Congratulations to all of our Young Scientists, and a giant thank you to all the parents who encouraged each step, including celebrating with us last Thursday night!! Your work & learning were very impressive!!!
Research: We have gotten our dinosaur names, organized our thinking & folders, gathered our sources, and learned how to take notes! Tomorrow we start taking notes on 3x5 cards, and putting each card into its proper category: body description, food chain or habitat.
Language Arts: You may be familiar with this story adapted from Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates, “The Hole in the Dike”, in which a boy courageously saves his village from being flooded. Ask your child why that took courage; also ask about the setting of this story.
Our spelling words are all past tense verbs; we are practicing identifying base words.
Math: We have spent a good amount of time really getting secure using the Partial Sums Algorithm to add big numbers; we’re also writing & illustrating some creative, fun multiplication stories for a class book patterned after Each Orange Had 8 Slices. Now we’re ready to focus on subtracting 2-digit numbers, starting with the concrete base 10 blocks, as well as dimes and pennies. While we call this Trade-first, it looks very like the traditional “borrowing” method.
Homework
I need to practice my ______ math facts for our mental math quizzes!
Join Longfellow’s fun with eating healthy fruits & vegetables:
Daily: Build your reading fluency by reading aloud to a parent several times a week; mark your Lambshead Book It Calendar; practice reading vocabulary (gurgling, trickling, gushing, numb, rumbling, and hero). And carefully do the cursive & Home Links the night they come home! Finalize your preparations & practice for giving your oral Women’s History book report. Include the character traits that made this woman so successful.
Tomorrow: Eat and wear White
Due Wednesday: Eat and wear Red; All Women’s History Story Maps (for inclusion in our class Big Book); Spelling workbook, pages 106-109 and/or the challenge word sentences
For Thursday: Eat and wear Yellow and Orange
For Friday: Eat and wear Green; It’s Mismatch Day – wear clothing that does not match! Spelling (10 past tense verbs + your dinosaur’s name!), vocabulary & reading tests; last day for Women’s History book reports
For next week: Have a wonderful vacation, take your learning outside of the classroom by being good observers and thinkers about all you do; find some good books to take you on adventures; be kitchen scientists and/or cooks!!
4/10: Longfellow’s Outdoor Ed Fund-raiser & great deal for bike owners: Spring Bike Tuneup, 10 - 2
Don’t forget Census 2010!
Monday, March 22, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
Week of March 15, 2010
Tomorrow is Spring Picture Day!
This is a light homework week, so you can prepare an attractive presentation of your Science Experiment, and practice at home telling about each step you did, using the Scientific Method. There will be no spelling, reading or vocabulary tests to prepare for.
Due tomorrow: your signed report card envelope & your lavender Women’s History Story Map on the book that you’ve been reading for your Women’s History book report
Due Thursday morning at 8 AM: your science fair experiment! Please do not bring it before Thursday, but you may bring it as early as 7:15 AM on Thursday.
Thursday evening from 6:30 -7 PM we need all students here at their “station”, explaining to our guests what you did and learned. All families are encouraged to come celebrate & encourage our young scientists! An added bonus that evening is seeing your child’s photo & writing about our dinosaur field trip, in a Power Point slide show!
Looking ahead… Due by Friday, March 26: Your March book report presentation/creative project. Remember, your project can be dressing up as her, and telling about her in the First Person Point of View!
Language Arts: Our Courage reading this week is a Frog & Toad fantasy: “Dragons & Giants”, and also a biography, “Picture Book of Martin Luther King, Jr”. The vocabulary words are: avalanche, puffing, trembling, leaping, cried, fell (“Dragons…”) and protests, demanding, fair, riots, prejudice (MLK).
This week we also begin a big project: Research!
Our topic is dinosaurs, which is our “life science” unit for the spring. We start today learning what research is, and will then develop the framework we will use to classify the information we gather. By the end of the week each student will have a book as well as internet information on his/her own dinosaur work. Next week we will start taking notes on 3x5 cards, and organizing them by topic.
