we will learn to model numbers with more than 9 ones or 9 tens; writing them in expanded, unit, standard, and word forms.  We will also start to use the > < and = symbols to compare numbers and order them in different forms.

Social Studies/Science:  We will continue our learning about having a growth mindset all year long.  However, this week we will be learning about the three different types of communities: urban, suburban, and rural. We We started a new science unit last week on the states of matter: Solids, Liquids, and Gases.  We focused on how to describe solid objects by their properties.  We have also continued to learn the locations of the 50 states.  This past week we added one more state: Washington (WA).  Ask your child about Chef MIMAL's "Washing Machine". 

Week of: November 1st

 Upcoming Dates:

Nov. 2:  Institute Day - No School for Students
Nov. 24-26: Thanksgiving Break - No School
Dec. 10: Report cards go home today.
Dec. 19-Jan. 3 - Winter Break (school resumes 1/4)

*Italics are repeated from last week's blog.
Reading: This week we will continue our reading unit: "Becoming Experts-Reading Nonfiction. In this unit the kids will be learning how learn from, and enjoy, a nonfiction text.  This week we will learn that using vocabulary is an important part of growing knowledge from a nonfiction book.  We will also learn to use text features and keywords. 

Writing: We will continue our writing unit this week: "The How-To Guide for Nonfiction Writing". The kids will learn to write informational books to teach their readers about something they know well.  We will learn that nonfiction writers add more by asking themselves: "What else could I say?". We will also talk about goal-setting and planning. 

Math:  This week we will continue our work with Module 3: "Place Value, Counting, and Comparison of Numbers to 1,000". In this unit the kids will learn all about place value as well and composing and decomposing numbers.  It will set the foundation for adding and subtracting larger numbers later on in the school year. This week we will learn to count the total value of $1, $10, $100 bills up to $1,000. We will also learn to use a hundred's chart and an empty number line to skip count using different units. 

Social Studies:  We will continue our learning about having a growth mindset all year long.  However, this week we will be learning about the three different types of communities: urban, suburban, and rural. We focused on "urban" and "suburban" communities last week and this week we will learn about "rural" communities. We have also continued to learn the locations of the 50 states.  This past week we added three more states: TX, ME, and FL (the "three corners" of Chef MIMAL's kitchen).

Week of: October 25th

 Upcoming Dates:

Oct. 26: Picture Day 
Oct. 29: Halloween Parade at 1:30
Nov. 2:  Institute Day - No School for Students
Nov. 24-26: Thanksgiving Break - No School
Dec. 10: Report cards go home today.
Dec. 19-Jan. 3 - Winter Break (school resumes 1/4)

*Italics are repeated from last week's blog.
Reading: This week we will start a new reading unit: "Becoming Experts-Reading Nonfiction. In this unit the kids will be learning how learn from, and enjoy, a nonfiction text.  This week we will learn that nonfiction readers pay attention to the details and put those details together to really understand a topic. We will also learn that sometimes readers have to ask questions to learn more, two of those questions being: "What is this book teaching me?" and "How does this book go?". 

Writing: We will also be starting a new writing unit this week: "The How-To Guide for Nonfiction Writing". The kids will learn to write informational books to teach their readers about something they know well.  We will start the unit by showing what we already know about nonfiction writing from kindergarten and first grade.  Then we will lean that nonfiction writers pay attention to published writers and notice what they have done in their books.  Then we think, "I can try this, too!". 

Math:  This week we will continue our work with Module 3: "Place Value, Counting, and Comparison of Numbers to 1,000". In this unit the kids will learn all about place value as well and composing and decomposing numbers.  It will set the foundation for adding and subtracting larger numbers later on in the school year. This week we will learn to write numbers in three different ways: unit form, expanded form, and word form. We will also do a special pumpkin-carving lesson and use our place value skills to count and bundle the seeds! :) 

Social Studies:  We will continue our learning about having a growth mindset all year long.  However, this week we will be learning about the three different types of communities: urban, suburban, and rural. We have also continued to learn the locations of the 50 states.  This past week we reviewed all of the states that we have learned so far.

Week of: October 12th

 Upcoming Dates:

Oct. 11 - Indigenous Peoples' Day - No School
Oct. 18-22 - Parent/Teacher Conference Week - Early Dismissal on Thursday and Friday (11:00)
Oct. 26 and 27 - Picture Day (I will let you know what day is for 2nd grade asap.)
Nov. 2 - Institute Day - No School for Students
Nov. 24-26 - Thanksgiving Break - No School

*Italics are repeated from last week's blog.
Reading: This week we will continue with the first unit in our reading curriculum, Lucy Calkins Reading Units of Study.  The first unit is called, "Second-Grade Reading Growth Spurt".  This week we will learn that readers pay attention to author's craft and intentions. We will also notice how all the parts of the story work together.  We will work on figuring out what the author may have wanted us to learn from the story (aka: the moral of the story). 

Writing: We will also be continuing our first unit in our writing curriculum, Lucy Calkins Writing Units of Study.  The first unit is called, "Lessons from the Masters: Improving Narrative Writing". This is a narrative writing unit where students will writing about small moments from their own lives.  This week will will learn to craft powerful introductions for our stories.  We will also work on editing not only for conventions, but for using more precise and descriptive language. 

