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)

2nd Grade News - Week 8

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.  We will be changing after lunch.  For this to be a smooth process we will need a few 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.  A sign up sheet for volunteering and snacks is hanging in the hall outside our classroom door.

Eating breakfast in the classroom has become a bit of an ordeal in the morning.  Breakfast is served in the cafeteria from 7:30 – 7:50 am.  Ideally, I would like students to eat breakfast in the cafeteria during this time period.  I realize a few students do not arrive at this time.  I will allow students to eat in the classroom until 8:00 am.  After that, we must start our school day and breakfast must be disposed of.  I have spoken to the students about this policy.  Please go over it again with them this weekend.  Thanks!

Literacy:        Lucy Calkin’s Reader’s Workshop – Wrapping up Unit 1

                                    -Review character traits, setting, and story sequence

                                    -Study how whole books click together

                                    -Practice story retell/summarizing

                                    -Learning lessons from books

                        Lucy Calkin’s Writer’s Workshop

                                    -Learning how to make our writing powerful from our favorite authors

                                    -Trying out craft moves we learned from mentor authors

                                    -Emulating mentor authors while revising

                                    -Thinking about word choice in our writing

                        Words Their Way – Differentiated phonics lessons

Mathematics:  Zearn Math on-line – More information to come home soon

                          Fact Families

                          Multiple strategies for solving addition and subtraction problems

                          End of the quarter review and assessments

Science:  Plant Adventures – We are doing our last Mystery this week!

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)