2nd Grade
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Reading/Writing Workshop (Poetry Unit: Sessions 6-10): Students are polishing their poems to prepare them for publishing! They are learning powerful revision techniques, including:

Focusing on Language: Replacing plain, simple words with strong, surprising vocabulary to create a more memorable feeling.

Organizational Moves: Practicing various ways to structure their poems, such as using stanzas to group related lines or deliberately choosing where to break a line for effect.

Imitating Professional Poets: Studying poems by published authors to borrow stylistic moves and experiment with form.

Phonics Workshop (Transition and Review): Students are transitioning out of the "Big Words Take Big Resolve" unit.

Celebration: They will celebrate their massive progress in reading and spelling multi-syllable words.

New Unit Launch: They will launch into a unit dedicated to reviewing and solidifying all the phonics patterns learned throughout the year (and first grade) to ensure they can apply them fluently across reading and writing.

"Show, Don't Tell" Language: When your child reads a line of their poem (or a description of an event), challenge them to replace common verbs (like went, ran, said) with more dynamic verbs (like darted, whispered, soared). This is a fun game of finding "sparkle words."

Reading Poetry Aloud: Encourage your child to read published poetry books aloud. Ask them to notice where the poet chose to end a line, and discuss how that affects the rhythm of the poem.

"Pop-Up" Phonics Review: When reading chapter books or informational texts, randomly choose a word and challenge your child to quickly identify its pattern: Is it a long word they need to chunk? Does it have a vowel team? This keeps all their learned phonics skills sharp and ready for the upcoming comprehensive review.

Poetry Publication Prep: Help your child choose their favorite poem to prepare for publishing. Discuss how they will present it—will they illustrate it? Will they write it neatly in stanzas?

Durante la semana, los escritores estudiarán la lista de verificación de los escritos de opinión para examinar con detalle los elementos necesarios al momento de expresar su postura sobre un tema específico. Aprenderán a delimitar el tema del que quieren escribir, argumentando de forma persuasiva con detalles y utilizando oraciones simples. Siempre emplearán las normas básicas de escritura, como el uso de mayúscula al inicio y el punto final.

Para practicar las habilidades de la semana, los estudiantes pueden realizar el "Reto de la Oración Perfecta" cada día. Pueden elegir un tema muy específico sobre el que tengan una opinión clara (delimitación del tema) y escribir tres oraciones simples y completas: una para su opinión, una para la razón, y una para el detalle de apoyo. El propósito principal es reforzar la precisión de la escritura, asegurándose de iniciar siempre con mayúscula y terminar con punto final en cada una de las tres oraciones, además de intentar incorporar adjetivos que hagan su argumento más fuerte.

Students will create their own picture problems using parcels and presents and they will solve other students' problems using the strategies learned in class. 

Solve the following problem using a strategy learned in class: The huge birthday party was about to start! There were 28 gifts on and under the table and half as many in the closet. How many were in the closet? How many gifts in all? 

Students will further investigate pollinator insects and the pollination

process. They will develop and apply new vocabulary to enhance the

accuracy of their observations. They will also create a 3D model of a

pollinator and a model of a flower.

Students will share with families their observations and findings around campus. They will also look around their backyard and see different pollinator insects.

Understanding and appreciating differences fosters perspective taking and empathy, skills needed to develop relationships with all kinds of people. They also learn that it’s okay to be different in some ways and these differences are accepted and valued. We can all learn from diversity. In this lesson we will reflect on our similarities and differences and how that makes us special and unique. 

Tell a family member about what makes someone else you know awesome. What is special and unique about this person? What have you learned from them because of this?