Second Grade in Room 108: Friday, October 23, 2026

Reminders:

Save the date! On Thursday, November 5, 2026 from 7:30-8:15 AM we will have our first Open House style writing celebration. Please drop in to read our second grade authors’ narrative writing!
With cooler fall weather here, please label your child’s jackets, sweatshirts, and other layers so we can easily return any items that get left behind. Thank you!
If you would like to volunteer to lead a Pease Mountain hike, please check out the Pease Mountain sign up.
Donation Request: Our classroom is in need of tissues and cough drops. We appreciate any and all donations.

Save the Date

Word Study: Last week we wrapped up our second unit in word study which focused on closed syllables and the glued sounds all, am, an, ang, ank, ing, ink, ong, onk, ung, and unk. This week, we began our third unit which focuses on how to read, write, and mark up closed syllable exceptions. A closed syllable exception looks like a closed syllable (one vowel closed in by at least one consonant) but doesn’t sound like one. Instead of a short vowel sound, the vowel makes a long sound. There are five closed syllable exceptions, which we learned as special glued sounds—check them out below!

Writing: Our narrative writers are learning from mentor authors. We are studying beautifully written books to discover what is powerful, why it is powerful, and how the author writes in a way to make it powerful. Students are discovering many craft moves from mentor authors and trying those moves out in their own writing! Jane Yolen’s Owl Moon has taught us a lot! Second grade writers are also working to revise their work with intention, making sure the craft moves they are trying add to their story.

Readers’ Workshop: Our second grade readers have continued to work with their two important jobs: figuring out the words (decoding) and to think about what they are reading (comprehension). Students continued to work with the Five Finger Retell strategy to deepen their comprehension and to help remember what we’ve read. We also explored how understanding the setting (the where and when of the story) and characters (the who of the story) helps us picture and connect to the book more deeply.

Some of our favorite read-alouds included Caps for Sale, Big Al, The Snowy Day, The Relatives Came, The Paper Bag Princess, and Julius, the Baby of the World.

We have now launched a new bend in reading where readers learn to “read like writers.” Each time we have a reaction to a story, we’re asking, “How did the author do that?”

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

Science: We kicked off our new Properties of Matter unit! Students read the book “Matter” by Abbie Dunne and learned that matter is anything that takes up space. We explored the three states of matter– solid, liquid, and gas– and discussed how scientists use the properties of materials to classify (describe and sort) objects. Students have been eager to observe and use descriptive language like “hard”, “flexible”, “shiny”, “dull”, “rough”, and “smooth” to describe the materials around them.

Project- LatinX Heritage Month: Our class learned about the incredible artist Frida Kahlo. We learned about her life, her art, and how she expressed herself through self-portraits. Students then created their own self-portraits inspired by Frida’s bold colors and storytelling style. Want to learn more about Frida Kahlo, check out this video we watched as a class.

Second Step: This week’s lesson, Being Assertive, focused on how to ask for what we need in a calm and respectful way. Students learned that being assertive means using a confident voice—not passive, not aggressive—to get help, solve problems, and stand up for themselves or others. We discussed real-life scenarios and practiced identifying the right adults to ask for help. This skill supports both academic success and healthy friendships.