The Week of April 16th

NEWS

This past week was a busy one in Grade 2!  The students took their Math and Reading MAP tests, we celebrated Earth Week learning different ways that we can help take care of the Earth, and ended our week with an Earth Day assembly. 

Thank you to all the parents who volunteered to lead our Mini Academies on Friday.  The children had so much fun and came back to the classroom excited to show their friends what they made or what they did.  It’s hard to believe that this was our last Mini Academies for the year.  The Mini Academies have been a huge success because of your commitment and dedication.  Thank you for your creativity, your time, and your willingness to volunteer for our Mini Academies throughout the year.  This is an event that the kids love and and we couldn’t do it without your help.  Thank you!

As readers the children are really enjoying reading and discussing their books in their Book Clubs.  As a class, we’ve been reading some of Kevin Henkes’ books and learning about Lilly, one of the main characters who appears in several of his books.  This week we’ll focus on looking at the language the author uses to make his or her stories so powerful.  The week will start with children looking for examples of how the author uses precise words and descriptive language to help readers visualize the event and characters from the book.  We’ll end the week looking at different types of literary language, such as similes, metaphors, onomatopoeia, and alliteration and how authors can use these to make simple things seem extraordinary. 

As writers our focus has been sharing our opinions about the characters and books we’ve been reading in our Book Clubs.  This week we’ll focus on how to make our book reviews even better by retelling the important parts of their books.  We’ll practice retelling with partners and then the students will write a brief summary of their book to help strengthen their book review.  Throughout the week as students are writing, we will also emphasize the importance of keeping the audience in mind.  Picturing their audience will help students write stronger book reviews. 

Students are excited to start our new science unit on life cycles this week!  This past week we set up observation stations in our common area where students could begin to observe the life cycle of beetles and butterflies.   We’ll start the week tuning in to life cycles by looking at some of the vocabulary words for this unit and getting an idea of what students already know about life cycles.  Throughout the week we will talk about how scientists make and record their observations. We’ll practice drawing scientific diagrams, with details and labels, of the animals in our common area.

Our unit on Developing Multiplication is coming to a close and this week will be spent reviewing the skills and concepts that were covered in this unit.  Students will complete different projects to help strengthen their understanding of rectangular arrays. We will also continue to practice making and interpreting bar and picture graphs.

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.  A permission slip was sent home this Friday.  Please return the permission slip by Friday, April 27 to help us with planning.  We are looking for parent volunteers to chaperone, so if you are interested, please indicate on the permission slip.

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?

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?

The Week of March 12

NEWS
Thank you to all the parents who attended their child's student led conferences and who supported our Run, Jump and Throw day.  Your participation always makes these events so much more special and meaningful for your children.

Mrs. Wright during guidance has started a series of lessons on what kindness is and the distinction between what is rude, mean and bullying.  We will have more conversations around these terms in the coming weeks.

In writing we completed our healthy choices book using all the craft moves that we have learned.  We went through the checklist to ensure all the elements needed in non-fiction writing were included. This was done independently with the help of their peers and these books will be coming home to you shortly.  I will also send a copy of the original home and it would be great if you had the opportunity to ask your dentist or doctor whether they would be willing to "showcase" the book in their waiting area.  This would be a great way for our young authors to feel like they have an authentic audience that cares about the topic they are writing about.  I have 3/4 dentists and doctors I have spoken to that would love a copy of our students writing for other young patients (and peers) to read while they wait for their appointment).  Next, we will be shifting our writing focus to opinion writing for the next couple of weeks.  More on this to follow soon.

In reading we have focused on using our note taking skills to note down important facts for our healthy choices books.  Our non-fiction reading is now over and after a few assessments we will be shifting to fiction reading again, with a focus on book clubs and having rich conversations about our books.

In math students practised two and three digit addition with and without regrouping using multiple strategies such as using place value disks, base ten blocks, number lines, and decomposing into parts. This week we will focus on subtraction of three digit numbers.

UPCOMING
Tuesday, March 20th is back to Day 2!

