IMPORTANT DATES:                                                                             

 

CURRICULUM UPDATE

READING:

We will begin Unit 6 of our Benchmark Reading Workshop curriculum. This fiction unit focuses on tales that teach us. We will focus on the following skills:

 

 

WRITING: 

Our next writing unit is Opinion Writing. By the end of the unit students will be able to: 

Conventions are a big emphasis in second grade as well:

 

MATH:

Topic 10: Add Within 1,000 Using Models & Strategies 

Topic 10 focuses on expanding students’ understanding of addition to 3 digit numbers using models and strategies. Students explain why addition strategies work using place value and properties of operations. 

 

Addition Strategies:

 

Topic 11: Subtract Within 1,000 Using Models & Strategies

Topic 11 focuses on expanding students’ understanding of subtraction to 3 digit numbers using models and strategies. Students explain why subtraction strategies work using place value and properties of operations. 

 

Subtraction Strategies:

 

We will continue to focus on the mathematical practices of precision, making sense of problems, and persevering to solve them and constructing viable arguments to explain our mathematical thinking. 

 

WORD WORK/ SPELLING:

 

Students will learn about closed syllables 

o   A closed syllable is a word or part of a word that has one short vowel closed in or followed by one or more consonants. The vowel does not need to have a consonant in front of it, but it needs to have at least one consonant after it. Examples of closed syllables include at, mat, math, mast and clash. The short sound of the vowel is marked by the breve sign.

 

Students will learn about vowel - consonant - e syllables. 

We will explore how we go from a closed syllable such as cap to a v-e syllable such as cape. It is the vowel e at the end of the word that is silent but makes the first vowel say it’s names. We mark these words: 

We will discuss how the letter v never comes at the end of a word. Therefore some words have an e at the end but the vowel is short. We call this a v-e exception such as give.

 

 

We will learn about the open syllable. The open syllable has only one vowel and it does not have a consonant after it. Some examples are: go, flu, we and I.

They are marked: 

Open syllables can be combined with closed and v-e syllables to form longer words such as: pretend and provide.

 

SCIENCE:

After learning about quick changes to land, we will learn about slow changes to land, such as erosion.

February

IMPORTANT DATES:                                                                 


VALENTINE PARTY:

We will have our class Valentine’s Day party on Tuesday,  February 14th. Children are welcome to create a Valentine’s Day Box to collect Valentines in.  Please send these in on the day of the party. Please make sure that the opening on the box will fit a card with candy attached  (if families choose to do that).  If your child chooses to make a Valentine for students in our class, please make sure that you bring one valentine for every student in the class. A class list was sent home.  Let me know if you need another copy!


CURRICULUM UPDATE

READING:

We will begin Unit 8 of our Benchmark Reading Workshop curriculum. This nonfiction unit focuses on how water and wind shape our land. While reading about slow and fast changes to land, we will focus on the following skills:


WRITING:

We will continue with our Informational Writing unit, and will finish up before the long weekend for Presidents’ Day. 


Our next writing unit is Opinion Writing. During this unit students will be writing reviews to give their recommendations on books, places, products and more!  By the end of the unit students will be able to: 

Conventions are a big emphasis in second grade as well:


MATH:

We will continue Topic 8. 

Students will work on solving problems with coins and dollar bills. We will focus on:


As we move into topic 9, our studies will focus on place value as students decompose, compare, add, and subtract 3 digit numbers. Students are also refining their addition and subtraction strategies, including solving story problems, and working towards accurate and efficient strategies that can be generalized to greater numbers. 

 These are some of our focus points:


WORD WORK/SPELLING:

Our word work focus for February will be on the following phonics patterns:



SCIENCE:

Because our reading unit focuses on how wind and water shape our land, we will begin a science unit in our Stemscopes curriculum on quick changes to land, such as volcanic eruptions, landslides, tsunamis, and so on. After learning about quick changes to land, we will learn about slow changes to land, such as erosion. 

IMPORTANT DATES:                                                                 


CURRICULUM UPDATE


READING: 

We will be working through our forth Benchmark Unit: Different Characters, Different Points of Views. We will be focusing on the following fiction skills:


WRITING:

We are continuing  our Informational Writing Unit. Students have planned and wrote their own chapter books on topics they are experts on. Some of our teaching points have included:


MATH: 

Students are refining their addition and subtraction strategies, including solving story problems, and working towards accurate and efficient strategies that can be generalized to greater numbers. We will continue to focus on the mathematical practices of precision, making sense of problems, and persevering to solve them and constructing viable arguments to explain our mathematical thinking.  


