It
is hard to believe we are already heading into our fourth week of second grade. My students are feeling more comfortable, and
I am proud of how they want to work together so everyone in our classroom can
do their best learning. I
love to see the individual strengths of students, something that they are
certainly starting to show me now. Of course, what I
appreciate the most is the strong passion for learning by all! Here is a look at our upcoming week:
Literature: This week, we will take
some time to reflect on the three short stories we have read so far and
contemplate their morals a bit more. We will also spend a bit of time looking
at a bit of poetry and learning to read poetry with the proper rhythm. On Thursday, we will begin our first unit
based on a novel-Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan. We will begin by making some predictions
based on the title and cover of the book.
Then we will learn some vocabulary words that the students will encounter
in the first few chapters.
Riggs/Grammar: This will be our last full week of reviewing the Riggs
phonograms before we dive into words. In
grammar, we will study the most common uses of commas. Students will be practicing using commas
correctly for homework, and you can also have your child point out commas as
you read together. You can think of it
as “comma awareness week.” J
History/Geography: Last week we focused on North America and Central America, so
this week’s focus will move to South America! We will be looking at and making keys for maps
that show the countries in South America as well as a landform map of the
continent. Students will also read about
countries and make a large map puzzle of South America this week! Tuesday’s lesson will be especially exciting,
as we have a parent of one of our students that is from Brazil, and she will be
teaching us about her country. If you
have traveled to any South America countries and have something you would like
to share with the class, send it in this week!
Science:
We continue to focus on life cycles this week by studying the life cycle of a
flowering plant. Students are working
diligently on their Science Field Notebooks.
These books are full of notes from our studies this year.
On
Friday, we planted some seeds in cd cases and we will be checking up on them to
observe and record any changes. Thank you to those who sent in cases!
Students
will also practice drawing models of real flowers in class and labeling the
various parts. Acting out the life cycle
of a plant is also on the schedule for the week.
Also,
I came in to school today to check the incubator, but our incubator looked like
this:
BUT, I could hear peep’s and I saw the blue egg
at the upper left corner of the thermometer move! I suspect we may have some new life Monday
morning! The peeps coming from Mrs.
Cherney’s incubator was much louder because this was inside:
A second egg was cracked but the chick was still
struggling to break free. When I observe
the beginning of a life cycle, I can’t help but think of what we seek as a
Great Heart’s school – truth, beauty, and goodness. I am excited to share new life with second
graders!
Important notes:
-Send
in your child’s copy of Sarah, Plain and Tall if you have not already
done so! Make sure his/her name is on or
in the book somewhere.
-Reading
groups will be starting up next week Tuesday, September 3! You will receive a the sign-up link this
week. Don’t forget that you MUST have
your fingerprint clearance card on file at Archway to volunteer, and you must
wear your badge any time you volunteer.
As I mentioned on Curriculum Night, I will give volunteers a print out
of instructions of what to read with the kids as well as any questions to ask
or further activities to complete. J
-There
will be no school next Monday, as it is Labor Day.
