Week 9: September 22-26

Hello Parents!

We're getting so close to Fall Break, but we're not slowing down quite yet!

Classroom Updates

-Fall Break is upcoming! We start break early with a half day (12:30 pm dismissal) on Friday, October 3rd. School will be closed during the week of October 6th - 10th. Parent-teacher conferences will be held on campus on Monday & Tuesday, October 13th & 14th. Students return to campus on Wednesday, October 15th. Conference sign ups will be sent out by Mrs. Heather Robinson, our office manager, shortly.

-We have some upcoming temporary staffing changes upon us in 2nd grade. Mrs. Tremblay will be on maternity leave shortly after returning from break & Mrs. Tifni Shroll will be taking her place as 2B lead. We have welcomed Karly Petago to the team and she will be filling in as 2C's TA. The entire team is helping support & train for these upcoming changes to ensure smooth transitions in both 2B & 2C.

Conversation Starters from Week 8 Content

-What is the poem you're practicing this week for enjoyment? (Something Told the Wild Geese by Rachel Field) What is it about? (Geese sensing that the winter migration is approaching.)

-Do you prefer adding with or without renaming & why?

-Why is Japan called 'A Nation of Islands'? Tell me about the Japan booklet you're making in class/What's on the cover of the booklet (the Japanese flag)?

-What were the main events from Emperor's New Clothes? What happened first, second, last?

-Remind me of the four different types of sentences & matching punctuation. (declarative sentence - statement - period; interrogative sentence - question - question mark; imperative sentence - command - either exclamation mark or period; exclamatory sentence - sentence with strong feeling - exclamation mark)

Week 9 Academics

Poetry: We have a new poem for memorization & recitation: Seashell by Federico Garcia Lorca. It is short -- only 30 words across 8 lines. Students will get it on Monday & recitations will occur on October 1st.

Grammar/Writing: Students will take a very short quiz on the four types of sentences on Friday. The remaining time will be focusing on identifying nouns in sentences & copywork/dictation practice from The Beauty & the Beast.

Literature: Beauty & the Beast will be our featured fairy tale this week. It's a longer text, so we'll break the reading across three days & practice identifying story elements (problem, solution, setting, characters). Warning that this is not the Disney version that students may be familiar with, but an adapted original version from Jeanne-Marie LePrince de Beaumont. rtttttgn

Spalding: Regularly scheduled new word instruction on Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday, review on Thursday & test on Friday. We will be taking an addition score from the Spalding tests for handwriting -- focusing on whether or not the student's letters are sitting on the baseline.

Math: Students finished Unit 2 and did very well with the material. We're going to return to Unit 1 & revisit concepts of place value. Next week's content includes counting up to 1,000, identifying & continuing number patterns & comparing numbers (using the terms 'greater than' or 'less than').With number patterns, it is common for students to make errors when crossing a new hundred (for example, 85 + 10: 95, 105, 115) or going backwards crossing a new ten (for example, 91 - 2: 89, 87) or hundred (for example, 310 - 5: 305, 300, 295). If practicing at home, try giving your student a starting number & a pattern to continue, but avoid starting at 0. If your child needs a challenge here, try offering an odd number and then an unusual pattern (for example, start a 19 & continue counting on by 7). Asking students to count backwards also is not yet habitual, so that could also be a practice area (for example, count back from 30 by 3s). Not only does practicing skip counting (counting with a pattern) help support number sense & mental math (ability to calculate in their heads - without fingers or having to write anything down), it subtly lays a foundation for multiplication & factors.

History: Our study of Japan continues by looking at Japanese culture, including art, traditions, food, dress, haiku poems & origami. We will have a short assessment during week 10 & the study guide (purple sheet) will be handed out on Wednesday.

Science: Our study of organisms transitions from plants to animals. We'll look at common animal habitats & how animals change with the seasons.

We hope you have a lovely weekend & enjoy the fall weather!

Thank you,

Second Grade Teaching Team

Week 8: September 15-19th

Hello 2nd Grade Parents,

Another great week in second grade!

Classroom Updates

-Now that your children have finished reading through the first Boxcar Children text, we invite them continue reading more with the Boxcar Children Challenge! While the original author, Gertrude Chandler Warner, only wrote the first 19 books, there are upwards of 260 titles in print. They are reading level O, which is above reading level for some students, but all students are encouraged to participate in this challenge. This reading can count for their reading bookmark (if students aren't yet at level O, it could be a parent read-aloud/together). We all have copies of many series titles in our classroom which students are welcome to borrow. If you child reads 5 books, they'll get a 'boxcar' picture with their name on it posted in the hallway. For each additional 5 books, different rewards await! This challenge continues for the rest of the year. The log is attached here (students will get a paper copy on Monday).

