Grade 2

March 9th, 2020

As part of our Where we are in Place and Time unit of inquiry, we've been working on our 'invention timeline' and sorting various inventions into sections that give context; my (the students) lifetime (iPads and latest smart phones), Mrs. Adams and my parents lifetime (walkman, 'boom boxes', CDs, laptops, cordless phones), my grandparents lifetime (rotary phones, floor model televisions). According to our timeline, the biggest period of technological development seems to be between 1950-2000 and we wondered if there are family members who wouldn't mind being interviewed about a particular technology from that time frame and what it meant to them growing up. We'd want to know: what was 'cutting edge' technology for you and what was it like to use/have that technology when it was new? It could be a video interview, an audio recording or an anecdotal retelling to the class. Whatever is easiest!

As we move on to our next unit of inquiry, we'll get started on our Grade 2 assembly development. We may need some creative help with props...stay tuned as our ideas unfold!

Have a great week :)

March 6, 2020

Better late than never (I hope)!

Here are a few photos from our fun afternoon skiing and snowshoeing last week. The weather would have pleased Goldilocks herself and the kids represented our school wonderfully. If any other parents have photos to share, please send them my way! And a huge thanks so much to the parent volunteers who were able to come that day. We truly couldn't have done it without you.

January 21, 2020

We are indeed in the midst of #Snowmageddon2020! I hope you are all safe and cozy at home with everything you need o get you through these next few days as our city gets closer to being safe for drivers and pedestrians. Enjoy the extra family time (as I am) and we'll hit the ground running on Monday morning!

The week ahead: We'll pick up right where we left off last week with plans for Show and Share on Monday. We'll skip the spelling quiz for lesson 11 and start to focus our attention towards our Review Week for spelling Lesson 12 ( a review week with 20 words) and we'll do that bigger quiz on Friday. We'll also kick off our new unit of inquiry with some great examples of old technology for the class to take a closer look at and begin to develop some context of how technology has changed over time.

February 6th, 2020

*updated February 11th, 2020

Important Reminders:

Since we have a PD day on Valentine's Day, we will distribute Valentines the day before on Thursday, February 13th.

Due to our PD day on the 14th and Family Day on the 17th, we'll have the spelling quiz for Lesson 14 on Tuesday, Feb 18th.

Snowshoeing and cross country skiing afternoon at Pippy Park: February 27th (we will travel by bus)--volunteers needed to help kids with snowshoes, etc!

Student-Led Conferences on March 12th--it will soon be time to book an appointment time, stay tuned!

Grade 2 field trip March 18th (9:30-11:30 to the Rooms)--volunteers needed!

Our Grade 2 assembly will be March 25th, please attend if possible! More info will be sent along soon as things get planned.

Week of January 13th HOMEWORK

Homework is starting again this week and in addition to our regular math options we now have a new math game that focuses on the mental math strategy your child is working on doing more efficiently. We're focusing on our own strategy first (a strategy we'll develop in class) and then with practice, they'll get quicker and more accurate with their basic fact group before moving on to the next one and a new strategy. This work is a real building block and will aid our mental math skills and overall number related confidence as we do double digit addition and subtraction later this term. Any questions or concerns, I'm happy to chat!

Please continue to read every evening, grade twos! Read aloud, take turns reading, get lost in a great book--but be sure to talk about what you've read as well so you're building your comprehension as well.

As for our unit of inquiry on matter, we've got some related homework to do this week. To end this unit on a 'sweet note', we've got some delicious experimenting to do. Please check this link and be sure to think it through like a scientist, kids! Please compete it by Friday and enjoy the process.

https://forms.gle/vpFJkJ266dqYVnF16

Changing States of Matter

January 10th, 2020

Here some of what we were up to this week in grade 2! As our unit of inquiry about matter is winding down, I can see just how much the kids have gotten out of all the experiments and opportunities to get their hands dirty in the name of science :)

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IMG_5944.MOV

January 7th, 2020

Happy New Year! We had some extra fun with all this snow today. I'm sure there will be more pics like this later in the week as well, stay tuned!

Upcoming in mid-January 2020

Homework for the week of January 13th will be so 'sweet'! ...stay tuned to find out more!