Math:  This week we continue will start a new math module, Module 3: "Place Value, Counting, and Comparison of Numbers to 1,000". In this unit the kids will learn all about place value as well and composing and decomposing numbers.  It will set the foundation for adding and subtracting larger numbers later on in the school year. This week we will bundle and count ones, tens, and hundreds to 1,000. We will also count up and down between 90 and 1,000 by ones, tens, and hundreds. 

Social Studies:  Our first unit in social studies will focus on building classroom community and building a growth mindset.  Both of which will help us to have a successful year in second grade! This week we will continue to focus on one of the 5 habits that help with having a growth mindset and those are: Empathy, Flexibility, Persistence, Resilience, and Optimism. We will most likely focus on one or two words per week! This week our focus will be on "Optimism".  We have also continued to learn the locations of the 50 states.  This past week we reviewed these new states: MI and WI.  Ask your child about the "mitten and the scarf" as well as the "wire whisk".

Week of: October 4th

 Upcoming Dates:

Oct. 5 - Colombian Dance Assembly (in school-through Zoom)
Oct. 6 - Walk to School Day!
Oct. 11 - Indigenous Peoples' Day - No School
Oct. 18-22 - Parent/Teacher Conference Week - Early Dismissal on Thursday and Friday (11:00)
Oct. 26 and 27 - Picture Day (I will let you know what day is for 2nd grade asap.)
Nov. 2 - Institute Day - No School for Students
Nov. 24-26 - Thanksgiving Break - No School

*Italics are repeated from last week's blog.
Reading: This week we will continue with the first unit in our reading curriculum, Lucy Calkins Reading Units of Study.  The first unit is called, "Second-Grade Reading Growth Spurt".  This week we will learn that readers pay attention to author's craft and intentions. We will also notice how all the parts of the story work together.  We will work on figuring out what the author may have wanted us to learn from the story (aka: the moral of the story). 

Writing: We will also be continuing our first unit in our writing curriculum, Lucy Calkins Writing Units of Study.  The first unit is called, "Lessons from the Masters: Improving Narrative Writing". This is a narrative writing unit where students will writing about small moments from their own lives. We will learn that writers get stronger by looking at their writing, making plans, and setting goals.  We will also learn that writers revise on the go and keep their audience in mind at all times.

Math:  This week we continue with our work in Module 2, "Addition and Subtraction of Length Units".  This is a measurement unit that focuses on centimeters and meters. This week we will use string to measure lines and items that are not straight.  We will also learn to use tape diagrams to compare the lengths of two objects. Finally, we will work on solving two-step word problems involving length. We will finish up this math module on measurement, ending the week with an end-of-the-unit assessment.

Social Studies:  Our first unit in social studies will focus on building classroom community and building a growth mindset.  Both of which will help us to have a successful year in second grade! This week we will continue to focus on one of the 5 habits that help with having a growth mindset and those are: Empathy, Flexibility, Persistence, Resilience, and Optimism. We will most likely focus on one or two words per week! This week our focus will be on "Resilience".  We have also continued to learn the locations of the 50 states.  This past week we reviewed these new states: IL, IN, and OH.  Ask your child what happened with Chef MIMAL got an upset stomach and how that can help us remember these new states (warning....it's gross!).

Week of: September 27

 Upcoming Dates:

Oct. 11 - Indigenous Peoples' Day - No School
Oct. 18-22 - Parent/Teacher Conference Week - Early Dismissal on Thursday and Friday (11:00)
Oct. 26 and 27 - Picture Day (I will let you know what day is for 2nd grade asap.)
Nov. 2 - Institute Day - No School for Students
Nov. 24-26 - Thanksgiving Break - No School

*Italics are repeated from last week's blog.
Reading: This week we will continue with the first unit in our reading curriculum, Lucy Calkins Reading Units of Study.  The first unit is called, "Second-Grade Reading Growth Spurt".  This week we will work on word-solving strategies that will help us to solve tricky words when we encounter them in our reading. We will specifically focus on vowel teams and using context clues to figure out these more difficult words. 

Writing: We will also be continuing our first unit in our writing curriculum, Lucy Calkins Writing Units of Study.  The first unit is called, "Lessons from the Masters: Improving Narrative Writing". This is a narrative writing unit where students will writing about small moments from their own lives. We will work on our endings this week and learn to bring our stories to a satisfying conclusion. We will also review punctuation strategies and editing skills. 

Math:  This week we continue with our work in Module 2, "Addition and Subtraction of Length Units".  This is a measurement unit that focuses on centimeters and meters. This week we will learn to compare lengths using centimeters and meters. We will also learn to relate measurements to unit size. Finally, we will work on solving addition and subtraction word problems using the ruler as a number line. 

Social Studies:  Our first unit in social studies will focus on building classroom community and building a growth mindset.  Both of which will help us to have a successful year in second grade! This week we will continue to focus on one of the 5 habits that help with having a growth mindset and those are: Empathy, Flexibility, Persistence, Resilience, and Optimism. We will most likely focus on one or two words per week! This week our focus will be on "Persistence".  We have also started to learn the locations of the 50 states.  This past week we reviewed these states: MN, IA, MO, AR, and LA.  Ask your child to tell you about "Chef MIMAL"!

