Fables and Fairy Tales.

Click here to watch and listen to some different Folktales.  Think about the characters, setting, problem and solution.

See if you can retell the story in order.

Grasshopper and the Ants

The Lion and the Mouse

The Fox and the Stork

The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse

The Ugly Duckling

Hansel and Gretel

Rapunzel

Three Little Pigs

Retelling.

We are bringing back Folktales and will be spending time exploring other versions as well as retelling the stories using a variety of strategies.  Students will have the opportunity to practice, work together and build confidence to record their retellings.

Encourage your child to think about the story, to be able to report the 4 main elements (characters, setting, problem and solution) as well as the events that happen.  Continue to discuss character traits and reasons why they feel that way.

There was a 5 Finger Retell video posted under "Educational Videos."  We are using this as one of the strategies to retell a story.

Social Studies.

We are continuing to learn more about different types of maps.  We started with the world and looking at continents.  Now we are looking at countries, specifically ours, and learning about states.  Students enjoyed listening to a song about the 50 states.  I enjoyed it as a kid and we sang it at our concert when I was in Elementary School.  The song features all of the states in alphabetical order.  I challenged the students to try putting the states in alphabetical order.  There are two other videos featuring young kids singing the states song.  Enjoy!

50 States Song

10-year-old Singing in 35 seconds!
5-year-old sings the 50 states song!

Time.

Our new math unit focuses on telling time and graphing.  We will be working with clocks, differentiating between the hands, what they represent and telling time to the minute.  Students are doing a great job accessing their prior knowledge and taking on new challenges.

Some had a chance to try some games in the Computer Lab that focused on time.  They can be found on the side under "Wonderful Websites."

ABCya Time
Time Games
More Time Games

Book Clubs.

Students were able to select a mystery book they were interested in reading with a small group.  Each person in the group must read a required chapter, record their thinking and then meet with their group to discuss ideas and ask questions.  They are enhancing their comprehension of the text, learning and using new vocabulary and increasing their confidence in talking about books.  They all must contribute to the conversation and be good listeners to others.  I encourage families to partake in reading with your child(ren) and have some good conversations about any book. 

Valentine's Day Party.

Students enjoyed playing a game involving some friendly competition. They worked hard and were determined! They demonstrated perseverance. 

Introducing Maps.

In Social Studies, we are extending our learning on Communities from earlier this year and talking about the different communities we are a part of in our world including specific continents, countries, states and cities.  Students have been encouraged to keep an eye out for maps they encounter.  We are becoming more familiar with our world.

CoGAT Testing.

Reminder to families:

The Cognitive Abilities Test is on Thursday, February 5th.  It's important students avoid absences and tardiness at all costs since the test will begin promptly at 8:20.  It will take most of the day and is administered by a proctor, but students will still receive snack, bathroom, recess and lunch breaks.

I have reminded students that it is nothing to worry about.  It's simply a test that all second grade students take.  You can't study for it.  All you can do is try your best; it tests what your brain knows and what do and do not understand.

A good night's sleep and breakfast is important!

Please let me know if you have any questions, comments or concerns.

Mysteries.

Students have been introduced to a new genre of reading.  They are excited to learn of new book series - our classroom library is expanding. They are learning new vocabulary to support their reading and enhance discussions about books.  We have started reading "The Boxcar Children" as a classroom read aloud.  Students are enjoying predicting and inferring.  

We are also reading many more mysteries and identifying suspects and clues. Here is our Mystery Vocabulary Wall.  Ask your child about these words! 

Space Learning.

Grace and Brooke were so excited to help extend our learning by bringing in some models they had made in the past.  We have been discussing the moon's phases and from there, that led us to exploring other planets, comparing their appearances and understanding their orbits around the sun.  Students created their own diagram of our solar system to show understanding.  Our big learning was that the sun does not move.  The earth rotates and orbits.  Students enjoyed seeing this with student models.  They have been able to learn more on their own through texts in our classroom library.  Students have a Space Journal where they recorded schema, wonderings and new learning.  We took time to share all of this with others.