Starting next week, can you volunteer to help Mrs. Pearce and me for an hour (once, or regularly?) Mon: 8-9; Tue, 1:30 -2:30; Wed, 12:50-1:50, Fri: 8-9??
Also, while we are doing research, we will not have a regular library story time or book check-out…students may return and check out library books whenever we’re in the library.
Math: We are focusing on improving our understanding and skill this week on operations: basic math facts, the partial sum algorithm, multiplication and division!
This is a light homework week, so you can prepare an attractive presentation of your Science Experiment, and practice at home telling about each step you did, using the Scientific Method. There will be no spelling, reading or vocabulary tests to prepare for.
Due tomorrow: your signed report card envelope & your lavender Women’s History Story Map on the book that you’ve been reading for your Women’s History book report
Due Thursday morning at 8 AM: your science fair experiment! Please do not bring it before Thursday, but you may bring it as early as 7:15 AM on Thursday.
Thursday evening from 6:30 -7 PM we need all students here at their “station”, explaining to our guests what you did and learned. All families are encouraged to come celebrate & encourage our young scientists! An added bonus that evening is seeing your child’s photo & writing about our dinosaur field trip, in a Power Point slide show!
Looking ahead… Due by Friday, March 26: Your March book report presentation/creative project. Remember, your project can be dressing up as her, and telling about her in the First Person Point of View!
Language Arts: Our Courage reading this week is a Frog & Toad fantasy: “Dragons & Giants”, and also a biography, “Picture Book of Martin Luther King, Jr”. The vocabulary words are: avalanche, puffing, trembling, leaping, cried, fell (“Dragons…”) and protests, demanding, fair, riots, prejudice (MLK).
This week we also begin a big project: Research!
Our topic is dinosaurs, which is our “life science” unit for the spring. We start today learning what research is, and will then develop the framework we will use to classify the information we gather. By the end of the week each student will have a book as well as internet information on his/her own dinosaur work. Next week we will start taking notes on 3x5 cards, and organizing them by topic.
Starting next week, can you volunteer to help Mrs. Pearce and me for an hour (once, or regularly?) Mon: 8-9; Tue, 1:30 -2:30; Wed, 12:50-1:50, Fri: 8-9??
Also, while we are doing research, we will not have a regular library story time or book check-out…students may return and check out library books whenever we’re in the library.
Math: We are focusing on improving our understanding and skill this week on operations: basic math facts, the partial sum algorithm, multiplication and division!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Week of March 8, 2010
Yea for the warmer weather! I saw daffodil shoots and Snowdrop flowers in bloom on my jog yesterday morning! Let’s stay healthy, which means that even when the mid-day temperatures seem warm, I don’t allow bare arms outside. I encourage students to keep a fleece or sweatshirt in their lockers for mid-day recess, to wear outside when the winter coat you needed in the morning is too heavy.
Homework
Daily: Build your reading fluency by reading aloud to a parent several times a week; mark your Lambshead Book It Calendar; practice vocabulary & basic math facts!! And carefully do the cursive & Home Links the night they come home! Read the biography of the woman you chose for your March book report. Discuss at home the character traits that made this woman so successful. Include this information in your book report.
Due Wednesday: Spelling workbook, pages 102-105; library books to return??
For Friday: Spelling, vocabulary & reading tests
Due next Tuesday, 3/16: Lavender-colored Biography story map due on the woman you will present for your March Book Report.
Due any day by March 26: Your March book report presentation/creative project
Reading The fossil unit was quite challenging for many students. Today we start reading stories having the theme of Courage, which shouldn’t be so challenging. This is also an excellent unit to follow up on the many stories of courage and heroism in our February as well as March book reports! Many of the stories we’ll read are about 2nd grade kind of courage, including this week’s: “Molly the Brave and Me”. Ask your child how the main character, Beth, learned that she was brave. Know the meanings of these vocabulary words: guts, homesick, wimp, swatted, creepy. Our spelling words are verbs, all in the present tense.
