The students completed there animal research paragraphs.  They answered questions about their animal of choice by researching it in books, and cross-referencing that information on some kid-friendly websites.  They then turned their notes into complete sentences within a paragraph.

Currently, the students are working with book buddies or within a small group to read just right books.  Independently, the students are recording comprehension responses to their reading and discussing the book with their partner.

In writing, the students are studying fairy tales and learning about classifying characteristics; such as “Once upon a time,” good vs. evil, element of 3, fantasy or make-believe, and “happily ever after.”  They are in the stage of generating ideas for their own stories.  Some have created original characters and an original story, and others are retelling a classic fairy tale in a new, exciting way.

Math

In Math, the students have been learning strategies for solving 2-digit addition and subtraction problems with and without regrouping, including the algorithm for recording addition and subtraction with regrouping.  To practice this skill at home, play the games, “Race to 100″ and “Race to 0.”  Click here to practice 2-digit addition and subtraction with regrouping.  And don’t forget to keep practicing those math facts!  Check out this site for online flash cards.

Social Studies

The students are completing an end-of-unit project in which they are creating a raised-relief salt-dough map to show the regions of the United States, including the Rocky Mountain and Appalachian Mountain Ranges, the Mississippi River, and the Great Lakes.  Our next unit will be “Using Our Resources.”  The students will learn about natural resources and how people use them, reasons people choose to live in a place, how people change their environment and how transportation and communication has changed over time.

Science

The students are currently learning about matter.  They will learn more about the three stages of matter and investigate their properties in a variety of hands on activities.  They will also learn about mixtures, and reversible and irreversible changes in matter.

Language Arts

In small guided reading groups the students have been continuing to work on using contextual clues to identify and determine the meaning of trickier words.  A comprehension focus was retelling and sequencing important events.  Most students have completed their stories and their first response project.  Some students have also been reading nonfiction books about government and answering questions in discussions and in their journals.

The students recently completed their second unit of study in writing–realistic fictional narratives.  The students created really interesting characters who faced problems, or had interesting experiences that caused them to grow and change towards the end of their stories.  Next, we will do some research on habitats and animals and write research paragraphs.

Math

After finishing our study of money; counting combinations of coins, showing different ways to show the same amount and making change, the second graders have been strengthening their number sense by learning ways to solve double digit addition and subtraction problems using mental math strategies.  Also, they have been focusing on the importance of showing their work and checking their own work by using different strategies to solve missing-part problems with a sum of 100.  Play “Get to 100″ and “Pinching Objects” at home to practice these skills. Next, we will learn how to regroup!

Social Studies

After finishing our unit on government, the students began studying concepts of geography in the unit, “The World Around Us.”  We have learned about natural features including landforms and bodies of water and labeled a map of North America.  We will practice reading a map grid and a regional map and learn more about climate and how and why the seasons change.

Science

We learned about how the body works, including how parts of our body such as our bones and muscles, and heart and lungs work together.  We also learned about the basic functions of the digestive system and measured and graphed our heart rate before and after exercise.  We learned about the importance of exercise and talked about simple ways to get exercise every day!

Currently we are studying animal habitats, and how animals have adaptations to survive in their habitats.  We learned about a fresh water habitat by visiting the Larsen Sanctuary at the Audubon Society in Fairfield.  We learned about a coral reef habitat by making a model of coral, and how animals and plants work together by making another model of a sea anemone and a clown fish.  Next, we will study different land environments.  We will collaborate with Mrs. D. to create some models of different land environments, such as the rainforest, the forest, the desert and the tundra.  We will also research some animals that live in the habitat we have created.

Reading

In small guided reading groups, each group has been reading different stories at their independent reading level.  Through facilitated discussion, the students have been practicing comprehension strategies such as retelling, asking questions and making predictions. They have been responding to comprehension questions in their journals, and some have been focusing on vocabulary expansion and using contextual clues to decode and determine the meaning of trickier words.

Writing

The second graders just had their first author’s celebration—celebrating the best of their collections of small moment stories (personal narratives.) Throughout the unit, the students cycled their way through the writing process; first by using strategies to generate ideas. Then, students learned about bold beginnings—leads about the time of day/ year and weather, or someone or something saying or doing something. When learning about mighty middles, students incorporated sensory details and character dialogue, but with the most emphasis being placed on “storytelling” rather than summarizing (step-by-step details or “show, don’t tell.”) Next, the students learned about excellent endings, which are endings that tie together the big idea or feeling of the story and leave the reader with that thought or feeling. The students worked with writing partners to edit and revise and focused on basic conventions—such as capitals, end punctuation and appropriate spelling. Lastly, the students “published” their stories, by designing a cover and a dedication page.

Currently we are studying realistic fiction.  We will build on the foundation established in our first unit with a focus on interesting characters.

Math

In chapter three, the students have been working with numbers on the 100s chart, strengthening their math sense by skip count forwards and backwards from any number by 2s, 5s, and 10s. Other objectives included reading and writing number words and ordinal numbers, comparing numbers, even and odd numbers, and estimating and rounding to the closest ten. Problem solving skills included using data from a chart and making an organized list.

Currently, the students are practicing counting change and showing different combinations that show the same amount.  To reinforce these skills at home practice identifying coins with your child and discuss identifying characteristics.

Also, to practice some other skills, click here to visit EZschool.com and play “Compare Me” and “Order! Order!”

“Capture 5″ is another great game that really strengthens number sense, creating number sentences that include addition and subtraction to move a marker on the 100s chart.

Social Studies

The students learned about government leaders and made campaign posters promoting themselves or a friend as a leader of a community.  Currently we are learning about how our country’s government works.  We will learn more about the legislative, executive and judicial branch.  We practiced voting in an election and voted on a class nickname.  We are now nicknamed the “Secret Spies” class!

Science

The students learned some classifying characteristics of some animals including body coverings and life cycles.  To investigate this idea, they first practiced sorting and classifying animals into groups that they decided upon with a partner.  We also compared insects and spiders and learned how to tell the difference.  Currently we are observing the life cycle of a meal worm/ beetle.  In observation journals the students are drawing, labeling and writing their observations and recording predictions about what they think will happen next.  “I think my pupa is developing wings!” was one amazing observation that a second grade scientist discovered!

Next we will learn more about how people grow and change.  We will learn how different parts of our body work together and what we can do to keep our bodies healthy.