Mrs. Bice's Second Grade

Readers Workshop

This week readers not only looked for literary language in their books but we also looked into strategies to keep track of longer books! Now that a majority of 2nd graders are reading chapter books, kids need some strategies to keep track of these longer storylines. When they finish a chapter, they need to determine what’s most important. Second graders have a very difficult time determining importance! When they finish a chapter, it’s important for them to jot down on a sticky note the most important event! This is a great strategy for kids because they can’t include every detail, just what will fit on a sticky note! We also discussed that sometimes when we read, we think back to what we read and we have NO IDEA! When we get off track, we need to stop, reread and answer any questions we might have. This is why it is so important to still read with your child every night! Sometimes the comprehension piece gets lost when they are starting to read chapter books because they are so excited that they can finally read those harder books! Frequent check ins are vital!

Writer’s Workshop

This week was all about revising! We used a checklist to look carefully at our pieces we have finished and think “How can I make this even better?” We focused on rereading as a punctuation detective and worked with our partners to find those sneaky spots where we forgot punctuation! We finished the week by revising on the go and trying to create a particular effect on the reader. We used mentor texts and to help us find specific words to help make our reader feel a certain way! It has been really fun watching these writer’s grow!

Phonics

Our phonics unit has been so much fun for the kids! It has really opened their eyes to all the different endings they find in words! This week we learned about plurals! We learned when to add an -s and when we need to add an -es. Another important ending we studied -ed and -ing! We learned that if there is one short vowel followed by one consonant in a word, we need to double the consonant. We used all we knew the create a class poster on endangered animals! Today we will create t-shirts to bring awareness to endangered animals! All students are invited to bring a favorite stuffed animal next Friday! Our animals will wear the shirts to show the school how much we care about endangered animals AND all we have learned in phonics! Next Friday, I will be taking donations over to Paws for Cause! Click here to view the supplies we are collecting or feel free to send in a monetary donation!

Math

Unit 6 has really picked up in intensity! 2nd graders are adding bigger numbers and learning tons of different strategies to do so! We began the week by working on some 2-step work problems. These can bring a ton of trouble for kids who rush and read over things too quickly. It’s really important for kids to slow down and down check their work. We work on reading the problem several times, identifying important words and numbers, attempting the problem and then checking to make sure their answer makes sense! When your child does their homework at home, be sure to have them double check things before you check it over! What a great skill to have them learn early on!

We finished the week by making ballpark estimates! If an addition sentence is 34 + 58, the ballpark estimate would be 30 + 60=90. Therefore our answer should be about 90. It’s just another way for kids to make sure that their answer is in the right ballpark! This skill can be very difficult for kids to do without a foundation of rounding up or rounding down. So we spent a great deal of time learning how to round up and when to round down! The kids said it felt like a mystery when they were practicing rounding!

Social Awareness

We continued our unit on social awareness this week! We focused on social expectations and how they change depending on where we are. We all have expectations at home and sometimes they differ from school and when we are in public. We discussed why we have these expectations and the importance of them changing depending on where we are. Towards the end of the week we also learned about social cues and how important our tone and body language can be.

Social Studies- Goods and Services

This week we started a new unit where we will learn how goods and services are produced in a community and then brought to people through transportation and communication systems. We began by learning about goods we get from stores and how they get there! We learned about assembly lines and how they can speed up the production process. The 2nd graders even got to participate in making in an assembly line in our classroom! They worked in teams of 5 to create a clown maze. Each student had a job and they worked together to create the mazes! They had a ton of fun but also realized how much teamwork it takes for an assembly line to be productive!

KRN Books- FREE

Because we care deeply about helping students continue to grow as readers, we are starting our Summer Reading Program early. We are partnering with Kids Read Now, Inc. to provide every K-3 student books of their choice to read, enjoy, and keep. FHPS is excited to continue our partnership with Kids Read Now, Inc. this year. We have been very happy with the quality of books and their service to families the past two years. During the summer your child will get 8 books shipped to them! Today your child will bring home a catalog of books and they have circled 8 that they would like! Here is a letter with a link that you will need to order your child’s books! You must place the order online by March 25th.

Conferences

This afternoon I will email you a link for you to sign up for a Zoom Parent/Teacher Conference time. If you do not see a time that works for you, please reach out!