Math: Some students have demonstrated a good understanding & use of the Partial-sums algorithm to add 2-digit numbers; I will work with them on using this concept to add larger numbers. I will also give extra focused help for the bulk of the class to master this important skill. Everyone needs to practice basic math facts, to learn them more automatically (see the addition/subtraction inventories coming home today!) To assist this, we will do “Mental Math” (a bit like Rocket Math) on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays to work on building our skill and speed, progressing from addition, to subtraction, and then multiplication
We also continue to work with sorting out the information from story problems, choosing a helpful graphic organizer.
Coming…
Friday: Report cards come home
Sunday: “Spring ahead” with your clocks!
Thurs, 3/18: Science Fair – during school, and for families, in our room from 6:30 – 7 PM (come at 6 to see the exhibits in Creticos’s & Naber’s rooms)
Fri, 3/26 at 2:55 – Spring vacation begins!
Attached: many tests & papers – review them together; rejoice in your successes, pay attention to what you need to work on.
Homework
Daily: Build your reading fluency by reading aloud to a parent several times a week; mark your Lambshead Book It Calendar; practice vocabulary & basic math facts!! And carefully do the cursive & Home Links the night they come home! Read the biography of the woman you chose for your March book report. Discuss at home the character traits that made this woman so successful. Include this information in your book report.
Due Wednesday: Spelling workbook, pages 102-105; library books to return??
For Friday: Spelling, vocabulary & reading tests
Due next Tuesday, 3/16: Lavender-colored Biography story map due on the woman you will present for your March Book Report.
Due any day by March 26: Your March book report presentation/creative project
Reading The fossil unit was quite challenging for many students. Today we start reading stories having the theme of Courage, which shouldn’t be so challenging. This is also an excellent unit to follow up on the many stories of courage and heroism in our February as well as March book reports! Many of the stories we’ll read are about 2nd grade kind of courage, including this week’s: “Molly the Brave and Me”. Ask your child how the main character, Beth, learned that she was brave. Know the meanings of these vocabulary words: guts, homesick, wimp, swatted, creepy. Our spelling words are verbs, all in the present tense.
Math: Some students have demonstrated a good understanding & use of the Partial-sums algorithm to add 2-digit numbers; I will work with them on using this concept to add larger numbers. I will also give extra focused help for the bulk of the class to master this important skill. Everyone needs to practice basic math facts, to learn them more automatically (see the addition/subtraction inventories coming home today!) To assist this, we will do “Mental Math” (a bit like Rocket Math) on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays to work on building our skill and speed, progressing from addition, to subtraction, and then multiplication
We also continue to work with sorting out the information from story problems, choosing a helpful graphic organizer.
Coming…
Friday: Report cards come home
Sunday: “Spring ahead” with your clocks!
Thurs, 3/18: Science Fair – during school, and for families, in our room from 6:30 – 7 PM (come at 6 to see the exhibits in Creticos’s & Naber’s rooms)
Fri, 3/26 at 2:55 – Spring vacation begins!
Attached: many tests & papers – review them together; rejoice in your successes, pay attention to what you need to work on.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Week of March 2, 2010
March is here, bringing Women’s History Month and the Science Fair! For Women’s History Month, the book report is to be on a biography of a woman. You many choose any of the suggested creative, but think coming in character as the woman you learned about is a great way for your classmates to “meet” her.
The February book reports were well-done and enhanced our social studies’ learning!
Homework
For March there will be 1 Story Map due, by Tuesday, March 16 (It’s lavendar, coming home today.) on a biography of a woman. Your oral report & project are due any day in March.
Daily: Build your reading fluency by reading aloud to a parent several times a week. Practice vocabulary & basic math facts!! And do the cursive & Home Links the night they come home!
Due Thursday: Spelling workbook, pages 98-101
Discuss at home: What work are you doing on your Science Fair this week?
