Second Grade in Room 108: Friday, October 27, 2023

Reminders:

Here is the Pease Mountain Volunteer Sign Up. Please join us if you are able to! (Remember, volunteers will need to complete the CVSD Procedure for Supervised Volunteers & Chaperones. This will include a background check and fingerprinting. Please refer to the CCS Family/Student Handbook 2023-2024 for more details on this procedure.)

***Please contact Jessica Hourett at CVSD Central Office to confirm your status as a volunteer. Her direct phone number is 802-985-1900

Math: Mathematicians wrapped up their first unit focused on developing solid understanding of addition and subtraction to 20 and some of the ways in which these two operations complement each other. We have begun our second unit called ‘Place Value & Measurement with Jack’s Beanstalks.’ The goals of this unit are to:

Explore base ten concepts and models within 1,000
Review the first three place value units: ones, tens, hundreds
Develop strategies for counting, measurement and double-digit computation
Decomposition - the ability to break numbers into their component parts
Develop early understanding of the open number line and base ten area pieces

Writer’s Workshop: What a celebration! Second grade authors came together as a whole squad to celebrate the culmination of our narrative writing unit. There were many special CCS adults on hand to lead small groups as students shared their writing with one another. After a few lessons devoted to language conventions, we will begin our next unit…Any guesses on our next genre?!

Word Study: In word study we wrapped up Unit 2. This unit had focused on closed syllables and glued sounds. This week we started Unit 3, a shorter unit which will teach second graders how to read, write, and mark-up closed syllable exceptions. This unit also began a mini-study of “Vowel Teams”. Second graders worked this week to identify and read vowel teams, but at this point in the year we do not expect them to spell using these patterns. Vowel teams are composed of vowel digraphs and vowel diphthongs. A vowel digraph is when two vowels work together to make one vowel sound, for example ai makes the long a sound in the word bait. A vowel diphthong is when a vowel and another vowel (or consonant) are placed together and the first sound glides into the second, for example oi says /oy/ in the word, coin.

Readers’ Workshop: Second graders have begun our second reading unit, ‘Power Up! Next Level Word Solving Skills.” This unit is devoted to decoding strategies. This week we began the first bend which focuses on the core idea: Readers solve tricky words by starting at the first vowel and asking, “What do I know about this pattern?” Before we learn how to break words into syllables, our students need an understanding of the six syllable types and their exceptions. Students worked to identify and read closed syllables, closed syllable exceptions, and vowel-consonant-e syllables.

Science: This week our second grade scientists began a new unit of study. In this unit they will learn about matter and the stages of matter. Through videos, questioning, and exploration students were able to define important terms such as materials, properties, as well as how to classify objects based on their properties. We are all looking forward to learning more about the properties of matter in the coming weeks.

SEL/Theme: We wrapped up our first unit in Second Step… Skills for Learning. Throughout this unit, students learn to listen, focus attention, use self talk, and be assertive. Second graders began our second unit, which focuses on empathy, this week by working to name feelings, decide whether those feelings are comfortable or uncomfortable, and to think about how faces, bodies, and situations give us clues about feelings.

Digital Citizenship Week: Second graders celebrated Digital Citizenship Week (10/16 - 10/20)! Students participated in activities and discussions to help them understand the importance of creating balance. By the end of the week students were able to do the following…