Week of: September 20

 Upcoming Dates:

Oct. 11 - Indigenous Peoples' Day - No School
Oct. 18-22 - Parent/Teacher Conference Week - Early Dismissal on Thursday and Friday (11:00)
Nov. 2 - Institute Day - No School for Students
Nov. 24-26 - Thanksgiving Break - No School

*Italics are repeated from last week's blog.
Reading: This week we will continue with the first unit in our reading curriculum, Lucy Calkins Reading Units of Study.  The first unit is called, "Second-Grade Reading Growth Spurt".  This week we will learn strategies to help us think about what we are reading and check our comprehension. We will also learn to take notes as we read and to have discussions with partners about our reading.

Writing: We will also be continuing our first unit in our writing curriculum, Lucy Calkins Writing Units of Study.  The first unit is called, "Lessons from the Masters: Improving Narrative Writing". We will learn how to stretch out the story of a tiny moment by using and adding details to our writing.  The kids will learn to zoom in on the small moments in their stories in order to add details that involve the senses!

Math:  This week we will start a new math module, "Addition and Subtraction of Length Units".  This is a measurement unit that focuses on centimeters and meters. This week we will learn about concepts of a ruler as well as estimating lengths using different measurement tools. 

Social Studies:  Our first unit in social studies will focus on building classroom community and building a growth mindset.  Both of which will help us to have a successful year in second grade! This week we will continue to focus on one of the 5 habits that help with having a growth mindset and those are: Empathy, Flexibility, Persistence, Resilience, and Optimism. We will most likely focus on one or two words per week! This week our focus will be on "Flexibility and Persistence".  We have also started to learn the locations of the 50 states.  This past week we learned about these states: MN, IA, MO, AR, and LA.  Ask your child to tell you about "Chef MIMAL"!

Week of: September 13th

 Upcoming Dates:

Sept. 14 - Author/Illustrator School Visit (via Zoom) - Beth Perry/Tom Lichtenheld
Sept. 17 - MAP Math Assessment (A.M.)
Oct. 11 - Indigenous Peoples' Day - No School
Oct. 18-22 - Parent/Teacher Conference Week - Early Dismissal on Thursday and Friday (11:00)
Nov. 2 - Institute Day - No School for Students
Nov. 24-26 - Thanksgiving Break - No School

*Italics are repeated from last week's blog.
Reading: This week we will continue with the first unit in our reading curriculum, Lucy Calkins Reading Units of Study.  The first unit is called, "Second-Grade Reading Growth Spurt". This week we will learn how to preview the book before reading to take a sneak peek. Finally, the kids will learn that second grade is a year where they can really take off as readers. And to do that, volume is key! We have to read lots and lots! We will also learn that readers can read longer phrases by scooping up snap words that they already know.

Writing: We will also be continuing our first unit in our writing curriculum, Lucy Calkins Writing Units of Study.  The first unit is called, "Lessons from the Masters: Improving Narrative Writing". This week we will learn to capture everyday moments in our "Tiny Topics" notebooks and save them as possible story ideas. We will also learn how to stretch out the story of a tiny moment by using and adding details to our writing.

Math:  We will continue with our first math module called: "Sums and Differences to 100".  Much of the first unit (only 8 lessons) will be a review of first grade material.  This week we will subtract single-digit numbers from multiples of 10 within 100. We will also learn the "take from ten" strategy. This will complete out first second grade math module.  I am hoping to start our next module, on measurement, this week as well. 

Social Studies:  Our first unit in social studies will focus on building classroom community and building a growth mindset.  Both of which will help us to have a successful year in second grade! This week we will start to focus on one of the 5 habits to help with having a growth mindset and those are: Empathy, Flexibility, Persistence, Resilience, and Optimism. We will most likely focus on one word per week! This week our focus will be on "Empathy".

Week of: September 7th

 Upcoming Dates:

Sept. 6 - Labor Day - No School
Sept. 14 - Author/Illustrator School Visit (via Zoom) - Beth Perry/Tom Lichtenheld
Oct. 18-22 - Parent/Teacher Conference Week - Early Dismissal on Thursday and Friday (11:00)


*Italics are repeated from last week's blog.
Reading: This week we will officially begin the first unit in our reading curriculum, Lucy Calkins Reading Units of Study.  The first unit is called, "Second-Grade Reading Growth Spurt". This week we will learn that you can choose not only what you read, but HOW you are going to read.  We will also learn how to preview the book before reading to take a sneak peek. Finally, the kids will learn that second grade is a year where they can really take off as readers. And to do that, volume is key! We have to read lots and lots!

Writing: We will also be starting our first unit in our writing curriculum, Lucy Calkins Writing Units of Study.  The first unit is called, "Lessons from the Masters: Improving Narrative Writing". This week we will talk about how you can learn craft moves from mentor authors. We will also learn to capture everyday moments in our "Tiny Topics" notebooks and save them as possible story ideas.

Math:  We will continue with our first math module called: "Sums and Differences to 100".  Much of the first unit (only 8 lessons) will be a review of first grade material.  This week we will add and subtract like units, make 10 to add numbers up to 20, and mand 10 to add numbers up to 100.  We will also learn about subtracting single-digit numbers from multiples of 10 (up to 100).

