Happy May Day

                                                                                       May 1, 2017

Dear Bighorn Parents,

Welcome to the month of May!!  Even though we are solidly in the season of spring, winter temperatures have occasionally crept in and this week there are summer temperatures (high 70’s into the 80’s) in the forecast.  Please send your child with a labeled water bottle.

Last week students focused on the final standard in 2nd grade Math--equal groups and building arrays to show repeated addition or the foundation of Multiplication.  Students were so excited!

As students work on this important foundational skill.  They learned about equal groups, repeated addition, arrays, columns, rows, multiplication equations, factors, and products.  Miss Garcia and myself were very impressed with how quickly the 2nd graders picked it up!  They are looking more and more like 3rd graders everyday.

We will review this work on Monday and assess, so there will be no homework Monday night in math.

Pictures of students building a foundation for multiplication as they build equal groups.

With instruction of 2nd grade math standards completed, the remainder of the school year, we will be focusing on standards that have not been completely mastered.  Our math will consist of many “mini lessons” and “mini assessments” on previously taught material to ensure that students who previously were at mastery level are still there and students that had not mastered a standard have the opportunity for additional instruction and practice so that they may be reassessed.  With that being said some of the IXL Objectives will be repeated for additional practice.

Homework

Monday	Equal Groups Assess-No Homework
Tuesday	2-Step Word Problems Worksheet
Wednesday	IXL Q. 5 Read Clocks and Write Times
Thursday	IXL Q.6 Time Words: O’Clock, Past, and Quarter

Wishing everyone a fantastic week!  The weather should be great for baseball, softball, and lacrosse.  Enjoy it while you can as we know winter can always stop back by for a visit.

Sincerely,

Anne Bloomfield

and

Shannon Garcia

Week 33

  

          

                                                                       April 24, 2017

Dear Parents,

The school year continues to be flying by, it’s hard to believe that we only have 5 weeks left of school!!  

In Math, 2nd graders will be starting their last “new” unit of the school year--multiplication.  We will be using number bonds and the terms equal groups, repeated addition, and arrays as we explore this concept.  Students will spend time drawing lots of pictures as we learn the foundation of multiplication.

Number Bond

▋ ▋ ▋ ▋     ▋ ▋▋ ▋      ▋ ▋ ▋▋

    

This number bond can be described the following ways....

Repeated Addition...4 + 4 + 4 = 12

Multiplication Sentence...3 X 4 = 12

Equal Groups...3 groups of 4 equals 12

Array                     C

                       O

ROWS     L   This array can be described as...

        U   Repeated Addition...4 + 4 + 4 = 12

          M   Equal Groups… 3 rows of 4

                         N   Multiplication Sentence...3 X 4 =12

                         S    

Here’s the homework for the week...

Monday	IXL Y.2 Identify Multiplication Sentences for Equal Groups
Tuesday	IXL Y.3 Write Multiplication Sentences for Equal Groups
Wednesday	IXL Y.4 Relate Addition and Multiplication Sentences for Equal Groups
Thursday	IXL Y.5 Write Multiplication Sentences for Arrays

Language

Last week we finished our work on prefixes to determine word meaning and will continue this week with two more standards that focus on determining the meaning of words.  This week students will use a known root word (add) as a clue to the meaning of a new word (additional).  They will also use glossaries and dictionaries to determine  or clarify the meaning of words or phrases.  This work will  into next week as well.

Writing

Students are finishing up their Animal Slide Shows and will present them to the class this week.  These will be graded for the Informative Writing Standard and Speaking and Listening Standards.

Projects

This week students will finish creating their diagram of a flower, complete with labels.  Students will also dissect flowers so that they can get a better idea of the parts of a flower.  Finally students will start designing and creating their flower models.

This week promises to be busy with beautiful weather.  We hope our 2nd grade families are able to get out and enjoy spring in Fallon!!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Bloomfield

and

Miss Garcia

Week 32 Happy Easter

                                                                              April 17, 2017

Dear Parents,

Hopefully everyone had wonderful Easter and had some fun enjoying family time.  

