2nd Grade Newsletter 5.27.22

Congratulations on completing 2^nd Grade! We’re proud of each and every student. They learned many skills and interesting things. They made new friends and read wonderful books. The best is yet come! They will discover and enjoy so much more in the years ahead. Thank you, parents, for the many ways you have encouraged your children and supported our work as their teachers. We couldn’t do it without you!

 

Summer language arts and math packets are attached. Working on these during the weeks off from school will help your child retain what they’ve learned this year. We also recommend the free website Math Playground for fun math practice. We hope your child will discover many books they want to read this summer. The Maricopa County Library summer reading program is a great way to motivate young readers. Other local libraries and book stores have kids’ summer reading programs, as well.

 

We hope you enjoy a terrific summer, and we’ll look forward to seeing you at school next year!

Second Grade Newsletter 5.20.22

Dear Families,

Thank you for your continued support, interaction, donations, and dedication to your child's education and our school at large. Your children have brought so much joy to our lives, and we wish you the very best as we send them off onto 3rd grade!

Friday is the last day of school, and we are having an End of the Year Celebration of Literature! Please send your scholar with a favorite book to read on Friday, May 27th. Scholars will rotate through crafts and snacks themed with the classic, Charlotte's Web. They will also share out their favorite book and celebrate the friendships formed in the classroom this year. 

Please send your child with a grocery bag on Thursday, May 26th. We will be cleaning out desks that day. 

REMINDER: Please return all school library and classroom library books as soon as possible. Thank you!

Summer Packets & Summer Reading

Next week, you will receive an email with a PDF including a math packet, reading packet, and grammar packet. These would be great review for your child during the summer. It is helpful to complete these, so your child doesn't experience that "summer slide" (loss of content).

Check your local library for reading programs and incentives this summer! Remember, reading daily is crucial to development at this age. Click this link for more information.

Maricopa County Reads

 

Dates:

Monday, May 23rd: Recitation of "Lincoln"

Tuesday, May 24th - Friday, May 27th: Half Days

Thursday, May 26th: Clean Desks - Bring Grocery Bag

Friday, May 27th: Last Day of School, End of the Year Celebration

Conversation Starters:

What was your favorite book in second grade?

What was the funniest thing that happened in class this year?

Do you have a new favorite subject?

Who would you like to see over the summer?

Academics:

Literature: We finished reading Charlotte's Web! Be sure to ask your scholar how he/she felt at the end of the book. We are also completing our Charlotte's Web Booklets, and the students will perform a reader's theater. 

Grammar: Recitation of "Lincoln" will begin on Monday. 

Math: Students will review measurement, graphing, and other concepts that we have covered this year with fun group activities. Wow, they have learned so much and can do so much!

History: We will conclude our unit on Civil Rights Leaders and finish the Civil Rights booklet. What has your scholar learned about the rights of citizens in our country? This makes great dinner table conversation!

 

We hope you have a wonderful, restful, adventure filled summer!

Warmest Regards,

The Second Grade Team

Second Grade Newsletter 5.13.22

 Hello Parents and Guardians!

Dates: 

• May 17^th: Grammar Assessment 
• May 18^th: Fine Arts Night 
• May 19^th: Science Magnetism Assessment 
• May 23^rd: ‘Lincoln’ Recitations 
• May 24^th -27^th: Half Days 
  

Conversation Starters: 

• Can a magnet defy gravity? 
• What did Susan B. Anthony fight for? 
• What does “keep your fingers crossed” mean? 
• How many vertices does a cube have? 
  

Upcoming Academics: 

Math: Students will continue to review previous units focusing on measurement, multiplication, and division. They have learned so much this year! They now know all four operations, fractions, how to read a clock, and how to read a graph.

Science: Our magnetism unit will continue with scholars measuring and comparing the strength of magnets before being assessed on magnetism. We will review science concepts with a game of jeopardy. Students will bring home a green magnetism review page on Monday. Please use this to help your student review before the test on Thursday.

History: Scholars will continue to learn about Civil Rights Leaders such as Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. They will understand how segregation was a part of daily life in the U.S. and understand the challenges Jackie Robinson faced. 

Spalding: We will have our last Spalding words of the year. Students will learn 28 new words before being assessed on them on Friday.  We are writing most of our spelling words in cursive now!

Grammar: Students will be assessed on their narration, copywork, and dictation skills. They will demonstrate their comprehension of parts of speech and punctuation on a grammar assessment. Students took home a lavender grammar review page. Please use this to help your student review before the test on Tuesday.