*no homework in our first week back after the holiday*

December 18th, 2019

Whew! What a month it's been so far :)

We've been enjoying our lower key week with its community building classroom/school activities. We're feeling very festive and appreciative for all the time and effort you have put in to helping the kids be ready for this special week with its holiday themes, family skate and class party--I know it's a hectic time of year and your support is so appreciated. Most of all though, we're all pretty tired and ready for our well-deserved break. Here are some photos of us at our class party, our special Christmas tree and our kindness calendar, which helped us focus on all the good we could bring to others this month and as the school year goes on.

Speaking of kindness, thank you so much for your generous and thoughtful gifts for me this Christmas! I'm one lucky lady to have the support of this special community.

Enjoy the pictures of our class party where we ate lots of goodies (thank you!) and played some good ol' fashioned board games. Twister stands the test of time and was a huge hit with these flexible grade twos :)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

December 12, 2019

See the picture below for yourself--there's no denying that someone must have shaken up our liquid rainbow! We all agree that our testing and observations over the last two days have proven this theory without a doubt :)

December 12, 2019

We've been checking our jars daily and we are leaning towards particular theories but later we'll make some final conclusions about what we think happened and we'll post pictures then.

Yesterday we were lucky enough to take part in an Hour of Code activity which was organized by Ms. Bishop. The kids absolutely loved it and we'll continue these kinds of opportunities during our tech time. Here are some pictures from our coding fun with the Kindergartens and Grade 8s.

December 10th, 2019

Liquid Rainbow Update: The kids thought through what might have happened to our 'liquid rainbow' and we made plans to prove or disprove our theories.

Without using the words 'fair test' or 'changing variables', we actually did just that and made some great connections to the kinds of things scientists have to consider. We set up four more small jars with the same ingredients and poured each into the jars in the same order we did with the original.

Out of the four jars, we decided to shake the first one up in case that's what happened to ours when someone got curious or mistakenly knocked it over. We put the second one in the fridge because of how cold our classroom got last weekend. We put the third jar in the back closet by the heater because the sun shines in through our classroom windows quite strongly some afternoons and we wanted to mimic that somehow. The last was the 'control' test jar which we left in the same spot as the original because a wise student said something along the lines of, 'what if it just changed because that's what it was going to do after a few days anyway? We should just leave one here and do nothing to it to be sure that's not what happened.'

Stay tuned for photos and our results :)

December 9th, 2019

What happened to our liquid rainbow over the weekend?

This experiment relating to liquid density was done late last week using honey, water, rubbing alcohol (with food colouring) as well as oil and dish soap. On Thursday, our jar looked like the photo on the left and then this morning we arrived to find it looking like the picture on the right! What happened over the weekend?

We are going to investigate further this week as we explore how energy changes matter. Stay tuned!

December 2nd, 2019

When they were helping me put up the Learner Profile in the hallway late last week, Blakely and Sylas had the idea of putting them on the wall in order of importance and right away began debating which they felt should go at the top. We decided to share that idea with the class and see what they thought and the result was three enthusiastic groups of kids respectfully debating for their chosen attribute; caring, principled and communicator. They acted out what to do and what not to do for each and then they talked about why they felt theirs was most important and where we'd be without it. I was so impressed and the fact that it was something that they came up with and facilitated for the most part on their own makes me even prouder! Of course we came to the conclusion that they are all important and maybe even connected to each other. To brush up on their meanings and to help your child develop a sense of how each of the 10 attributes is important in all our day to day lives, the signs that got the debate started are posted here in this post along with debate/demonstration related photos.

Multilingual Learner Profile 2019.pdf

November 27th, 2019

Oobleck! Is it a solid? A liquid?

Some of your kids are going to want to make this ASAP and I hope you'll embrace the mess in the name of science ;)

...others may not be as eager to make their own as they really had to push through 'grossed out' feelings about the texture of the oobleck in order to investigate it fully (as evidenced in some of the photos)! Lots of fun was had, they absolutely GOT IT and they all pitched in to clean up :)

The recipe is as follows:

Mix together...

