Weekly Newsletter 2013-2014

Week of March 24th - March 27th

3/30/2014

We had another amazing week in 2-G that included seeing an incredible Brazilian Capoeira performance on Wednesday! Thanks to the PTO, all students were treated to a wonderful show that taught us about Brazil and the history of this incredible martial art form that combines elements of dance and acrobatics. Please enjoy these highlights of our studies:
Literacy: We have been learning about the Hopi tribe over the past few weeks. In each Literacy session, we focus on a particular element of the Hopi culture. This week we learned about Hopi clothing, foods, and things they make. Ask your reader to tell you some of the interesting facts they've learned!
Math: It all makes "cents"! Mathematicians have been learning about money and using common coins to solve addition and subtraction problems. A great thing to practice at home is making change.
Writing Workshop: Writers have been creating stories based on a picture prompt. Each student was given a photograph to inspire a story. We are having a ball using our imaginations!
Science: We have been learning so much in our hands on Pushes and Pulls unit. This week we created our own balls with clay, rubber bands, tin foil, newspaper, and tape. Scientists explored the properties of each ball and determined what elements make a better ball that can roll and bounce and which do not. In addition, we conducted an experiment to see what type of ball would be the easiest to move using the force of air blown through a straw. We had some very interesting discoveries!
Enjoy your week.

Week of March 3rd - March 7th

3/9/2014

Hooray for science day! 2-G students voted on having a science party for their community cube jar fill up on Tuesday. We had a wonderful time exploring different stations. Some of our experiments included: dissecting owl pellets, creating roto copters, and building boats that float. This is sure to become a 2-G tradition. Please enjoy these additional highlights of our week:
Literacy: This week we began a Literature Circle study. Each day, students are given a new job to do that asks them to investigate their guided reading books in a new way. Here is the lineup of what our jobs were each day:
Monday-Connector, Tuesday-Illustrator, Wednesday-Word Finder, Thursday-Passage Picker, Friday-Discussion Director. Ask your reader to describe their literature circles!
Writing Workshop: Writers have been working on their first chapter books. 2-Gers are in the process of writing, "All About" books. They chose a topic they know a lot about and created a table of contents to group their ideas into chapters. We know so much about so many things! These books will be published at our next publishing session.
Math: Mathematicians finished unit 8 this week. They focused on using addition and subtraction in many different types of problems. We practiced using cross number puzzles, missing addends, fact families, horizontal and vertical problem solving. Next week, we will begin our study of shapes and measurement.
Science: We are having a ball (literally!) in our Pushes and Pulls Motion unit. Scientists explored gravity as well as the characteristics of different balls this week. In this hands on unit, students have time to explore how different forces work. They record their observations in their science folders and share their findings with the class. I am so proud of our scientists!
Have a wonderful week.

Week of February 24th - February 28th

2/28/2014

2-G had a fantastic last week of February. We have received many new Flat Stanley letters and we are so grateful for all that are participating and helping us learn about the world. Please enjoy these highlights of our studies:
Literacy: Readers have been working hard in their centers this week. All 2-Gers participated in a "Making Words" center. This is very similar to a word creation activity you've seen in homework. Students are learning to use their knowledge of smaller words to identify and create larger words. Way to go!
Writing Workshop: We have so many talented students in 2-G. Our latest writing project has been creating "How To" books. Each writer chose something that he/she knows how to do really well. We then learned how to write down the steps (in detail) one would need to follow to do each activity. We will be hanging our stories in the hallway next week. You'll be able to learn how to do anything from baking a cake to brushing your dog!
Math: Mathematicians focused on fact families and connecting addition and subtraction this week. We are beginning to explore their inverse relationships. Next week we'll be working on cross number puzzles and comparing mathematical expressions.
Science: Our current unit on motion is a hit in 2-G! On Monday, we explored friction in our science stations. Scientists used several types of balls and tested what happened when they moved them on smooth and rough surfaces. Ask your scientist to explain how friction works.
Enjoy your weekend!

Week of February 3rd - February 7th

2/9/2014

2-G is in motion! We were so excited to start our new science unit on motion and pushes and pulls this week. Scientists worked in centers to explore what makes certain objects move. In each session after introducing the focus question of the day, we have students:
1. engage in open exploration
2. write down/draw their observations
3. share their findings
4. contribute to a "Claim" and "Evidence" class poster.
I am so proud of our 2-G scientists for stretching their thinking and for coming up with new ways to make objects move.
Writing Workshop: Writers put the finishing touches on their biographies this week to get ready for publishing on Tuesday! We can't wait to share all that we've learned about many special people who've helped to change the world for the better.
Math: Mathematicians used cuisenaire rods to further explore fractions. In second grade, we talk about the fact that the bottom number in a fraction represents the total number of pieces and the top number represents how many pieces you have. Ask your mathematician to show you what halves, thirds, and fourths are!
Fundations: We learned about the "er" and "ir" spelling patterns this week. It was a tricky one because both patterns have the same sound! Students did a wonderful job practicing their words and determining which is the correct pattern to use. Next week we will explore compound words.
Have a wonderful week!