Reading & Social Studies Our learning about the Colonial Period continues this week, as we continue reading a biography of Paul Revere, then read Six Silver Spoons, historical fiction in which the main characters encounter Revere on his famous ride. We’ll also learn about another hero of the American Revolution, Casmir Pulaski, in whose honor we had yesterday’s holiday. Eleanor, Ava, Sydney, Nina, Jane and Jeremiah will bring to life the culture & political tension of the pre-Revolutionary days as they present a little play “Tea for Felicity”.
Our spelling words work with the rule about when to double a final consonant before adding a suffix that begins with a vowel---this is an important rule to learn!
In the computer lab we are typing up our writing about our Dinosaur field trip. We hope to have it into a power point slide show available for you to see when you come to our Science Fair on 3/18!
Math: We continue to work with addition and subtraction of 2-digit numbers; for story problems we are using excellent graphic organizers to sort out the facts we know, so we can see more clearly which operation to use in solving the problems. We will work with base 10 blocks to build a better foundation of understanding how we can do short-cuts such as “borrowing”, now called “trade first”.
Science: Sink & Float. We will make boats of different size, shape, weight and capacity as we continue to explore the properties of buoyancy.
Attached: Lavendar Story Map form for March biography; Home Link 6.2, new spelling words; vocabulary & social studies tests.
I was so sorry I was sick last week and had to miss both Wednesday’s and Friday’s evening performances by our students, but I hear that they did an excellent job both evenings!! I’m glad so many of you were able to come too!
The February book reports were well-done and enhanced our social studies’ learning!
Homework
For March there will be 1 Story Map due, by Tuesday, March 16 (It’s lavendar, coming home today.) on a biography of a woman. Your oral report & project are due any day in March.
Daily: Build your reading fluency by reading aloud to a parent several times a week. Practice vocabulary & basic math facts!! And do the cursive & Home Links the night they come home!
Due Thursday: Spelling workbook, pages 98-101
Discuss at home: What work are you doing on your Science Fair this week?
Reading & Social Studies Our learning about the Colonial Period continues this week, as we continue reading a biography of Paul Revere, then read Six Silver Spoons, historical fiction in which the main characters encounter Revere on his famous ride. We’ll also learn about another hero of the American Revolution, Casmir Pulaski, in whose honor we had yesterday’s holiday. Eleanor, Ava, Sydney, Nina, Jane and Jeremiah will bring to life the culture & political tension of the pre-Revolutionary days as they present a little play “Tea for Felicity”.
Our spelling words work with the rule about when to double a final consonant before adding a suffix that begins with a vowel---this is an important rule to learn!
In the computer lab we are typing up our writing about our Dinosaur field trip. We hope to have it into a power point slide show available for you to see when you come to our Science Fair on 3/18!
Math: We continue to work with addition and subtraction of 2-digit numbers; for story problems we are using excellent graphic organizers to sort out the facts we know, so we can see more clearly which operation to use in solving the problems. We will work with base 10 blocks to build a better foundation of understanding how we can do short-cuts such as “borrowing”, now called “trade first”.
Science: Sink & Float. We will make boats of different size, shape, weight and capacity as we continue to explore the properties of buoyancy.
Attached: Lavendar Story Map form for March biography; Home Link 6.2, new spelling words; vocabulary & social studies tests.
I was so sorry I was sick last week and had to miss both Wednesday’s and Friday’s evening performances by our students, but I hear that they did an excellent job both evenings!! I’m glad so many of you were able to come too!
Monday, February 22, 2010
Week of February 22, 2010
Science Fair: What wonderful hypotheses your students have made—I can’t wait to see their experiments and results at our 3/18 Science Fair!
This is a light homework week (again, no spelling), because I am hoping you will come back to Longfellow for our Wednesday & Friday evening events (parents, see below). The main homework is to study for the reading test tomorrow, Wednesday’s fossil vocabulary test, and Friday’s Social Studies and basic facts math tests. Practice vocabulary & basic math facts!! And do the cursive & Home Links the night they come home!
