March 29-April 20

Hello Families! 4th quarter has officially begun. Report cards have been sent home today (Fri. March 30) Please make sure you check your child's folder for the reprt card and a field trip slip for two plays we are scheduled to see. Note the return date for the field trip is Thurs. April 5. Have a wonderful weekend and spring break.

Donations- we are out of glue sticks and pencils- thank you for any prior donations. If you are willing to donate either of these items, we would greatly appreciate it. Thank you for your help!

Facts Test- as a reminder, the emphasis on facts tests should be to build fact power (automaticity). The timed test is one tool to practice automaticity and measure progress. It is the goal for kids to automatically recall facts without counting. As long as the kids scopres are improving, the actual number score

Reading Job tickets- to manage guided reading group assignments, I sometimes give the kids a job ticket to remind them of their assignment. You may have seen them in your child's reading bag. The assignment I list on the ticket can be completed during readers workshop- I do give the kids a sufficient amount of time to do so. Please know that the job ticket does not have to be completed for homework.

Reading Bag Books- Most of the books sent home (other than Fridays) are books we are working on guided groups. It is important to our lesson that kids only read the pages/chapters assigned to them. Please encouarge your child to reread a chapter to you- look for new words to define to help build your child's vocabulary, talk about the plot, have your child share any questions he/she has as a reader, make predictions, retell...

Poetry notebooks-Your child will be bringing home a small memo pad to write poetry. Your child may use the notebook to make a list of ideas that might inspire a poem or they could even write poetry in the notebook. This memo pad shoudl be returned to school everyday. Keeping it in the reading bag might be a good idea.

Art For Youth- Beth's mom presented Art for Youth for the month of March. We learned about genre painting- a scene from everyday life. We examined Horace Pippin's The Domino Players (1943) and Paul Cezanne's The Cardplayers (1890-1892). We focused on compistion in both works- how artistis use color, arrange figures and objects to show mood, relationships and a glimpse of everyday life.

Ask Your Child-

What is the difference between area and perimeter?

What is the author's message in Big Al?

How are to, two and too different?
What does it mean to see with a poets eyes?

What is your class working on in the picture below?

March 16-March 30

It feels like spring is here! With the warm weather comes energetic kids. So as a school, we are trying to channel the energy into positive behavior with an all school incentive. If a class earns a PAW slip in every area of school: hallway, bus line, bus, bathroom, cafeteria, classroom, morning line and playground, then that class can participate in an all school movie.
Please check the right sidebar to see what we are learning in each academic area.
Author's Celebration: We had a wonderful celebration on Monday. Thank you to all the parents who were able to join us and those who brought treats and materials. The kids had a great time sharing their animal reports.
Book Orders: March/April Scholastic orders are due today. You can submit orders through Saturday online. Scholastic has now released an app called Storia. It is a virtual bookshelf that comes with 5 free books. You can now buy scholastic books for your e reader.
Writing Captions: For our humor mini unit, we will be writing captions. I am asking families to check at home for a funny photo (or copy of a photo) of your child that would lend itself well to writing a funny caption underneath. Please send the photo to school by Tuesday March 20.
Tests Home: Look for Math Unit 8 Test and Social Studies Unit 7 test. The Science test should have come home on Wednesday. Math tests should be signed and returned. I will stamp/star the test and send it back home for you to keep. It is important to me that I know you see your child's test.
Math Homelinks- You have already noticed that some homelinks ask for your child to bring in boxes or find things in magazines to share at school. It is much appreciated when you are able to find things at home, but it is not manadatory. So please do not worry if your family can not fulfill that part of the homelink.
Ask Your Child:
Which PAW slips has your class earned for the all school incentive?
How many feet are in a yard?
What is one of the main problems in Mouse and a Motorcycle?
What should you do when you finish a test a school? (Check over your tests- make sure you didn't skip any problems and redo the problems to make sure you got the correct answer) We are having lots of kids skipping questions on tests, even kids who say they checked it over- yikes!

March 2-16

Happy March! The end of winter is near! Although we have had a fairly mild winter, I can't wait to be outside in spring weather! Quarter 3 is off to a great start. I told some families at conferences that quarter 3 is a huge time of growth in second grade. They really start transitioning to more independent thinkers and learners in the classroom. Kids are ready to talk about books in more depth- summarizing and synthesizing, inferring, cause and effect, comparing and contrasting, examining author's purpose... As writer's kids more thoroughly understand that they are writing for a reader so spelling, plantation, word choice, organization...are all better understood as writers. In math will tackle more difficult concepts(fractions, multiplication, some division, problem solving) as well as revisit other concepts on a deeper level. I enjoy every single day with this group of kids! I am already beginning to be sad the year is coming to an end!
Please read What We Are Learning in Second Grade on the right sidebar.
Here is some classroom news:
Art For Youth-We learned about Cubism and artists who were influenced by this type of art. Henry Moore (mostly made sculptures) and Charles Alston both created cubist works of art. As artists, the second graders drew faces from different viewpoints with some elements of cubism- unrealistic proportions, straight lines and angles, broken and reassembled parts, multi dimensional, bold colors...
Hot Cocoa Party- Second earned a Hot Cocoa Party back in January for winning the Penny Drive. On Wednesday March 7, we will finally have our party. The Penny Drive committee (PTO) is asking that each child bring a 12oz ceramic mug for the hot cocoa party to save from trashing disposable cups. You may send the cup to school with your child anytime- before or on March 7th.
Author's Celebration: Mark your calendars for Friday March 9th at 2:30. We will be hosting families in our classroom for an Author's Celebration. Kids will share pieces of their animal reports as well as other nonfiction pieces we have published.
New Jobs in the Classroom: We added a couple new daily jobs in the classroom- Meteorologist, Joke Teller and Chair Person. Ask your child what role each job plays.
Ask Your Child
What is the numerator and the denominator in a fraction?
What is the most interesting fact your have learned for your animal report?
Can you summarize the book or a chapter in the book you brought home?