This Week in Grade 2 We had a fun week learning about what scientists do and how we are all scientists. We observed how and why popcorn pops, experimented with Root beer floats(yum) observed ice cubes melting and condensing on a metal plate above a kettle and watch a phenomenon with hot water and a balloon. We also got to celebrate Rushdan's birthday and learn some new Apps on the Ipad. We are getting into our new units which means new partners and new reading and math groups. Thank you all so much for commenting on Seesaw as well as signing up for mini academies! Your support is always appreciated. I do a lot of communication through Seesaw so please try to check it every so often=) Language Arts As readers we have started “amping up our reading power” by paying extra special attention to our fluency and how we are reading our books.  Our lessons focused on being mindful of our fluency as we read with others or in our heads, pay attention to punctuation and word strings to scoop up our reading in larger phrases and pausing at appropriate times, and where dialog is present in our texts reading like the characters.  This fluency work will continue into next week. As writers we started exploring the way scientists document their work and their thinking by introducing lab reports.  Our main focus for this week was the procedural aspect where the students observed and then wrote “how to make popcorn” including using diagrams with labels, a list of materials needed, and the detailed steps involved in the process.  We will keep building on the this work to include all the different aspects of lab reports like the question, hypothesis, results, and conclusion. Math In math we introduced addition strategies with single and double digits without regrouping. Students will NOT do traditional algorithms till grade 4 so please do not teach them in this way. They need a conceptual understanding first in concrete ways before moving into abstract. They learned how to add by drawing and building base 10 blocks, using number lines as well as breaking numbers into tens and ones. Next week we will work on regrouping and then move into story problems. Science In science we started our investigation into matter and the difference states of it (solid, liquid, gas) through a series of small experiments. We will unpack how matter can change states and the difference between physical and chemical changes in the coming weeks by conducting further experiments.  It is my hope that all the students see themselves as scientists and that by asking questions and investigating they are open and excited to explore the wonders of the world around them. Important Dates On Monday, October 30th we will have our Mini-Academies.   On Tuesday, October 31st we will have a Halloween bash.  Students are allowed to come to school wearing costumes however in order to be sensitive to our diverse beliefs and cultures we ask you to be mindful of the following: No scary costumes, blood, weapons On Friday, November 3rd the Melawati campus will be celebrating Deepawali with hallway activities and an Elementary wide assembly at 11:00.  Parents are welcome and encouraged to join us. *Some students have brought home photos, they are slowly being handed to us. Please check their bags. Dinner Questions What are the traits of a scientist? What does it mean to read fluently? Tell me about how scientists write? What strategies can you use to solve addition problems?

This Week in Grade 2 Dear Parents – Hope you are having a wonderful holiday break. We are enjoying a staycation after multiple weekends away coaching. We had a fun two days in grade 2 launching all of our new units. Next week there is NO SCHOOL MONDAY and students will get to be in the labs and writing like scientists. We will be exploring liquids, solids and gases.               As we continue to do Word Inquiry and handwriting time every other day and weave in some grammar and word sorting I came across this as a top trend that people were reading. It’s a really interesting article. Have a read, great article on spelling Follow Up on Conferences Here are resources that many of you asked me about at conferences. I wanted to send them to everyone, as some common themes came up=)        One thing many of you asked for or I recommended was some problem solving, rich or challenge tasks where students are applying knowledge in a new way. Here are a few websites for now with some good activities. We just did our first 3 act task on Friday and they loved it. Click on links below, I will send additional ones each week. Math 3 act task Math Problem Solving Math fact practice game we use in class There were a lot of concerns with library books. I believe students should have a lot of choice during library time. These books may be a bit uphill and need to be read together with you. However, I will ensure students pick different genres and the levels are not too high or too low starting this coming week=)       Please remember that for the 20 minutes of reading, students have loggins and enjoy RAZ kids reading, Tumblebooks and Big Universe which I have linked below. We will start using Epic soon. Tumble books RAZ kids BigUniverse Language Arts We started our new reading Unit with a huge emphasis on fluency. We will also get into literary language. Check out our videos on Seesaw and our class video to Dr. Hudson reading Shoo Fly! This week we also begin our next writing unit:  Lab Reports and Science Writing.  This unit will give students an opportunity to explore scientific procedural writing using the scientific method as a framework to help them elaborate each part of the scientific process.  The unit begins with an introduction to how-to writing, where students will be asked to think about something that they know how to do, and to write a text to teach others how to do it. Math This week we start our second math unit:  Becoming Fluent with Addition and Subtraction.  During this unit students will learn how addition and subtraction are related, and learn strategies for solving two-digit addition and subtraction problems.  Our unit begins with a review of problem solving strategies and vocabulary.  The emphasis during these first few days will be on how to identify the operation needed to solve a story problem, and how to adequately explain our thinking.  In grade 2, students are expected to solve story problems by using a picture, equation and answer, which includes a number and label.  It is important for students to continue practicing their basic addition and subtraction facts to help them become more successful solving two-digit addition and subtraction problems encountered in this unit. Science We are also beginning our first science unit:  Changes in Matter. In this unit we will explore properties of solids, liquids, and gases, and the differences between chemical and physical changes.  We’ll spend a few days before break tuning into our unit with simple demonstrations to help students think like a scientist and introduce them to the scientific method.  Students will also be introduced to our science labs to learn about how to use the space and the equipment safely while they conduct their experiments. Important Dates Important dates Wednesday, Oct. 18 – 23rd October Break October 30th Mini Academies October 31st ISKL Dress Up day November 3rd: Deepavali culture day, dress up day and assembly Dinner Questions What do Scientists do? What are you most interested in exploring about liquids, solids and gases? What does it mean to read fluently? Could you teach me how to do something here at dinner? What are the steps?