Social Studies:  Our first unit in social studies will focus on building classroom community and building a growth mindset.  Both of which will help us to have a successful year in second grade! This week we will start to focus on one of the 5 habits to help with having a growth mindset and those are: Empathy, Flexibility, Persistence, Resilience, and Optimism. We will most likely focus on two words per week!

Week of: August 30th

 Upcoming Dates:

Sept. 2 - 7:00 p.m. - Curriculum Night (Virtual/Zoom)
Sept. 6 - Labor Day - No School
Oct. 18-22 - Parent/Teacher Conference Week - Early Dismissal on Thursday and Friday (11:00)

Reading: This week we will be working on building our independent reading stamina.  We will also learn about how to choose a "Just Right Book". Finally, we will work on getting comfortable with a couple of the reading applications on the iPads. Next week we will officially start our first reading unit: "Second Grade Reading Growth Spurt". 

Writing: We will be starting our first unit in our writing curriculum, Lucy Calkins Writing Units of Study.  The first unit is called, "Lessons from the Masters: Improving Narrative Writing". We will start the unit with a writing sample that will help me know more about your child as a writer. We will also talk about how you can learn craft moves from mentor authors.

Math:  We will start our first module in math this week.  We are using the Eureka math series.  The first module is called, "Sums and Differences to 100".  Much of the first unit (only 8 lessons) will be a review of first grade material.  This week we will work on adding and subtracting like units, making ten to add within 100, and subtracting single-digit numbers from multiples of 10 (within 100).

Social Studies:  Our first unit in social studies will focus on building classroom community and building a growth mindset.  Both of which will help us to have a successful year in second grade!

Welcome back to school!

    Second grade is such an exciting year! It is so rewarding to see how much second graders will grow, both academically and socially.  There are many things I love about teaching, but one of my favorites is the relationship that I get to build with my students AND their families!

    This will be my 19th year teaching in Oak Park. I started my career here and could not imagine being anywhere else.  I have two kids of my own, so I know how important it is to teach with the whole child in mind. Social skills are just as important as academic skills and we will be working hard at both this year. My daughter, Emmy, will be a freshman at Lyons Township High School. My son, Charlie, will be in seventh grade at a middle school near our home in Western Springs. 

    As we start the year, please know that I am always available through email and am happy to answer any questions you might have. My email address is: lpelling@op97.org. I'm eager to get started and meet all of you very soon!  



Week of: June 1st

 Upcoming Dates:

June 10 - Last Day of School 
Reading/Writing: Research - For the last few weeks of school we will be combining our reading and writing time to work on a multi media research project.  The kids will all choose a topic and use multiple resources to learn as much as possible about their topics.  Some of these resources include: Britannica Online, Epic! (non-fiction), encyclopedias, and books from our Irving School library. They will use graphic organizers and "note-catchers" to organize their learning.  Finally, the kids will take what they have learned and create a presentation on an app called: "Explain Everything". They will cite their sources and also use copyright-free images.  This is such an engaging and immersive project!

Math:    We will continue our mini-unit on Geometry.  This week we will learn about splitting shapes into equal parts.  We will learn about halves, thirds, and fourths. We will also spend a couple of days taking an end-of-the-year cumulative math assessment. This math assessment will cover many of the topics we have learned in 2nd grade.  The scores will be shared with our third grade teachers in order to prepare for instruction in the fall. 

Social Studies/Science:  We will review our United States map. We will continue our science unit: "Plants and Insects".  We will study the life cycle of mealworms as well as Brassica (broccoli) plants.  Each student will have their own worm and seed to study and plant in class!  We have been learning about the different parts of a plant and their functions.  We have also been making formal and informal observations of both our mealworms and our plants. 

Week of: May 24

  Upcoming Dates:

May 31 - Memorial Day - No School
June 10 - Last Day of School 
Reading/Writing:Research - For the last few weeks of school we will be combining our reading and writing time to work on a multi media research project.  The kids will all choose a topic and use multiple resources to learn as much as possible about their topics.  Some of these resources include: Britannica Online, Epic! (non-fiction), encyclopedias, and books from our Irving School library. They will use graphic organizers and "note-catchers" to organize their learning.  Finally, the kids will take what they have learned and create a presentation on an app called: "Explain Everything". They will cite their sources and also use copyright-free images.  This is such an engaging and immersive project. I can't wait for us to get started this week! 

Math:    We will be starting our mini-unit on Geometry this week!  The kids will learn how to build and identify two-dimensional shapes based on their attributes. They will also learn to draw these shapes, including: triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons, and hexagons. Finally, we will learn about halves and equal parts.  This will lead us into our study of fractions for the following week.

Social Studies/Science:  We will review our United States map. We will continue our science unit: "Plants and Insects".  We will study the life cycle of mealworms as well as Brassica (broccoli) plants.  Each student will have their own worm and seed to study and plant in class!  We have been learning about our meal worms molting as well as the "conditions" that a seed needs in order to "germinate". Everyone's broccoli plants have already sprouted, which is very exciting!

Week of: May 10th

  Upcoming Dates:

May 13 - Virtual Author's Visit at 2:00 - Pete Oswald
May 31 - Memorial Day - No School
June 10 - Last Day of School 
Reading: We will continue our current reading unit: "Series Book Clubs". In this unit, students will work together in small groups to read books in a series.  The students have been assigned books at their appropriate reading levels. They will work on comprehension strategies together with their groups. This week the kids will learn to pay close attention to the ending of a book what lesson the author might be trying to teach. We will also learn to share what we have read with others!

