2nd Grade News - Week 12

Wow! It is getting really cold outside.  Please make sure your child brings a coat daily. 

We are outside for two recesses rain or shine. 

Our prize box is getting a little low.  If you would like to donate prizes for our prize box it would be very much appreciated.  Prizes should not be over a dollar.  Examples include Matchbox cars, bubbles, Play-Doh, Dollar Store toys, kid’s meal prizes, ect. Students earn prizes for getting 15 row points, 30 Dojo points in a week, or for their birthday.

Almost everyone has signed up for conferences.  If you are unable to make it in to sign up, please email me a few times that work for you on Monday or Tuesday, Nov. 25^th or 26^th. 

I wanted to give a big shout out to Sue Ledgerwood for coming in every Thursday after school to clean and sanitize our classroom!  She is helping our kids stay healthy and in school.  Thank you!  We appreciate you!

Academic Areas of Focus for Next Week:

Literacy:        Lucy Calkin’s Reader’s Workshop – Reading Nonfiction

                                    -Rereading to learn more and more

                                    -Using keywords and lingo to discuss our books

                                    -Reading multiple books on the same topic to grow knowledge

                        Lucy Calkin’s Writer’s Workshop – Writing Nonfiction Text

                                    -Writing for an audience

                                    -Revising and editing our work

                                    -Language conventions

                        Words Their Way – Differentiated phonics lessons for individual levels

Mathematics:  Unit 3 – Place Value

            Priority Standards: 2.NBT.A.1: Understand that the three digits of a three-digit

         number represent amounts of hundreds, tens, and ones; e.g.,

         706 equals 7 hundreds, 0 tens, and 6 ones. Understand the   

        following as special cases:

2.NBT.A.1.a: 100 can be thought of as a bundle of ten

tens — called a "hundred."

2.NBT.A.1.b: The numbers 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900 refer to one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, or nine hundreds (and 0 tens and 0 ones).

       2.NBT.A.4: Compare two three-digit numbers based on

       meanings of the hundreds, tens, and ones digits, using >, =, and

          < symbols to record the results of comparisons.

       2.NBT.B.8: Mentally add 10 or 100 to a given number 100-

       900, and mentally subtract 10 or 100 from a given number 100-

          900.

Science:  Properties and phases of matter

                        -How new materials are invented!

Upcoming Events:    

            *Nov. Birthday Celebration/T-Shirt Day – Friday, Nov. 22^nd

            *Fall Conferences – Monday, Nov. 25^th – Tuesday, Nov. 26^th

            *No School/Conferences & Fall Break – Monday, Nov. 25^th – Friday, Nov. 29^th

            *Cookie Dough Pick-up – Thursday, Dec. 5^th 2:00 – 2:45 pm

            *Popcorn Friday – Friday, Dec. 6^th

            *Last Day for Fall SUN – Thursday, Dec. 12^th

            *Reunification Drill – Friday, Dec. 13^th, 1:15pm (More info coming)

            *Winter Celebration/T-Shirt Day – Friday, Dec. 20^th

Have a Great Weekend!

Mrs. Hawksford (ahawksford@pps.net)

2nd Grade News - Week 11

Over the last two weeks we have been spending some time talking about culture and race.  Last week we discussed the differences between cultural appropriation and culture appreciation.  This week we read the incredible book, Let’s Talk About Race, by Julius Lester.  In his book, Julius talks about everyone having their own personal story. (“I am a story.  So are you.  So is everyone.  My story begins the same way yours does:  I was born on _____________ in _________.”)  As a class, we are taking the time to write our personal stories.  In your child’s homework this week I have included an activity sheet to help students begin to write their story.  If you could please take a few minutes with your child to help them fill in the missing information that would be great.  The bottom blank that says, “And I am ____________,” is where your child would fill in their race.  This template follows the same template Julius Lester used in his book.  Thanks for your help!

Literacy:        Lucy Calkin’s Reader’s Workshop – Reading Nonfiction

                                    -Using the lingo (vocabulary) of a nonfiction topic

                                    -Using text features to notice and understand key words

                                    -Using context to build our knowledge of unknown words

                                    -Using strategic thinking to solve tricky words

                        Lucy Calkin’s Writer’s Workshop – Writing Nonfiction Text

                                    -Writing a lot of information to teach the reader about a topic

                                    -Setting goals to make our writing better

                                    -Using different text features to make our writing better

                        Words Their Way – Differentiated phonics lessons for individual levels

Mathematics: Unit 2: Addition & Subtraction Strategies & Developing Number Sense

              -Practicing strategies to quickly answer addition and subtraction math facts

                        -Fact families and triangle fact families

                        -Post assessment

                       

Science:  Properties and phases of matter

                        -Insulating vs. Conducting Properties

                        -Changes in matter: Solids and Liquids

Upcoming Events:   

            *No School/Veteran’s Day – Monday, Nov. 11^th

            *Book Fair – Tuesday, Nov. 12^th – Thursday, Nov. 15^th

            *Popcorn Friday – Friday, Nov. 16^th

            *Nov. Birthday Celebration/T-Shirt Day – Friday, Nov. 22^nd

            *Fall Conferences – Monday, Nov. 25^th – Tuesday, Nov. 26^th

            *No School/Conferences & Fall Break – Monday, Nov. 25^th – Friday, Nov. 29^th

Have a Great Weekend!

