March 29, 2018

Dear Families,

Thanks so much for sending in the plastic eggs and jellybeans! It was a beautiful day for our egg hunt in the courtyard! 

Important dates:

March 30th: No School.  Spring Break begins

April 9th: School Resumes

April 13th: End of third marking period

April 17th: Muffins for Moms  cafeteria open - 7:00am- 9:00am

April 20th: Report cards

April 27th: Family Fun Night

Reading and Writing:  This week we focused on paraphrasing in writing.  Students learned a strategy called "key words." They practiced finding key words in books and wrote paragraphs using their own words. We're getting ready for our research projects after break, so be sure your child prints out articles that he/she can use in class to find out more information about their topic.

We also worked on building our reading stamina, reading for thirty minutes without stopping! Remember to enjoy some good books over the break! Build your stamina for reading! If your child doesn't have a library card yet, be sure to visit the library next week if you're staying in the area. Also, second graders still love to be read to, and listening to a great book improves comprehension! 

                                   Favorite Children's Books

Math:   This week, students continued to practice adding three or more numbers. They played a great game called Basketball Addition. Paper copies of this game were sent home to play with family members. Grab some dice and have fun! This is a great game to practice adding simple numbers on the dice and then later adding up the scores, which can be a little more challenging for some. We also completed measurement lessons 7.4 and 7.5. If you have a spare measuring tape laying around the house, let your second grader measure!

The concepts below should be learned by the end of Unit Seven. You can refer to the Unit Seven family letter and Home Links should you have any questions about a certain learning goal.  We have included the kindergarten and first grade IXL skills in case your child is really struggling with a concept.

Please see previous posts for IXL correlation. 

Social Studies: In Social Studies students are learning about Democracy and Government. We read the book, "What if Everybody Did That," and talked about a citizen's responsibilities and Laws and wrote about them in our Thinking Logs.

We hope you have a wonderful and safe spring break!

The Second Grade Teachers

March 23, 2018

Dear Families,

We had a great week in school! We loved getting to see how great the Seussical performance turned out after all of their practicing this week. Here are a few highlights from our week together:

Important dates:

March 26th: Spring conferences- on an as needed basis/parents have already been notified i​f there is a need

March 30th: No School.  Spring Break begins

April 9th: School Resumes

Reading and Writing:  This week we continued to read and and write nonfiction.  We continued to learn more about text structures and started to learn how to paraphrase what you’ve read and transfer that into their own writing. We will continue to work on both of these skills next week, as well.

Math:   This week, students took the unit 5 and unit 6 cumulative test and the unit 7 pretest. They also learned a fun game called ‘Hit the Target’ and how to successfully add 4 or more 2-digit numbers. Ask your child what they learned about the easiest way to add multiple numbers together!

The concepts below should be learned by the end of Unit Seven. You can refer to the Unit Seven family letter and Home Links should you have any questions about a certain learning goal.  We have included the kindergarten and first grade IXL skills in case your child is really struggling with a concept.

Unit 7 Everyday Mathematics Learning Goals

Add three or more numbers.

Children can add numbers such as 15 + 30 + 9 +17 =

IXL Skills: 1^st Grade: B17, 2nd Grade: E 17, E19, G13, G15

Measure objects to the nearest inch or centimeter.

Children can use a ruler or tape measure to measure small and large objects.

IXL Skills: 1^st Grade: N4, N11, 2nd Grade: S2, S8

Complete a line plot.

Children can use data to draw a line plot.

IXL Skills: Second Grade: R6, R7

Use personal references to help estimate length.

Children can estimate the size of things using knowledge such as, my thumb is about an inch.

IXL Skills: This skill is not found on IXL.

Use measuring tools correctly.

Children can line up objects correctly on a ruler or tape measure to get correct measurements.

IXL Skills: 1^st Grade: N4, N11, 2nd Grade: S2, S8

Social Studies: This week we worked on our social studies unit, which focuses on Democracy and Government. This week, students learned about what a citizen is and different U.S. symbols.We discussed what each of the symbols mean to our country and why they are important. Please see this week's Scholastic News for some information about a new American symbol. Have your child read this to you! Next week, we will continue on with this unit.

Leadership Month: March is the Second Graders' month to promote leadership in our school. Our focus is responsibility. For buddies today, the second graders read with our buddies to celebrate March is Reading Month and made fun reading bookmarks.

Have a great weekend!