Writing: This week we will continue our work with our current writing unit: "Writing About Reading".  In this unit the children will learn to write about their opinions.  They will share their opinions about their favorite books. This week the kids will learn to write "nominations" for books that we love! These nominations will include text evidence to prove our opinions to others.  Finally, we will learn to add quotes from our books to further support our opinions. 

Math:    We will finish working on module: Module 6 "Foundations of Multiplication and Division". In this unit we will primarily be focusing on drawing arrays, repeated addition, and even/odd numbers. This week we will learn to pair objects and skip-count to relate to even numbers.  We will also investigate patterns of even numbers.  Finally, we will use rectangular arrays to investigate odd and even numbers.  

Social Studies/Science:  We will review our United States map. Next week we will begin our last science unit: "Plants and Insects".  We will study the life cycle of mealworms as well as Brassica plants.  Each student will have their own worm and seed to study and plant in class!  It will be very exciting!

Week of: May 3rd

 Upcoming Dates:

May 7 - Remote Learning Planning Day - No School for Students
May 13 - Virtual Author's Visit at 2:00 - Pete Oswald
May 31 - Memorial Day - No School
June 10 - Last Day of School 

*Italics are repeated from last week.
Reading: We will continue our current reading unit: "Series Book Clubs". In this unit, students will work together in small groups to read books in a series.  The students have been assigned books at their appropriate reading levels. They will work on comprehension strategies together with their groups. This week the kids will learn that they can figure out how a whole series will go once they notice how all of the books in a series go together.  We will also learn to notice "author's craft" in order to help us read our books more fluently. 

Writing: This week we will continue our work with our current writing unit: "Writing About Reading".  In this unit the children will learn to write about their opinions.  They will share their opinions about their favorite books. This week the kids will learn that writers must look for multiple pieces of evidence to support their opinions about a text. We will also study how and why authors use capital letters in different ways. Finally, we will learn to add fun little extras in order to "fancy up" our writing before sharing it with others. 

Math:    We will continue working on our new module: Module 6 "Foundations of Multiplication and Division". In this unit we will primarily be focusing on drawing arrays, repeated addition, and even/odd numbers. This week we will draw arrays with rows and columns. We will learn to relate those arrays to repeated addition. We will also partition rectangles into rows and columns and relate those to repeated addition.  Finally, we will begin to learn about even and odd numbers. 

Social Studies/Science:  We will review our United States map. This past week we started a new social studies unit: "Ways of Life" (Culture/Citizenship). Our first lesson taught the children about cultures, traditions, customs, and cultural diffusion. 

Week of: April 19th

 Upcoming Dates:

May 7 - Remote Learning Planning Day - No School for Students
May 13 - Virtual Author's Visit at 2:00 - Pete Oswald
May 31 - Memorial Day - No School
June 10 - Last Day of School 

*Italics are repeated from last week.
Reading: We will continue our current reading unit: "Series Book Clubs". In this unit, students will work together in small groups to read books in a series.  The students have been assigned books at their appropriate reading levels. They will work on comprehension strategies together with their groups. This week the kids will learn that once they come to know the main character in a series, they can draw on their knowledge of the character's behavior to predict their character's next steps. They will also learn that readers get to know the different people in a character's life and compare them to their own relationships. 

Writing: This week we will continue our work with our current writing unit: "Writing About Reading".  In this unit the children will learn to write about their opinions.  They will share their opinions about their favorite books. This week the kids will learn that writers who write about books often need to retell part of the story in order to help their readers better understand their opinion. We will also learn that writers write with a specific audience in mind. Finally, we will learn to use a checklist to set goals for ourselves as writers. 

Math:    We will finish up our work with Module 7: "Problem Solving with Length, Money, and Data". This week we will learn to draw line plots to represent measurement data. We will also learn to answer questions based off of a line plot.  At the end of the week, we will take a math test covering all that was learned in Module 7. 

Social Studies/Science:  We will review our United States map. This past week we started a new social studies unit: "The World of Work" (Economics). Our first lesson taught the children the difference between "needs" and "wants".  This coming week we will learn about "goods" and "services" as well as "producers" and "consumers". 

Week of: April 12th

 Upcoming Dates:

April 12 - Opera for the Young at 1:00 - Zoom link to come soon!
April 13 - Spelling Bee at 7:00 p.m. - via Zoom
May 7 - Remote Learning Planning Day - No School for Students
May 13 - Virtual Author's Visit at 2:00 - Pete Oswald
May 31 - Memorial Day - No School
June 10 - Last Day of School 

*Italics are repeated from last week.
Reading: We have started a new reading unit: "Series Book Clubs". In this unit, students will work together in small groups to read books in a series.  The students have been assigned books at their appropriate reading levels. They will work on comprehension strategies together with their groups. This week the kids will learn that readers think about how their characters respond to problems. They will also learn to look closely at their characters to determine how they "usually" feel and what they "always" do. We will learn to understand our characters even better, like experts!

Writing: This week we will also start a new writing unit: "Writing About Reading".  In this unit the children will learn to write about their opinions.  They will share their opinions about their favorite books. This week the kids will learn that writers are often inspired by their reading and reach out to others to share their ideas about characters. They will also learn to look closely at the the pictures in their books to help them develop opinions. 

