Week 30

Welcome back!! I hope you all had a GREAT Spring Break! It's hard to believe but we only have NINE weeks of school left! :) Here is what we have coming up:

Literature: We will begin our last book of the year: Little House in the Big Woods. Please bring it to school this week if you have not done so yet. We won't do reading groups this week, but we will read chapters 1 and 2 in class! We have a lap book that we will make as we work our way through the book, and it's going to look really nice!

Spalding: We have 19 words this week and will test on Friday. 

Tues: awful, awesome, awe, usually, usual, complaint, complained, complain, auto, vacation

Wed: beautiful, beauty, flight, travel, rapid, repair, troubling, trouble, entrance

Grammar: Dictionary skills - how to use dictionaries, alphabetizing words, and using guide words

Writing: narration, copy work, and dictation exercises from The Story of Mankind by Helene Guerber

Math: Telling Time! (minutes after and before the hour, to the quarter hour, and to the half hour) We will have a short math quiz on Friday!

History: In History, we are starting our unit on the Civil War. This week, we will be discussing what led up to the Civil War - how the north and south were divided over certain issues - as well as learning about some important people. We will talk about Harriet Beecher Stowe and Harriet Tubman and why we remember them today. 

Science: We are starting a new unit on Simple Machines! 

Idiom: "Get a taste of your own medicine"

Poem: Lincoln by Nancy Byrd Turner - practice stanza 4 (We will recite next week!)

Miscellaneous: Book reports are due this week! Please turn them in by Friday. :)

Week 29

Good evening! We have a different kind of week coming up, as it is short and jam-packed with activities! Here's what's happening:

Literature: We finished Sarah, Plain and Tall but still have reading groups scheduled for Tuesday, so we will use leveled readers in groups and also work on our Idioms and Proverbs packet. When we get back from break, we will dive right into Little House in the Big Woods.

Spalding: We will be practicing our cursive and reworking words that were commonly missed on the last several spelling tests. There will be no spelling test this week; it will simply be review. The homework will be to write ten sentences in cursive and this will be due on Thursday.

Writing: narration and copy work exercises from The Real Princess by Hans Christian Andersen

Grammar: We are working on paragraphs this week and will learn the rules for writing a paragraph, as well as the steps of the writing process.

Math: Our objectives this week are to write fractions whose sum makes a whole and write fractions of a set. On Thursday, we will play fraction scoot to review, and then there will be a cumulative assessment!

History: We will be reviewing our Westward Expansion material in class tomorrow (Monday) and will test on Thursday! We will also learn more about settling the west on our field trip this week!

Science: We will take a short Magnet Quiz on Tuesday after a little more review. On Thursday we have a really fun activity planned, but I'm going to leave it as a surprise! :)

Idiom: "You can't teach an old dog new tricks!"

Poem: Lincoln (stanza 3 this week!)

Note: Thursday is a half day, and there is no school on Friday!

FIELD TRIP
Our field trip is this Wednesday and will be an all day event. We will get back in time for early release. :) Please don't bring backpacks to school on Wednesday. Simply pack a sack lunch and water bottle. Students must be in school uniform. Even though we are not at school, we are representing Archway Arete and should dress accordingly. Students may bring hats since a lot of the field trip will take place outside. We also encourage all students to wear sunscreen since it will be warm and sunny! We are so excited and looking forward to this trip!!

Week 28

Good morning! I hope everyone is having a relaxing weekend. I know I have! I spent yesterday shopping, baking, and grilling with my family. :) Hard to believe that quarter 3 is almost to an end. Here's what we have coming up this week:

Literature: Chapters 7-9 of Sarah, Plain and Tall - Thank you to our reading group helpers! We love having you in the classroom on Tuesdays and Thursdays!
Vocabulary words we will encounter:
chapter 7: whickering, primly, squak
chapter 8: overalls, weary, squall, pungent, eerie
chapter 9: scuttling, wailing