-Mrs. Scott's (our beloved Assistant Headmaster) birthday is on Monday! Your child has signed a classroom card, but is invited to make a personal card if desired. She reads in each classroom monthly, so the students should have enjoyed some reading time with her already (in addition to last year & Kinder).

Conversation Starters from Week 7 Content

-How do you feel your poetry recitation of "The Secret" went? What could you work on for next time?

-Name a few nouns we can see in the car/kitchen/house.

-What does the Jataka Tale from Ancient India have to do with the story of Chicken Little? (We used a venn diagram to compare/contrast - they both share the same moral of thinking before acting/look before you leap & both involved animals that made wrong calls after something falling on their head -- they differ in the animal types, the perceived problem, the item that fell & how the story got resolved)

-Let's see your purple history study guide! Are you prepared for your quiz on Monday? How can I help you prepare?

-What are the four main habitats you discussed in class? (Tropical forest, woodland forest, desert & prairie).

Week 8 Academics

Poetry: "The Secret" recitations were wonderful - students are practicing using their 'teacher voices' while also learning how to be respectful audience members while someone else is presenting. We have a new poem this week, "Something Told the Wild Geese" by Rachel Field, but it will just be enjoyed, not memorized.

Grammar/Writing: Narration, copywork & dictation practice will be sentences from Sarah, Plain & Tall. For dictation practice in the classroom, we say the sentence 3 times. Students should not have a pencil in their hands & their goal is to hold as much of the dictation in their heads. The first time we read it, we give them a few seconds of silence to try repeating in their head. The second time we read it, students get to turn to a partner to hopefully together recall the entire dictation. Then -- only after the third time we read it -- are students invited to pick up their pencils to write as much as they can recall. While they're writing, we also write the sentence for them to compare their work against. The intent here is to build their habits of holding/retaining the entire dictation in their heads -- instead of the more common habit we encounter of just listening to the first part and rushing to write that without actually listening to the whole thing.

This might manifest at home in terms of your kiddos only remembering/doing the first part of the 2 or 3 step direction you provided. You can support this skill at home by providing multi-step directions 1-3 times & have the students orally recall the steps back to you before beginning the tasks. For example, "I need you to put your lunch in your backpack, get your shoes on & brush your teeth. (repeat 1-2 more times as needed) Oops, don't start just yet. Ok, what are the three things you're doing next?" "Lunch in backpack, shoes on & teeth brushed!" (delivered with a smile & prompt compliance) "Awesome, go for it!". (Let me know if this helps any of your morning routines -- or if I'm just highlighting my ignorance to parenting realities here!)

Literature: Students will finish Sarah, Plain & Tall on Tuesday. We'll write a friendly letter ourself like Sarah did & begin a short unit of fairy tales. First fairy tale is The Emperor's New Clothes.

Spalding: Regular list of 30 words.

Math: Students will take our bigger unit test covering all of addition on Tuesday. This will include mental math strategies of making a 10/counting on/using doubles and adding single, double & triple digit numbers with & without regrouping. Unlike the short check ups they've taken so far, this will cover more content, will be longer in length & will require different response types (multiple choice, short answer & constructed responses where they will need to explain their thinking and/or show their work. Next is is Unit 1 covering place value. The place value unit can be tricky because of the specific language we expect of students & determining patterns that aren't as obvious to some students. Place value is really intuitive for some students & very abstract for others, so you may be seeing 'extension' or challenge tasks if your child is one of the ones who finds the concepts intuitive. For those kiddos, we're not looking to skip ahead to the next topic, but rather, have them explore the same concepts in ways that require more critical thinking and problem solving.

History: The Ancient India quiz is on Monday. Your students should have their purple study guide. Next topic is Japan. As with any geography based unit, we'll start by labeling a map & identifying key landmarks.

Science: Students will be learning how plants change with the seasons & essentials for plant survival.

