November 20- December 11

Hello Families! We have had a busy couple of weeks. The daylight is getting shorter and the weather is getting colder (The kids say they are freezing- I keep telling them winter hasn't even begun!) Here is what we have been up to in 2nd grade:

• Mrs. Loyd came in for Art for Youth this week. Ask your child what he/she drew.
• We filled our pebble jar. The class voted on watching A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and having popcorn.
• The leaves on our Kindness Tree have all fallen (it's a good thing!). For every day that people used kind words or received kind words, a leave fell from our "Kind Words Are Falling Out of Our Mouths" Tree.

Reading: We have been busy making connections with our books. The kids have been working very hard making Text-to-Self and Text-to-Text connections. They have even begun comparing their personal traits with the characters they read. We started a bulletin board titled "Characters You Should Meet". Each child got to introduce the class to a book character they think others should "meet". Ask your child who he/she chose. The kids also had the opportunity to work with their reading partner to compare two similar themed books. They read the books and completed a Venn Diagram comparing the two. The kids had a lot of great ideas. It is so fun to see them have meaningful conversations about books with each other!

Writing: We have been working on writing good beginnings, exciting endings and using adjectives to make our writing more exciting. As writers, the kids have also started using more voice and thinking about their word choice. I have noticed a big improvement in every one's stories. They are so exciting. When we return from Thanksgiving, we will begin a letter writing unit. Throughout the unit, we will continue to use the tools good writers use and also have time to write fiction.

Math: We are working hard making change, making estimates and measuring. We will be having our Unit 4 test the Friday we return from Thanksgiving (Dec 4). At conferences, I am handing out a resource sheet to parents that demonstrates how we are teaching double digit addition. The math program does not introduce the borrowing algorithm until the end of the school year. The purpose behind this new method is so that kids are understanding place value. I ask that you please reinforce the math methods of the program so that you child does not get confused.

Science and Social Studies: We finished our excitement filled Balance and Motion unit last week. The kids had a great time balancing mobiles and pencils, spinning tops and zoomers and rolling cups and making roller coasters. This quarter we will studying Maps for social studies. We'll learn the 7 continents and oceans, directions, reading a map and working with grids.

Reminders: No school next week for the kids

Conferences Mon evening and Tues AM and PM

Field Trip Permission slip and $4

I hope you and your kids have a lovely Thanksgiving. Enjoy the days off with your family.