1.5 cups of cornstarch
1 cup of water
food colouring (optional)

November 27th, 2019

Yesterday's field trip to The Fluvarium connected really well to our matter unit and helped the class understand more about matter in a real life context; air as wind, air as water vapour in clouds, how we rely on water and why it's important to protect water ways from litter and chemicals. We're still in the unit's early stages but the kids are already making great connections and enjoying the hands-on fun. Thanks to parents for helping us with supervision and transportation!

November 20th, 2019

Our new unit of inquiry's provocation was lots of fun and a great start to all the hands on activities ahead. Ask your child about our 'Balloon Poke' activity today; we thought a lot about what matter is, the differences between solids, liquids and gases when they take up space inside a balloon and what changed/stayed the same when we poked the balloon one last time!

November 19th, 2019

As a culmination of our learning about healthy choices in our Who We Are unit, the grade twos researched, created and presented these persuasive posters--they did a wonderful job from start to finish!

There are a few left to present in the coming days and I will add photos as we go :)

November 16th, 2019

As one might expect, we've been spending a lot of time reading in grade 2 and more and more often, kids are asking for us to make time in our schedule for them to read to the class. It's wonderful to hear them read books they love and to know that they're excited to do so. Keep up the great work, grade twos!

November 7th, 2019

Our field trip to The Rooms was a fun one and we send a huge thanks to those who organized drivers, drove us there or chaperoned. The Grade Twos represented Lakecrest wonderfully during our art lesson and while on a tour of part of the art gallery. I was so proud of them :)

*Special thanks to our photographer, Meggan Bouvet

November 1st, 2019

Here we are surveying the Grade 3s about their healthy choices. We collected data about bed times, hand washing, drinking enough water, favourite sports, family activities and foods. We're working on showing the data in bar graphs and will present what we learned to our own class.

October 31st, 2019

Hearing Halloween stories read by our own classmates was a fun way to spend a little down time on a busy day!

October 25th, 2019

Here we are putting our learning into practice; a variety of exercise helps our minds and bodies! Jamarama Day was a great day to get our yoga on in extra comfort.

October 11, 2019

Here's a picture of our favourite art pieces so far this year...come up to see for yourself when you can, or zoom in and ask your child about theirs!

October 10, 2019

We're learning about the power of persuasion, and we debated today about the merits and challenges of doing our Daily 5 class outside today instead of in our classroom. They took their side of the argument quite seriously!

Some were persuaded and 'crossed the floor' ;)

At the end of the day, the 'yes' side got their way and we had a lovely time working on literacy in various ways while sitting amongst the beautiful trees out front.

September 30th, 2019

Good morning, parents! Thanks for outfitting your kids in orange today as we continue to develop awareness of Canada's history of residential schools and how honest (but age appropriate) conversations about tough stuff like this is part of the path towards awareness and reconciliation.

How's homework been going so far? The spelling books have arrived, so you'll see them soon for sure. The week's lesson (this week is Lesson 1) should be completed by Friday each week and most of the time we'll have a spelling quiz on Friday mornings. Please help your child develop a routine of bringing the spelling book back after they've taken it home. We use it as part of our Word Work Daily 5 option.

Additionally, I'm sending home some unit of inquiry homework tonight and it should be passed in on Friday along with the homework checklist sheet. It's all about getting them to choose/try a variety of foods (and a variety of colours) for each meal or snack. I'm sure some great discussions will come out of it as they start to take action to make different choices or even to help other family members make better choices, armed with their new knowledge.

Reminders this week:

Book orders are due tomorrow (October 1st). You can order online using my name, school and grade or you can send in the order forms with a cheque (no cash) for the amount of the books + tax.
Our annual Terry Fox Walk is Thursday and K-3 kids, teachers and participating family members will leave school at 9 to walk around Victoria Park and we'll be back by recess so no need to pack extra snacks, etc. Kids are to wear their PE uniform, but as for their outside time, please ensure your child has weather appropriate clothing so they don't get too wet or cold.

As always, if you have any questions please get in touch :)

(Thanks for the wipes, clipboards and cookie sheets! We're all set for awhile.)

