Reading
We are finishing up our last week of our PBL about insects. The kids have really enjoyed watching our caterpillars form into a chrysalis and now we are just watching and waiting for them to come out and appear as a beautiful butterfly. We have learned a lot about insects and especially butterflies. If you have a shoe box or two that you could send with your child to school that would be very helpful, as we plan to make an insect habitat (diorama) this week.

Math
We are finishing up our last week of telling time on a clock. Our focus this week will be to learn how to tell time to the minute on an analog clock. If you are able, please help your child practice this at home. It can be a hard concept to learn, especially when it is down to the minute.

Reminders
April 18th- Class Easter Party and Egg Hunt 12:00-1:00 (You may sign your child out after the party)
April 19th- Good Friday (Holiday, No School)
April 22nd- School Holiday, No School
April 26th- Field Day 12:15-3:00

A note went home today about the Easter Party and the Egg Hunt. Please check your child’s take home folder for information about what to bring and when to bring it for the party.

Reading
We are starting our 2nd Grade PBL and will continue for the next several weeks. In years past we have always done a recycling program but this year we decided to learn about animal lifecycles and how animals can help and impact our environment. Each class will be focusing on one particular animal, observing the animal through the lifecycle stages, researching habitats and environments of that animal and understanding how it contributes to helping our environment and how we can help them to survive. Our animal will be the caterpillar/butterfly.
Our driving question is: Why are animal habitats important and how can we positively impact them to better insure their survival?

Math
For the next several weeks our focus will be telling time on an analog clock. Our end goal will be to learn how to tell time to the nearest minute. This week we will review telling time to the hour and half hour.

Reminders:
March 21st- Student Led Parent Conferences (Please check your child’s planner for your scheduled time.)
April 18th- Easter Parties/Egg Hunt (A note will be going home with information closer to the date.)
April 19th- Good Friday, Holiday (No School)
April 22nd- Holiday (No School)

Spelling
We have a spelling test this week. Here are our list of words:
1. small
2. say
3. men
4. tell
5. great
6. they
7. their
8. would
9. very
10. after
11. most
12. through
13. think
14. around
15. help
16. different

Reading
We have started our Mo Willems author study focusing on dialogue, character feelings and character traits.

Math
Our focus this week is fractions, how many parts of a whole are shaded.

Reminder
February 27th- Early release at 11:30 due to teacher training. There will be no Boys & Girls Club.
March 5th- Spring Picture Day
March 11th- 15th- Spring Break
March 18th- Student Holiday/Teacher Work Day (No school)

Phonics
Our focus this week are suffixes. A suffix is added to the end of a word to change the meaning of the word. Suffixes we are focusing on this week are:
-less= without, -ful= full of, -er= more, -est= most or best

Reading
We are reading and learning about Tall Tales. There are 4 aspects or indicators that make a story a Tall Tale.
These include:
1. A larger-than-life or superhuman character with a specific job.
2. A problem that is solved in a funny way.
3. Exaggerated details that describe things as greater than they really are.
4. Characters who use everyday language.

Math
Our focus this week is learning to how solve Multi-step word problems. There is always at least 2 math problems, usually an addition and subtraction but sometimes there might be 2 subtraction problems or 2 addition problems.
Ex. Henry baked 44 cheese pizzas and Tommy bake 38 pepperoni pizzas to sell at the football game. At the end of the game there were 5 pizzas left over. How many pizzas were sold?
Step 1 addition problem: 44+38=82 Step 2 subtraction problem: 82-5=77

Reminders
February 14th- Valentines Party 12:00-1:00
February 18th- Holiday, No School
February 22nd- Mother/Son Game Night (New Middle School Gym) 6:00-8:00

Spelling
This week we have a spelling test. Here are our words for the week:
1. why
2. help
3. put
4. different
5. away
6. are
7. there
8. about
9. only
10. way
11. find
12. use
13. too
14. think
15. because
16. here

Phonics
We are having phonics and spelling this week due to a short week last week. Our focus this week are prefixes. A prefix is added to the beginning of a word to change the meaning of the word.
The prefixes we are focusing on this week are:
pre- which means before
re- which means to do again
un- means not or the opposite
dis- means the opposite

Reading
We will incorporate prefixes into our reading lessons and look for prefixes in our stories and figure out the meaning of a word based on the prefix. We are also practicing letter writing because we are starting our We Deliver program we do in the spring on the primary campus.

Math
We are continuing double digit subtraction with regrouping.
1. If there’s more on the floor, go next door and get ten more.
2. If there’s more on top, no need to stop.
3. If the numbers are the same, then zero is the game.

Reminders
February 2nd- Father/Daughter Dance 6:00-8:00 in the High School Cafeteria
February 14th- Valentines Party 12:00-1:00 (You may sign your child out in the classroom after the party.)
February 18th- Presidents Day, School Holiday, No School
February 22nd- Mother/Son Game Night 6:00-8:00 New Middle School Gym (A note went home today.)

