2nd Grade
October 2022
Second grade has been off to an amazing start! We look forward to a wonderful school year working with all of our second grade super stars!
Every month, you will receive a newsletter with important information about our curriculum. We will also include suggestions for ways to support your child with their learning at home.
Please be sure to look out for this newsletter in the beginning of every month.
We mostly communicate via Dojo, so please make sure you’re connected!
Book of the Month: We Are Water Protectors, by Carole Lindstrom
Click on the title for more information!
Theme: Kindness & Speaking up for What is Right
Reading
In reading workshop, your child will work on building good reading habits and learn strategies to figure out tricky words. Some of the strategies we will review and teach include using picture cues, looking through the whole word, part-by-part, and looking for smaller words in a bigger word.
Some questions they may ask themselves when figuring out a tricky/unknown word are:
- Does it make sense?
- Does it sound right?
- Does it look right?
Please encourage your child to read the books in their reading baggie every night for 20 minutes! Please ask your child questions about their books to further develop their comprehension skills.
Writing
In writing workshop, students have been working on narrative writing.
Throughout our unit, we will continue revising our stories to include craft moves learned from mentor authors such as, zooming in on the action, sound words, bold words, and dialogue.
Helpful Tips for Parents:
- Encourage your child to reread their writing.
- Ask your child if they checked for capitalization at the beginning of their sentences and ended in punctuation.
Math
In math, we have been working on introducing clocks and money to our students. Over the next few weeks, we will work on basic addition facts, reviewing combinations of 10 and 20, as well as reviewing doubles facts.
At home, please continue to practice your child’s combinations of ten (1+9=10, 2+8=10, 3+7=10) and twenty (11+9=20, 12+8=20, etc).
You can help to build your child’s fluency in math by reviewing their doubles (6+6, 5+5, 7+7) and doubles -1 and +1 (If I know 6+6=12, then 6+7 is one more = 13).
You can also practice telling time together as you go through your daily routines.
Science
2nd Graders will continue learning about science and what scientists do.
We will begin our first unit of study: Plant and Animal Interactions. Students will learn how plants and animals depend on each other. They will plan and carry out investigations to explore the needs of plants.
To support your child at home, read books about plants and animals and discuss what plants need to survive (air, water, sunlight, etc.)
Social Emotional Learning
Your child is learning ways to improve when they’re learning a new skill and ways to keep going when they make a mistake or face a challenge.
At home, notice and praise your child when they are working hard to learn something. Focus on the effort they’re putting into learning and the strategies they’re using to improve.
Try this! Help your child choose a task or a skill they would like to learn to do independently. For example, reading a story, caring for a pet, or drawing a favorite animal. Set aside a few minutes each day for them to practice.
ART
2nd graders will be exploring the season of fall with nature themed projects. They will also help create art for our upcoming school Hoedown!
MUSIC
2nd graders are exploring beat and rhythm patterns. We will be playing different rhythm patterns on rhythm instruments such as tambourines and drums. We will be learning rhythm notation as well. We will be introduced to the Carnegie Hall Musical Explorers program, which exposes children to different music from around the world.
Social Studies
In social studies, we are learning what the government is, and asking "why do people need laws?" The United States is founded on the principles of democracy, which are reflected in all types of communities.
Communities have rules and regulations that affect how they function. Citizens contribute to a community’s government through leadership and service.
GYM
Students are doing various activities while performing various gross motor skills.
*Tip of the month: Practice tying shoes with your child!
Upcoming Events
10/3 PTA CANDY SALE BEGINS
10/5 SCHOOL CLOSED YOM KIPPUR
10/10 SCHOOL CLOSED INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY & ITALIAN HERITAGE DAY
10/17 & 10/18 PICTURE DAY
10/21 HOEDOWN @ PS230
10/31 CHARACTER PARADE