December Happenings in Second Grade

Math

In math we have been adding and subtracting quantities. We have also been solving for unknown change such as, Max had 12 apples then his mom gave him some more. Now he has 25.  How many apples did did his mom give hime?  We have been practicing writing the equation that matches the problem (12+n=25), and then solving the problem by counting on from 12 to 25. 

This week we also explored odd and even numbers. We noticed that even numbers can be put in pairs or 2 teams with no leftovers and odd numbers, when put in pairs and two teams, always have one left over.

"We're  trying to see if numbers can be put into pairs or equal teams."

Text Talk

This week we read the book Six Dinner Sid by Inga Moore. In this story, until he is found out Sid happily eats six different dinners at six different households while the owners believe him to be six different cats. Ask your child what the problem is and how the story ends. 

Our new vocabulary words are:

Spelling

In spelling we have been practicing a few new skills. We learned when to use ch or -tch.  Ask your child what the rules are. 

We have also been reviewing bossy R. R is bossy because it does not let the vowel say its sound. We learned that bossy R is bossy but polite, it lets the vowel go first. Next week we will work on er, ir and ur. 

Today's News

Science

We are finishing up our Matter unit by making observations about liquids and asking "I wonder what would happen if..." questions.  Last week we froze different liquids such as glue, shampoo and water and made observations about how each froze differently.  Ask your child what we noticed.

Today we explored what happens when we put liquids together.  Below are the pictures of before and after mixing them!

Left to Right -
Water and Oil,   Shampoo, Water and Oil,  
Oil and Shampoo

Our concoctions after mixing!

Left to Right
Glue and Shampoo,    Glue and Oil,    Glue and Water

Glue, Shampoo, Water and Oil!

Mixed together!

Tomorrow morning we will make observations about the mixtures!

Halloween Party

Thank you to all the parents who made our Halloween Party possible!

Our Halloween Party started with our mask parade around the school!

                                     

Our Halloween party started with our Mask Parade.
Students made their mask with Mrs Aucter in Art Class

After the Mask Parade we headed into the Multi Purpose Room for games.

Bean Bag Toss

Bean Bag Toss

Pumpkin Bowling!

We then headed back to the classroom for a snack and an activity!

Snack!

Making Catapults!

Look out for flying Pom-Pom Pumpkins!

Have a wonderful Halloween! 

 Remember to set your clocks back for an extra hour of weekend!

October Happenings in Second Grade

Something New!  

Buddy Reading with Mrs Lavallee's Fourth Graders!  

Every Friday our class will be reading some of the books we have been reading in class to a reading buddy in Mrs Lavallee's class. The fourth graders will also be reading books that they have been reading to their partner!  The kids were very excited to read with new friends!

Four Winds

We had our first Four Winds lesson this week. We learned all about Signs of Leaf Eaters. We sorted leaves, learned about different types of leaves, the Food Chain, producers and consumers and ecosystems. 

Thanks to this month's Four Winds volunteers Angela Smith and Jessica Brisbin (Ask your child who else helped out with the puppet show and Four Winds)! 

Four Winds always begins with a puppet show!

Finding signs of insects consuming leaves

Showing the interdependence of plants and animals.

Geometry

Students matched the faces of their geoblocks to cards to find the mystery geoblock.

October 16, 2015

Fire Safety

On Friday, firefighters from the Underhill Jercicho Fire Department came in to teach us about fire safety. We learned how important it is to know when to call 911, to know our address and to practice fire drills at home too! 

Getting ready to "Stop, Drop and Roll"

Parent Teacher Conferences

I enjoyed meeting with you all for conferences.  Although is makes for some very long days, I enjoy meeting with you and sharing what your child is doing in class.  Thanks for making the time to come in and most of all, for supporting your child as a learner!

Homework

We will begin homework on Monday.  All homework will be sent home on Mondays and be due on Fridays.  Homework will not be sent home over weekends, over vacations, or during short weeks. Homework will consist of:

1.  Math review sheets - These are sheets that review skills we have already worked on in class.  They should be fairly easy, as they are review and have already been taught in school.  Please be sure you check your child's work for accuracy before your child sends it back in.
2. Spelling - This will consist of new words to learn and old words that your child has not mastered yet.  Please check both sides of the paper for your child's words.  There will also be a skill sheet that supports the skill we are focusing on for the week.  Again, please check your child's work for correctness before your child hands it back in.
3. Reading - Children should be reading with someone (taking turns), to someone, and listening to books for at least 10 minutes a day.  Please read a variety of texts.  Some examples are: picture books, poetry, and Informational books.  Beside traditional non-fiction books, this could include menus, recipes, and directions!  Please fill in the Reading Log in your child's folder.

Children should spend no more than 20 minutes a day on homework.  Ideally, 5 minutes of math, 5 minutes of spelling, and 10 minutes of reading.

Science

We have finished exploring the properties of solids.

We have discovered that:

Students then got a new solid, a sponge, and made observations in their Science Logs.

Testing a sponge to see if it is magnetic or not and recording the results.

We discovered that some solids are magnetic and some are not.

Testing solids to see if they are magnetic or not

Reading

We have spent a lot of time talking about the importance of choosing "Just Right" books for Independent Reading time and how to choose "Just Right" books.   We learned that we can still read "Too Easy" books for enjoyment and that we can still read "Too Hard" books with a parent or as a read aloud.  We discussed that "Just Right" books are books help us become better readers.

Text Talk - We finished up our second book, Mole's Hill.  We talked about how stories have a problem, events to help solve a problem, and usually a solution to the problem at the end of the story.   The children found many vocabulary words in their reading books for this book.  Ask your child which word was found the most times! (quiver)

Choice  Time!

After a busy week, children have a chance Friday afternoons to explore on their own.

This Week in Second Grade

Fall Hike

We had a great afternoon for our hike. Thanks to all the parents who were able to come and hike with us!

We are loving Fasttmath!

The kids are doing one lesson of FM most mornings when they arrive. They may then do another lesson at home if they wish. Fasttmath only allows children to do a maximum of two lessons a day. 

Math

This week in math we played Make Ten and Tens Go Fish. Ask your child how to play each game and what each game is helping us learn and get better at.

Make Ten

Make Ten

Tens Go Fish

What needs to be added to 8 to make a 10?

Science

In Science we have been learning about Matter.  We learned that everything is made of matter and matter can be solid, liquid, or gas.   We have been looking at the properties of solids.  We sorted solids by color, shape, stack, roll or both. 

We are keeping track of the properties of solids so that we can compare them to the properties of liquids.

This is what we have discovered so far:

Can you figure out how these solids were grouped?

Working Together to look at attributes

I