Due Friday: Science Fair Planner; oral book report if not already done
No school next Monday, honoring General Pulaski’s contribution to the American Revolution.
Due next Tuesday, 3/2: February Book It calendars (optional)
This is a busy week at school, finishing up the 2nd Trimester, with end-of-unit tests in Reading and Social Studies. If there’s time, we’ll read together Jean Fritz’s fascinating biography, And Then What Happened, Paul Revere? We’ll not only learn about this American hero, but we’ll learn a lot about Colonial Life, and the start of the American Revolution. This book provides wonderful background knowledge for many of the book reports we’ll hear this week as well.
Math: As you can see from the attached Parent Letter from EDMath, we are back to focusing on computation. This week we’ll collect data & put it into bar graphs; we’ll also work more with the challenging concept of comparisons in story problems, and work with graphic organizers.
For Parents
Tonight at 7 PM: Special Board Meeting regarding possible referendum
Wed: Come to the Arts Fiesta! Your child’s performance on stage highlights work in Music and Spanish classes; see his/her artwork displayed in the hall! Students are to meet at 6:15 in the mini-gym—call a classmate if you need a ride.
Fri at 6:30: Night at the Museum; Come enjoy the dance and oratory performances, which include many of your classmates.
Attached: Parent letter--resource for Unit 6 math; vocabulary flash cards for Social Studies
Recipe for “Peanut Butter Smoothie”
~~part of Rowan’s creative project about George Washington Carver
You will need:
2 cups chocolate ice cream
2 cups milk
5 Tablespoons creamy peanut butter
First, measure out the ice cream, put it in a big bowl, and leave it to get soft.
Add the milk and peanut butter.
Mix everything together with a wooden spoon or whisk until smooth and creamy.
Pour into a glass, add a straw and sip.
Nourish to Flourish News – February is exercise month. On Tuesday, there will be a trivia contest for 2nd grade students set up on the playground. On Wednesday, all students and staff are encouraged to jog or walk around the field at recess time. Wear workout clothes on Thursday and participate in the all school cha-cha slide at the end of the day.
This is a light homework week (again, no spelling), because I am hoping you will come back to Longfellow for our Wednesday & Friday evening events (parents, see below). The main homework is to study for the reading test tomorrow, Wednesday’s fossil vocabulary test, and Friday’s Social Studies and basic facts math tests. Practice vocabulary & basic math facts!! And do the cursive & Home Links the night they come home!
Due Friday: Science Fair Planner; oral book report if not already done
No school next Monday, honoring General Pulaski’s contribution to the American Revolution.
Due next Tuesday, 3/2: February Book It calendars (optional)
This is a busy week at school, finishing up the 2nd Trimester, with end-of-unit tests in Reading and Social Studies. If there’s time, we’ll read together Jean Fritz’s fascinating biography, And Then What Happened, Paul Revere? We’ll not only learn about this American hero, but we’ll learn a lot about Colonial Life, and the start of the American Revolution. This book provides wonderful background knowledge for many of the book reports we’ll hear this week as well.
Math: As you can see from the attached Parent Letter from EDMath, we are back to focusing on computation. This week we’ll collect data & put it into bar graphs; we’ll also work more with the challenging concept of comparisons in story problems, and work with graphic organizers.
For Parents
Tonight at 7 PM: Special Board Meeting regarding possible referendum
Wed: Come to the Arts Fiesta! Your child’s performance on stage highlights work in Music and Spanish classes; see his/her artwork displayed in the hall! Students are to meet at 6:15 in the mini-gym—call a classmate if you need a ride.
Fri at 6:30: Night at the Museum; Come enjoy the dance and oratory performances, which include many of your classmates.
Attached: Parent letter--resource for Unit 6 math; vocabulary flash cards for Social Studies
Recipe for “Peanut Butter Smoothie”
~~part of Rowan’s creative project about George Washington Carver
You will need:
2 cups chocolate ice cream
2 cups milk
5 Tablespoons creamy peanut butter
First, measure out the ice cream, put it in a big bowl, and leave it to get soft.
