January 29, 2021
Reading
Wow! The second graders have really grown as readers! I have completed another round of reading assessments that required each student to read to me one-on-one. The students have shown improvement in their phonics and fluency skills, mastery of sight words, and overall comprehension of text. The students should continue reading at home each day and focus on understanding what they are reading. Some great questions to ask your child are:
- What is the main character trying to do? Or What is the main topic of your book?
- What do you predict will happen next?
- Are you feeling empathy for any of the characters? Why or why not?
- What caused the problems in this story?
- Why do you think the author wrote this book?
Questions like these, encourage the students to pay closer attention to what they are reading, and the students can always go back and reread when necessary.
Spelling
We are finally at the end of our unit on plural nouns! We will continue reviewing these skills throughout the rest of the school year as part of our grammar practice. Next week’s words will begin with a silent “k” or “w.”
Writing- Social Studies and Science
The students are working on projects that help them practice the writing traits of word choice and sentence fluency. They are currently practicing using more interesting verbs and adjectives in their writing. They are also learning how to begin sentences in a variety of ways and write sentences of different lengths to keep their work engaging.
For their first project, the students have been reading biographies and learning how to take research notes on different famous people. As a class, the students have read about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Dr. Jane Goodall, Usain Bolt, Kate Sessions, Walt Disney, Amelia Earhart, and more! Now that several of the students have finished their first project about MLK Jr., they have begun researching their own subjects like Alexander Hamilton, Helen Keller, and Vincent van Gogh! One of the most challenging parts of this project is learning how to read information and then put it in your own words. This is a skill that takes a lot of practice!
Soon, the students will begin researching the life cycles of plants, insects, and animals, so that they can write informational essays!
Math
The class has started their sixth math unit. Their biggest focus will be on subtraction with regrouping. This is a difficult concept for second graders to master and each year I see frustration around this topic. Regrouping means that the tens and the ones in a number need to be “regrouped” so that you can take the smaller number out of the bigger number. For example, in a problem like 30 – 19, if you line the numbers up, how can you take a 9 out of a 0?! The students will study many strategies to make this skill less frustrating, like drawing out pictures and working with number blocks, and they will have many opportunities to practice with their peers and me!