This Week in Grade 2
Dear Parents – I hope you had a great weekend.  We’re coming up on two shortened weeks, so this update will cover the next two weeks. Please expect the next update to be for the week of Oct. 23. This week was full of finishing up our units which meant assessments and celebrations. We had our math assessment, on demand writing, prepared our writing for a publishing celebration and created expert reading posters on Comic Life for younger students to view. They have been busy creating their ideal community via posters and on the App Explain Everything. We got to interview a very special leader Dr. Hudson on leadership skills and what her job is like. On Wondering Wednesday they each got to research on Wonderopolis and post their own wonderings. The class earned 10 stars and voted on a nature party…..only this group would get a kick out of finding spiders, slugs, insects and flowers to oooh and aah over=) If your travel plans require your child to miss school, please let me know as this will help with planning our lessons over the next two weeks

Language Arts

We’ll spend the next two weeks introducing students to our second reading unit:  Building Better Readers.  This unit focuses on the important foundational reading skills of fluency, literary language, and maneuvering tricky texts.  We will begin by working on reading punctuation, adding tone and making sure students understand pace. This week we also begin our next writing unit:  Lab Reports and Science Writing.  This unit will give students an opportunity to explore scientific procedural writing using the scientific method as a framework to help them elaborate each part of the scientific process.  The unit begins with an introduction to how-to writing, where students will be asked to think about something that they know how to do, and to write a text to teach others how to do it.

Math
This week we start our second math unit:  Becoming Fluent with Addition and Subtraction.  During this unit students will learn how addition and subtraction are related, and learn strategies for solving two-digit addition and subtraction problems.  Our unit begins with a review of problem solving strategies and vocabulary.  The emphasis during these first few days will be on how to identify the operation needed to solve a story problem, and how to adequately explain our thinking.  In grade 2, students are expected to solve story problems by using a picture, equation and answer, which includes a number and label.  It is important for students to continue practicing their basic addition and subtraction facts to help them become more successful solving two-digit addition and subtraction problems encountered in this unit.

Social Studies
Our social studies unit on Communities is coming to an end and students are busy completing their assessment where they were asked to create a community and think about various aspects of their community, such as leadership, rules and laws, citizenship, goods and services, and interdependence.  Students will have an opportunity to share their projects with their peers. We are also beginning our first science unit:  Changes in Matter.   In this unit we will explore properties of solids, liquids, and gases, and the differences between chemical and physical changes.  We’ll spend a few days before break tuning into our unit with simple demonstrations to help students think like a scientist and introduce them to the scientific method.  Students will also be introduced to our science labs to learn about how to use the space and the equipment safely while they conduct their experiments.

Important Dates

Important dates

Here’s a peek at the next two weeks: Monday, Oct. 9 – No School; Parent-Teacher Conferences Tuesday, Oct. 10 – No School; Parent-Teacher Conferences Wednesday, Oct. 11 (Day 5) Thursday, Oct. 12 (Day 6) Friday, Oct. 13 (Day 1) Monday, Oct. 16 (Day 2) Tuesday, Oct. 17 (Day 3) Wednesday, Oct. 18 – October Break begins

Dinner Questions
What was the best part of our parent-teacher conference?  Why? Tell me about one of your lessons with Mrs. Wright. What is your favorite app to use in class?  Why?  How do you use it?