A final note reminding what the ACC handbook says about attendance & absences since that has unfortunately been a challenge in our classrooms this year. Regular attendance and arriving on time are essential for every ACA student’s success. Consistent routines build confidence and help students stay on track with their learning. According to Arizona law, excused absences include: illness or medical appointments, mental or behavioral health, bereavement or family emergencies, homelessness, military processing & out-of-school suspensions. Parents/guardians must call or email the school before 8:00 a.m. to report an absence. Without a message, the absence is recorded as unexcused. After an excused absence, it is the student’s responsibility to make up missed work. All other absences are considered unexcused under state law, including vacations. Please schedule family trips during school breaks.⚠️ Important: Teachers will not provide homework or classwork in advance for unexcused absences such as vacations. Students are also not guaranteed make-up work for these absences since so much of the work involves being present for instructions & content.

We hope you have a lovely weekend!

-Second Grade

Week 7: September 8th-12th

Hi 2nd Grade Parents!

It was a shorter week, but we still were super productive. It's nice having classroom routines & procedures established and getting deeper into our units of study. 

Classroom Reminders

-If your child received a progress note (sent to you as parents directly through email), please respond back with a confirmation that you've read and understood the outlined concerns. 

-Hearing & vision screenings will occur this coming week. If your child has reading glasses, please make sure your son/daughter has them next week. 

-The reading bookmarks have been in place now for a couple weeks. Instead of writing the book title in the agenda, we are looking for the student's bookmark to be filled out/signed instead. Their reading homework grade comes from their turned in reading bookmark on their swap day. If your child is reading a book from a series, please include the number or subtitle (for example, Magic Tree House #3 Mummies in the Morning or Boxcar Children #4 Mystery Ranch). Again, we are no longer needing to see the book title in the student's agenda. 

-Perhaps you came in for 1-1 reading with scholars in 1st & 2nd grade. We're no longer doing that in 2nd. Instead, we're now transitioning to 'reading groups'. Twice a week, we invite parents in to read from our classroom literature book with a small group of students. Right now that book is 'Sarah, Plain & Tall.' If you sign up, you'll be asked to read with 5 students. The primary goal is reading through the chapter & then discuss a few comprehension questions together. Most parents opt to have each child read a page or two and model fluent reading at the beginning or end of the chapter. We'll provide you a copy of the book, the questions & a location/table in the school to read. You'll get your own kiddo (unless you don't want him/her) and 4 other well-behaved scholars. The remaining students read with us (either the teacher or TA) in the classroom. The students LOVE reading with you and they get so excited when we have parents readers. Links to sign up & join us are being (or have been) sent out by classroom parents. 

Conversation Starters from Week 6 Content

-What were some of the adjectives you used to describe yourself when doing the 'Sarah, Plain & Tall' craft?

-Why don't we stack our addition numbers from left-to-right? (We need to make sure each place value is matched; sometimes we have a 3-digit number and a 2-digit number, so it's important to line up the tens place values & ones place value)

-What do making lanterns have to do with Buddha? 

-What do Caleb & Anna think of Sarah? Do they want her to stay & become their new mother? 

-How do you think you did on the math & science quizzes this week? (You'll find out via their Tuesday folders!) What did you find hard/challenging? How could you prepare differently next time?

Week 7 Academics

Poetry: Students were given a copy of our newest poem, "The Secret" on either Tuesday or Wednesday this week. It's a short poem & we've been practicing daily in the classroom. Recitations will occur either next Thursday or Friday, Sept 11th or 12th. 

Grammar/Writing: We'll review the four types of sentences (declarative, imperative, interrogative & exclamatory) before moving onto our first part of speech -- nouns! 

Literature: Continuing on in 'Sarah, Plain & Tall'. Students are working through a workbook as well to learn more about sequencing, setting, problem/solutions, character descriptions, letter writing & finding evidence to support their claims. You'll see that workbook come home after we complete the story.

Spalding: Back to a regular list of 30 total words. Thank you for helping reinforce neat Spalding handwriting at home!

Math: Addition with renaming continues! This time with addition in two place values and some even that involve regrouping +2 tens/hundreds instead of just our typical +1 ten/hundred. Students will take a check up quiz on Thursday as we prepare for our forthcoming Unit 2 test in week 8. 

History: We'll close up our unit on Ancient India by learning about the Jataka tale and comparing it to a more familiar tale of Chicken Little. We'll also learn about King Asoka. Students will get a study guide on Wednesday to help prepare for a forthcoming assessment in week 8.

Science: Our next science unit is all about organisms. We'll start out discussing different types of plant habitats.

 

Happy Friday & weekend. Thanks for sharing your children with us. We adore them!

-The Second Grade Teaching Team