Math:    We will continue our work with Module 7: "Problem Solving with Length, Money, and Data". This week we will learn to measure using rulers and yardsticks. We will learn to measure the same object using different units and to relate our measurements to unit size (for example: centimeters vs. inches). We will learn about the difference between inches, feet, and yards. Finally, we will work on solving measurement word problems.

Social Studies/Science:  We will review or add new states to our United States map. For science, we will continue work with our science unit: "Pebbles, Sand and Silt".  This week will be our last week for this particular science unit.  We will learn about rocks as "earth materials" and study other earth materials (also known as "natural resources"). 

Week of: March 22

  Upcoming Dates:

Mar. 26 - Report Cards Go Home (*This will be in the form of an email attachment.)
Mar. 29-Apr.2 - Spring Break - No School
Apr. 6 - No School (Election Day)
May 31 - Memorial Day - No School

*Italics are repeated from last week.
Reading: We will continue work with our reading unit: "Bigger Books Mean Amping Up Reading Power". This unit is all about increasing reading fluency, understanding literary language, keeping track of longer books, and setting reading goals. This week we will spend a lot of time working in our Book Clubs.  Your child is working in a small group with other classmates to become stronger on a specific area of their choice.  Your child either chose: Reading Fluency, Literary Language, or Keeping Track of Longer Books.  They came up with a plan together and are working on these in their groups and giving each other feedback. 

Writing: We will continue work with our writing unit: "Poetry: Big Thoughts in Small Packages". This unit is all about writing poetry and focusing on line breaks, rhythm, and meaningful phrases. Making sure our words rhyme is completely optional (poetry is so much more than that!).This week the kids will learn that there is a relationship between structure and meaning in poetry. They will learn to choose structures that best match what they are trying to say. We will also learn that sometime writers write from a point of view other than their own.  Finally, we will also work on revision this week. 

Math:    We will continue our work with Module 7: "Problem Solving with Length, Money, and Data". This week we will finish up our work with coins and dollars. We will learn to use the fewest number of coins to make a given value.  We will also work on different ways to make $1 and to make change from $1. Finally, we will work on words problems involving coins and dollars in amounts up to $100.

Social Studies/Science:  We will review or add new states to our United States map. For science, we will continue work with our science unit: "Pebbles, Sand and Silt".  This week we will be learning about the three different types of rocks.  We will also be learning about the "Story of Rocks" and how erosion affects rocks. We will also studying influential women from history as part of our Women's History Month focus. 

Week of: March 15th

 Upcoming Dates:

Mar. 15 - First Day of Trimester 3
Mar. 29-Apr.2 - Spring Break - No School
Apr. 6 - No School (Election Day)
May 31 - Memorial Day - No School

*Italics are repeated from last week.
Reading: We will continue work with our reading unit: "Bigger Books Mean Amping Up Reading Power". This unit is all about increasing reading fluency, understanding literary language, keeping track of longer books, and setting reading goals. This week we will learn to set goals and to work with other readers in a "reading club".  We will also learn how to support each other by giving helpful feedback to other club members. We will wrap up this reading unit with an assessment late this week or early next week! 

Writing: We will continue work with our writing unit: "Poetry: Big Thoughts in Small Packages". This unit is all about writing poetry and focusing on line breaks, rhythm, and meaningful phrases. Making sure our words rhyme is completely optional (poetry is so much more than that!).This week the kids will learn to stretch their comparisons across many lines in their poems and to add actions that connect with the comparison.  They will also experiment with different poem structures.  We will study different structures by doing some close reading of mentor poems. 

Math:    We will continue our work with Module 7: "Problem Solving with Length, Money, and Data". This week we work on solving word problems involving the total value of a group of coins and/or bills. We will also learn to use the fewest number of coins to make a given value. 

Social Studies/Science:  We will review or add new states to our United States map. For science, we will continue work with our science unit: "Pebbles, Sand and Silt".  This week we will be exploring and discovering the properties of rocks. We will also learn about different types of rocks. Our Scholastic News article will be: "Too Dry for a Toad?".  We will also be studying influential women from history as part of our Women's History Month focus. 

Week of: March 8th

 Upcoming Dates:

Mar. 15 - First Day of Trimester 3
Mar. 29-Apr.2 - Spring Break - No School
Apr. 6 - No School (Election Day)
May 31 - Memorial Day - No School

*Italics are repeated from last week.
Reading: We will continue work with our reading unit: "Bigger Books Mean Amping Up Reading Power". This unit is all about increasing reading fluency, understanding literary language, keeping track of longer books, and setting reading goals. This week we will learn to slow down, reread, and ask questions when we're having trouble understanding what we are reading. We will also learn set goals and to work with other readers in a "reading club". 

Writing: We will continue work with our writing unit: "Poetry: Big Thoughts in Small Packages". This unit is all about writing poetry and focusing on line breaks, rhythm, and meaningful phrases. Making sure our words rhyme is completely optional (poetry is so much more than that!).This week the kids will learn that poets repeat words, line, sounds, and images to give their poems rhythm. They will also learn that poets need to consider the mood they want to convey in their poems. Finally, we will talk about using comparison in our poems as a way to make meaning.