Mrs. Hawksford (ahawksford@pps.net)

2nd Grade News - Week 10

It’s hard to believe, but the first quarter of school is over and fall conferences are right around the corner on Monday, Nov. 25^th and Tuesday, Nov. 26^th.  This quarter, conferences will be done in place of report cards.  Please sign up for a conference time at your earliest convenience.  The sign up sheet will be hanging up outside our classroom door from Monday, Nov. 4^th – Wednesday, Nov. 20^th. If you are unable to come in and sign up, please let me know a couple of times that will work for you and I will schedule your conference time.

Academic Areas of Focus for Next Week:

Literacy:        Unit 2 – Informational Reading

                                    Priority Standard - RI.2.2. Identify the main topic of a multi-

paragraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the

text.

Priority Standard - RI.2.5. Know and use various text features (e.g.,

captions, bold print, subheadings, glossaries, indexes, electronic

menus, icons) to locate key facts or information in a text efficiently.

                        Unit 2 – Informational Writing

                                    Priority Standard - W.2.2. Write informative/explanatory texts in

which they introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section.

Mathematics:  Unit 2: Addition & Subtraction Strategies & Developing Number Sense

                Practicing strategies to quickly answer addition and subtraction math facts

                           Fact Families/Target Numbers

                           Zearn Math and Xtra Math Online

Science:  Properties and phases of matter

                        -Solids, liquids, and gas

Upcoming Events:  

            *Picture Retake Day – Tuesday, Nov. 5^th

            *No School/Veteran’s Day – Monday, Nov. 11^th

            *Book Fair – Tuesday, Nov. 12^th – Thursday, Nov. 15^th

            *Popcorn Friday – Friday, Nov. 16^th

            *Nov. Birthday Celebration/T-Shirt Day – Friday, Nov. 22^nd

            *Fall Conferences – Monday, Nov. 25^th – Tuesday, Nov. 26^th

            *No School/Thanksgiving Break – Wednesday, Nov. 27^th – Friday, Nov. 29^th

Have a Great Weekend!

Mrs. Hawksford (ahawksford@pps.net)

2nd Grade News - Week 9

Time is flying by! Next Thursday, October 31^st, is the last day of the first quarter of school.  I am so proud of how hard all of my students have been working.  They are learning and growing everyday. 

Our annual Halloween Parade to Odd Fellows is coming up on Thursday, October 31^st.  Students will be allowed to bring their costumes in their backpacks the day of the parade.  Please do not send your child to school in their costume.  We will be changing after lunch.  For this to be a smooth process I would like two more parent volunteers to help the students change into their costumes and walk with us during the parade.  Please email me if you would be interested in helping out or sign up on the flyer outside the classroom door. I will only need 4 volunteers for this activity.  When we get back from the parade we will be having a Fall Harvest Celebration in our classroom. 

Literacy:        Lucy Calkin’s Reader’s Workshop - Flex Week

                                    -Focus on differentiated reading groups

                                    -Wrapping up Unit 1 – Fiction Genre

                        Lucy Calkin’s Writer’s Workshop – Flex Week

                                    -Celebrating our narrative/small moment writing

                                    -Sharing our work

                        Words Their Way – Differentiated phonics instruction

Mathematics:  Adding and subtracting on a number line

                          Fact Families/Target Numbers

                          Place Value

                          Zearn Math and Xtra Math Online – Focus on addition and subtraction facts

Science:  Material Magic - Properties and phases of matter

-This unit develops the idea that by taking advantage of the properties of materials, we can solve problems in our lives.  Students will develop an appreciation for the manmade materials of everyday objects, and learn to recognize that those materials are chosen based on their properties.  Through hands on investigations, students will explore the material properties involved in meeting basic needs (such as clothing and cooking).  They’ll consider the sold and liquid state of matter to understand why plastic was invented.  The unit ends with a brainstorming activity about futuristic inventions that might be possible using new materials.

Upcoming Events:  

            *Dine Out at Hopworks – Monday, Oct. 21^st

            *October Birthday Celebration/T-Shirt Day – Friday, Oct. 25^th

            *Fall Festival – Friday, Oct. 25^th

            *Halloween Parade – Thursday, Oct. 31^st

            *End of 1^st Quarter – Thursday, Oct. 31^st

            *Teacher Planning Day/No School – Friday, Nov. 1^st

            *Picture Retake Day – Tuesday, Nov. 5^th

Have a Great Weekend!

Mrs. Hawksford (ahawksford@pps.net)