August 28th Update...

Hi Parents,

Thank you for visiting our class blog today. Read below to find out what has been happening in our fabulous 2nd grade class this week. Also, there is an opportunity for your child to complete an extra credit project below. There will be an extra special reward offered on Tuesday to anyone completing this project!

Class News...

Phonics/Spelling: We reviewed the long and short a spelling patterns as well as discussing compound words. We also practiced our 2nd grade Dolch words and have been paying close attention to writing them correctly this week.

Writing: We discussed how to make our writing more descriptive. We read the book Fancy Nancy and talked about the use of adjectives to "fancy up" our writing and make it more interesting. We also reviewed the 2nd grade expectations when writing a descriptive paragraph and how to use a graphic organizer to help us when writing. We wrote stories about places that are special to us...Come check them out in the hallway! We went through the editing and revising process as well. The students are so proud of their published pieces!

Math: In Math, we began our unit on comparing numbers. We continued our discussion of odd and even numbers (see if your child can show you the "dot method" to determine whether a number is odd or even) and we learned how to use the greater than, less than, and equal to signs to compare numbers up to 100. We also worked on our skip counting and using a hundred chart to determine patterns when counting. We have practiced using the TIPS method for solving word problems and we are continuing to work on computation skills in our arrow math and tile math books. We practiced our +3 facts this week. Remember to print and send in the award if your child successfully can do this at home. Next week, we'll move on to +4's!

Reading: We have worked on asking questions to help us identify important story elements. Asking who, what, when, and why questions help us to determine the characters, setting, problem and solution in a story. These are great questions to ask your child to check their understanding when reading a story. We also worked independently on reading contracts, while small groups of children completed guided activities.

Science: We began our unit of study on the changes that can occur in the three states of matter.

Reminders and Other News...

This week, the children have really been excited about reading AR books and taking quizzes. Your child has the opportunity every morning to visit the library and to take AR quizzes. Morning work must be completed first. There is also another opportunity to visit the library during our Language Arts time. Please help your child by making sure the story is fully understood before taking a quiz. AR is an "extra" activity that must be supported by you at home. We'll discuss AR more in depth at Open House.

I hope to see everyone at Open House on Tuesday at 6:30. I have so much to share with you and hearing this information will ensure we have a great year together. Please make other arrangements for your children on this night.

Extra Credit Opportunity!

Okay, here is our first extra credit assignment. This project is due on or before Tuesday, September 1st. Sorry, no late projects will be accepted! Here's what you need to do to participate...Get a posterboard. Divide the poster into three equal sections. Illustrate and describe the solid, liquid and gas forms of water. Your descriptions must be clearly and neatly written or typed in complete sentences. Your illustrations can be made by you, or you can use graphics from the computer. Can you also tell me how the various states of the water change from one form to another??? Well, now that would be something only a 4th grader could do, right? Prove me wrong! Be prepared to orally share your poster when you bring it to school. Practice presenting it at home. Remember, this project is optional.