Second Grade in Room 108

Reminders:

On Thursday, February 5, our entire school will travel to Burlington to attend a UVM women’s basketball game. For more information check out CCS’s recent newsletter.

We will be taking student lunch orders on Monday morning in order for our cafeteria to prepare bagged lunches for this event. Please review your child’s Thursday lunch plan with them prior to school Monday.

If you would like to volunteer to lead a Pease Mountain hike, please check out the Pease Mountain sign up. There are a few slots left! We truly appreciate your time and support!
Donation request: Our classrooms are in need of tissues and cough drops. If you are able to make a donation to our squad, our noses and throats would appreciate it. 🙂

Math: Second grade mathematicians are working with the core idea: I can make sense of and solve story problems with addition and subtraction. This works includes:

Identifying key information in story problems
Creating and solving two digit addition and subtraction story problems
Using place value to solve two digit addition and subtraction problems

One way to help with this at home is to share when story problems are actually happening! For example, while creating a meal, explain what you are doing in a way that highlights the math you are doing. This might look like:

“I am making muffins. I need to crack five eggs. I have cracked two. How many eggs do I have left to crack?”
“I am making cupcakes for 48 people. I have made 23 cupcakes so far. How many more cupcakes do I need to make?”
“At the grocery store we need to buy bread and butter. Bread costs $4.00 and butter costs $6.00. How much money will we spend in all?” (Working with money? At this point, please round to the nearest whole dollar for your second grader!)
“I have 32 cards and you have 16 cards. How many fewer cards do you have than I have?”

Word Study: Second graders are working on our seventh word study unit. In this unit, we introduce a new spelling pattern, the open syllable. Something interesting about this syllable type is that y has gained a new role as a vowel. Students learned that y as a vowel can make the long i sound in one syllable words, for example why, try, cry, and shy.

Writers’ Workshop: This week in opinion writing, students practiced editing their work to make it easier for readers to understand by checking punctuation, capitalization, and spelling. Writers also learned to think carefully about their audience, making sure they include just the right amount of information so readers understand their topic and opinion.Finally, students worked on strengthening their opinions by adding details and explanations to support their reasons, helping make their writing more convincing.We are so proud of how students are growing as thoughtful opinion writers!

Readers’ Workshop: In reading workshop, students began our new nonfiction unit by learning how readers study details closely to grow knowledge about a topic, instead of just glancing at a page.This week, students also practiced asking questions while they read, using what they notice to wonder and learn even more about nonfiction topics.Students are working hard to become thoughtful nonfiction readers who notice, learn, and ask questions as they read about the world around them!

Science: In science this week, students worked as geologists to investigate what happens when rocks rub together. They observed different types of rocks and discovered that rubbing rocks creates tiny pieces called sand. Students learned that this process, called weathering, slowly breaks rocks into smaller pieces over time. They recorded their observations and collected samples to help them understand how Earth’s surface changes.

Second Step: In Second Step this week, students practiced recognizing and managing strong feelings such as embarrassment and frustration. They learned to use calming strategies, including saying a stop signal, naming their feelings, and using belly breathing to help their bodies calm down. Students also discussed how making mistakes is part of learning and practiced ways to calm down so they can think clearly and ask for help when needed.

SEL/Theme: February is Kindness Month in second grade. Each week we focus on a different aspect of kindness and connect it to our CCS expectations of taking care of ourselves, others, and this place as well as our second grade mantra: We are all the same. We are all different. We are all unique. Our first lesson introduced the comparison of kindness to light. We reflected on the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and then created a lightbulb art activity to spread our light into the world.

Citizenship: Last week, students participated in a special project celebrating Vermont’s history and future by thinking about how small changes can make our community even better. After learning how citizens can make a difference, students took a community walk to notice what they love about our school and what could be improved, then created artwork showing their ideas for positive change. Students shared their visions through art and artist statements, explaining how their ideas could help Vermont continue to grow and thrive. This project helped students see how their ideas and actions can contribute to positive change in their community.

Quiet Time: We’ve traveled far these past two weeks!