Add the milk and peanut butter.
Mix everything together with a wooden spoon or whisk until smooth and creamy.
Pour into a glass, add a straw and sip.
Nourish to Flourish News – February is exercise month. On Tuesday, there will be a trivia contest for 2nd grade students set up on the playground. On Wednesday, all students and staff are encouraged to jog or walk around the field at recess time. Wear workout clothes on Thursday and participate in the all school cha-cha slide at the end of the day.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Week of February 16, 2010
Longfellow (Spring) Arts Fiestas, are opportunities for the "Arts" at Longfellow to showcase what they do with students in class throughout the year. Visual Arts, Spanish and General Music put together a presentation for each grade level in the building. On the night or day of the Fiesta, the galleries (hallways) are filled with student art from the featured grade level and all the students in Spanish and Music present a program in the auditorium. I hope every family can be here on Wed, 2/24, for the 2nd grade performance at 6:30. This enables your child to participate with classmates; and, hearing your praise for his/her hard work means so much to your child!
In class this week we have some very special “visitors” for Black History Month! Bessie Coleman, Langston Hughes, Mary McLeod Bethune, Henry Brown, Rosa Parks, Jackie Robinson, Harriet Tubman and Martin Luther King will all be impersonated by our 2nd graders who will also be “performing” at the “Night at the Museum” on Fri, 2/26!
Our final “Fossil” story is “Let’s Go Dinosaur Tracking”. We will focus on identifying the main idea and the supporting details for each section. This skill really helps when reading as well as writing expository pieces. The vocabulary words to know are: tracks, analyze, canteen, limestone, paleontologist. In class we’ll also work on synonyms & antonyms. No Spelling homework this week!
Math: we are finishing Unit 5 on geometry, focusing on symmetry and the attributes of solid figures. We are making pyramids from straws, and we will compare the different kinds of pyramids. Note the Study Guide: students are expected to know the names & characteristics of flat and solid geometric shapes, and be able to demonstrate understanding of geometric vocabulary: line segment, square corner, parallel, symmetry, vertex, face, edge.
Social Studies: Unit 5 is on “America’s Past”. This week our focus will be on the Colonial and Revolutionary War period. Next week’s book reports on that period will augment our class reading & discussions!
Science: The students will get use the Scientific Method as they have fun molding clay to explore shape as a factor of buoyancy!
Think Science Fair… how will you collect your data? Will you use a list or a chart? To display it, will you use a bar graph? This week I will teach students how to make a bar graph.
Homework: Have you read through the questions to prompt your hypothesis for our Science Fair??
Daily: read aloud for 20 minutes and fill in your February Book It calendar; There will be Home Links most every night, due the next day; practice your spelling, & vocabulary (for both reading & geometry); practice your basic math facts (use flash cards??)
Due tomorrow: any Feb book report story maps that weren’t turned in today! Home Link 5.9
For Friday: be ready for reading, vocabulary & math tests (no spelling this week!); Turn in your Science Fair hypothesis (the back page of green packet)
Saturday, come with friends & family to Longfellow’s Fun Fair, noon – 4! (It’ll be the first one I will miss as I have out-of-town company for the weekend.)
Due next week: If you didn’t give your book report this week, we’ll expect it next week.
Tests next week: Wed—Fossil vocabulary; Thurs – Social Studies, Unit 5 (vocabulary flash cards are also attached, but memorizing these is less important than the reading & geometry vocabulary, since the social studies test will be open-book); Friday – Timed test on 100 basic addition and basic subtraction facts, Science quiz on “Sink & Float”.
In class this week we have some very special “visitors” for Black History Month! Bessie Coleman, Langston Hughes, Mary McLeod Bethune, Henry Brown, Rosa Parks, Jackie Robinson, Harriet Tubman and Martin Luther King will all be impersonated by our 2nd graders who will also be “performing” at the “Night at the Museum” on Fri, 2/26!