The Second Grade Teachers

March 16, 2018

Dear Families,

We had a great week in school! Here are a few highlights from our week together:

Important dates:

March 22nd: 2nd Grade Spring Concert 7:00-8:00

March 26th: Spring conferences- on an as needed basis/parents have already been notified is there is a need
March 30th: No School. Spring Break begins
April 9th: School Resumes

Reading and Writing:  This week we read and wrote nonfiction.  We completed our personal expertise projects by making "Did You Know Bubbles." Students learned how to write an introductory paragraph, supporting details and a closing paragraph.  We also learned about text features and included them on our bubbles. A few children need to finish up next week! 

Math:   We have been working on addition and subtraction regrouping with the students.  The 2nd grade teachers added this extra practice into the curriculum as we feel this skill should be introduced in 2nd grade.  Please check with your child and have them show you an addition and subtraction regrouping problem with/and without base ten blocks.  We will begin Unit 7 next week.  

The concepts below should be learned by the end of Unit Seven. You can refer to the Unit Seven family letter and Home Links should you have any questions about a certain learning goal.  We have included the kindergarten and first grade IXL skills in case your child is really struggling with a concept.

Unit 7 Everyday Mathematics Learning Goals

Add three or more numbers.

Children can add numbers such as 15 + 30 + 9 +17 =

IXL Skills: 1st Grade: B17, 2nd Grade: E 17, E19, G13, G15

Measure objects to the nearest inch or centimeter.

Children can use a ruler or tape measure to measure small and large objects.

IXL Skills: 1st Grade: N4, N11, 2nd Grade: S2, S8

Complete a line plot.

Children can use data to draw a line plot.

IXL Skills: Second Grade: R6, R7

Use personal references to help estimate length.

Children can estimate the size of things using knowledge such as, my thumb is about an inch.

IXL Skills: This skill is not found on IXL.

Use measuring tools correctly.

Children can line up objects correctly on a ruler or tape measure to get correct measurements.

IXL Skills: 1st Grade: N4, N11, 2nd Grade: S2, S8

Science: This past week, we used our science time to work on another land form activity about erosion. We wrote about our thinking in our thinking journals. 

Leadership Month: March is the Second Graders' month to promote leadership in our school. Our focus is responsibility. For cabins today, the second graders led an activity that allowed us to express our gratitude to the people who are responsible for us here at school on a daily basis.  Next week in buddies, we will read with our buddies and celebrate March is reading month!

Have a great weekend!
The Second Grade Teachers

March 9, 2018

Dear Families,

Thank you for all of the donated socks! We'll continue to collect until we get 100! We'll count our collection next week to see how many more we need. 

Important dates:

March 9th: Jump Rope for Heart at Novi High School
March 22nd: 2nd Grade Spring Concert 7:00-8:00
March 26th: Spring conferences- on an as needed basis
March 30th: No School. Spring Break begins.
April 9th: School Resumes
A note from Mrs. Bedford about Spring Conferences:

Spring Conferences: On Monday, March 26th, in the late afternoon/evening, our staff will be holding Spring parent teacher conferences. These conferences are reserved for teachers and parents to meet on an as needed basis. If the teacher feels a conference is needed, the teacher will be reaching out to those involved to schedule a time. As always, if you, the parent, feel you need to meet with the teacher, please let him/her know.

Here are some updates from our week!

Reading and Writing:  This week we read and wrote nonfiction.  We worked on our personal expertise projects by making "Did You Know Bubbles." Students learned how to write an introductory paragraph, supporting details and a closing paragraph.  We also learned about text features and included them on our bubbles. We're finishing them up and are excited to share our information.

Thank you to our High School Football players for taking the time to read to our class!  I knew these guys when they were in first grade!  

Math:  We finished our Unit 6 math test and results will be going home next week. We'll learn about regrouping in addition and subtraction next week and then move on to Unit 7.

These are the concepts that should be learned by the end of Unit Seven. You can refer to the Unit Seven family letter and Home Links should you have any questions about a certain learning goal.  We have included the kindergarten and first grade IXL skills in case your child is really struggling with a concept.

Unit 7 Everyday Mathematics Learning Goals

Add three or more numbers.

Children can add numbers such as 15 + 30 + 9 +17 =

IXL Skills: 1st Grade: B17, 2nd Grade: E 17, E19, G13, G15

Measure objects to the nearest inch or centimeter.

Children can use a ruler or tape measure to measure small and large objects.

IXL Skills: 1st Grade: N4, N11, 2nd Grade: S2, S8

Complete a line plot.