Friday 23rd March: Terry Fox run at 8:15

Spring Break is from Saturday 24th March - Sunday 1st April

DINNER QUESTIONS
1 - Which part of the healthy choices do you think you need to work on? Why?

2 - Can you tell some details that you learned from a non-fiction book that you have read?

3 - What is the difference between rude, mean and bullying?

The Week of March 5

NEWS

We had a super week celebrating book week with visiting author, Tad Hills,

visiting singer, Courtney Campbell, book swap and book character dress-up

day. We also had mini academy on Tuesday. Thank you to all the parents

who volunteered to make this a successful event. We are also moving through

our March Madness book bracket by reading and voting on some quality

read-aloud favorites.

As readers and writers we have been busy preparing for their student led conferences.

A lot of time was spent on reflecting on their glow (what they are good at) and grow

(what they want to better at). Students got to do some fun activities for book

week including reading BINGO, bringing in favorite books to share, nonfiction

wonderings and research about germs and some fun partner reading tasks.

As mathematicians we refreshed their memories on place values and base ten blocks.

This week, we also reviewed strategies to add two addends. Then they added 4

addends using transition words strategy such as first I added .....then I added

....after that I added....finally I got.....Students also looked at the most efficient

way to add multiple addends by making 10 and adding doubles. They then learned

to add and subtract multiples of 100.

As scientists we have just started learning about germs and the importance of good hygiene, both dental and personal. We will continue learning about different kinds of germs, and how our body protects itself and what we can do to stay healthy.

UPCOMING

Wednesday 7 and 8 March - No School-Student Led Conferences. Please bring

your child to school at the scheduled time you will have 45 minutes to conference

and the last 15 minutes to visit specialist teachers.

IMPORTANT

Some students (and Mr. Alex) have decided to take part in the Slice of Life challenge. This entails writing something every day for 31 days (basically every day in March). This is something the students are working on at home and the idea is to foster a love of writing by sharing a "slice of our life" or in other words a small personal narrative moment. This is the original site if you would like more information. This is what we have published so far in 2AL - it would be great if you could read a piece and comment (it would mean a lot to the writers and will spur them to keep going for the rest of the month). Mr. Alex's slices of life can be found here.

Dinner Questions

1 - What did you learn about dental hygiene?

2 - What was your favorite thing about book week?

3 - What did you learn from the visiting author or song writer?

The week of February 26

NEWS
This week was full on in 2AL with a beautiful Chinese New Year celebration on Friday morning.  I have uploaded some of the pictures in the shared album.  Here is a quick link to it.  I am also happy to report that the contractors fixed our A/C issues and our room is now cool and comfortable yet again!

As readers we’ve been using all our non-fiction strategies to access information on personal and dental hygiene which is our science focus.  Jotting down new information, making comparisons across texts, and growing our expert vocabulary were some of our mini-lessons this week.

As writers we have been busy editing our two informational writing pieces with a focus on accurate English language conventions, namely simple sentences and punctuation.

As mathematicians we have started our new unit 4 which is all about addition and subtraction using multiple addends and using 3 digit numbers.

As scientists we have now shifted to the third component of our healthy habits unit which is all about hygiene (both personal and dental) and what we can do to keep our bodies and our teeth healthy.

IMPORTANT

Please take note of these wonderful community events coming up in March.

March 3 - Walk for Children (event details here) 

March 15 - Run, Jump & Throw Carnival (details here)
March 23 - Terry Fox Run (details here)

UPCOMING

• February 27 - Mini Academies
• March 7 & 8 - Student Led Conferences (details below)
• March 15 - Run, Jump & Throw Carnival (details here)
• March 23 - Terry Fox Run (details here)

Also, March is very busy with two exciting events.  The first being March Book Madness challenge, which we will be kicking off as a grade level on Monday.  March is also the the start of the Slice of Life challenge which is basically a challenge to write every day for 31 days about a "slice of your life."  This is an optional event that students can choose to participate in but they will need to do the writing at home and then bring the writing to school for me to take a picture of and post (or you can also take a picture and email me a link to it;)

Finally, March 7th and 8th will be our Student Led Conferences.  We have been busily preparing for them this week and I know we will be very excited to share with you how we have grown throughout the course of this year.  Your child should have posted to Seesaw a copy of the letter with the date and time of your SLC conference, and a hard copy of this letter should have also gone home.  