Our final “Fossil” story is “Let’s Go Dinosaur Tracking”. We will focus on identifying the main idea and the supporting details for each section. This skill really helps when reading as well as writing expository pieces. The vocabulary words to know are: tracks, analyze, canteen, limestone, paleontologist. In class we’ll also work on synonyms & antonyms. No Spelling homework this week!
Math: we are finishing Unit 5 on geometry, focusing on symmetry and the attributes of solid figures. We are making pyramids from straws, and we will compare the different kinds of pyramids. Note the Study Guide: students are expected to know the names & characteristics of flat and solid geometric shapes, and be able to demonstrate understanding of geometric vocabulary: line segment, square corner, parallel, symmetry, vertex, face, edge.
Social Studies: Unit 5 is on “America’s Past”. This week our focus will be on the Colonial and Revolutionary War period. Next week’s book reports on that period will augment our class reading & discussions!
Science: The students will get use the Scientific Method as they have fun molding clay to explore shape as a factor of buoyancy!
Think Science Fair… how will you collect your data? Will you use a list or a chart? To display it, will you use a bar graph? This week I will teach students how to make a bar graph.
Homework: Have you read through the questions to prompt your hypothesis for our Science Fair??
Daily: read aloud for 20 minutes and fill in your February Book It calendar; There will be Home Links most every night, due the next day; practice your spelling, & vocabulary (for both reading & geometry); practice your basic math facts (use flash cards??)
Due tomorrow: any Feb book report story maps that weren’t turned in today! Home Link 5.9
For Friday: be ready for reading, vocabulary & math tests (no spelling this week!); Turn in your Science Fair hypothesis (the back page of green packet)
Saturday, come with friends & family to Longfellow’s Fun Fair, noon – 4! (It’ll be the first one I will miss as I have out-of-town company for the weekend.)
Due next week: If you didn’t give your book report this week, we’ll expect it next week.
Tests next week: Wed—Fossil vocabulary; Thurs – Social Studies, Unit 5 (vocabulary flash cards are also attached, but memorizing these is less important than the reading & geometry vocabulary, since the social studies test will be open-book); Friday – Timed test on 100 basic addition and basic subtraction facts, Science quiz on “Sink & Float”.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Week of February 8, 2010
I enjoyed the time last week to meet with you & your child; we had good progress to celebrate, and set some fine goals. I have typed them out and attached them to your child’s take-home folder, for easy reference and frequent reminder.
This week we read “Monster Tracks”, a “how to” book… we will read, and then follow the directions to make our own fake (or simulated) fossil. Then together we will read and discuss biographies of both Lincoln and Washington. Therefore, we will not have a reading test on Friday. However, all students will be expected to know the vocabulary words for our Unit Test: instructions, mold, clue, prehistoric. All of this week’s spelling words use the consonant blends /br/ & /fr/. The workbook includes some fun work with analogies.
Math: I’ve noticed that some of the difficulty students are having in our geometry unit is that they are not reading the questions carefully. Parents, it would help if you would check over your child’s Home Link, to make sure s/he is reading & thinking carefully. Thank you to all who brought in 3-D objects for our “Shape Museum”! We are moving into solid, ie 3-D, geometry, learning even more new vocabulary: vertex, face, edge, as well as prism, sphere, cylinder, sphere, pyramid, cone.
Social Studies: We will discuss history & culture as together we read biographies of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. [Happy B’day to both as we have no school next Monday!]
Science: We will do a number of science experiments this week, practicing for the Science Fair! We’ll make hypotheses, design experiments, collect data and draw conclusions… mostly about buoyancy.
Homework: Have you read through the questions to prompt your hypothesis for our Science Fair??
Daily: read aloud for 20 minutes and fill in your February Book It calendar; There will be Home Links most every night, due the next day; practice your spelling, & vocabulary (for both reading & geometry); practice your basic math facts (use flash cards??)