September 18th, 2019

Here's what Daily 5 looks like so far this year; we've practiced Reading to Self, Reading to Someone and we've developed quite a bit of reading stamina, partly because we've gotten better at choosing 'good fit' books. We've also been practicing Work on Writing (they've enjoyed writing post cards, letters and comic strips so far)...

September 17th, 2019

Good morning, parents. I hope the new homework routine worked well for your families last night. Please let me know if any issues/questions arise. Our spelling books have not yet arrived and so Word Work homework will be a little different for now. The spelling words for Lesson 1 are on this site, labeled Spelling and can be found nested under the Homework page. Because we don't have the spelling workbooks yet, we won't be having a weekly quiz this week. I'll let you know when they arrive and that part of the homework routine will get going in full swing. A reminder that optional challenge words will be added later in the fall as we'll use words that connect to our unit of inquiries and then later, their extra words will reflect what they misspell in their own writing.

Our new unit of inquiry is starting this week and I'll send along a paper form of our unit newsletter in their blue binders and will also post it on the Curriculum Information page on this site.

That's all for now! Stay tuned, as always :)

September 13th, 2019

Hi Terrific Two parents,

It was wonderful to meet/see so many of you last night at our Curriculum Night. I was a little nervous (speaking in front of adults is way different than grade twos!) and as a result, I repeated some things, and then forgot other things, some of which I've been kicking myself about. First of all, I hope it came across how much I'm enjoying to get to know your littles, and how I really feel we're going to have a great year together. I know it's a big jump from Grade 1 to Grade 2 (academically and in terms of expectations for focus, etc.) and it will be an adjustment. I know we'll all help them along bit by bit in their independence and maturity by helping them to take responsibility for their homework, their belongings, their actions/choices, etc.

I know that we'll make a great team, you and I. I hope if you have any questions or concerns, you'll get in touch with me! The more detailed Power Point presentation has been added below this post and should fill in some of the gaps for you, if you felt there were any!

Here are some photos of us playing our place value games today--we've been practicing a fair bit on our good fit games and today I could really see how into it they were; on task, having fun and learning the skills the games are designed to teach! A great way to end our second week together.

Grade 2 Curriculum Night 2019-20.pdf

September 2019

Dear Parents,

I’m really looking forward to the year ahead and feel so lucky to be back at Lakecrest for another year in Grade 2! I look forward to getting to know your child better and I know we’ll have a great year together. Thanks in advance for all the things you do and will do this year to help set your child up for success!

Some timetable highlights for preparations purposes:

PE: Tuesday (afternoon), Wednesday (afternoon) and Friday (morning)

Library: Friday (afternoon)

Housekeeping items:

Please ensure your child has a labeled water bottle at school every day. They will be reminded to take their water bottles home each day for cleaning and refilling.
Instead of launching immediately into our first Unit of Inquiry, the first week or so of school will focus on “Learning to Learn”. During this time, we will begin to establish routines, focus on how best we learn and how best we will learn together. I will also be conducting some assessments so that I can tailor the program to differentiate appropriately.
Footwear: Please ensure that your child has indoor shoes as well as athletic shoes for P.E class
Absences: If your child will be/has been absent (illness, medical appointment, etc.) please send along a note or an email for my records
While email communication may be more convenient at times, your child’s agenda is another means of communication if you would prefer. I mainly use email/our class website to communicate class info, but I do use the agendas as a place to record reminders (upcoming Dress Down Day, return library books, what to bring on the field trip, etc.). As you'll see, the homework itself is predictable week to week and doesn't need recording in the agenda as such.
Assigned homework will begin in the week of September 17th, after Curriculum Night (September 12th) where I will outline expectations and format. As always, I encourage all students to read nightly; silently or aloud to an adult to help build fluency and develop or nurture a love of reading. Log in info for homework related sites (Study Ladder for now, but will add others later), can be found in the front cover of the agenda.
In the coming weeks, I will further update our class website to include information about homework and curriculum. Please check your email and our class website regularly as that is how I will most often communicate what we are up to in grade 2 (including homework/ spelling updates as well as photos and descriptions of recent grade 2 happenings).

Feel free to get in touch with me sadams@lakecrest.ca if you have any questions or if I can be of assistance in any way. I am truly looking forward to working with you this year!

Susan Adams

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