Week of January 27th - January 31st

2/1/2014

Happy February! We had an amazing week in 2-G. On Friday, we celebrated Half-Way Day! It is hard to believe that we've been in school for 90 days...time flies when you're having fun in second grade. To celebrate, we created characters that were half one thing and half another. Ask your 2-Ger to share his/her creation with you! Enjoy these additional highlights of our week:
Math: Fractions! This week we started our fraction unit by learning about halves and doubles. We are "halving" so much fun! Next week, we'll focus on thirds and fourths.
Literacy: Our biographies are coming along beautifully. In addition to the research/writing that students are working on, we are also designing timelines. Students are learning to decipher between the main events in someone's life and other information provided in texts.
Social Studies: To wrap up our Japan study, we had 4 special guests come to 2-G to help us learn how to do Japanese calligraphy. Students had the opportunity to use real calligraphy brushes and ink to paint characters that spell out their names. In addition, students got to choose one or two other words to try to write. We have learned so much about Japan and we are excited to share our Animoto Japan movies with you soon.
Writing Workshop: Writers learned to write Japanese Haiku poetry. This 3-line poetry follows a structure of 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables. All Haiku poems are traditionally about nature. Writers did a wonderful job learning to identify the number of syllables in words and creating beautiful poems.
Fundations: Our spelling patterns this week were, "or" and "ar". We call these types of patterns, "r controlled vowels." We wil continue learning about these types of words next week as we learn about "ir" and "er" words.
Enjoy your first week of February!

Week of January 20th - January 24th

1/26/2014

We did so many wonderful things during our short week in 2-G! Please enjoy these highlights of our studies:
Writing Workshop: Writers continue to work on their biographies. We are learning to create full sentences out of notes that we've taken during our research. We can't wait to share them with you!
Math: We wrapped up our study of time this week. Mathematicians worked hard to tell exact time. In addition, we learned to figure out what time it would be in the future. For example, if it is now 8:30, in one hour it would be.... Next week, we'll begin our unit on fractions!
Social Studies: 2-Gers learned more about Japanese holidays and celebrations. On Friday, we started to create our own carp kites, a traditional symbol hung up for Children's Day (May 5th).
Fundations: Students practiced using commas this week. We read the story, The Legend of Johnny Comma to help us learn how to appropriately use this type of punctuation.
Literacy/T.F.K.: Every other Friday, we read our issue of Time for Kids. Our most recent issue told us all about the coolest inventions of 2013. Ask your reader to share their magazine with you! We learned about so many amazing creations.
100th Day Can Drive: We have already started to collect cans for our Lincoln School can drive. We would appreciate any donations of canned goods that will be donated to the Brookline Food Pantry on February 14th. Thank you!
Have a great start to your week!

Week of January 13th - January 17th

1/20/2014

Congratulations, Poets! 2-G writers published their collections of winter acrostic poetry this week. Have your poet read you his/her poems if they have not done so already. We focused on using great descriptions. Way to go! Please enjoy these additional highlights of our week:
Literacy: Readers did a wonderful job in Literacy centers this week. Guided reading groups read non-fiction texts about Japan. We are focusing on using our table of contents to find information. In addition, we are learning to read all captions to provide us with more information about what is going on in illustrations/photographs.
Writing Workshop: 2-Gers have been studying biographies. Each student chose a special person to study. As we read, we are finding important facts in our books and writing them down on Post-it notes. The next step is organizing our Post-it notes on a planning poster. Writers are now moving into the last phase which is writing their own versions of biographies using their fact posters to guide them. I am so impressed with all of the hard work and research that students have done. We will be publishing our amazing biographies in February.
Math: We are wrapping up our Time unit this week. Mathematicians learned to tell time focusing on: parts of the clock, time to the hour, half hour, quarter hour, and time to the exact minute. We introduced the concept of time passing solving problems that asked, "what time will it be 10 minutes from now?". This concept will be further addressed in third grade. Ask your time teller to help you read your watch/clock at home!
Social Studies: Each week we focus on a different element of Japanese culture. This week we learned about important celebrations and holidays in Japan. Students learned about "Hinamatsuri" (Japanese Girls' Day) which is celebrated on March 3rd, and "Kodomo no Hi" (Japanese Boys' Day or Children's Day) on May 5th. We are adding images representing these holidays to our Animoto slideshows in the computer lab!
Spanish: Senora Trach has been teaching students how to say many items of winter clothing in Spanish. Students explored the differences between what people wear in our wintertime vs. what people are wearing in South America right now. Muy bien, 2-G!
Have a wonderful start to your week.

