April 29- May 3

Writing:
This week we will wrap up our animal research reports and projects.  We will work with peers to review our work and then present our products.  We will have a "walkabout" on Friday to each of the second grade classrooms to learn even more about animals.  We will focus on prefixes this week with some games and group practice.  

Spelling:
Spelling words will go home on Monday and then we will check for understanding on Friday.

Reading:
We are going from A-Z in reading!  We will revisit some of the important reading strategies and skills that have been taught this year. Guided reading groups and end of year reading assessments will be going on as well. 

Math:
Multiplication will continue and division will begin this week.  We will work with dividing things into equal groups and then concentrate on solving word problems.  Our assessment will be on Friday. 

Social Studies:
Our economics unit starts this week.  We will study income, goods, services, and the free enterprise system.  We will discuss various things that people do with their money such as save, spend, and donate.  Planned and unplanned spending will also be an important topic.  

Reminders:

• Early Release Day- May 1st at 12:45
• Field Day- May 3rd

**Second grade has field day from 12:30-2:20 and lunch is 10:45-11:20.  There will be water stations so please send a change of clothes, dry socks and shoes for field day. Please send a water bottle as well. We don't want anyone missing the fun because of dehydration! 

• Library- Thursday

April 22-26

WRITING & READING
The writing and reading will be combined again for this week. Our animal research is underway.  Our topic is selected, goals picked and being accomplished and we are note taking like crazy from our sources! This week, we will work on weeding out the weak notes and focusing on the strong ones to write our research paper.  We are also planning out our product that each student will create to display their new found knowledge of their animal.

Our grammar lessons will be about fragment and complete sentences.

SPELLING
We will work on our words throughout the week and check for understanding on Friday. This week's words will focus on silent consonants.

MATH
We may be seeing double or triple this week as we introduce multiplication!  We will use our hands, cupcakes, stickers, mushrooms and more to learn how multiplication is simply repeated addition.  Reinforcing our addition facts (adding by 2s-9s) will be helpful practice at home.

SCIENCE
Last week, we became the food chain and learned how hard it is to survive in the world.  This week, we will focus on each animal group (fish, mammals, insects, birds and reptiles).  What they look like, characteristics, life cycle, etc.

REMINDERS
Apr. 22 - Earth Day
Apr. 23 - STAAR (no parent volunteers)
Apr. 24 - STAAR (no parent volunteers)
Apr. 25 - STAAR (no parent volunteers)
Apr. 25 - Talent Show (K-3)
Apr. 26 - Talent Show (4-5)
May 1 - Early Release Day
Life Journals due Friday

There is no library this week due to STAAR. Your children can bring in their books, and I will send them to the library as time permits in the afternoon. 

April 15-19

WRITING & READING
Writing and reading will be intertwined for the next few weeks.  Our animal research is beginning this week!  We will review the research steps and expectations, check out books about our animals, set goals for what we want to find out and learn about our animal, and learn to take notes while reading a book, magazine or website.  Our research will continue through next week.

Our grammar lessons will be about dictionary skills - ABC order, guide words, pronunciation, definition, parts of speech.

SPELLING
We will work on our words throughout the week and check for understanding on Friday. This week's words will focus on dipthongs (ou/ow, oi/oy).

MATH
This is a heavy week in math.  We will finish our study of the metric vs customary system with weight (grams/kilograms & ounce/pound/ton), taking our end of year benchmark and assessing over all measurement - length, weight, capacity.

SCIENCE
Last week we created a food web to see how the sun, plants, bugs and animals (big and small) are interdependent.  This week, we will study the food chain and the hierarchy of the groups of plants and animals.  We will discuss why certain animals are on top, middle or bottom of the chain and play some chain games to connect our learning to nature.

REMINDERS
Apr. 15 - PTA meeting
Apr. 17 - Family Spirit Night
Apr. 19 - Art for Pets Gallery Exhibit
Apr. 22 - Earth Day
Apr. 23 - STAAR (no parent volunteers)
Apr. 24 - STAAR (no parent volunteers)
Apr. 25 - STAAR (no parent volunteers)
Apr. 25 - Talent Show (K-3)
Apr. 26 - Talent Show (4-5)
May 1 - Early Release Day
Life Journals due Friday

April 8-12

WRITING
We will continue to sail through the air with our angry birds.  This week, we will name our bird, write a detailed and descriptive paragraph of what our birds look like, a poem about our birds and a warning note to the community about our bird and their special powers. The week will end with each student picking their favorite piece of writing and sharing it with the class.

Our grammar lessons will revisit punctuation: period, exclamation, question mark, comma, apostrophe(possessive and contraction).

SPELLING
We will work on our words throughout the week and check for understanding on Friday. This week's words will focus on words ending with a consonant + le )ble, tle, gle, dle, fle, cle, kle,ple, zle).

READING
We are discussing two types of meanings: literal and non-literal.  This week, we will discuss common cliches and idioms (there's a frog in my throat, when pigs fly, you've lost your mind, zip your lips etc). Then compare the exact meaning of the words to the inferenced meaning.

MATH
We are continuing our study of area by creating a dream room with square units and introducing customary and metric capacity (how much something can hold) and end our week with weight in ounces, pounds and tons.

SCIENCE
We have moved on from insects and are now discussing plant and animal habitats, interdependence in their habitat and adaptations to protect themselves in their habitat.  As we discuss adaptations, the students will get a chance to simulate some of the special features of animals (claws, camouflage and special eyes).  It should be a learning and memorable experience!

REMINDERS
Apr. 11-12 Talent Show tryouts
Apr. 12 Family Fun Night
Apr. 17 Family Spirit Night
Life Journals due Friday

Here are some pictures from our Contraction Surgery. We had to make sure everything was hygienic so that our "patients" would have the best chance of recovery!

April 1-5

WRITING

We will be high flying and a bit destructive in our writing this week as we create our own Angry Birds!  Students will plan and make a model of their bird, giving them their own special powers and personality.  They will describe the stages to go through to make the bird and continue the writing process next week with their bird in different situations.

Our grammar lessons will be about Angry Bird verbs and Angry Bird nouns and pronouns.

SPELLING
We will work on our words throughout the week and check for understanding on Friday. This week's words will focus on soft 'c' and 'g'.

READING
We will revisit the Retell Rope and climb our way up to reach a good summary of a story.  This will be key in helping us comprehend the books we read.  As we read different books, the class will create story maps and pathways to explain the beginning, middle and end of the stories.

MATH
Units of measurement will be our focus this week.  We will talk about how to use non-standard units (paper clips, markers, folders, etc) and standard units (inch, foot, yard, centimeter, meter) and then move into calculating area of square units.


SCIENCE
We have moved on from plants and are starting a four week unit on insects and animals.  This week, we will focus on the basic needs of all animals and insects and take a closer look at the two life cycles of insects (ones that go through metamorphosis and ones that don't).


REMINDERS
Apr. 2-3 STAAR testing (no volunteers on campus)
Apr. 11-12 Talent Show tryouts
Apr. 12 Family Fun Night
Apr. 17 Family Spirit Night
Life Journals due Friday