Quick reminders:
Be sure to get your Jog-a-Thon funds in!
Please be sure to sign your second grader's communicator each night!
Upcoming week:
Language Arts:
We continue our study of animals' survival, focusing on reading science articles. In writing, students have started writing small moment stories about a time when they were scared.
Math:
We will study even and odd numbers; sums of equal numbers (doubles facts or x2 facts); we will also continue our practice of basic fact fluency, as well as repeated addition and arrays.
Content area studies (Science):
Students will learn about animals and their adaptations, as well as the scientific method.
Life and social skills:
We are still working on memorizing school emails! You can help! their email is first_last@elem.ortrail.k12.or.us.
Week in review:
Language Arts:
We read realistic fiction about adaptations animals have to hunt and escape hunters. We learned about verbs as action words (we will continue to explore the idea that some verbs are being or helping verbs). We finished publishing our first small moments stories, and moved on to our next: a moment when we were scared, nervous, or surprised!
Math:
We started our new unit, all about patterns, skip counting, and repeated addition (multiplication!). Counting nickels and dimes is great practice, as is counting piles of pennies, tallying, using a 100 number chart (here's a .pdf), and drawing arrays. One of the trickiest things that we are working on is being able to skip count starting at any number, as well as going backwards (54, 56, 58, 60, 62, etc., as opposed to starting at 0 every time). Here's an interactive 100 number chart that might be enjoyable practice as well.
We have also started a daily practice of basic facts to build automaticity (speed) and accuracy, which will make math much easier! Students are making flash-cards in class, and practicing orally and in writing with partners and alone, but this is a great at-home skill to practice as well! You can find flash cards at the dollar store, or make them out of paper or cardstock. There are many online fact practice games, as well as apps for phones and tablets. You can print out worksheets or make your own. You can practice orally in the car. On the Documents page of this blog, you can print out basic facts worksheets to practice. Here is one of my favorite free math websites. Here is a blog post about the many different ways to practice basic facts at home.
Content area studies (Science):
We started to explore the world of biology, and will continue throughout the month of October.
Life and social skills:
We have started public speaking (show and tell). Your child brought home a calendar with the project description and their public speaking day marked. Please help your child practice what they will say a few times so they will feel prepared. We will continue to practice public speaking all year in class, as it is an essential life skill, and gets easier to do the more often you practice it.
We are also working on memorizing the world's longest email addresses, to make our computer lab time easier. If your household has a laptop or desk top, it would be great if your child could practice on a real keyboard; if not, they brought home a paper keyboard with their email on it, and they can practice "typing" on that.
Sandy Fire Department came and gave an all-school assembly to teach students about the importance of 1) changing the batteries in smoke detectors every year, and 2) having a family plan on where to meet in case of a fire at home. I hope you are able to take the time to talk about these two important topics with your child!