Children can use data to draw a line plot.

IXL Skills: Second Grade: R6, R7

Use personal references to help estimate length.

Children can estimate the size of things using knowledge such as, my thumb is about an inch.

IXL Skills: This skill is not found on IXL.

Use measuring tools correctly.

Children can line up objects correctly on a ruler or tape measure to get correct measurements.

IXL Skills: 1st Grade: N4, N11, 2nd Grade: S2, S8

Also, look for the Unit 7 Homelink attachment.

Science: This week we worked on land form activities and made mountains in order to learn about why rivers run. Look on Seesaw to see photos of your child's mountain and a picture of their Thinking notebook. Next week we'll do one more science activity and then start our Social Studies!

Leadership Month: March is the Second Graders' month to promote leadership in our school. Our focus is responsibility. The second graders presented at our community circle on Friday and talked about the importance of responsibilities and passed out jobs to each grade level! The second graders will be helping out in the cafeteria!

Student Take Home Multicultural Backpacks!
Five lucky students were able to take home our Multicultural Bags for the week. Please send them back to school on Friday and be sure to check that all items are sent back in the backpack. Next week five more students will get the opportunity to take one home. Thank you to the NEF for supporting this project!

Have a great weekend!
The Second Grade Teachers

March 2, 2018

Dear Families,

Important dates:

March 9th: Jump Rope for Heart at Novi High School
March 22nd: 2nd Grade Spring Concert 7:00-8:00
March 26th: Spring conferences- on an as needed basis
March 30th: No School. Spring Break begins.
April 9th: School Resumes

This is the culprit. Whenever we hear the news that we might have a big snowfall, we let our snowman sing, "Let it Snow!" and he always does! He's responsible for the snow and the power outage. We're putting him away at the back of the closet and not letting him out again until next year!

A note from Mrs. Bedford about Spring Conferences:

Spring Conferences: On Monday, March 26th, in the late afternoon/evening, our staff will be holding Spring parent teacher conferences. These conferences are reserved for teachers and parents to meet on an as needed basis. If the teacher feels a conference is needed, the teacher will be reaching out to those involved to schedule a time. As always, if you, the parent, feel you need to meet with the teacher, please let him/her know.

Here are some updates from our week!

Reading and Writing:  This week we began our study on informational texts.  Students explored informational texts and learned about text features and how they help us to understand the text better.  Students will be learning how to read and write informational text over the next few weeks. When reading informational texts at home, encourage your child to point out the features that the author included in order for the reader to understand more about the topic, such as captions, bold words, cut a ways, titles and subtitles, maps, diagrams, glossaries, and table of contents.  Like in reading, students are starting their study on informational writing as well!  This week students thought about topics that they have studied or know a lot about. Then they found books on that topic. They will be taking what they learn about non fiction texts from reading and writing, to write their own informational pieces on their personal expertise!

We're reading a great book for our classroom read aloud called, " The Magical Animal Adoption Agency: The Enchanted Egg." We were lucky enough to get a mystery box sent to us by the M.A.A.A.!

 Yes, this is what hatched from our mysterious package! We'll measure and name it on Monday!

Math:  UNIT 6 MATH TEST IS Thursday!  Please use the review, practice pages sent home as well as online resources to help your child study for the test.  Students will be expected to solve one and two step number stories, add two and three digit numbers (can use partial sums and check with with ballpark estimates on these), and create and interpret pictographs and bar graphs.

As expectations rise in second grade math, automatically knowing addition and subtraction facts becomes more important. Please continue to practice math facts so that as we begin to learn about double digit addition and subtraction, it is not too difficult.  The sites below have worksheets that could be used for practice as well as the Xtra math website. Math Practice at home:

https://www.math-drills.com/addition/add01srg_001.php

https://www.mathfactcafe.com/grade/2/

Our amaryllis bulbs bloomed! They didn't get as tall as we expected but we love the blooms!

Science: The past several  weeks we continued learning about measurement with our Measuring Matters Unit.  Students learned about area and perimeter. They had to create a "Zoo" and measured the area and perimeter of the cages at the zoo.  Students also learned about capacity and created a "Gallon Man" to learn about measuring equivalents for measuring capacity.  This week we also did a little Matter observation where we learned about solids, liquids and gases. 

Thank you to the DCC for supporting our kids with some new building toys!

Reminder:  Please encourage your child to come to school ready to learn and ready to lead!  

Have a great weekend!