Over the next few weeks, we will work on with Topic 7: More Solving Problems Involving Addition and Subtraction.


In each topic students will…


Topic 7

Make equations true: example: 24+5=28+? 


We will then move onto Topic 8: Work with Time and Money


Topic 8


Please continue to practice fact fluency using the flash cards that were sent home in the fall.


WORD WORK/SPELLING

Unit 4 focuses on: 

Upcoming Dates:

 

Candy Cane Holiday Shoppe

Save the Date! Our class will be visiting the Candy Cane Holiday Shoppe on December 8th from 9:50 - 10:20. If your child would like to participate, please help them think about who they would like to purchase gifts for and a budget amount for their purchases. Use the Gift Giving Guide that comes home this week,   and remind them to bring cash. This is the only time they will be able to participate. Here is the flyer and FAQs document for more information. You can also sign up to help volunteer in the shoppe here and earn a shopping voucher.


Curriculum Update:

READING: We will be working through our third Benchmark Unit: Government Working for Us. As we learn about why we need a government, we will be focusing on the following nonfiction skills:


WRITING: Students will begin a new unit on Informational Writing. They will practice writing about topics they’ve studied or know a lot about to inform others. Students will practice the following skills:


MATH: 

We will finish up Topic 5. Students have learned various strategies to subtract within 100.  

Students learned to:


In Topic 6 students will build upon the subtraction strategies taught in Topic 5. They will focus on the following:


Word Work/Spelling: Unit 3 focuses on the following skills: 

Holiday Book Exchange.pdf

Upcoming Dates:

 

Curriculum Update:

READING:

We are wrapping up unit 2 in Benchmark Workshop which focused on how characters learn and grow. 

We focused on the following:


Our next unit in Benchmark Workshop focuses on why we need a government. 

We will focus on the following:


WRITING:

Second graders have worked hard in all stages of the writing process. Students are publishing their Narrative story.

Students will:


MATH: 

In Topic 4 , students will build upon previously taught addition strategies to fluently add within 100.

During Topic 4 students will focus on the following:


In Topic 5, students will learn various strategies to subtract within 100.  We will build upon previously taught addition strategies to fluently subtract within 100.

During this unit students will be focusing on the following:



WORD WORK/SPELLING: 

Unit 2 focuses on: Vowel teams- vowel teams are two vowels together that make just one sound. 

Upcoming Dates:

 

Curriculum Update:

 

READING:

We wrapped up our first content-related unit in Benchmark Workshop. The first unit was called Habitats.  

As we read and learned about the different habitats around the world, we focused on the following:


Our next unit in Benchmark Workshop focuses on how characters learn and grow. 

We will focus on the following:


WRITING:

We are continuing Narrative Writing. During this unit students have written several short stories based on true events from their lives.

 

Students are continuing to:

 

MATH: 

During Topic 2: Work With Equal Groups, students will focus on:


During Topic 3:, students will learn various strategies to add within 100.

These strategies include: 


WORD WORK/SPELLING: 

We have finished our launching unit that has allowed us to build routines that will help us be successful in our new phonics program - Benchmark Phonics Word Study Workshop! 


Unit 1 focuses on: 


SCIENCE:

In science, we have been learning about Habitats.  In our studies, we explored how plants and animals use the resources in their habitats to survive.  We discussed the various adaptations plants and animals possess in each habitat. Students researched about their habitat and taught their peers about their habitat. Be sure to keep your eye out on Seesaw to see their presentation!

Upcoming Dates:


CURRICULUM UPDATE

Reading

During Reader’s Workshop, students are building on the following:


The week of September 12th, we will begin our first content-related unit in Benchmark Workshop. The first unit is called Habitats.  As we read and learn about the different habitats around the world, we will focus on the following:


Writing

We are working on Narrative Writing. During this unit, students will write short stories based on true events from their lives. By the end of the unit students will be able to: 

Conventions are a big emphasis:


Math

We are wrapping up Topic 1: Fluently Add and Subtract Within 20

During this unit students focused on the following:

During Topic 2: Work With Equal Groups, students will focus on:


Word Work/Spelling

Our word work this month will focus on the reading and spelling of the following:


Social Studies 

Civics- Roles, Rights and Responsibilities of responsible community members. 

During this unit we will describe important characteristics of a responsible community member. We learned that people can express their ideas respectfully within a community. We also explored the idea that responsible community members influence the rules, policies, and laws in their communities (including classrooms).

Communities - We are exploring how communities change, reasons for living in a specific community, and the different types of communities.