Second Grade News – March 19, 2014

Things to Note:             

• PLEASE RETURN YOUR PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCE FORMS AND FIELD TRIP PERMISSION SLIPS
• Parent Teacher Conferences: Friday, April 4   
• 2^nd grade field trip to the Lamb’s Sugarhouse: Tuesday, April 8   
• March homework packet due: Tuesday, April 2.

Science: Students have begun learning about the water cycle!  Second graders were fascinated to find out that we may be drinking the same water today that dinosaurs did millions of years ago.  As part of this unit students will be making a mini water cycle as a group and will be illustrating their own water cycle poster as well as writing about how the water cycle works. 

Math: Students continue to work daily on learning both the addition and subtraction facts to fluency. Students recently wrapped up a geometry unit that had them identifying a variety of 2D and 3D shapes by their attributes.  As a culminating activity students created geometry art, coloring various 2D shapes (triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons, and hexagons) a specific color depending on the number sides they had.  New in math is learning about number lines.  Students are learning how to correctly place whole numbers on a number line with equally spaced points.  Next, is how to place more randomized numbers on a number line with some benchmark numbers and how to use a number line to help solve addition and subtraction problems. 

Literacy: Second graders just finished having the book Charlotte’s Web read to them and they really love it!  After completing the book second graders watched the movie and made Venn diagrams to compare and contrast the book and the movie.  To my surprise the class was split, half enjoyed the book more while the other half said that movie was better!  Second graders are beginning to learn about perspective and point of view.  This week we read The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs!, which is told from the perspective of the wolf!  What fun we had hearing the story from his point of view!  We compared this book with the traditional tale which is told from the pigs’ point of view.  Students are now thinking more carefully as they read about whose point of view the book is told from.   

Writing: Second graders have begun an opinion writing unit.  We have started this work off with thinking about the difference between fact and opinion (sometimes at this age this can become blurred!).  Students are learning how to clearly state their opinion in their writing and give reasons for their opinion.  As part of this unit we will talk about persuasion and why it may be helpful to know how to persuade someone in writing.  Second graders will also be writing their opinions of some of their favorite (or maybe not so favorite) books.  

Have a great week! – Mrs. Raynor