2nd Grade MP3 Campus
Monthly Progress
Monthly Progress
Math
Topics: two-digit addition and subtraction, algebraic reasoning, hundreds chart as a math tool, place value to 1,000, addition fluency, patterns in addition, number line as a math tool
Activities: This month we covered a lot of territory! We practiced using both the hundreds chart and a number line to support addition and subtraction of two-digit numbers. We used a timeline of average lifespan to compare different animals and solve some tricky word problems. We also explored the patterns of sums of squares of numbers on the hundreds chart such as 34+35+44+45 and had a rich class discussion about our wonderings such as why the sum is always even and if it was possible to create any given sum. Although the standard algorithm is handy it is also useful to have a mental image of how a number is changing or to model the change to numbers in tens and ones. Having this strengthened number sense will benefit your student as a mathematician moving forward. Your student is welcome to use whichever strategy/method makes the most sense for them.
Teacher Tip: Ask your student to show you how to use a number line to model addition and subtraction in more than one way.
Teacher Info: Mrs. Kurashige, skurashige@meridian.wednet.edu
Writing
Topics: informational books, web plan, title, topic sentence, detail sentences, writing process (i.e., plan, draft, conference, publish, share), adding to and taking away from writing with adult support, nonfiction text features (ex., Table of Content, diagrams, maps, glossary, index, photographs, captions, bolded words), neat handwriting
Activities: In this review period, we continued to work hard on our nonfiction writing. Our goals are for each section of our books to have a topic sentence, detail sentences, and a useful text feature like labeled pictures and captions. We focused on writing chapters for our information books that teach our readers a lot. Students are working with me during our writing conferences and with their classmates to add facts and details. As students complete their books, they enjoy reading their work to the class during Author's Chair and then hanging the books up around our classroom. We have also been focusing on neat writing. We talked about the importance of tracing the guide letters when we are working in our handwriting curriculum. We practiced tracing each letter or word seven times to build the habit of writing each letter with the correct shape and size. We also took time this month to celebrate Valentine's Day. We had so much fun decorating bags, passing out our valentines, and enjoying the wonderful valentines and treats!
Tips: This is a great time of the year to check in on your child’s handwriting. If they are struggling with letter size or shape, forgetting to hang hanging letters (p g y), writing some letters backwards, and/or writing capital letters when they should be lowercase, you may want to refocus on proper form to build good habits. Please do not hesitate to reach out if I can help in any way!
I encourage everyone to participate in our Silverwood Theme Park’s reading program, Read 2 Ride! During the month of March, students in Kindergarten through 6th grade are invited to read for 10 hours (600 minutes) to earn a free ticket to Silverwood Theme Park and Boulder Beach Waterpark. Please return the completed logs to any campus teacher by March 29th! Look for all the details (and the reading logs) in your MP3 Weekly Updates! Note: Even if you do not need a ticket to Silverwood, keeping a reading log can be a fun and motivating celebration of reading.
Teacher Info: Mrs. Giesen, jgiesen@meridian.wednet.edu
Social Studies
Topics: Americans in history (Martin Luther King, Jr. , Rosa Parks, Ruby Bridges, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln), Civil Rights, Civics - requirements for president, the role of the president, governor, mayor, introduction to branches of government
Activities: Building on last month’s informational reading about Martin Luther King, Jr., which created a meaningful connection between language arts and social studies, the class continued learning about Rosa Parks and Ruby Bridges. We revisited key terms such as segregation and boycott. Through read-alouds of I Am Rosa Parks by Brad Meltzer and The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles, students deepened their understanding of the challenges these individuals faced. We also explored PowerPoint presentations featuring real-life images of Ruby Bridges and Dr. King, which helped students visualize historical events. To further connect these lessons, we read I Am Jackie Robinson by Brad Meltzer. Students created a timeline of Robinson’s life and completed a Venn diagram comparing him to Dr. King. In connection with Presidents’ Day, students learned key facts about President Washington and President Lincoln. They listened to books, explored a PowerPoint presentation and observed a mock interview in which two classmates portrayed a reporter and each president. Students completed another Venn diagram about Washington and Lincoln. The unit was concluded by discussing the requirements for becoming president and the responsibilities of the role. Students compared the duties of the president to those of a governor and a mayor, further expanding their understanding of leadership at different levels of government. Finally, they were introduced to the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. While this concept goes beyond second-grade standards, exposure to the vocabulary and the idea that many people are involved in our government was beneficial.
Teacher Info: Mrs. Elgersma, gelgersma@meridian.wednet.edu
Science
Topics: Describe what plants need to grow, Identify parts of a plant that help it grow and survive, understand that roots take in water and nutrients and leaves make food from sunlight, find out what happens when they grow rye grass and alfalfa plants, mow them and allow them to grow again, observe daily weather and record observations, use a calendar to monitor daily weather, begin understanding that months are made up of differing amounts of days, learn to read a calendar accurately.
Activities: Students observed rye grass and alfalfa seeds. They used these seeds to plant a lawn. Students are recording observations of their lawn’s progress using observation sheets. They are learning “best science practice” by dating each entry and drawing accurate representations of their lawns, as well as writing a sentence or word to describe key observations. We discovered our lawns were planted 16 days before we “mowed” them. Students “mowed” their lawns with scissors, and they are waiting to see what will happen next? We have reviewed five things that plants need: water, sunlight, air, space and nutrients. Students have created a monthly calendar, learning that months have different amounts of days. They are also recording campus weather on their weather calendars.
Teacher Info: Mrs. DeWaard, hdewaard@meridian.wednet.edu
Robotics and Engineering
Topics: EdBlocks, Barcode Programming, Infrared Light, Light vs Dark colors & heat absorption vs reflection, Line Tracking, Sound Sensors
Activities: We had a great start to Robotics this semester! We’ve been reviewing Eddie’s various sensor systems and how they work and what we can use those sensor systems to do. We worked through all of the barcode programs available on Edison, except for 1 and we started reviewing EdBlocks and coded Eddie to drive through a maze this week! We learned about infrared light, and how different colors provide more or less contrast to the sensors to affect line tracking and sensor sensitivity. We have 30 new Edison V3 robots this year and they have been named for famous scientists. So we added a short Scientist of the Day biography segment at the start of each class. Scientists this month include: Thomas Edison, Katherine Johnson, Nicola Tesla, Hedy Lamar, J. Ernest Wilkins, Marie Curie & Albert Einstein.
Teacher Tip: If you’re not aware of Scratch (https://scratch.mit.edu/), it is a coding platform created by MIT. Basically, MIT is talent farming and they’ll teach your child to code for free in a safe environment online. I know Scratch Jr is on the approved list for our district and I just want to highly recommend this platform. My own children have been having fun with it since it was new. The EdScratch platform used by Edison in 4th grade is based off a scratch style engine and so it’s good software building practice.
Teacher Info: Mrs. Clayton, aclayton@meridian.wednet.edu