Mrs. Bice's Second Grade

Reader’s Workshop

We did it! We finished our 1st unit of reading! We have grown so much as readers and are truly growing like beanstalks! We finished off our unit this week learning that authors have intentions, so we need to pay attention. We looked for moments in our mentor texts where authors wrote in powerful ways! Readers tried to figure out how and why authors might do this! We also learned that authors authors try to teach us a lesson. Now when we read a book, we don’t just read, we try to find out the author’s intentions!

On Monday we will celebrate the amazing reading we have done as 2nd graders We have built stamina, built great habits and attempted lots of tricky words! Your child may bring a stuffed animal to read to! We will send lots of pictures of us celebrating! Thanks to all who are able to donate supplies for our celebration!

Math

We wrapped up unit 2 in math this week! The first two units in Everyday math have been reviewing from 1st grade as well as working on fluency! I will send the test home next week! The information I gain from the test, drives my strategy groups for the next unit. For example if your child had a difficult time using helper facts, then I will work with them in a small group on that specific skill. If you are child mastered all of the skills, I can work with them on skills and strategies for the next unit. To kick off unit 3 I gave the students a pretest to see which skills they know already! This will help me to drive instruction and to also identify kids who can be mentors (since they already know the content). A HUGE part of the curriculum in my math class will be explaining our thinking!

Once or twice a week we try to find time to take part in the 1 minute timed fluency tests. The students have all made progress and are really loving the challenge of getting faster at their facts!

Science

The second grade science standards call for kids to understand how animals and plants work together! We are so lucky at Meadow Brook that we live in such a beautiful area where students get to see, first hand how plants and animals interact. We took a nature walk through the nature trail and were amazed at the wildlife we saw! From woodpeckers to deer, we saw a ton on our short walk! We used our 5 senses to see, touch, feel, smell- hopefully not taste :)

Game Changers

Today the Game Changers from Northern came to visit and teach us more about our legacy! Their focus today was “compassion”. The ambassadors read to the kids and then spoke with them about what it means to be compassionate! It is a wonderful program and we have loved having them visit each month!

Halloween Party

Thank you to everyone who has signed up for our Halloween Party so far! We are so happy to have a number of parents helping and attending- it is very appreciated. If you haven’t had a chance, please consider sending in a donation in your child’s take-home folder, or contact Tamra Pell for Venmo or PayPal options. Any extra donations will go towards future parties, celebrations and supplies, reducing the donations we need to collect as the year goes on. Thank you!