Math:    We will continue with our new module, Module 7: "Problem Solving with Length, Money, and Data". This week we will learn to draw bar graphs to represent data as well as solve word problems involving data that is presented in a bar graph. We will begin to learn about coins and recognizing the value  of coins and counting to find their total value. 

Social Studies/Science:  We will add new states to our United States map. For science, we are starting a new unit: "Pebbles, Sand and Silt".  This week we will be exploring and discovering the properties of rocks. Our Scholastic News will cover Christian Robinson who is an illustrator for children's books, including: Last Stop on Market Street. 

Week of: March 1

 Upcoming Dates:

Mar. 15 - First Day of Trimester 3
Mar. 29-Apr.2 - Spring Break - No School
Apr. 6 - No School (Election Day)
May 31 - Memorial Day - No School

*Italics are repeated from last week.
Reading: We will continue work with our reading unit: "Bigger Books Mean Amping Up Reading Power". This unit is all about increasing reading fluency, understanding literary language, keeping track of longer books, and setting reading goals. This week we will start our "Same Book Partner" routine.  The kids will learn that reading the same book as a partner can help readers talk, clarify, and ask questions to better understand the books they're reading. We will also work on strategies to help us hold onto stories when books are long. 

Writing: We will continue work with our writing unit: "Poetry: Big Thoughts in Small Packages". This unit is all about writing poetry and focusing on line breaks, rhythm, and meaningful phrases. Making sure our words rhyme is completely optional (poetry is so much more than that!).This week the kids will work on editing their poems for spelling.  We will also work on our word choice and try to find precisely the right words to match what we wish to say.  Finally, the kids will learn that poets repeat words, lines, and sounds to give their poems rhythm.

Math:  We will finish up our work with Module 4: "Addition and Subtraction within 200 with Word Problems to 100".   We will also start our new module, Module 7: "Problem Solving with Length, Money, and Data". This week we will learn to sort and record data into tables, draw and label a picture graph, and draw and label a bar graph. 

Social Studies/Science:  We will add new states to our United States map practice and continue to learn about the history of technology. For social studies, we are learning about the history of technology.  Students are also sharing their technology interviews with each other. Our Scholastic News will cover Mae Jemison who became the first black woman in space!

Week of: February 22

 Upcoming Dates:

Feb. 22-26 - Parent/Teacher Conference Week- Thursday/Friday Early Dismissal at 11:00
Mar. 29-Apr.2 - Spring Break - No School
Apr. 6 - No School (Election Day)

*Italics are repeated from last week.
Reading: We will continue work with our reading unit: "Bigger Books Mean Amping Up Reading Power". This unit is all about increasing reading fluency, understanding literary language, keeping track of longer books, and setting reading goals. This week we will learn that readers must pay attention to literary language -comparisons, invented words, figurative language- asking, "What might the author want me to see, to understand?" We will be paying special attention to the times when an author is playing around with words and try to figure out what the author is really saying.

Writing: We will continue work with our writing unit: "Poetry: Big Thoughts in Small Packages". This unit is all about writing poetry and focusing on line breaks, rhythm, and meaningful phrases. Making sure our words rhyme is completely optional (poetry is so much more than that!).This week the kids will learn that poets choose topics that mean a lot to them, anchoring those topics in small meaningful moments. We will also talk about ways to come up with topics for our poems. 

Math:  We will continue our work with Module 4: "Addition and Subtraction within 200 with Word Problems to 100". This week we will continue to work on subtraction with regrouping. We will also work on solving addition and subtraction word problems.  We will take our end-of-module assessment the following week on Monday, March 1st.

Social Studies/Science:  We will add new states to our United States map practice and continue to learn about the history of technology. This week we reviewed the northeastern states. We did not learn any new states this week.  For social studies, we are learning about the history of technology.  Students are also sharing their technology interviews with each other. 

Week of: February 16th

 Upcoming Dates:

Feb. 15 - President's Day - No School
Feb. 22-26 - Parent/Teacher Conference Week- Thursday/Friday Early Dismissal at 11:00
Mar. 29-Apr.2 - Spring Break - No School
Apr. 6 - No School (Election Day)

*Italics are repeated from last week.
Reading: We have started work with our new reading unit: "Bigger Books Mean Amping Up Reading Power". This unit is all about increasing reading fluency, understanding literary language, keeping track of longer books, and setting reading goals. This week we will learn about dialogue tags and how those can give us clues about how our voices should sound while reading. (Dialogue tags are the part that comes after a characters quote, for example: he shouted or she said in a soft voice.) We will also learn about how to use meaning to read fluently and the importance of reading at a "just-right" reading pace. 

Writing: We will start an exciting new writing unit: "Poetry: Big Thoughts in Small Packages". This unit is all about writing poetry and focusing on line breaks, rhythm, and meaningful phrases. Making sure our words rhyme is completely optional (poetry is so much more than that!).This week the kids will learn that poets see the world through special lenses.  They will see with both their hearts and minds, writing about the world in fresh, unusual ways. We will also work on listening for line breaks.

Math:  We will continue our work with Module 4: "Addition and Subtraction within 200 with Word Problems to 100". This week we will learn to look for ways to make 10 or 100 when adding multiple numbers together.  We will also start working on how to subtract with regrouping without using the place value chart. 