DINNER QUESTIONS
* Why is it important to take care of my teeth?
* What facts have you learned about dental hygiene that surprised you?
* What is one thing this week you did that was challenging? How did you overcome the
challenge?

The Week of February 12th

NEWS
This week is going to be short and full with no school for students on Thursday and Friday.  Also, this past week we have had some technical issues with the air conditioning unit in our classroom.  We spent Thursday and Friday in the spare grade 2 classroom and had fun setting up a new environment very quickly.  The kids were very understanding and flexible.  The contractors were supposed to be coming in to fix the issue this weekend so hopefully we are back in Room 122 as of Monday.

As readers we’ve been busy becoming experts on a topic by reading across books. Students have looked at information in multiple texts and put them together to learn about big ideas authors are
trying to teach on their topic. We will continue to focus on comparing and contrasting information
that is similar and different across books on a similar topic. Also, how to ask and answer questions
and share facts with each other to show that we are experts, especially around the topic of nutrition.

As writers we are continuing to elaborate all we know about our topics with key words, facts and details and are organizing our chapters with good leads and wrap ups. We are excited to share these new books with you soon.

As mathematicians we have been learning about partitioning shapes equally and exploring equal shares.  We are becoming experts on fractions and how to describe them using thirds, halves and fourths.  We will be finishing up our fractions and geometry unit with our post assessment on content and vocabulary this week.

As scientists we are now learning about the importance of nutrition in forming healthy habits.  This week we explored the components of a healthy diet (proteins, grains, etc) and also did a little inquiry into the amount of sugar present in many of the drink choices that we can make everyday.  We will dive deeper into nutrition making a healthy menu and looking at what key nutrients each of the food groups provide.

IMPORTANT
Valentine's day is this coming Wednesday (Feb 14).  We will not be doing official parties on Wednesday, but will be having some fun with fractions and baking! Students are more than welcome to bring in Friendship cards to share as long as there are enough for the whole class (20).

UPCOMING
Here’s a look at our week ahead:
Monday (Day 5)
Tuesday (Day 6)
Wednesday (Day 1) LIBRARY
Thursday (NO SCHOOL)
Friday (NO SCHOOL)

DINNER QUESTIONS
* Do you have a balanced meal on your plate tonight, how do you know? What nutrients
does each food group provide?
* What is an act of kindness you have done for others this week?
* What is one thing this week you did that was challenging? How did you overcome the
challenge?

The Week of February 5th

NEWS

Thank you to all the parents who came to lead the mini academy on Monday! The hat parade on the hundredth day of school was a nice experience for second graders. Thank you for helping your child with their creative hats! 

As readers, students practiced rereading like an expert when they come across words that they are not familiar with. Rereading not only reinforces fluency but it also supports understanding. Summarizing continues with looking at the main topic, heading and key facts and details about the heading.

In writing, students have started a new book with a specific audience in mind. We are learning to use all the features of informational writing with purpose and are working towards writing an introduction to hook readers and a conclusion to wrap it all up.

As mathematicians we continued to practice noticing and describing polygon shapes and their attributes. We also explored cubes, including all of its associated vocabulary like edges, faces, and base. Finally we started exploring partitioning pans as the foundation for equal shares and fractions.

As scientists we are wrapping up our exercise part of our Healthy Choices unit and will be moving into nutrition next week, specifically the different food groups, and how we can make healthy choices regarding the food we eat.

IMPORTANT

After school activities start on Monday, February 5th. Your child should have sent you a picture of their ASA bus (as well as taken home a hard copy of the paper).

DINNER QUESTIONS

*What plane shapes do you see at the dinner table? Can you describe the shapes using their attributes?

* What is your nonfiction book about? What information do you think they want to know?

* How will you maintain a healthy exercise habit?

* Tell me about the book "Mahji Moves a Mountain." What was the author's message?