Spalding: We have 29 words this week. Just like last week, we will do 1 or 2 words in cursive each day. Your child can choose to write 1-2 words on the homework in cursive, but this is not mandatory. We are just practicing and getting used to reading and writing it. The Spelling Test will be on Friday after Field Day. Words:
Monday: knee, lemon, lying, lie, nails, needle, nobody, oar, palace, penny
Tuesday: regular, repeats, sailor, sentence, shining, shine, surface, sweeping, sweeps, thief
Wednesday: waist, waste, waiting, weary, writing, writer, write, spend, enjoy

Grammar/Writing: We are learning about transition words this week and how they are necessary for forming a good paragraph. We will be discussing the six traits of writing and will work on a pre-writing map before delving into our individual paragraphs.

Math: We are continuing fractions. On Friday, I introduced the words "numerator" and "denominator". We talked about how numerator sounds like number and this represents the number that are shaded. Denominator sounds like divide, and this represents how many pieces it is (equally) divided into. We will continue to recognize fractions and begin to compare them. Which one is bigger? How many 1/4 pieces fit into 1/2? We will take our first chapter test on fractions (recognizing halves and quarters) on Wednesday!

History: We are nearing the end of our Westward Expansion unit, just in time for our Field Trip next week! This week we will discuss the Native Americans and some of their leaders, like Sequoyah, and how they were impacted by the pioneers moving west.

Science: We are exploring how magnets repel and attract and learning the law of magnetic attraction: "Unlike poles attract; like poles repel". We will also look at compasses and how the magnet in them always points north.

Miscellaneous: Field Day is on Friday from 8:30-11:00 am! Our class is Macedonia and our symbol is the sun. I am waiting to hear more details on dress attire for that day. Please plan on sending your child in a hat and with sunscreen on. The forecast is showing sunny and a high of 88 for Friday. It is also important that every child has their water bottle!

Our Field Trip is the following week, on Wednesday, March 16th. If you have not done so yet, please sign the waiver allowing your child to attend. :)

That's all for now! Enjoy your Sunday!

Field Day!

We are so excited about the upcoming Field Day! It will be held on the athletic field from 8:30-11 a.m. next Friday, March 11th. Just like last year, it will be similar to the Greek Olympics, and K-2 will compete in the morning. Our class will be representing Macedonia, and our symbol is the sun! We will need two large rolling coolers to transport water bottles around, as it will be quite warm. Please let me know if you are willing to let us borrow a cooler for the day! We also need parent volunteers - if you are interested in helping out, please click here. :) We will provide more information regarding what to wear and bring a little closer to time. Looking forward to it!

Week 27

Good evening! I hope everyone had a fun weekend. I saw several people running the 5k! :) Here's what's coming up this week (note: Friday is a half day):

Literature: We are continuing on in Sarah, Plain and Tall with chapters 4, 5, and 6 this week. Vocabulary words we will encounter are:
chapter 4 - scallop, paddock, stew, rustle
chapter 5 - coarse, charcoal, mica, dune, pitchfork
chapter 6 - tumbleweeds, gullies, collapsed, petticoat, treaded

Spalding: 30 spelling words this week - Test on Friday! We will write the majority of them in manuscript. Each day I will pick one or two in class to write in cursive. We will still review and practice our letter formation, but the switch to cursive will be gradual. :)

Writing: narration, copy work, and dictation exercises from The Elephant's Child

Grammar: This week we will be learning how to form a good paragraph! We will be learning the components that make up paragraphs, looking at sample paragraphs and identifying these parts, and then applying what we learned to our own writing.

Math: In Math, we are still working with money. We will be doing word problem work and making change. I encourage you to practice counting money at home and let your child count out bills and coins to help pay at the grocery store or restaurant. :) We have our last money test on Tuesday and the cumulative test on Thursday.

History: This week we are learning about the Pony Express, Transcontinental Railroad, and how the west was settled.

Science: We are beginning a new unit in Science! We will be experimenting with magnets! Vocabulary words we will encounter this week are magnetism, attract, and force.

