2nd Grade February Newsletter

Upcoming Events

• 📚 February 2–6: PTA Book Fair

• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 February 4: Tiger Family Parent Workshop, “How to Support My Child in Math”, 8:30 AM–9:00 AM

• 🏀 February 6: PS 230 Spirit Day – Sports Day

• 🏆 February 11: Student of the Month Ceremony, 9:00 AM

• ❄️ February 16–20: Midwinter Recess – No School

• 🎉 February 25: Upper School Tiger Family Fun Day

• ✊🏾 February 27: Black History Month Celebration (more information to follow)

Book of the Month Focus: Resilience

• Persistence – Stick to it!

• Striving for Accuracy – Check it again!

• Thinking and Communicating with Clarity and Precision – Be clear!

• Self-Monitoring – Stop, think, and check your work

1. They are patient and work to overcome challenges and obstacles.
2. They are open to the perspectives, values, and traditions of others.
3. They are responsible, respectful, and empathetic.

In Unit 6 of Second Grade Fundations, students will focus on vowel–consonant–e (VCe) syllables. A VCe syllable is a word pattern where a vowel is followed by a consonant and a silent e at the end of the word. The silent e changes the vowel sound from short to long, helping students read and spell more accurately.

Examples of VCe words include make, ride, hope, cube, and time. Students will practice noticing how the silent e affects the vowel sound and will learn to read and write these words with confidence.

Next steps include identifying VCe syllables in longer words, comparing short vowel and long vowel sounds, and applying this skill when reading books and writing sentences. At home, families can support learning by helping children spot silent e words during reading and encouraging them to check their spelling when writing.

This unit builds strong phonics and decoding skills, which are essential for reading fluency and comprehension.

Reading: Module 6 – Weather Wise

This month, we began Module 6, Weather Wise. Students will explore the essential question, “How does weather affect us?” Through engaging texts and collaborative discussions, children will learn how weather changes from day to day and across the seasons. They will also explore different types of weather, from everyday rain showers to extreme events such as blizzards and hurricanes.

As students read and talk about these texts, they will observe how weather impacts people, activities, and communities. This module supports the development of critical thinking, communication skills, and curiosity about the world around us.

Helpful Tips: Try these activities at home

• Raise your hand each time a type of weather is mentioned while reading together.

• Pretend to be a weather reporter and give a forecast based on the weather in a story.

• Talk about how the weather in a book affects the characters’ actions and feelings.

Writing: Module 6 – Poetry

This month, students also began Module 6: Poetry, where they will explore the connection between weather and daily choices. Through the essential question, “Sometimes the weather helps us decide what to do that day,” students will reflect on how weather influences their activities, emotions, and decisions.

Students will use these reflections to write their own poems, learning how poets choose words carefully to create strong images and express feelings.

How You Can Support Your Child at Home

• Recall memories: Share personal stories about times when weather changed your plans or activities.

• Read poetry together: Explore poems about weather or nature and discuss how the author uses words to create pictures and emotions.

• Brainstorm poem ideas: Help your child think of meaningful weather experiences, such as a summer thunderstorm, a snowy winter day, or the first warm day of spring.

Investigations (Classes 201, 204,205)

Math: Unit 5 – How Many Tens? How Many Hundreds?

In Math Workshop, we are continuing our work on place value. Students are learning to use their understanding of tens and hundreds to solve story problems with unknown changes. They are practicing a variety of strategies to solve problems and show their thinking, including counting up, counting on, using a number line, and using a 100 chart.

Example problem: 34 + ? = 54

Helpful Tip: You can support your child at home by helping them make different combinations of a number using dimes and pennies. This is a fun way to reinforce the concept of tens and ones while practicing addition and subtraction!

Imagine Learning (Classes 202,203,206)

Math: Unit 4 – Representing Numbers on a Number Line

In Math Workshop, students are learning to represent whole numbers within 100 as lengths from 0 on a number line and understand how a number line is structured. They are also working on representing sums and differences on a number line, which helps them visualize addition and subtraction in a concrete way.

Helpful Tips for Home:

• Practice drawing a number line together and use it to solve simple addition and subtraction problems.

• Ask your child to show different ways to get to a number by moving along the number line.

• Use everyday examples, like steps on a staircase or spaces on a game board, to reinforce how numbers increase and decrease along a line.

Science

2nd grade scientists continue to work on the unit Properties and Patterns of Water. They have learned about solids, liquids, and gases. They will learn how we can describe matter using properties and how heating and cooling can change matter. To support your child at home talk about how a liquid changes to a solid.

Technology

We will continue to work on being able to sign in on the Chromebooks on our own and use waggle.

Art

We will be honoring Black History Month by learning about African Americans' contributions to the arts. We will learn about Alma Thomas and create landscapes in her style.

Gym

This month, we will begin our soccer unit. We will work on skills such as dribbling, passing, shooting, and some defense. We will practice these skills in a variety of group games.

Music

We will celebrate Black History Month through learning African-American game songs. As it is also the month of 'Flutuary,' we will learn about flutes of different cultures throughout the world. We will explore high, middle, and low pitches on the xylophones. We will also explore how notes can move by leaps, steps, or can just repeat.

Please continue to support your child by reading through the newsletter carefully. Don’t forget to check ClassDojo every day for important updates and reminders.

We hope you and your family have a wonderful Mid-Winter Recess!

—Ms. Baizan, Mrs. Coiro, Ms. Dalonzo, Ms. Giddings, Ms. Jakubowski, Ms. Roldan, and Ms. Sidman