Mrs. Tilkes

Week of November 9th

Religion

Our second graders have officially begun their exciting journey through Dynamic Catholic’s BLESSED program as they prepare for their First Reconciliation. This engaging curriculum uses beautiful workbooks and animated short films to show our students just how much God loves them.

Here is a quick look at what we are learning right now:

You Are Blessed: We are exploring the ultimate gift of life. The children are learning that they are uniquely made and deeply loved by God.
The Best-Version-of-Yourself: We are talking about free will and happiness. We discuss how God wants us to make good choices that help us grow into the people He created us to be.
Conscience & Grace: The students are learning how to listen to their conscience to recognize right from wrong. We are introducing the concept of sin and the incredible gift of God’s grace and forgiveness.
Jesus Our Savior: We are looking at how Jesus leads by example. We are learning that no matter what mistakes we make, God's mercy is always waiting for us in the Confessional.

How to connect at home:

Ask your child tonight: "What does it mean to be the best-version-of-yourself?"

ELA

This week we will be beginning our new Rooted in Reading story called Turkey Trouble by Wendi Salvano.

Summary of Turkey Trouble

The Problem: Thanksgiving is coming up fast, and Turkey realizes he is supposed to be the main course for Farmer Jake's dinner.
The Disguises: Turkey tries to hide by dressing up as other farm animals:

A horse (too short),A cow (too skinny),A pig (too clean),A sheep (too brown)

The Solution: While standing near the vegetable patch, Turkey comes up with a clever new idea. He dresses up as a pizza delivery person and delivers a pizza to Farmer Jake, saving himself and making it the best Thanksgiving ever.

Comprehension & Sequencing: Putting Turkey’s failed disguises and events in chronological order.
Character Traits & Problem-Solving: Analyzing how Turkey stays calm and uses creative thinking to overcome a big challenge.
Nonfiction Connection: Pairing the fictional story with nonfiction texts about real animals and camouflage in nature.
Vocabulary & Writing: Learning new words with physical hand motions and writing about alternative Thanksgiving meals (like pizza!) or designing their own turkey disguise.

💬 At-Home Discussion Prompts

Keep the reading momentum going with these quick, casual discussion starters:

Before reading / Opening question: "Why do you think Turkey felt it was a trouble that Thanksgiving was coming?"
Problem-solving: "Turkey's animal disguises didn't work. Why did his pizza delivery disguise work so perfectly?"
Character connection: "Turkey had to try five different plans before one worked. What does that teach us about not giving up when things are hard?"
Creative twist: "If Turkey couldn't order pizza, what is another funny food disguise he could have used to trick Farmer Jake?"

🔍 Vocabulary Spotlight

The curriculum highlights key words to build language skills. Here are the core words from the book you can look out for and use at home:

Distress: Feeling great pain, anxiety, or sorrow. (e.g., "Turkey was in total distress when he looked at the calendar.")
Disguise: Clothes or items worn to hide someone's true identity. (e.g., "The pig disguise didn't work because Turkey was too clean.")
Clever: Quick to understand, learn, and devise ideas; smart. (e.g., "Turkey came up with a clever plan to save himself.")
Exclaimed: Cried out or spoke suddenly and vehemently, as in surprise or emotion. (e.g., "'Gross!' exclaimed the cow when Turkey tried to blend in.")

MATH

Chapter 4: Subtract Two-Digit Numbers.

The Math Summary

In this chapter, your second grader transitions from basic math facts to subtracting larger numbers up to 100. The primary focus is understanding place value and learning how and when to regroup (what we used to call "borrowing").

Instead of just memorizing a procedure, students learn the deep logical concepts behind subtraction. They explore how addition and subtraction are inverse operations (fact families), practice breaking down tens into ones using visual block models, transition to stacking and rewriting vertical problems, and finally tackle complex two-step word problems.

