Week Four
Today, the students learned about our “Pokemensch” in training program! This year our students are going to try to transform their behavior just like you can transform Pokemon in the popular game! Each student received a sticker book where they can earn stickers for making better choices in their classrooms, cafeteria, hallways, bathrooms, playground, and at assemblies and dismissals. On Monday, we are going to have a “Pokemensch” morning meeting where the students and I discuss the choices they are making in each area. I will be pointing out which students I have noticed making better choices and “transforming their behaviors.” Those students will get stickers for their sticker books. I am excited to begin this process because we have been making so many great choices in second grade! This morning meeting will also give students a chance to talk about times in our day when we can make better choices and we’ll be brainstorming how we can make that happen!
Recess
Have you heard about our recess bakery? Many of our students have been whipping up delicious and creative “cakes” on the playground each day. It is very sweet to watch the way they work together to stack checkers and wood chips in their quest to bake the perfect cake! I am impressed with the creativity and teamwork that is developing during recess!
Here are some of our “bakers” hard at work!
Reading
This week the students reviewed how to identify the subject and predicate in a sentence and put words in alphabetical order. They also practiced putting story events in order using the events from the story Henry and Mudge. Next week the students will read a nonfiction story called My Family and will work on comparing and contrasting using a Venn Diagram. The students will review how to read long vowel words that end with a silent “e” like make, pile, and hope. The students will study how to write complete sentences and how to use a glossary to find the definitions of words in a text. We will also be writing friendly letters to friends and relatives. Our vocabulary words will be: remembered, porch, crown, spend, stuck, visit, cousin, and piano.
Spelling
This week the students studied words containing the long or short “e” sound. Next week, the students will learn how to spell words that contain the long or short “i” sounds. For example bit and pride.
Writing
Our first writing unit will cover choosing strong ideas that the students can fill in with details. We focus on stating a clear message, staying on topic, and making sure there are interesting details in almost all of our sentence. Below the students are illustrating a story they read that was full of interesting details. We will learn that if you write with a lot of detail, then your readers can picture your story in their minds!
Math
The students worked on making equivalent number sentences this week. They learned that both sides of the equal side must result in the same number for the number sentence to be true. For example: 4 + 5 = 3 + 6 Both sides add up to 9 so this is equivalent. One of the areas were second graders often get confused is when the equation looks backwards with the equal sign coming first like this _______ = 25 – 10. This skill will require additional practice in the coming weeks. This week we also practiced using calculators and number grids, adding money, and using the greater than and less than symbols. Next week the students will take their assessment on unit 1 and begin unit 2. Unit 2 will cover addition and subtraction number stories like There are 7 ducks are in the water and 5 ducks are in the grass. How many ducks in all? We will also work on adding doubles, like 9 + 9, and using scales to compare the weights of objects.
Here are some of our students practicing with calculators!