Last week we worked on solving money problems and 2 step word problems.  Students have been encourage to solve these problems mentally (although they must show an equation). All week the students were guided through problems, worked in partners, and worked independently solving word problems involving money and 2-steps.  

This week in Math, we will be reviewing graphs.  Students will be working on creating and interpreting picture graphs, bar graphs, and line plots.  

  Picture Graph                      Bar Graph                  Line Plot     

Favorite Animal X X X O O O O ⊿ ⊿

Length of Fish Caught                X    X          X    X    X    X    X    X        X    X    X    X    X    ___________________________    7     8    9    10   11        (in inches)

Homework for Week 32

Monday	Picture Graph Worksheet
Tuesday	Bar Graph Worksheet
Wednesday	Line Plot Worksheet
Thursday	Line Plot Worksheet

Language

In language we went from using context clues to determine word meaning to using prefixes to help us determine word meaning.  The prefixes that we focused on last week and will continue to focus on are re, un, dis, mis, pre, and under.

re = again, back	un = not, opposite	dis = not	mis = wrong	pre = before	under = below
replay	untie	dishonest	misprint	preschool	underwater

Writing

Our work in writing continues with our work in informative writing; creating animal slideshows.  Students have been very excited to research and create their slideshows.  They should be completing them by Wednesday and presenting them to the class on Wednesday, Thursday, or next Monday!

Projects

The 2nd grade botanists are watching their bean seeds grow or in some cases not grow:(  We have been working on the life cycle of a plant and on the parts of the plant.  This project will continue for another two weeks.

Special Event

Last Tuesday all student graders got to learn about dental care from Michelle Mc Coy from the Dentist’s Office.  Mrs. Mc Coy brought in several dental hygenist to help teach students about the correct way to brush and floss and the importance of taking care of your teeth.  We appreciate the time and the fun learning experience.

The teeth (students in white t-shirts), who have been sprayed with Silly String (plaque), getting brushed and flossed.

Wishing everyone a wonderful week!!

Sincerely,

Anne Bloomfield

and

Shannon Garcia

Week 31 Happy Easter!!

                                                                                 April 10, 2017

Dear Parents,

April is always a busy month and this April is no different.  Lacrosse, swimming lessons, softball, and baseball are all in full swing; which can mean late nights and unusual schedules.  Please remember that somewhere homework needs to fit in.

Math

In math we will finish our work with adding and subtracting money amounts on Monday.  Students worked on this standard last week as well.  

This week students will be focusing on adding up to four numbers to find a sum as well as word problems involving 2 steps.

Homework for Week 31

Monday	In and Out Table Worksheet
Tuesday	IXL E.20 Add 4 or more 1 digit numbers-word problems
Wednesday	IXL G.16 Word Problems - add up to 4 digits
Thursday	IXL L.9 Word Problems up to 100

Language

Our work in language is all about determining the meaning of words.  Last week and the beginning of this week students have been using context clues to help them to understand the meaning of unfamiliar words.  We will be using our read aloud book, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane to help us with this standard.  

Students will finish out the week using prefixes (re, un, mis, pre, dis,..) to help determine the meaning of words.  This work will continue into next week.

Writing

Students will be working on informative writing this week and probably into next week.  In this informative writing students will partner to create a slide show on an animal.  Students will begin this week with researching their animal.  They will need to make slides about their animal’s characteristics, habitat, diet, enemies, defenses, and lifespan.

Projects

Students have been observing their bean plants.  We have learned about the main parts (roots, stem, and leaves) of the plant and the roles they play in helping a plant grow.  We also spent time discussing the life cycle of a plant.  We will continue learning about plants for the next 2 weeks.

Wishing everyone a Happy Easter!!  Hopefully the weather will stay spring like and everyone will be able to celebrate the holiday surrounded by family and friends!

Sincerely,

Anne Bloomfield

and

Shannon Garcia