Week of January 6th - January 10th

1/10/2014

Welcome back, 2-G Families! We had a fantastic first full week of school in the New Year. Please enjoy these highlights of our studies:
Literacy: Readers are studying biographies this month. Each student chose a special person to study. We are using Post-it notes to write down important facts that we find in our biographies. These Post-it notes get put onto a planning poster in order. The final step of our study is to write our own versions of biographies! It is a challenging task to choose what facts are most "important" and I am so impressed with the 2-Gers efforts!
Math: It's time to tell time! We began our study of time this week by looking at time to the hour and half hour. Students are learning to write/tell time both on an analog clock and digitally. Next week, we'll be focusing on quarter hours and ten minute segments.
Writing Workshop: Inspired by all of this cold weather, students are writing winter acrostic poems. We have written poems about sleds, penguins, jackets, hats, and snowmen. Writers learned to use descriptive language in their poems. Ask your writer to tell you how an acrostic poem works!
Social Studies: 2-G has started our Japan unit. Students began exploring the land/location of Japan, as well as it's flag. This week, we learned about schools in Japan and ultimately created Venn diagrams comparing our schools to theirs. We are working on an incredible project in the computer lab that correlates to our study. 2-Gers are using Animoto to design their own slideshows that include images of Japan that math topics we've studies. When these slideshows are finished, they get pieced together into a short movie. We will debut these toward the end of the month!
Have a wonderful weekend.

Week of December 2nd - December 6th

12/8/2013

What amazing detectives! 2-Gers have been studying mysteries across the curriculum. Students have created and written incredible mystery stories full of wonderful descriptions and suspense! We are so excited to share them with you at our Mystery Breakfast Share on December 18th. Please enjoy these additional highlights of our studies:
Fundations: Students began learning about suffixes this week. We focused on "s" and "es" endings. They did a great job learning the rule"s" for using each one. Next week, we'll be learning about the suffix, "ed" and how it can make the sound "t" at the ends of some words.
Math: Mathematicians have been learning vertical addition. We began our study by adding two-digit numbers, first without regrouping, then with regrouping. Toward the end of the week, we began practicing adding 3-digit numbers. I am so impressed! Next week, we'll be working with vertical subtraction.
Literacy: Detectives finished reading their mysteries in their guided reading groups this week. As a class, we are focusing on determining the meaning of new vocabulary in context. I am so proud of the incredible thinking students are sharing. We are moving into our traditional guided reading groups, reading both non-fiction and fiction texts more independently to increase our fluency.
Computers: Students loved making "word clouds" this week. This is something that can be accessed through out Lincoln Kids wikispaces page for grade 2. 2Gers created word clouds using words from the mystery books they've read.
Time For Kids: Readers are having a blast learning about important people/events in the world from our Time For Kids magazines. We read our magazines together every Friday and complete follow up worksheets to check comprehension. Friday's T.F.K. talked about kids learning about important people and branches of our government.
Have a wonderful week!

Week of November 4th - November 8th

11/11/2013

Calling all Detectives! 2-Gers have started writing mystery stories this week. This is our first time writing a fiction story and writers are learning about our different steps we take in planning a mystery. On Monday, we began the process by completing a planning page where we had to decide the characters, setting, plot, title, and clues of our mystery. Throughout the week we worked on creating a visual plan using sketches to help put our story in order. When we started to write, we focused on elaborating and drawing the reader in. Many students could not put their pencils down when it was time to clean up! We can't wait to share our stories with you in December. Please enjoy these additional highlights of our week:
Math: Mathematicians began chapter 4 this week, focusing on adding and subtracting using our base 10 blocks. We also learned to play the game, "Biggest and Smallest"...a bit hit! In this game, students roll dice and create the biggest and smallest numbers they can with the numbers that were rolled. The last step is to add the biggest and smallest numbers together.
Science: In science, we learned about Queen Anna Banana and her royal fruit group. We learned about many different fruits and how their good vitamins help our bodies heal.
Literacy: In Literacy, we have been practicing our roles for our upcoming community meeting on the 15th. Community meeting is a kids only event, but we can't wait to tell you all about it! Students have chosen to read the book, "Olivia Talks Turkey" to our audience. 2Gers were assigned pages to read aloud in small groups. Ask your wonderful reader about the special turkey sound we get to make during our read aloud!
Have a wonderful week.

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