Social Studies/Science:  We will add new states to our United States map practice and continue to learn about the history of technology. Ask your child about these states: DE and PA.  DeLaware is in the shape of an "L". If you look closely, you can see two "pencils" in the state of Pennsylvania.  For social studies, we are learning about the history of technology.  Students are also sharing their technology interviews with each other. 

Week of: February 8th

 Upcoming Dates:

Feb. 12 - Institute Day - No School for Students
Feb. 15 - President's Day - No School
Feb. 22-26 - Parent/Teacher Conference Week- Thursday/Friday Early Dismissal at 11:00
Mar. 29-Apr.2 - Spring Break - No School
Apr. 6 - No School (Election Day)

*Italics are repeated from last week.
Reading: We are wrapping up our reading unit: "Characters and their Stories".  This unit is all about studying fictional stories and digging deeper into comprehension strategies. This week we will take an assessment to wrap up this unit.  We will then start our new reading unit: "Bigger Books Mean Amping Up Reading Power". This unit is all about increasing reading fluency, understanding literary language, keeping track of longer books, and setting reading goals. This week we will learn that reading aloud can help our "in-you-head" reading voice. We will also learn that readers scoop up words into phrases instead of reading word by word. 

Writing: We will be wrapping up our writing unit: "Writing Gripping Fictional Stories". This unit is all about character and plot development.  The kids have so much fun making up their own characters and stories! This week the kids will "publish" one of the stories that the have written for this unit.  They will be given a chance to share and celebrate their work with each other too!

Math:  We will continue our work with Module 4: "Addition and Subtraction within 200 with Word Problems to 100". This week we will work on adding two and three-digit numbers with regrouping ("carrying").  We will work in using this strategy with and without the help of a place value chart.

Social Studies/Science:  We will add new states to our United States map practice and continue to learn about the states of matter (solids, liquids, and gases). Ask your child about these states: VA, WV, and MD.  Who is "Virginia" and what state makes her "WaVee" hair? She is dreaming of getting married. What state is her flowy wedding vail?  For social studies, we are learning about the history of technology.  Students are also sharing their technology interviews with each other. 

Week of: January 25th

 Upcoming Dates:

Jan. 25&26 - Teacher Planning Days - No School for Students
Feb. 12 - Institute Day - No School for Students
Feb. 15 - President's Day - No School
Feb. 22-26 - Parent/Teacher Conference Week- Thursday/Friday Early Dismissal at 11:00
Mar. 29-Apr.2 - Spring Break - No School

*Italics are repeated from last week.
Reading: We are continuing our reading unit: "Characters and their Stories".  This unit is all about studying fictional stories and digging deeper into comprehension strategies. This week we will work on comparing two ficional texts on the same topic. We will be practicing this skill with folktales and fairytales this week. 

Writing: We will be continuing with our writing unit: "Writing Gripping Fictional Stories". This unit is all about character and plot development.  The kids have so much fun making up their own characters and stories! This week the kids will learn how to add "transition words" to their writing.  Examples of transition words include: first, next, afterwards, finally...

Math:  We will continue our work with Module 4: "Addition and Subtraction within 200 with Word Problems to 100". This week we will continue to work on subtracting two and three digit numbers with regrouping.  Many of us learned this method as "borrowing".  We will be spending multiple weeks on this skill as it is a very challenging concept for many second graders. Please practice this skill at home, outside of class, whenever possible. Thank you!

Social Studies/Science:  We will add new states to our United States map practice and continue to learn about the states of matter (solids, liquids, and gases). Ask your child about these states: MA and CT.  What tiny state is "cut" from ConnectiCUT? Chef Mimal has a "Massive" hook sticking out into the ocean to catch fish. For science, we are going to continue to learn about the properties of liquids.

Week of: January 19th

 Upcoming Dates:

Jan. 18 - Martin Luther King Day - No School
Feb. 1-5 - Parent/Teacher Conference Week (Sign-up will be sent out soon!)
Feb. 4-5 - Early Dismissal at 11:00 (Due to Conference Week)
Feb. 12 - Institute Day - No School for Students
Feb. 15 - President's Day - No School

*Italics are repeated from last week.
Reading: We are continuing our reading unit: "Characters and their Stories".  This unit is all about studying fictional stories and digging deeper into comprehension strategies. This past week we studied character traits and how to find text evidence in our stories.  Next week we will learn about discovering the "central message" or "moral" of a story. 

Writing: We will be continuing with our writing unit: "Writing Gripping Fictional Stories". This unit is all about character and plot development.  The kids have so much fun making up their own characters and stories! This past week we learned how to add dialogue with the proper punctuation.  We also learned how to keep our story organized.  Next week we will do some editing and add transition words to our stories.

Math:  We will continue our work with Module 4: "Addition and Subtraction within 200 with Word Problems to 100". This week we will continue to work on adding using the place value chart to bundle and make a new 10 or a new 100 (carrying the one).  Then we will start to work on subtraction using the place value chart.  This will lead us into the traditional method of "borrowing" to subtract.

Social Studies/Science:  We will add new states to our United States map practice and continue to learn about the states of matter (solids, liquids, and gases). Ask your child about these states: VT and NH.  Can your child tell you about Chef Mimal's "v-shaped cooking knife" and his "new pet hamster"? For science, we are going to continue to learn about the properties of liquids.