2nd Grade May Newsletter
Blooming Into Success!
Important Dates
May 2nd, 9th, 16th, & 30th: Singing Winds Saturday Program- Lower School
May 6th: Tiger Family Parent Workshop "Summer Planning, Promotion In Doubt, & Resources"
May 6th & 7th- Plant Sale- Lower School
May 17th- Raise the Stage- Upper School
May 21st-Upper School Tiger Family Morning
May 22nd- PS 230 Spirit Day! Red, White, & Blue Day
May 25th- Memorial Day-No School
May 27th- Eid-al-Adha-No School
Book of the Month
Book of the Month: We're All Wonders
This book tells the story of Auggie, a boy with only one eye, from his own point of view. Auggie knows he is different – he doesn’t explain how, but the illustrations fill us in. Yet he also knows that he likes to do a lot of the same things as many other kids, and his interests are very similar.
May Student of the Month Characteristics
They demonstrate kindness and compassion to his/her peers. They are kind and caring. They are honest, dependable, trustworthy, and supportive of their peers.
What is the Second Grade Learning?
In Unit 7, students focus on connecting letters and sounds to read and spell more complex words, while strengthening decoding, encoding, and fluency.
HMH Reading/Writing
Reading
In Reading, we continue to work in Module 9: " Home Sweet Habitat", students will ask themselves the essential question: How do living things in a habitat depend on each other? They will work on skills and strategies such as ask and answer questions, figurative language, text organization, and will practice retelling a story. Through reading a variety of texts and collaborative work, children will explore how the conditions in different habitats help different animals to survive.
Writing
In this writing unit, students are learning to share information about habitats through clear and organized writing. They are exploring how plants and animals depend on their habitats for food, water, shelter, and space. Students are practicing how to introduce a topic, include facts and details, and use complete sentences to explain their thinking.
As part of this unit, students will write about different habitats such as forests, oceans, and deserts, and describe how these environments meet the needs of living things. They are also working on using descriptive words and adding details to make their writing more interesting and informative.
Encourage your child to talk about their writing at home and share what they know about their favorite habitat!
Math
Illustrative Math- only classes 202/203/206
In Unit 6 of our IM program, we will be learning all about shapes, time, and money. Students will explore identifying and describing different shapes, telling and writing time, and recognizing coins and their values.
At home, you can support your child by pointing out shapes in everyday objects, practicing telling time using clocks around the house, and letting them help count money during small purchases. Simple, real-life practice can make a big difference in building their confidence and understanding.
Investigations- Only classes 201/204/205
In Unit 7, Partners, Teams, and Other Groups, students explore how to work with data by sorting, grouping, and organizing objects in different ways. They learn to create and interpret graphs and representations to show information clearly. Students also practice comparing groups, describing patterns, and explaining, their thinking. Through hands-on activities and real-world examples, they build early data analysis skills and strengthen collaboration and problem-solving.
At home, you can support your child by having them sort and group everyday items, compare quantities, and talk about how they organized their groups. Simple activities like making charts or discussing "more or less" help build strong data and problem-solving skills.
Cluster Teachers
Mr. Meehan & Ms. Gursoy
We still have a couple of lessons left on our Track and Field Unit. After that, we will begin our Volleyball Unit. All students will learn most volleyball basics, such as passing (forearm underhand passing), setting (overhead passing), attack options (hitting/spiking), blocking (from attack and defending positions), and defensive skills (rolling & sliding). All the skills will be taught and played using beach balls.
Ms. Bakalac- Science
2nd grade scientists are continuing the unit The Changes to Land Over Time. They are beginning to explore how the earth is constantly changing through the processes of weathering, erosion, and deposition. They will learn how rocks break down into smaller pieces, how wind and water can move these pieces, and how new landforms are created when these materials settle. To support your child at home, have them look for cracks in sidewalks or sand piling up on a beach.
Ms. Markovinovic-Science
The 2nd Grade Scientists are learning about how landforms were formed and how they continue to change over time. Scientists are also investigating how water shapes the land over time. We will discuss how volcanoes erupt as well as what happpens during an earthquake and how both of these change the shape of the land.
Ms. Brill- Art
Second grade artists will learn about weaving as an art form in different cultures around the world. We will compare and contrast different styles and create our own weavings. Donations of baby wipes to clean hands would ve appreciated as we are all out. Thank you.
Mr. Hanratty- Art
Mr. Schorr- Art
We will explore how songs are put together (song structure). We will explore how music sometimes gets faster and slower, and gets louder and softer. We will learn about various kinds of instruments.
Ms. Birshtein-Technology
Students will navigate code.org. They will learn how to code and eventually create their own codes!
A Note From The Second Grade Teachers
May is a busy and exciting month in second grade! Students are working hard to finish the year strong in reading, writing, and math. We are also spending time reviewing key skills learned throughout the year and celebrating our growth. Thank you for your continued support at home- it truly makes a difference!