The Week of April 9th

NEWS
2AL is back in full swing after a restful spring break and we are all full of energy and vigor as we enter this final home stretch of the year.

As readers we have launched our book clubs in earnest focusing specifically on how becoming experts on the characters in our series books.  We have been collecting information in our reading journals on our characters, noticing how our characters respond to problems they are facing, and how what we know about our characters can help us to predict what they might do next.  We completed a checklist in Seesaw where you can see some more specifics on the teaching points.  This work will continue in the coming weeks so that we can identify similarities and differences across our series.

As writers we have been crafting our opinion pieces through the lens of writing letters in response to our book club conversations.  Some of us are also choosing to write letters to favorite authors, football players, etc.  While the content of the letters may differ what is common is the 5 parts of a letter format (heading, greeting, body, closing, signature) and how to structure our writing.  The expectation is that we state an opinion, then support our opinion with multiple reasons and multiple specific examples for each reason.  One of our letters to Josh Funk (author of class favorite It's Not Jack and the Beanstalk) has actually proven to be surprisingly convincing and we are hoping to arrange a Skype call with him in the coming days.

As mathematicians we are still practicing adding and subtracting multiple three digit numbers with regrouping while also starting to work on arrays as the foundation for multiplication.

In social studies we have started a mini-unit on celebrations identifying similarities and differences, with a special focus on the elements of celebration such as food, colors, music, dress, rituals, etc).  The ultimate goal is for the students next week to prepare an oral presentation about a favorite celebration from their home country (or a country they strongly associate with).  The purpose is to teach each other about what the elements of our chosen celebration are (how), the purpose behind the celebration (why), the date of it, and any associated props from their chosen celebration to share with the class (this could be an artifact or food).  If you could take some time to speak to your child about a celebration they would like to choose and help them talk through the different aspects of it that would be fabulous.

UPCOMING
Earth Week is coming up next week (April 16-20).  2AL has been challenged by a group of 2AL students to take part in the Trash Hero challenge as part of their Genius Hour project.  See attached book here.  The idea is to "get caught" in the act of helping the environment by refusing plastic straws, re-using plastic bags, cleaning up some trash, etc.  Basically taking positive actions to make a difference.  When you catch your children being "Trash Heroes" please can you take a picture and email it to me.  I have started a folder where I will be collating these pictures.  On Friday ES Melawati will be having an Earth Day assembly where I would like to highlight some of the great work we are doing.  Thank you!

Our last Mini-Academy is scheduled for Friday, April 20th at 1:45pm.  Thank you to all who volunteered to lead an activity.  This is something our students always look forward to.  Last mini academies

MAP testing will be next week.  Our math time is slotted for April 18th (Wednesday) and our reading time is slotted for April 20th (Friday).  Both tests will be administered on iPads in our classroom in the morning.  There is no special preparation necessary.  The only thing we ask is that on the day prior to testing they get a good nights rest and eat a healthy breakfast.


IMPORTANT
Grade 2 will be going on a field trip on May 11th for our upcoming life cycle unit.  Paper permission slips will be going home next week, however a soft copy is linked here if you would like to read it ahead of time and/or print and send to school with your child.

PE kit. Please can we remember to include the blue ISKL polo shirt to change into our after our PE days because students are often hot and sweaty and when they go back into the air conditioning from their PE classes it is healthier for them to change into their fresh polo shirts. 


DINNER QUESTIONS
* What is the difference between a fact and an opinion?
* Tell me about the series you are reading?
* What celebration do you want to share with your classmates?