Good Bye January, Hello February!!

                                                                                                              January 30, 2017

Dear Parents,

How can we be starting the 4th week of the third quarter, ending January, and beginning February???

Math

Our work in Math last week and for the next few weeks will be focusing on addition and subtraction with renaming.  We will be using the same strategies (open number line, branch method, and partial sums and differences) that students have already been taught.

This week we worked on decomposing and composing ones and tens to help us make the next ten or next 100 so that we could easily add.

Here's what it looked like...

Example 1:  Adding ones by making the next ten.

56  +  7 = ____          1.  The next ten after 56 is 60.

       ↙ ↘                 2.  To get to 60 you need 4, so the 7 gets decomposed into 4 and 3.     

      4    3                      Then take the 4 and compose it with the 56 to make 60.

60 + 3 = 63                  3.  The renamed equation is 60 + 3 = 63.

Example 2:  Adding tens by making the next hundred.

450  +  90 = ___        1.  The next hundred after 450 is 500.

         ↙ ↘                  2.  To get to 500 you need 50, so the 90 get decomposed into 50 and

     50   40                   40.  Then take the 50 and compose it with the 450 to make 500.

500 + 40 = 540          3.  The renamed equation is 500 + 40 = 540.

After solving the equation, students used the open number strategy to check their answers.

Homework

As was mentioned last week homework for the week will be worksheets because the standards being worked on are not on IXL.  This will be the case for the next few weeks.

Writing

Our work in writing is moving into informative writing.  We are learning how to research and will use the information to create a slide show on a famous person.  Students have already selected their famous person and we will start researching this week.

Language

It's all about vocabulary in language.  Students have been learning about synonyms (words that have the same meaning).  We have been learning about and using a thesaurus and thesaurus.com to find stronger words.  Students have also been working on ordering groups of synonyms by intensity.  We are incorporating some of our new vocabulary words into our speaking and writing.

                        

The discussions that went on as students decided the order of their synonyms were very interesting.

Projects

Our Timeline Project has begun!!  Students finished their timelines of Martin Luther King.  They are now making a personal timelines.  Last week we learned about time periods that include a century and decade.  We looked at some videos to get a sense of how things have changed in the last 100 years.  These week students will pick a decade to become an expert on.  The decades will be from 1900 to 2000, so students will be working with a partner.

Valentine’s Day    

Valentine’s Day is coming up on Tuesday, February 14th.  Since this holiday falls on a school day the 2nd grade team will enjoy a few activities at the end of the day.  Our plan is to have students pass out Valentines (please be sure that your child sends one to everyone), play Valentine Bingo, and share appreciations.  Miss Garcia and myself wish to have the children enjoy the holidy with our students in a very simple manner.  

FYI...The Oasis Student Council will be selling Candy Grams.  Although Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd graders will not be allowed to buy them, parents may purchase them at the front office.

Wishing everyone  a great end of January and beginning of February!!

Sincerely,

Anne Bloomfield

and

Shannon Garcia

Here is some Reading information from Mrs. Loop...

Hello Second Grade Families,

REMINDER: Book orders are due Tuesday, January 31.  If you are interested in ordering books please submit your order online (scholastic.com/readingclub) or send in your order to school with your child. Use Code N8BVL.

Thank you,

Katy Loop

Week 21

                                                                                                 January 23, 2017

Dear Bighorn Parents,

Although last week was a short week due to the Martin Luther King holiday, it was definitely a busy one in 2nd grade.  

Math

In math we have continued our work in measurement.  Students have spent quite a bit of time estimating and measuring in both customary (inches, feet, and yards) and metric (centimeters and meters).  In class we have been discussing what unit of measurement is appropriate for measuring items.  For example you wouldn’t measure the length of the room in inches, feet, yards, or meters would be a more appropriate unit.  We will finish up this week with determing how much longer one item is than another.  Students will be assessed on Tuesday.

   

Measuring a beachball!       Playing “Give One, Get One” with items that are

“about” an inch or centimeter.

                      

  

                 More “Give One, Get One”!

This week we will be revisiting the branching method to add but we will be working on renaming.  Miss Garcia and I are confident that students are very strong with their addition strategies and will be very successful as we introduce renaming with addition this week.  With that being said, we are now entering a couple of weeks with primarily paper homework, since IXL does not have objectives that we can use to give students the practice on the various strategies.

Homework

Monday	Workbook pages 108 and 109
Tuesday	Worksheet Review Branching Strategy (no renaming)
Wednesday	Worksheet Branching Renaming Ones (addition)
Thursday	Worksheet Branching Renaming Tens (addition)

Language                                                                                                                             

It's all about vocabulary in language.  Students have been learning about shades of meaning with similiar words.  One example from this past week is listed below.  Students have also been working on ordering groups of words by intensity.  We are incorporating some of our new vocabulary words into our speaking and writing.

Annoyed                                                 Upset                                        Rage

_____________________________________________________________

Weaker                                                                              Stronger

Projects

Historians in Rooms 3 and 17 have spent time learning about the important events in the life of Dr. Martin Luther King.  Students will be putting this information in a timeline.  After putting together a timeline for Dr. Martin Luther King, students will then create a personal timeline.  Towards the end of the week, second grade historians will spend time researching a decade between 1900 and 2000.  Over the next couple of weeks students will be learning about the important people, events, inventions, music, and books that happened during their decade.  We will keep you posted as we learn about the different decades that made up the 20th century.

Is your silverware drawer a little empty???  Many students are bringing utensils to school for snack or lunch and leaving them in the snack bin.  I ask weekly about the utensils, some of the spoons have been in the bin since before Christmas!  If any of them belong to you, remind your child to claim them.  I will be putting unclaimed silverware in the “Lost and Found” Thursday afternoon!!

