Week of 3/19-3/23

Way to go, 2G! Students did an amazing job working together   and filled up our Community Cube Jar! The class voted on have a Sports party to celebrate their teamwork.  More details to come! Please enjoy these additional highlights of our week.
Literacy:  Readers began a biography unit.  2Gers learned about the elements of a biography and we are all fascinated to learn so much from our non-fiction texts. A favorite part thus far has been learning about Abraham Lincoln and Amelia Earhart as babies and children. Students are exploring biographies in Guided Reading Groups with Mrs. Gomes and we look forward to choosing our own special person to research next week!
Writing Workshop: Writers began spring poetry.  To help organize our thoughts and add more depth to our expression, we focused on using our five senses. Wait until you see what 2G writers wrote about things we see, hear, touch, taste, and smell in spring!
Math:  Mathematicians learned to solve subtraction problems using expanded notation this week.  Here is an example of our new strategy:

  568 = 500 + 60 + 8
- 235 = 200 + 30 + 5
  333    300 + 30 + 3 = 333

We are also working on connecting story problems to our 3-digit addition and subtraction problems.  Ask your mathematician to create one for you! Another wonderful element of our math studies is promoting our conceptual understanding through more open ended problems.  Students are provided with small pieces of information and they are given the opportunity to stretch their brains and think, rethink, and think some more! I am so impressed with the mathematical reasoning 2Gers are using each day.
Science: Scientists had a ball exploring gravity this week.  Students dropped objects of different weights from the same height. They discovered that the force of gravity pulls all objects toward the earth at the same rate.  We dropped Mrs. Gomes's snow boot and a marble and it was quite a surprise that they landed at the same time! As we experiment in our motion unit we continue to work on our lab reports where we record our materials, hypothesis, procedures, and conclusions.  
Social Studies:  Students learned about the exquisite Kente Cloth made in Ghana.  After being introduced the meanings of all colors and designs, 2Gers chose their own patterns to color.  
Fundations:  This week we learned about the r-controlled vowels, "ar" and "or".  We discovered that these can be found in the beginning, middle, and endings of words. Some of our favorites are: "important", "storm"( related to our recent weather!), "shark", and "March". 
Enjoy your weekend!