Vocab Spotlight

These mathematical terms are explicitly taught in Chapter 4. Knowing them helps your child explain how they solved a problem:

Regroup: To take 1 ten and trade it for 10 ones. (Example: Turning the number 43 from 4 tens and 3 ones into 3 tens and 13 ones so you have enough ones to subtract).
Difference: The answer to a subtraction problem.
Fact Family: A group of related addition and subtraction facts that use the same three numbers. (Example: 15 + 6 = 21, 6 + 15 = 21, 21 - 15 = 6, 21 - 6 = 15).
Tens & Ones: The place value positions. Tens represent bundles of ten units; ones represent single units.

At-Home Activities

You can reinforce these subtraction concepts through quick, tactile games without needing worksheets:

1. The Snack Box Trade (Hands-on Regrouping)

What to do: Gather a few snack items like pretzel sticks (to represent Tens) and small cereal pieces or chocolate chips (to represent Ones).
The challenge: Give your child a setup, like 3 pretzel sticks and 2 cereal pieces (the number 32). Tell them: "Eat 7 cereal pieces!"
The math: They will realize they don’t have enough small pieces. Guide them to regroup by breaking or trading 1 pretzel stick for 10 separate cereal pieces. Now they have 2 tens and 12 ones, and they can easily subtract 7!

2. Card Deck "Roll and Rewrite"

What to do: Take out a deck of cards (remove face cards, Aces = 1).
The challenge: Have your child flip over two cards to create a larger 2-digit number (e.g., a 7 and a 4 make 74). Then, flip two more cards to make a smaller 2-digit number (e.g., 28).
The math: Give them a blank piece of paper and have them practice rewriting the horizontal problem vertically, perfectly lining up the tens column and the ones column before subtracting.

3. The Inverse Check-Up

What to do: Whenever your child finishes a subtraction problem on their homework, play the "Detective."
The challenge: Ask them to prove their answer is right using addition.
The math: If the problem was 52 - 19 = 33, show them how to add the difference back to the smaller number (33 + 19). If it equals the starting number (52), their "investigation" is successfully verified!

At-Home Discussion Starters

Keep math conversational by asking these strategy-focused questions during homework time:

Look at the ones column. Is the number on top smaller than the number on the bottom? Do we need to go next door and regroup?
Can you show me how to turn this subtraction problem into a fact family addition sentence?
If you have 4 tens and 2 ones, what does it change into if you move one of those tens over to the ones place?

Science

We are starting an exciting new science unit from Mystery Science called Animal Adventures. In this unit, students will explore the amazing world of animal adaptations and how different features help animals survive in their habitats.

Over the next few weeks, your child will become a scientist as we investigate questions like:

How do animals stay safe? (Looking at camouflage, shells, and defensive behaviors)
How do animals find food? (Exploring different beak shapes, teeth, and hunting strategies)
Why do some animals live in groups? (Understanding how teamwork helps animals survive)
We are looking forward to a fun hands-on unit filled with observations, activities, and discoveries! Thank you for supporting your young scientist's learning.

Social Studies

We will be using Scholastic News to build essential reading skills while exploring the world around us.

Scholastic News is a high-interest weekly magazine designed specifically for second graders. It connects current events, science, and social studies topics to our daily reading and writing curriculum.

Here is a look at what your child will be learning from our upcoming issues:

📖 Nonfiction Reading & Vocabulary

Reading informational text is a major focus in second grade. Through these articles, your child will practice:

Using text features: Learning how to navigate headings, captions, maps, and bold vocabulary words to better understand a text.
Finding the main idea: Identifying the big picture of an article and locating supporting details.
Building vocabulary: Encountering new, context-specific words in science and social studies and using them in discussion.

🔬 Science & Social Studies Connections

Our upcoming issues will dive into engaging, real-world themes:

Science & Nature: Exploring animal adaptations, seasonal changes, and how living things interact with their environments.
Civics & History: Learning about community helpers, national holidays, and foundational moments in history.
Media Literacy: Discussing real-world news stories at an age-appropriate level to build global awareness.

💬 Bring the Learning Home

Each issue comes with an online component and a physical magazine that your child will eventually bring home. You can support their learning by asking a few quick questions:

"What was the most surprising thing you read about in Scholastic News this week?"
"Can you show me a photograph in your magazine and read the caption to me?"
"What is one new vocabulary word you learned from this issue?"