February
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Upcoming Dates:
Monday, February 8th-Wednesday February 10th: CoGat Testing
Thursday, February 11th- Classroom Valentine’s Day Parties
Friday, February 12th - No School (Professional Development for Teachers)
Monday, February 15th- No School Presidents Day
VALENTINE PARTY:
We will have our class Valentine party on Thursday, February 11th. Please send Valentine cards in no later than February 5th. 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 UPDATES
READING:
In this next reading unit, a major focus is on reading fluency as they encounter longer texts. Students will focus on reading in phrases with appropriate expression, at a just right pace. Students will also pay attention to literary language in texts. They will notice when an author plays with words or uses comparisons. We will explore some poetry as we dig into literary language. As students encounter longer texts, it is important that they “hold on” to the different parts of the text so they are able to understand the book as a whole. Continuing to jot thoughts down on sticky notes, sharing ideas with a partner, and rereading are critical reading behaviors. Students will continue to set goals and monitor those goals.
We conclude this unit by launching Book Clubs. Students will understand club member behaviors. They will create a plan, set goals and work together to accomplish their goals.
WRITING:
We are now moving into 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:
Discover small moments that matter-generating ideas
Tiny Topics- using a notebook to remember topics for writing
Stretching out small moments- learning to plan a story by touching each page and saying what they will write
Writing a good beginning, middle and end
Writing with detail: Magnifying a small moment
Bringing characters to life by using talk, feel or actions
Setting goals and making plans for writing time
Using checklist to self assess and plan for next parts
Close Reading: Looking closely at how mentor authors write and trying it
Collaborate a partner to help make a story better (revise by listening)
Word choice
Revising and editing rough drafts
Conventions are a big emphasis:
Capital at the beginning of each sentence, for the word ‘I’, and proper nouns
Punctuation at the end of each sentence
Quotation marks when using dialogue
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 continue on with Topic 7: More Solving Problems Involving Addition and Subtraction, then move on to Topic 8: Work with Time and Money
In each topic students will…
Topic 7
Model word problems using equations with unknown numbers in any position
? + 15 = 37
76-29 = ?
Use drawings, equations and models to solve one and two-step addition & subtraction problems.
Make equations true: example: 24+5=28+?
Topic 8
Solve problems with coins and dollar bills
Tell and write time to the 5 minutes
Say time in different ways
Determining if an event is happening in the am or pm
Please continue to practice fact fluency using the flash cards that were sent home last fall.
HELPING YOUR CHILD WITH MATH
o Helping your child with math: Click Here
Social Studies:
This month, we are focusing on people who have made a difference in the world. February is Black History Month, so we are taking time to focus on black members of the community who brought important changes to neighborhoods and our country. Students will practice the strategy of determining importance as they research the contributions of many famous black Americans.
December
Upcoming Dates:
Thanksgiving Break (no school): Monday November 23rd-27th
Remote Learning: Monday, November 30th - Thursday, December 17
No School December 18 - Teacher Work Day
Winter Break (no school): December 21st - January 4th
School resumes Tuesday, January 5th
Curriculum Updates:
WORD WORK/SPELLING:
It is so exciting to see the progress students are making in their spelling. Please continue to do the daily practice activities with your child. The important thing is that your child learns to identify the pattern (through sorting) and transfer the pattern into their daily writing.
MATH:
Prior to Thanksgiving Break we wrapped up our Envision topic on addition. In Topic 4, students built upon previously taught addition strategies to fluently add within 100
During Topic 4 students focused on the following:
Using place value (tens and ones) to add and subtract
Using an open number line to add tens and ones within 100.
Adding 2 digit numbers using models
Adding and breaking apart numbers using mental math and partial sums
Modeling one and two step problems
Selecting the most efficient strategy to solve a math problem
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:
Using place value (tens and ones) to subtract
Using an open number line to subtract tens and ones within 100.
