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: skill review, composing and decomposing numbers, coin value, 100 as a benchmark, algebraic reasoning

Activities: This month we started our new unit which centers around composing and decomposing numbers. We looked at subtraction equations and explained which had a greater difference based on place value knowledge. Students then played a game where they had to scoop a handful of change, count it and then either add or subtract 5 coins to equal a dollar (or as close as possible). We had a lot of great math discussion around these prompts and students worked hard to refine their choices. This month also included some logic puzzles, addition fluency games, and a math mystery. We used a variety of skills from the first quarter of the year as well as our power of decoding and deduction to solve the gingerbread mystery. We continued to push ourselves with our daily pictoral algebra problems and with creating equations for number of the day that show understanding of how numbers can be decomposed.

Teacher Tip: Being able to think about numbers in friendly chunks is a great skill to have. Encourage your child to attempt more challenging mental math by breaking numbers into chunks. When adding double digits, it is fine to tackle the tens first and then come back to add on the ones at the end, sticking with the standard algorithm is often trickier than using number sense and strategies like adjusting numbers.

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

Topics: 5 Star Writing Goals (sentences start with a capital letter, sentences end with an end mark, words have spaces between them, neat printing and letter formation is used, sentences make sense), personal dictionaries, narrative writing elements (ex., setting details, character details, wrap-up ending).

Activities: In this review period, students wrapped up our narrative writing unit. We did whole class lessons on adding setting details, adding character details, and writing strong endings to make our stories more interesting to our readers.

We also focused on our 5 Star Writing Goals. Students used their dictation writing to set individual goals. We are committed to mastering one element of the 5 Star rubric at a time with our end goal being everyone is consistently earning 5/5 on the rubric! Please let me know if you would like fresh copies of the rubric. I’d be happy to send more home!

Students are working hard to use the spelling patterns they know and they are doing a great job of writing the sounds they hear in each word. They are also using personal dictionaries as word banks to support their spelling.

We are continuing to celebrate our writing through our Author’s Chair time. Students read their narratives to the class and the audience is focused on giving specific compliments to the author.

Teacher Tip: Journal writing can be a great way to increase writing fluency. A journal can look a lot of different ways including 1.) student writes to a prompt or a topic of their choice OR 2.) parent and student write back and forth to each other in the journal. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you want to talk through how you could add journaling to your Language Arts class.

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

​Topics: Letter writing, reading with expression, comparing/contrasting

​Activities: After October’s Literacy Day celebration, we took time to write thank-you notes to our sixth-grade buddies, including a photo of each partner pair with their Frog and Toad books. Since their classroom is right next door, we decided to “send” the notes by sliding them under the door. How fun it was to eavesdrop on our side and hear their excitement as they discovered unexpected mail coming their way!​ To wrap up our Frog and Toad study, the second graders worked in small groups to rehearse one of the Frog and Toad plays—The Story, Spring, The Swim, or The Letter​. ​ These will be performed for the​ voted upon first and third graders​ next month​.​ Students focused on reading at an appropriate pace​ (not too fast or too slow​)​ and using expressive voices. This experience ​w​ill allow them to compare their initial “cold” readings with their polished performances at the end of the study. Since the plays come from Frog and Toad Are Friends, we also created a class chart titled ​“A Friend is Someone Who…” to reflect on the qualities of friendship.​ After discussing the differences between fiction and nonfiction, we paused our Frog and Toad stories to listen to Why Frogs Are Wet by Judy Hawes. Students were amazed to learn that there are over 2,000 kinds of frogs! They explored fascinating facts about the frog life cycle, hibernation, physical characteristics, size, and adaptations for finding food.​ Second graders then worked on identifying information in an article that was true of frogs, true of toads, or true of both. They cut apart statements and created their own individual charts to highlight this information.

Teacher Tip: Reading aloud is an excellent way to enhance reading fluency. Try to set aside 20 minutes each day to listen to your child read. I also encourage you to make it a family activity by engaging with one of the recent Frog and Toad Reader’s Theater scripts your child brought home.

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

Topics: Typing Speed and Accuracy, Google Sheets, Solving and Creating Algorithms

Activities: Each class period students begin with 10 minutes of typing practice. Our focus continues to be on home row, correct posture, and accuracy. By the end of January everyone will be able to take at least one typing test which we will continue monthly in grades 3-8.

The focus this month has been on Google Sheets. Students began with a paper and crayon mystery picture where students had to identify cells on a gid and color. This same activity was repeated using Google sheets; students were able to identify the same cells and use the paint bucket tool to recreate the picture digitally. Everyone should now be able to locate cells on a sheet by their column and row address (A1, B5, etc.). We also learned to identify rows vs columns using arm motions. For an extra challenge, some students created a mystery picture word search. Students who finished the main mystery pictures were able to begin creating small data charts. We will continue these lessons in grade 3 where students will learn to create charts and bar/pie graphs.

We finished the month creating digital turkeys following algorithms and creating our own algorithms for others to create turkeys.

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

Topics: Elements of Art: Value, Texture, Shape, & Color; Principles of Design: Balance, Pattern, Movement, Emphasis, & Unity; Techniques: paper weaving

Activities: During this short month, we recognized Native American Heritage Month by viewing and discussing contemporary artworks made by Native American artists. Students completed their owls this month and moved on to a fun Thanksgiving Place Setting project. They learned how to cut their own loom and weave paper for the placemat, make painted paper to use for the silverware, and use radial symmetry to paint their own fancy plate. Next, we read a fun wordless book called Flashlight by Lizi Boyd. It’s an imaginative look at the nighttime world as the child’s flashlight illuminates portions of a woodland environment. Students learned about concepts like contrast, emphasis, and texture while drawing their own nighttime scene, complete with woodland creatures and a flashlight that gives color to the otherwise black and white scene.

Reflection Questions: Ask your student to tell you about their nighttime scene and the plants and animals in it!

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