February 3-7

Hi Parents,

Reading

This week we’ll be playing a bit of catch up due to school being cancelled last Tuesday. We will continue on with our fact and opinion activities and assignments. Students will have a lot of practice with this important skill and by the end of the week should have a good understanding of these terms.

Writing

This week we will have a surprise gift to open up!  We will use descriptive language to describe the items inside, the packaging, and the whole experience.  We will work on writing a clear beginning, middle and end while using complete sentences.  With bad weather days back to back we will finally get to do this activity this week!

Spelling

Our words this week have the long “u” sound.  We will practice throughout the week and check for understanding on Friday.  

Math

Due to the snow days, we need to squeeze in a few more days on fractions. Monday will be a review of everything we've learned and we will assess on Wednesday. Later in the week, we will be starting a new unit that brings back addition and subtraction. We are starting off by reviewing addition with a Pirate board game. We will also remember all of our key phrases when we go over the steps to solving word problems.

Social Studies:

We’re continuing our unit in Social Studies from last week.  Students will research a historical figure and create an illustrated timeline about that person.  On Tuesday, we will have a timeline assessment where students will need to put life events in chronological order.  The rest of the week we will be looking at natural hazards such as hurricanes, fires, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, volcanoes, and insect infestation.  We’ll discuss how people are affected by living in a certain environment.  Students will discuss why people live where they do and learn to identify characteristics of different communities, including rural, urban and suburban areas.  We’ll learn about Austin’s environment and discuss the  weather, natural resources and  physical environment.  Students will make comparisons to another environment in the United States.

Reminders:

• Field Trip to Austin Nature Center on Tuesday, February 4th
• Early Release Day: February 5th
• Life Journals due Friday
• Spelling check on Friday
• Library day is Wednesday
• Valentine’s Boxes due the week on February 10th

January 28-31

Hi Parents,

Reading

This week in reading students will understand the difference between a fact and an opinion. Students will have many opportunities to practice this important skill by being engaged in lots of fun activities, and at the end of the week will even participate in a classroom fact and opinion basketball game!

Writing

This week we will have a surprise gift to open up!  We will use descriptive language to describe the items inside, the packaging, and the whole experience.  We will work on writing a clear beginning, middle and end while using complete sentences.

Spelling

Our words this week have the long “o” sound again.  We will practice throughout the week and check for understanding on Friday.  

Math

Our unit on fractions is two thirds over and we have one more week to wrap things up. We will be solving word problems, playing fraction bingo and making our own fraction kite. We will review everything and assess our learning at the end of the week!

Social Studies:

This week will be full of fun history as we continue our unit in Social Studies on past and present.  Students  will understand how various sources provide information about the past and present.  We’ll identify several sources of information about a given period or event and describe events of the same time period using primary sources such as photographs, journals, and interviews.  We’ll even discuss how our own school has changed over time.  Students will get to interview mystery guests that were teachers and students 30 years ago and ask them about the history of Caraway.  Did you know that Round Rock ISD is 100 years old this year?  Students will look at photographs from the first schools in RRISD and read stories from memories of long ago.  At the end of the week students will research a historical figure and create an illustrated timeline about that person.  On Friday, we will have a timeline assessment where students will need to put life events in chronological order.

Reminders:

• Life Journals due Friday
• Spelling check on Friday
• Library day is Thursday

January 21-24

Hi Parents,

Reading

This week in reading we will be focusing on sequencing. Students will understand that being able to put events in order helps us to understand what is going on in a text. We will first practice sequencing by looking at our school day to make a classroom timeline. Then, students will have the opportunity to read and examine some expository texts and practice putting the main events in order from start to finish.

Writing

Your kiddos are getting the hang of persuasion!  We will use persuasive language and strategies as an author to persuade our parents to have a “dream” bedroom.  This letter will include reasons and examples of why we should get the new room.  We will also become more familiar with the parts of a letter and the writing process.    

