Hello Second Grade Families,

Happy Labor Day! I hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend and was able to rest up as we have busy days ahead. Below are some highlights for the week:

Math: We continue to make our way through Unit 1: Numbers & Routines. This is largely a review unit focusing mostly on skills taught in the past. If you’d like to review at home, I would suggest revisiting telling time to the nearest five minutes, counting money (bills and coins) and place value (ones, tens, hundreds). Next Friday we have tentative plans to take our first Unit test.

For math homework this week, please complete the following second grade IXL skills:

~A.12: Select even/odd numbers

~M.4 Identify a digit up to the 100s place

~Q.5 Read clocks and write times

Word Work: This is our last week of building routines and procedures. Students will visit the computer lab and learn the steps to working there on spelling and word work as well. Almost everyone has been placed in differentiated groups and next week you can look forward to your child bringing home his/her just-right spelling words. Until then, we will use a set of practice words.

Reading: This week in Reader’s Workshops, the students will learn all about reading in longer phrases by scooping up snap words. However, we can’t just focus on reading faster and faster or way may forget to THINK about the story. So the second half of our week will focus on stopping to make sure readers retell events from a story. I would highly encourage you to do this in your reading at home.

Reading logs will go home again, as they will every week. Each student is required to read a minimum of 100 minutes and complete the log in pencil on his/her own. Parents, of course, are willing and encouraged to check logs for neatness and spelling/capitalization and then correct together.

Writer’s Workshop: Last week we stretched small moments by magnifying details. We also spent some time on crafting powerful endings. This week we will stop and think about what we’ve written: Does our writing make sense and sound right? We will reexamine punctuation and spelling by using our resources. Students will end the week by setting some specific goals and making plans for writing time. Take a moment to ask your child what his/her goal is!

Science: The class will begin our unit on plant life cycles. Some vocabulary covered will include: flower, fruit, seed, life cycle and cone.

Religion: We will continue our unit on Family Life, moving from God’s gift of family to God’s gift of self. We will discuss spiritual as well as physical and emotional development in the formation of a healthy sense of self. Also, remember that Friday is Grandparent’s Day!!! We look forward to meeting in the church for 8:30 mass.

Have a great week!

Ms. Espinosa