Mrs. Alden's Second Grade Class: October 7-11

Hi Parents,

Reading

Put on your hardhats, we are getting out our Reader’s Toolkits! We will be making toolkits to help us remember strategies for becoming a stronger reader. Going into our toolkit is the skill of asking questions. As good readers we want to ask ourselves questions to help us understand what we are reading. We will be thinking of questions to ask before, during, and after reading. Help support this skill at home: ask your child if they are wondering anything when reading. Have their questions been answered or do they need more information?

Writing

We continue to work on launching Writing Workshop by Lucy Calkins. This week we are working on real world uses for writing like letters and lists. We will talk about why each of these types of writing is useful, and then your child will generate several lists and letters. We will also be introducing verbs by doing some fun movement and games. Next week we will continue with verb types and tenses.

Spelling

Our spelling words focus on end blend sounds as in sand, wept, and gulf. Words will go home on Monday and we will check our learning on Friday.

Math

We’re continuing with addition math facts to 20 this week. We’re learning great strategies to help us find the sums by seeing how if you know your doubles facts, then you know your “Near Doubles” facts too! A fun game to practice these facts will be playing “Slides and Ladders”. Making 10 is another addition strategy that will increase our math fluency and help you solve these problems. At the end of the week, we’ll begin subtraction and use addition facts to help us solve subtraction.

Here are some fun games you can play at home to increase math facts knowledge:

Dice game: Roll the dice and add the dots together or subtract one number from the other.
You can use dominoes to add, subtract, greater than, less than, or equal to, and multiplication.

Flash Cards; every child should have a set to improve math fluency. Use index cards to make them or many stores have them for a reasonable price.
Addition, subtraction, and multiplication boards with dry erase markers. Have them time themselves to make it a game.
Playing cards games:

Find the missing numbers game- Need 2 players and a referee. The referee gives each player a card without them looking at it and they place it on their forehead facing their opponent. Their opponent and the referee can see the other player’s card. The ref mentally adds the cards and says, “The sum is _____”. The players have to look at their opponent’s card and figure out what card is on their own forehead, then say it first aloud.
Addition Attack game-Two players divide the deck of cards in half. Then each player pulls a card and lays it down for the other to see. They quickly add the numbers and the first one to add the two cards and say the sum aloud gets to take the cards and keep. The person with the most cards at the end of the game wins.

Please continue to practice math facts at home through games on IXL, decks of cards, dominoes or flashcards. Students should have a 6 second recall for math facts.

Science

This week we will be continuing our matter unit. We will read Bartholomew and the Oobleck and then make some oobleck of our own! Students will learn about the physical and chemical properties of matter. We will end the week with a review and assessment.

Reminders:

Please remember that it is unsafe and now illegal to talk or text on your cell phones while you are driving in a school zone.
Life journals are due on Friday.
Library day is Thursday.
October 9, 2013 International Bike & Walk to School Day
October 10, 2013 Caraway PTA Science Night 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. @ Caraway Elementary
October 14, 2013 No School (student holiday)
October 18, 2013 Annual "HOOT" Caraway Picnic 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. @ Caraway Elementary by the school playground
October 23, 2013 Caraway PTA Family Skate Night 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Playland Skate Center
October 30, 2013 Early Release