Idiom: "Eaten out of house and home"

Poem: We are reciting the Preamble this week. Our new poem we will begin working on is "Lincoln" by Nancy Byrd Turner.

Miscellaneous: Mother-Son Event is Friday!

Week 26

Good evening! We have some exciting things coming up this week!

Literature: In Literature, we will be starting our new book, Sarah, Plain and Tall! We will begin reading this in class tomorrow, and we will break into reading groups on Tuesday and Thursday to read chapters 2 and 3. I'm so excited to begin this book!

Spalding: In Spalding, we have an exciting week as well! We will be introduced to cursive this week! I will send home a packet tomorrow about cursive and how we form our letters (it's a little different from how I learned it as a child). Monday's and Tuesday's homework will be to practice the letters a-z five times in cursive. Let's work on our best handwriting! There will be no spelling words this week, as we will really be practicing letter formation. In the upcoming weeks, we will still primarily write in manuscript, but we will slowly bring in cursive. (For instance, next week one word will be done in cursive on the homework. We will gradually bring in more and more as we prepare for third grade!) 

Writing: narration, copy work, and dictation exercises from The Plant That Ate Dirty Socks

Grammar: edit, classify, and unscramble sentences!

Touch Pebbles: Our reading selection this week is from Homer's The Odyssey. Students will explore how understanding another person's reasons and motives can help explain his or her actions. 

Math: We will continue practicing with money, both adding and subtracting it. We will also see it in word problems. We will take a chapter test on Wednesday during one of the math centers!

History: We are studying the Oregon Trail and California Gold Rush this week! We will each create a wall hanging with a scene of the Oregon Trail, and Ms. Carnahan and I will demonstrate panning for gold!

Science: This week we will play a couple of games to assess our knowledge on nutrition. :)

Poem: We are spending another week on the Preamble and will recite it next week!

Idiom: "Eaten out of house and home!"

Miscellaneous: The Family Fun Run and picnic is on Saturday! I'll be running the 5k and hope to see you all there! :)

Have a great week! 

Week 25

Happy President's Day! I hope everyone is enjoying their 4 day weekend! Here's what we have coming up this week:

Literature: We will be finishing up Cricket in Times Square this week. Our next book will be Sarah, Plain, and Tall. You can start sending these in if you would like, as we will begin reading it in reading groups next week! I will be sending out a sign-up genius soon to take on a reading group. :)

Spalding: We only have 21 words, due to the shortened week. They are as follows: (Spelling Test will be on Friday as usual!)
Tues: remain, direction, direct, appear, liberty, enough, fact, board, September, station, attend
Wed: public, music, picnic, friends, friend, during, police, until, truly, true

Writing: narration, copy work, and dictation exercises from Little Women

Grammar: edit, classify, unscramble sentences - same format as we have been practicing these last several weeks! We will test on Friday over editing and classifying sentences!

Touchpebbles: Story: The Weapons of King Chuko; Goal: Students will decide whether they should tell people about certain accomplishments or keep them secret and examine a story in which a great accomplishment is kept secret.

Idiom: "Better late than never!"

Poem: Preamble by Gouverneur Morris - We will recite this next week since it is so short! (For a song that may aid in memorization, check out this School House Rock video.)

Math: We will continue to practice division with remainders and then begin our money unit towards the end of the week. We will take our 1-8 Cumulative Test on Thursday!

History: We are starting our Westward Expansion unit! This is a fun unit that will culminate in our field trip to the Pioneer Living History museum right before Spring Break. We will have more details on this coming soon! This week we will examine ways of going west, looking at early transportation: keelboats, flatboats, and Fulton's steamboat.

Science: We are continuing to study nutrition and will learn how to create a fully balanced meal.

Miscellaneous: We have P.E. this Wednesday in addition to our normal days (Tuesday and Friday). Please bring P.E. shoes. :)

Thank you to everyone who donated sheets or funds for sheets to New Leaf! Second grade collected over 100 sets of twin sheets for this cause. Way to go! :)

See you tomorrow!