Subtracting 2 digit numbers using models
Subtracting and breaking apart numbers using mental math and compensation
Modeling one and two step problems
Selecting the most efficient strategy to solve a math problem
Resources to help your child with math:
Helping your child with math: Click Here
Math Words and Ideas: Click Here
Investigations Game Center: Math Games
READING:
Students are growing knowledge as they read non-fiction text. The following are skills that students are learning and practicing in this unit of study:
Paying attention to details
Putting the parts of one text together
Asking questions
Thinking of what a section and a book are teaching
Reading several books on a topic to grow knowledge
Noticing parts of the texts that go together
Spotting differences between texts on the same topic
Retelling topics
Looking out for keywords and using the whole page to figure out what they mean
Looking for and using text features to support understanding
Rereading like an expert
WRITING
We are currently in 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:
Planning with a Table of Contents
Drafting and Revising With Feedback
Studying Mentor Texts
Using Comparison
Addressing an Audience with Strong Introductions and Conclusions
Editing with a Checklist
Upcoming Dates:
October 5-7 - Return iPads AND chargers to school
October 8 & 9 - Asynchronous Learning → Planning day for teachers
October 12 - 16 - No School (Fall Break)
October 19 - Return to full time in person learning
Curriculum Update:
READING:
We wrapped up our first Lucy Calkins Reading Unit, Growth Spurt, last week and are currently in a small Mini Unit Called: Readers Get to Know the Characters. We are studying characters and story elements closely.
During Reader’s Workshop students will be working on the following:
We continue to build our stamina to be able to independently read for longer periods of time.
Choosing Just Right Books- Books that we can read most of the words without difficulty or can use strategies to figure out the hard words
Recording our thinking while reading
Scooping our words together to read fluently
Stopping, thinking, and retelling a story to check for comprehension (asking who & what questions)
Strategies to use when words are tricky
Identify “What is this book teaching me?”
Studying characters actions, thoughts, feelings and personality traits
Identifying story elements - setting, problem & solution
WRITING:
We will continue our Opinion Writing Unit this month. Students have written several letters stating an opinion with reasons and examples. They have enjoyed choosing their favorite books and characters to write reviews.
In our opinion writing unit students have focused on:
Collaborating with a partner to plan writing
Writing to convince our readers
Using evidence to support our opinions
Using precise words to describe a character
Using transition and linking words to strengthen our writing
Writing conventions including punctuation, capitalization and spelling
Editing and revising using a checklist
MATH:
Last week, we wrapped up our Topic 2.
During Topic 2: Work With Equal Groups, students focused on:
Even and odd numbers
Using arrays to find totals
Making arrays to solve addition problems
Modeling problems with equations, drawings, and arrays
We will be starting our third Envision topic.
In Topic 3, students are learning various strategies to add within 100.
These strategies include:
Add tens and ones on a hundreds chart
Add tens and ones on an Open number line
Break apart numbers to add
Add using compensation
Practice adding using strategies
HELPING YOUR CHILD WITH MATH
Review the independent practice pages with your student
Practice fact fluency using the flash cards that were sent home
WORD WORK/SPELLING:
Each student was given a spelling inventory to identify areas of strength and areas to work on. Students were divided into groups based on their unique needs. Each week your child will come home with a list of words based on a spelling pattern. Please practice these words with your child. The idea is that your child learns to identify the pattern (through sorting) but is also able to accurately spell the words as well.
Welcome to the 2020-2021 School Year!
My name is Bree Roon and I am so excited to be your child’s second grade teacher this year! Click here to learn a little bit more about me and click here for a sneak peek of our classroom!
In many ways, second grade is the “sweet spot,” as the students grow by leaps and bounds in their independence, while continuing to bring passion and joy to the classroom everyday! I am looking forward to fostering a community of kind, resilient, and inquisitive life-long learners. I know this year will look very different than any we have seen before, but I feel confident that we can work together to make it a great year for everyone! Whether we are learning within the walls of our Gold Rush classroom or online, I am always here to support you and your child!
Open communication is one of the best ways we can set your child up for a successful year! You are your child's first and most important teacher and I welcome your input at any time! As we anticipate a very different looking start to this school year, this is more important now than ever. No one knows your child better than you, and I value your feedback and partnership!
I am looking forward to meeting you and your child during our Meet the Teacher time. Instead of bringing supplies and visiting the classroom on this day, we will be meeting outside and using the time to get to know more about each other before the year starts. You might think ahead of time about important things you want to share, such as your child's interests (both in and out of school), strengths, needs, learning style, motivators, a little bit about your family, and/or anything else to help me get to know and best support your child.
Here are some important links to help you get ready for the year. You can sign up for a meet the teacher time slot and a student orientation day below. Please choose an orientation day that aligns with your in-person cohort days so that your child can meet other students who will be in their same cohort. I encourage you to reach out with any questions, comments, or concerns now or at any time. I can not wait to meet everyone and begin this year’s journey together!