Spelling

Our words this week have a long “o” sound.  We will practice throughout the week and check for understanding on Friday.  

Math

Fractions continue this week! We will be focusing on eighths, thirds, and sixths. We will practice with Fraction Connect Four, a fraction memory game, fraction creatures, and we will be making our own fraction sundae!

When working with your child at home, please be aware that we only use the fraction words (one half) in second grade as opposed to ½. If you could help us stay consistent with this, that would be great!

Social Studies:

We’re beginning a new unit in Social Studies this week.  Students will learn and understand the concepts of time and chronology. We will describe the order of events by using designations of time periods such as historical and present times. Our new vocabulary words will be past, present and future.  Thinking like a historian will be fun as we create and interpret timelines for events in the past, present and future.

Please look for the Social Studies personal timeline homework coming home in this week’s Tuesday folder.  It is due on January 24th.

Reminders:

• Life Journals due Friday
• Spelling check on Friday
• Library day is Thursday
• Multicultural Festival: January 22nd from 6-8pm

January 13-17

Hi Parents,

Reading

This week in reading we will exploring cultural, historical and contemporary texts. With these expository pieces, students will understand the main idea and be able to distinguish it from the topic.

Writing

This week we will become familiar with different ways that authors use persuasive writing.  We will write a persuasive statement to support each of the books read.  We will focus on writing complete sentences with a subject and a predicate.  

Spelling

Our words this week have a suffix.  We will practice throughout the week and check for understanding on Friday.  

Math

We are beginning a new unit on fractions this week! We will start out with the basics, such as equal and unequal parts and halves before moving into fourths, eighths, etc. We will be playing a game called Equal and Unequal and making our own fraction candy pizzas!

To help make this week a success, we are in need of a few items. Please let me know if you can donate any of the following items:

• Box of graham crackers
• Can of chocolate frosting
• Bag of regular M&Ms
• Bag of white chocolate chips
• Bag of mini chocolate chips
• Bag of Reeses Pieces
• Dozen flour tortillas
• 4 bananas
• 4 lemons

When working with your child at home, please be aware that we only use the fraction words (one half) in second grade as opposed to ½. If you could help us stay consistent with this, that would be great!

Science:

We’re continuing our unit on natural resources this week.  Students will understand that people use a variety of Earth materials for different purposes because of their different properties.  All products that people use somehow come from the Earth.  We’ll identify cotton as a natural resource that people use and students will observe cotton and list their properties.  Students will learn what a renewable and nonrenewable resource is and know the difference between the two.  We’ll discuss the affects of what happens when we waste natural resources.  We’ll discuss why each natural resource is important and why we couldn’t live without it.  Students will have fun using their creativity to create a poster to advertise ways to take better care of our Earth.   

Reminders:

• Life Journals due Friday
• Spelling check on Friday
• Library day is Thursday
• No school on Monday, January 20th
• Multicultural Festival: January 22nd from 6-8pm

January 7-10

Hi Parents,

Reading

This week in reading we will be learning about the main reason why an author writes about a specific topic. Students will understand and identify that the author’s purpose of their writing is to persuade, inform, or entertain the reader.  We will be reading a variety of fiction and nonfiction texts throughout the week to practice this important skill.

Writing

This week we will write a story about a time we were sick.  We will work on including a clear beginning, middle and end to our story.  We will also work on words with a prefix this week.   

Spelling

Our words this week have a prefix.  We will practice throughout the week and check for understanding on Friday.  

Math

We are reviewing this week with a few holiday activities that we couldn’t quite squeeze in before the break! We will practice previous skills such as addition, subtraction, money, and time. By the end of the week, we will be ready to dive into fractions!

Science:

We’re continuing with science and moving onto natural resources.  We will observe, describe, and distinguish between natural and manmade resources.  We’ll identify examples of natural and manmade resources that are useful in everyday life.  Students will understand that man-made resources are made from natural materials.

Reminders:

• Life Journals due Friday
• Spelling check on Friday
• Library day is Thursday