Literature: Students will finish reading Charlotte’s Web and create a medal for Charlotte or Wilbur, compose a eulogy for Charlotte, and identify the hope in the final chapter of the story

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Warm Regards, 
The Second Grade Team 

2nd Grade Newsletter 5.5.22

 

Dates: 

May 9th: "The New Colossus" Poem Recitations

May 10th: Math Assessment - Geometry

May 18th: Fine Arts Night

May 24th-27th: Half Days

 

Conversation Starters:

How did Andrew Carnegie live the American dream?

Why did Mrs. Zuckerman bathe Wilbur before the fair?

How many sides does a hexagon have? How many vertices does it have?

Why did the magnets we hung from a string turn North?

Every preposition must have an _____________________.

Which Spalding word this week was a compound word? (sometimes)

 

Upcoming Academics:

Math:

Students will wrap up our brief geometry unit with an assessment on Tuesday. Then we will begin reviewing math concepts from the entire year to prepare for a cumulative test in Week 9.

Science:

We will continue our magnetism unit this week, discovering how magnets attract and repel, how to change a metal object into a magnet, and comparing Polar North to Magnetic North.

History:

We will begin our unit on Civil Rights this week. Students will learn what civil rights are and consider why things needed to change in order for people to be treated equally. Students will also learn about several leaders who worked to improve civil rights in America.

Spalding:

We will have a regular week of Spalding words, with 8 words from each daily list in cursive. Please check for accuracy of letter formation. Thank you!

Grammar:

Memorization of "The New Colossus" is due on Monday. Students will compose their own 2-3 sentence narrations of short passages from Bunnicula. We will continue to review various parts of speech and punctuation as we prepare for our end of the year grammar test.

Literature: 

We will read chapters 17-19 this week in the classic, Charlotte's Web. As we read, scholars will practice identifying character traits and plot features.

 

We hope you enjoy a terrific-iffic-iffic (ask your student!) weekend. 

Warm Regards,

 The Second Grade Team

Second Grade Newsletter 4.29.22

 

Reminders:

Please send your child with a water bottle every day. 

Please complete and return the history homework titled, "My Family's Story," if you have not already. Thank you to those that have. 

 

Dates: 

May 2nd: End of Year Dibels Testing begins

May 6th: No School

May 9th: "The New Colossus" Poem Recitations

May 10th: Math Assessment - Geometry

May 18th: Fine Arts Night

May 24th-27th: Half Day

Conversation Starters:

Tell me 2 facts you find interesting about the Statue of Liberty.

What was the miracle at Zukernman's barn in Charlotte's Web?

Name the shapes that compose a 3-d object.

What are some items in your home which have a magnetic field?

Upcoming Academics:

Math:

Students will learn more about geometry this week including how to compose and decompose shapes. They will also learn about patterns and angles. Please encourage your child to find examples of geometry in the world around them!

Science:

We will learn more about magnetism this week using magnetic force to determine if objects with magnetic fields can be moved through objects. We will also identify parts of a magnet, including the strongest part of the magnet. Thursday's lesson we will learn about the magnetic pulls in the earth and use a compass as we discover this.

History:

Studies of Immigration continue with lessons on becoming a citizen of the United States.  We will focus on our basic rights and responsibilities as a citizen, learn about voting and the importance for all citizens to have this right and responsibility, and hear Senora DeCossio share her story about when she became a United States citizen. This is a highlight of our year, and we are grateful she will be joining our class to discuss this with our scholars.

Spalding:

As we have a short week, we will have 10 words. Scholars will write 7 words in cursive each day of dictation. Please check for accuracy of letter formation. Thank you!

Grammar:

There will be a memory check for the first 8 lines of the poem, "The New Colossus" on Monday. Students will compose their own 2-3 sentence narrations of short passages from The Hobbit. We will review prepositional phrases and comma usage as we prepare for our end of the year grammar test.

Literature: 

We will read chapters 14-16 this week in the classic, Charlotte's Web. As we read, scholars will work on identifying the main idea of chapters and use visualization to help them comprehend the story.

We hope you have a wonderful weekend! 

Warm Regards,

The Second Grade Team

2nd Grade Newsletter 4.22.22

 Hello Parents and Guardians!