Due tomorrow: “Lambshead Home Link”; bring in a small item you would like to use to make a fossil
Due Wednesday: Spelling workbook pages 90-93 (&/or challenge sentences)
For Friday: be ready for spelling test
Due next Monday: Story map on the book you are reading for your February book report. Let me know whether you are reading fiction, biography, or other nonfiction, so I can give you the appropriate story map. Orators for the Black History Museum need to do their oratory for their book report by Fri, 2/19.
Coming… busy weeks as we go through February:
• Fri, 2/19: due date for Science Fair hypothesis (the back page of green packet)
• Sat, 2/20: Longfellow’s Fun Fair, starting at noon. Please consider donating items for the 2nd grade raffle basket, which has a theme of Family Reading.
• Wed, 2/24, at 6:30 PM: Spring Arts Fiesta for 2nd graders; Note: 2nd graders are performing & need to be here by 6:15… parents’ bonus is to get a good seat in the auditorium, or to browse the 2nd grade artwork in the hallways!
• Fri 2/26: due date for Science Fair planner
• Fri, 2/26: Night At the Museum – come see a number of students from our class participating in the Oratory (telling us about a notable African-American, “in character”); Julian & others will also be performing African dancing and drumming.
I’m glad the New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl… and my favorite spectator sport is just ahead, the Olympics!
This week we read “Monster Tracks”, a “how to” book… we will read, and then follow the directions to make our own fake (or simulated) fossil. Then together we will read and discuss biographies of both Lincoln and Washington. Therefore, we will not have a reading test on Friday. However, all students will be expected to know the vocabulary words for our Unit Test: instructions, mold, clue, prehistoric. All of this week’s spelling words use the consonant blends /br/ & /fr/. The workbook includes some fun work with analogies.
Math: I’ve noticed that some of the difficulty students are having in our geometry unit is that they are not reading the questions carefully. Parents, it would help if you would check over your child’s Home Link, to make sure s/he is reading & thinking carefully. Thank you to all who brought in 3-D objects for our “Shape Museum”! We are moving into solid, ie 3-D, geometry, learning even more new vocabulary: vertex, face, edge, as well as prism, sphere, cylinder, sphere, pyramid, cone.
Social Studies: We will discuss history & culture as together we read biographies of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. [Happy B’day to both as we have no school next Monday!]
Science: We will do a number of science experiments this week, practicing for the Science Fair! We’ll make hypotheses, design experiments, collect data and draw conclusions… mostly about buoyancy.
Homework: Have you read through the questions to prompt your hypothesis for our Science Fair??
Daily: read aloud for 20 minutes and fill in your February Book It calendar; There will be Home Links most every night, due the next day; practice your spelling, & vocabulary (for both reading & geometry); practice your basic math facts (use flash cards??)
Due tomorrow: “Lambshead Home Link”; bring in a small item you would like to use to make a fossil
Due Wednesday: Spelling workbook pages 90-93 (&/or challenge sentences)
For Friday: be ready for spelling test
Due next Monday: Story map on the book you are reading for your February book report. Let me know whether you are reading fiction, biography, or other nonfiction, so I can give you the appropriate story map. Orators for the Black History Museum need to do their oratory for their book report by Fri, 2/19.
Coming… busy weeks as we go through February:
• Fri, 2/19: due date for Science Fair hypothesis (the back page of green packet)
• Sat, 2/20: Longfellow’s Fun Fair, starting at noon. Please consider donating items for the 2nd grade raffle basket, which has a theme of Family Reading.
• Wed, 2/24, at 6:30 PM: Spring Arts Fiesta for 2nd graders; Note: 2nd graders are performing & need to be here by 6:15… parents’ bonus is to get a good seat in the auditorium, or to browse the 2nd grade artwork in the hallways!
• Fri 2/26: due date for Science Fair planner
• Fri, 2/26: Night At the Museum – come see a number of students from our class participating in the Oratory (telling us about a notable African-American, “in character”); Julian & others will also be performing African dancing and drumming.
I’m glad the New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl… and my favorite spectator sport is just ahead, the Olympics!
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