Grade 2 News for October

Each class had a lesson with the Plantmobile from the Minnesota Arboretum to kick off our new value-added project! Our focus is on Minnesota plant and animal relationships. We are building our classroom community while working on our classroom routines.

In September, Ms. Andersen started her weekly counselor lessons in each class.

In Mrs. Luna's music classes we will be focusing on singing accurate pitches using solfege and following melodic direction. We also will be continuing our learning from past years around steady beat, while using barred instruments!

Second grade's library day is Wednesday. They check out three books of their choice. You may see some chapter books and/or novels coming home. We encourage students to choose books they can read but sometimes they just want to feel like a "big" kid and they bring home a book that is too difficult. You can have that conversation with your child about selecting books they can read. They recently visited the "Book Cemetery" where the books go that are beyond repair.

Mrs. Archer: We were STEM students during our identity circle map activity as we were reading the book I Am. We discussed all our identities and how they connect to us being STEM students.

Mrs. Emerson: We read I Am, then created individual circle maps brainstorming different ways to describe ourselves including being STEM students.

Ms. Fischer: We were STEM students during our beetle activity when we collected and analyzed our data about our beetle glyphs.

Mrs. LaTourelle: We were STEM students during our Arboretum apple activity when we used our senses to describe apples and honey.

• CKLA reading: fairy tales and tall tales
• Writing: using complete sentences
• Math: strategies to add with sums to 20
• STEM: Minnesota plant and animal relationships

• Field trip to Gibbs Farm on Wednesday, October 29th

One of the big ideas that second graders will be working on in their STEM unit is exploring how the amount of sunlight and water a plant gets can change how well it grows.

Sunlight Detective

• Have your child notice where plants grow in your yard, garden, or neighborhood. Ask: “Which ones get lots of sun? Which ones are in the shade? Do they look different?”

Watering Buddy

• Let your child be responsible for watering a houseplant. You can make it a fun check-in: “Does the soil feel dry or wet today?”

Taste Connection

• Talk about foods they eat (like carrots, lettuce, or strawberries) and ask: “What do you think these plants needed to grow before they made it to our plate?”

Mini Experiment at Home

• Try growing two seeds (beans or grass work well) in cups. Place one in a sunny spot and one in shade, or water one more than the other. Let your child observe and draw what happens.