Important Dates: 

• Simple Machine Projects Due April 25^th - April 26^th 
• Math Graphing Assessment: April 27^th 
• Science Simple Machines Assessment: April 28^th 
• History Homework Due: April 29^th 
• No School: May 6^th 
• Fine Arts Night: May 18^th 

News:

During our history unit on immigration, students will be asked to interview family members to learn more about their ancestors. They will discover how and when they came to America. They will fill out questions on a worksheet that they bring home today. Please have your children return the form by Friday, April 29th. They will use this information to create a mini-book in class which they will present. Thank you for helping your child with this assignment!

Conversation Starters:

• Why is Abraham Lincoln someone who we remember? 
• Name one reason immigrants came to the United States. 
• Was Wilbur successful at making a web? 
• What is a complex machine? 

Studies:
Grammar: Scholars will complete narration, copywork, and dictation exercises by using passages from the book “A Child’s Geography of the World”. We will also review interjections, synonyms and antonyms, conjunctions, and reinforce quotations. 

Math: We will finish our unit on graphing with a graphing assessment on Wednesday, April 27^th. We will then begin our unit on shapes by identifying curved and flat shapes as well as combining shapes to make new shapes. 

History: In history, we will continue learning about immigration and citizenship by recognizing the Statue of Liberty as a symbol of freedom, explore Ellis Island to understand the process immigrants took to come to America, and learn of the different jobs immigrants had once in America.

Literature: Scholars will continue reading Charlotte’s Web, chapters 11-14. We will practice summarizing by composing a newspaper article, identify character talents, and learn about personification. 

Science: Scholars will finish our unit on simple machines with a simple machines assessment on Thursday, April 28^th. We will then begin our unit on Magnetism with scholars identifying what magnets are, how they work, and which items magnets are attracted to.

2nd Grade Newsletter 4.14.22

 

Dates:

April 15th: No School

April 19th: Civil War Assessment

April 19th-26th: Optional Simple Machines Project Due

April 21-22nd: "Harriet Tubman" Recitations

May 18th: Fine Arts Night-Music Concert & Art Show

 

Conversation Starters: 

How have our classroom caterpillars changed? What do you expect to happen next?

What does Wilbur think about the way Charlotte gets her food?

What is another way to say 4:15?

What is a synonym for the word “quiet”?

What does it mean to surrender? Why did Robert E. Lee surrender to Ulysses S. Grant?

What does the apostrophe in "o’clock" take the place of?   o(F THE) clock

 

Reminders:

Friday Folders – Expect your child’s Friday Folder to come home most Fridays. This week is short, so they are coming home today (Thursday). Check through your student's Friday Folder papers. Sign and return the papers that are stamped (usually assessments), keep the other papers at home, sign the inside of the folder, and send it back to school with your child the next school day (usually Monday).

Reading Logs – Students receive a homework completion grade for their Reading Logs. Each day must be signed by a parent or adult. We prefer that the student fill out the rest of the log. These are due weekly. If your child doesn’t turn in their Reading Log when it’s due, make sure they turn it in the next school day in order to receive half credit. Diligence with the Reading Logs is an important skill that is also expected in 3^rd grade.

 

Next Week's Academics:

Math: 

Scholars will practice creating, reading, and interpreting picture graphs, bar graphs, and line plots.

Grammar/Writing: 

Scholars will complete narration, copywork, and dictation exercises by using excerpts from a poem called, “The Duel”. They will continue to learn to recognize and use synonyms and antonyms. 

Recitations of “Harriet Tubman” will be Thursday, April 21^st and Friday, April 22.

Literature:

We will continue Charlotte’s Web with chapters 6-10. Scholars will practice identifying main events and character descriptions. We will also discuss the idiom, “back to the drawing board.”

Spalding: 

We will have a normal week of Spalding words. Scholars will now have 5 words in cursive and 5 words in manuscript on Monday through Wednesday.

History:

Students brought home their Study Guide as well as a Lee/Grant Venn diagram. Please review these with them so they are prepared for their Civil War assessment on Tuesday, April 19th. We will review in class on Monday, as well. Later in the week, we will begin our unit on immigration. On Friday, scholars will bring home a “My Family’s Story” worksheet. Please take time to discuss your family’s background with your child. These worksheets will be due Friday, April 29.

Science:

We have butterfly chrysalides in our classrooms! Our caterpillars grew quickly and are now encased in their chrysalides. The students are very excited about their development! This week we will learn about pulleys. Scholars will complete their simple machines study guides for home study use. We will also have a fun activity where students will attempt to create a complex machine.

 

We hope you have a terrific long weekend!

Warm Regards,

The Second Grade Team