With the weather being so CRAZY please be sure that your child has outerwear to keep them warm and dry during outside times.

Sincerely,

Anne Bloomfield

    

A Great First Week

                                                                                                                  January 17, 2016

Dear Parents,

New year, new semester, new quarter, it was a very busy first but wonderful first week back!!  Between lots of new pieces, being back with friends, a  birthday celebration for Mrs. Bloomfield, and the SNOW; it was an extra busy week!!

Mrs. Whitaker put together a fun birthday celebration which included a delicious cupcakes (I'm sure they were calorie free.) and very generous Kohl’s card ( I LOVE shopping at Kohl’s!!).  Thank you to everyone for such a special birthday celebration!!

Math

We started the new year out with our unit on measuring length.  Our week began with students using nonstandard units to measure classroom objects.  Students enjoyed using different nonstandard units to measure the object.  We were then able to discuss why an object measured with different nonstandard units had different measurements.

               

Students using Nonstandard Units to measure classroom items, such as paperclips and ties.

Here is a saying we use in order to measure with accuracy.  There are hand movements to go with it… “End to end, no gaps, no overlaps.”  Have them say and show you!  We will continue to practice next week.

“End to end…        no gaps…       no overlaps”

                    

After spending time with nonstandard units, students spent some time discussing standard measurement.  We looked at different types of measurement (length, weight, time, capacity,  and temperature) and the tools used to measure each measurement (rulers, tape measure, scale, clock, watch, calender, measuring cups, measuring spoons, and thermometers).  Finally students got some practice estimating and measuring lengths to the nearest inch and centimeter.

Here's the homework for the week.

Monday	No School Martin Luther King Day
Tuesday	Worksheet Measuring to the Nearest Inch
Wednesday	IXL  S. 3  Which Customary Unit of Length is Appropriate?
Thursday	Worksheet Measuring using Inches and Centimeters.

Writing

The students completed a very short but technology filled writing assignment using the acronym JOY.  The J stands for something the student just did, the O stands for one thing the student wants to improve in during 2017, and the Y stands for something special about you.  Students spent time talking and sharing their responses to the 3 statements.  They then wrote a rough draft on paper.  Students also worked on final copies on the computer.  This week students will be presenting their JOY to the class for an oral language grade.

Language

In language we finished our work with compound words.  Students practiced identifying and defining compound words.  They completed some sorts (compound words VS non compound words) and created a mini book with compound words.

We moved onto pronouns (words that take the place of nouns).  Students have worked with personal (I, we, they, she), possessive (my, hers, their, our), and reflexive (myself, themselves, yourself) pronouns.  We are using them in sentences and identifying the subject that the pronoun is taking the place of or referring back to.

Mrs. Bloomfield likes to ski. She (referring back to Mrs. Bloomfield) hopes to go on Friday. (Personal Pronoun)

Dallin will feed his cat in the morning.  (Possessive Pronoun)

Trista and Aarya will make themselves a sandwich. (Reflexive Pronoun)

Projects

This week we will be getting ready to start our new project.  It's focus will be in the area of history.  We will start with looking at some or the events in the life of Dr. Martin Luther King.  Students will also be making a personal timeline.

We hope everyone is getting back into their regular routines and had a relaxing weekend.  As always, looking forward to another wonderful week in Second Grade.

Sincerely,

Anne Bloomfield

  and

Miss Garcia

Welcome to 2017

                                                                                January 9, 2017

Happy 2017 Bighorn Families,

Happy New Year!!  Miss Garcia and myself hope you enjoyed your holiday season as much as we did.  It was great fun to spend time baking, shopping, traveling, and enjoying the company of family and friends.  Vacation was very relaxing and we feel so ready to come back to school.  We can hardly wait to see all the kiddos!!

We'd like to send out a huge thank you for all the wonderful Christmas gifts.  Before school on December 22nd, we were presented with a Christmas stocking filled with all sorts of wonderful goodies.  We were very overwhelmed with such a generous gifts.  Thank you so much!!

The week of before Winter Break we did a lot of review, assessing and reassessing in both first and second grade classes.

We are starting off the New Year with measuring.  Second graders will be expected to work on and meet the following standards:

• measure to determine which objects are longer than others
• estimate lengths using centimeters, inches, and feet
• measure an object twice using different units of measurements
• select appropriate tools such as rulers, yardsticks or measuring tapes in order to measure accurately.

Monday	Page 94
Tuesday	IXL S.15 Choose the appropriate measuring tool
Wednesday	IXL S.2 Measure using a inch ruler
Thursday	IXL S.8 Measure using a centimeter ruler

Report cards will be going home soon.  Keep in mind that students are graded on a 1 to 3 scale with 3 being mastery.  Many standards will be worked on throughout the year.  We are looking for students to be making progress towards mastery.  If you have any questions about your child's report card, please contact either Miss Garcia (423-5437-school) or Mrs. Bloomfield (423-5437-school or 294-4307-cell).

New Project Alert!!!  

The 2nd grade historians will be working on a decade project for the next month.  This week we will be working on the concept of time lines.  We will be talking about our history and events that have been important in our lives.  As historians are coming up with events they may be coming home to ask about important dates.  They do not need exact dates, for our purposes a year (and possibly a month) is fine.  The events students decide to put on their time line will determine if they will need to clarify dates with home support.  Miss Garcia and myself just wanted to give you a “heads up” if your child comes home asking when they said their first word or when they took their first step.  

Remember that Monday, January 16th is Martin Luther King Day.  We will not have school!  Enjoy the extra long weekend!!

As Miss Garcia and myself look back on 2016, we can't believe the changes we've seen in the students.  With 2016 behind us, we’re excited to see the growth and development that the new year will bring!

Sincerely,

Anne Bloomfield

     and

Shannon Garcia