Phonics
We are learning that a contraction is formed by combining two words leaving out sounds and letters.
it + is = it’s
did + not= didn’t

Reading
We are continuing our unit on Fairy Tales. We have learned that a fairy tale is a story that has magical elements and a happily ever after. This week we will read various versions of The Little Red Hen, The Gingerbread Man, The Frog Prince, Goldilocks and the Three Bears and The Three Little Pigs.

Math
We have really been working hard on double digit subtraction with regrouping. We have several rhymes we use when determining if we need to regroup the ones place or not regroup.
1. If the numbers are the same, then zero is the game.
2. More on top, no need to stop.
3. If there’s more on the floor, go next door and get ten more. (This is the most important rhyme.)

Reminders
January 21st- No school, MLK Day
January 23rd- Early Release at 11:30, teacher training

Spelling
We have a spelling test this week. Our words are:

1. there
2. each
3. more
4. make
5. water
6. around
7. three
8. must
9. even
10. place
11. well
12. such
13. here
14. take

Reading
Our focus this week will be about Fairy Tales. There are several elements we will be looking for that make a story a fairy tale. Those elements are:
* Does the story start with “Once upon a time…”
* Does it have a Good Character/Bad Character?
* Does the setting take place “In a land far faraway”?
* Is there magic?
* Is there a problem? Does a good character always solve the problem?

Math
We are going to review addition with regrouping and begin subtraction with regrouping.

Reminders
January 21st- No school, MLK Day
January 23rd- Early release at 11:30 due to teacher training

This week we are doing fun Christmas Activities everyday.

Monday
Christmas Around the World- We are focusing on the traditions of the United States and Italy. Plus we have a special visitor coming to see us.

Tuesday
Polar Express Day- We will do various Polar Express Activities including reading the book, watching the movie, drinking hot chocolate. There are other activities we will do after reading the story in class. Remember that your child may wear dress code appropriate pajamas and they also need to wear socks and tennis shoes for P.E.

Wednesday
Christmas Around the World- We will continue focusing on different countries and how they celebrate Christmas. The countries we will focus on today will be Sweden, England, Germany, Mexico and France. The students will rotate to different 2nd grade teachers as they travel around the world learning about different traditions and celebrations.
Remember your child need to wear or bring a pair of socks for the Bounce Houses during their enhancement time.

Thursday
Party Day!!- We will start our Christmas Parties at 9:00-10:00, you may check your child out after the party in the classroom. Early Release is at 11:45. If you are helping out with setting up the party you may come to the classroom at 8:30.

*Don’t forget the last day to bring Penny Christmas gifts is Wednesday.

Spelling
We have a spelling test this week. Our words this week will not be word wall words and we will only have 10 words. They will need to memorize these words because they will not be on the word wall.
1. dash
2. candy
3. rule
4. list
5. snowy
6. night
7. sleigh
8. more
9. bake
10. star

Reading
We will be learning and talking about Christmas traditions of the United States and Italy this week. Next week we will rotate with the other 2nd Grade classes and learn about other countries that they have studied in their classrooms. We will also be reading different Christmas books as well.

Math
Our focus this week is addition with regrouping. There are different strategies that the students are learning to use.

Reminders
December 12th: Students may start bringing their Penny Christmas items
December 13th: Suessical the Musical at 9:00 Dress like a Whoo from Whoovile (Parents may sign their child out after the program in their classroom with the classroom teacher)
December 18th: Polar Express Day- Wear school appropriate pajamas
December 19th: Bounce House Day- Wear socks
December 20th: Christmas Parties at 9:00-10:00 Early release at 11:45 (NO Boys & Girls Club)
December 21st- January 4th: Winter Break

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving Break and that you all had a wonderful and blessed time with family.

Spelling
We have a spelling test this week. Our words are:

1. your
2. their
3. how
4. many
5. these
6. people
7. through
8. much
9. because
10. does
11. also
12. must
13. part
14. even

Reading
Our focus this week is Author’s Purpose. What is the reason an author might write or publish something? We use the acronym P.I.E.which stands for (P) to persuade (I) to inform (E) to entertain. We usually ask the question “What is the author’s purpose for writing this story or article?”

Math
This week we will be reviewing 2 digit addition without regrouping and then begin 2 digit addition with regrouping. There are several strategies that they will be learning in order to master 2 digit addition with regrouping (or as some of us say or have learned: addition with carrying.)

Reminders & Upcoming Events
December 20th: Christmas Parties and Early Release
December 21st- January 6th: Christmas Break
January 7th: Return to school
January 21st: MLK Day- Holiday
January 23rd: Early Release- Teacher Staff Development