2nd Grade MP3 Campus

School Data is open on the first of each month for parent reviews. These are due by the 5th. We hope the cut and paste grade level newsletter will be helpful to supplement your remote learning plan reviews. Thank you for submitting in a timely manner and if you need help, please reach out to your SLPC.

Topics: Decomposing 100 into smaller groups, using groups to organize counting, thinking flexibly with numbers, skip counting forward and backward by 2s, 5s, 10s, and 100s, coin value, estimation and mental benchmarks, beginning fractions

Activities: This month we worked on estimating what 100 of a small item looks like and then grouping them to help count accurately, we also focused on using previous estimates to increase accuracy, we estimated the number of seeds in a pumpkin that the class grew in first grade science last spring and then got messy scooping out seeds and counting, and we reviewed the value of coins and then solved a story problem about possible coin values and created a chart to find all of the possible combinations. We then tied in our knowledge of coins to develop ways to have exactly one dollar and represent it on a 10x10 grid. Other math tasks this month included pictorial algebra problems, story problems, fact families, and second grade level work with equivalent fractions (fourths come in a variety of shapes).

Teacher Tip: Practicing coin identification, counting, and basic questions like what coins would I need to add to this to have a dollar are great ways to continue to grow your student's flexible thinking with numbers in a real life setting.

Teacher Info: Mrs. Kurashige, skurashige@meridian.wednet.edu

Topics: writing process, using a To Do list, characters, setting, titles, editing for capitals and end punctuation, correct letter form (size, shape, hang hanging letters, only use capital letters when needed), goal setting with 5 Star Rubric, compliments

Activities:This month was all about our story writing unit (personal narratives). Students planned their stories using a beginning-middle-end chart. They used pictures, words, and dialogue bubbles in each section to support having lots of details. Students then took their stories through our writing process (plan, draft, conference (revise and edit), publish). We have been emphasizing rereading our writing, adding more details, and writing strong titles (short, eye catching). We enjoyed the very fun book The Night of the Veggie Monster by George McClements as an example of a story with a strong beginning, middle, and end. Students are enjoying sharing their stories during our Author Chair and displaying their books in our classroom.

Teacher Tip: Did you see the 5 Star Rubrics I sent home? I hope you celebrated the skills that your child is consistently using. A great next step is to set a goal to master another area on the rubric. My hope is that all students are working towards 5/5 by the end of the school year. Please let me know if you need additional 5 Star Rubrics for home use.

Teacher Info: Mrs. Giesen, jgiesen@meridian.wednet.edu

Topics: Frog and Toad Reader’s Theater, Phonics Skills, Foundational Literacy Skills, Friendly Letters, Reading Fluency

Activities: This month, our second graders have been busy strengthening their phonics and foundational literacy skills! We’ve worked on long and short vowels, story sequencing, character quotations, syllables, rhyming words, compound words, sight words, and reading comprehension.

Students especially enjoyed our Reader’s Theater activities featuring stories from Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel, including “The Story” and “The Letter.” These scripts gave students the chance to collaborate, practice reading with expression, and bring the beloved characters of Frog and Toad to life. The story “The Letter” also inspired a variety of friendly letter-writing activities. Students helped compose a class thank-you letter to Mrs. Siadal and then wrote their own friendly letters to surprise someone special. What wonderful secret keepers they’ve been! In celebration of Literacy Day, our second graders teamed up with sixth graders to share books and create their own Frog and Toad characters out of construction paper. Soon, each second grader will write a thank-you letter to their sixth-grade buddy—an activity that helps build both gratitude and connection. As we conclude our Frog and Toad study in November, students will work in small groups to refine one of their Reader’s Theater presentations. They’ll be encouraged to practice at home before performing for another class as a fun and confidence-building way to strengthen reading fluency and expression.

In addition to our regular classwork, each second grader participated in a one-on-one oral reading fluency screening to measure how many words per minute they could read from a grade-level passage.

Teacher Tip: Alongside the fluency screening, I’ll also be checking how many of the first 100 sight words each student can read accurately. These high-frequency words make up more than half of the words in typical grade-level texts, so mastering them is essential for building fluency. Once this second screening is complete, I’ll send home the results for both the oral reading fluency and sight word assessments.

Teacher Info: Mrs. Elgersma, gelgersma@meridian.wednet.edu

Topics: Keyboard Fluency, Finish Digital Me, Formatting in Google Docs, Digital Citizenship

Activities: A good part of October was spent completing the Digital Me project from September. This required students to not only remember how copy, paste, and resize objects; students also had to compose a small paragraph about themselves. Students who finished early began an advanced challenge creating mystery pictures while learning formatting in Google Docs. By the end of the month, all students were working on this challenging activity. The class learned how to use the tab key, change font size and color, and adjust alignment. We will continue creating mystery pictures in Docs again in grade three.

To help observe Digital Literacy month, our district technology TOSA, Mrs. Richardson, spent a couple days teaching internet safety and digital citizenship lessons. All materials can be found in the Google Classroom.

Reflection Questions: Who was Fluffy Kitty Face and what mistake did Faux Paw make?

Teacher Info: Mrs. Montgomery, rmontgomery@meridian.wednet.edu

Topics: Elements of Art: Shape, Line, Space, Color, Value, & Texture; Principles of Design: Balance, Movement, & Contrast; Techniques: Marble prints

Activities: In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we had weekly art discussions exploring the vibrant work of Catalina Estrada and the imaginative creations of Xul Solar. We completed our colorful Mexican Sun weaving project and then began designing surrealist buildings inspired by Solar’s unique style. Students painted a background using organic shapes and then cut geometric shapes to design a building in the foreground. It is exciting to see so many unique creations that come from the same set of instructions. The creativity of this group is outstanding! To welcome fall, we began a barn owl project inspired by Owl Babies by Martin Waddell and Patrick Benson, focusing on the implied textures found in the book’s illustrations. To create our own richly textured owls, students used a marbling technique with shaving cream and liquid watercolor to make beautiful, swirling prints. These marbled papers will become the feathers for our owls as we finish the project with a moonlit night scene that explores the concept of value.

Reflection Questions: Ask your student to describe how they used shaving cream & paint to create a marbled texture for their owl. (Hint: It’s a very messy process, but the product is amazing!)

Teacher Info: Mrs. Warnock, swarnock@meridian.wednet.edu