The Week of May 21

NEWS
It was a fun and full week in 2AL! We continued working on powerful poetry, measuring and estimating, and exploring more about Life Cycles. The highlight of this week was our Wet and Wild celebration on Friday! Thank you so much for all the parents who came out, got wet and muddy and had a blast! 

During literacy we student continued to learn about making powerful poems. They have experimented with line breaks, powerful words, comparisons and have had fun using different kinds of punctuation to enhance meaning. Their poems are filled with emotion and some interesting interpretations of ordinary objects. They have studied the way authors use repeating lines, rhyming words and word choice during reading time to give their poems music. They are absolutely loving this unit and are excited to read and share with you during our learning celebration!

As mathematicians we were measuring machines. We had fun finding measuring monsters and objects around the classroom (including ourselves) in both centimeters and inches using a variety of tools.  We have also been working out to come up with reasonable estimates and using data to make and interpret line plots.  We will continue our measurement unit for the next few weeks and share with you when you come for our celebration.

As scientists we discovered some interesting facts about some unique life cycles. We also worked on creating our Scratch Junior teaching videos all made in computer code.  Some very impressive videos that we look forward to sharing with you as well. 

IMPORTANT
**Please note May 31st is our field trip. It is also free dress but students are to wear their SCHOOL UNIFORMS on field trips. They must also bring a hat, water bottle and a snack as we will eat on the bus. Thank you to parents who will be joining us and taking a group.   

UPCOMING
Tuesday: NO SCHOOL HOLIDAY
Thursday: Day 4 FIELD TRIP: students need to bring own snack and wear school uniform
Friday: NO SCHOOL packing day for teachers
The last week of school we will be having theme days, so stay tuned!

Happy Weekend.

The Week of May 7th

NEWS

As readers we are continuing our work in the series book clubs, with the focus this week being on sharing the passion we have for our series with others. This involves gathering evidence from our books, forming opinions, and choosing a presentation format.

As writers we are continuing our work on opinion writing, with the focus being how to write stronger opinion pieces by including evidence from the text in the form of quotations and/or dialog. Both our series clubs and opinion writing units will wrap up by next week after which we will be starting poetry.

Our science unit is well underway now learning all about life cycles of different plants and insects, and really honing our skills as observers - paying attention to all the little details. Our field trip on Friday, May 11th will be a great opportunity for us to talk about the life cycle of butterflies and plants "as scientists in real life."

Our new math unit has also started this week and it is all about data and measurement. We will be inquiring into different standard units of measurement, time, different tools and ways to measure and honing our word problems skills around distance.

UPCOMING

On May 11th the Grade 2 classes will take a field trip to visit the Butterfly and Bird Parks as part of our science unit on life cycles.  Thank you to all of those who have turned in their permission forms.

IMPORTANT
No school on Wednesday, May 9th.

DINNER QUESTIONS

What are some ways that you can help take care of the Earth?

What are some of the words the author used in your book to help you create a movie or picture in your mind?

Tell me about the book you’re reading. What is your opinion? What are the important parts?

What are you excited about learning during your life cycles unit?