March Second Grade News 2012

Dates to Know:
*Friday, March 2nd - Dr. Seuss' Birthday Celebration
*Friday, March 9th - Reading minutes party during lunch!
*Friday, March 9th - Report cards go home!
*Thursday, March 15th - 2nd Grade Musical
*Monday, March 26th - Monday, April 2nd - Spring Break
*Wednesday, April 11th - No school - Furlough Day!
*Friday, April 20th and Monday, April 23rd - Assessment Days - Appointed times only!
*Wednesday, April 25th - Early Release Day - Dismissal is at 1:15pm.

Reminders:
*Be sure your child brings his/her favorite Dr. Seuss book/s to school on Friday, March 2nd. Also, encourage your child to dress up as his/her favorite Dr. Seuss character.
*Please return the report card envelope!
*Begin filling out the March Reading Minutes! Remember to complete the writing activity that goes along with your minutes.

Literacy
Reading:
We are working very hard reviewing comprehension strategies, word attack skills, vocabulary, and fluency during our shared and guided reading. Students are enjoying varieties of non-ficiton texts which align nicely with our writing. During the month of March we will be experiencing stories from diverse cultures. The second grade classes are working hard to get their book reviews posted on the Leawood website under learning commons and 2nd grade reads. Hopefully, by the end of the month, each student will have a review posted. Be sure to check it out!
Fundations- We have just finished up Unit #11 in which we focused on the vowel teams: ee, ea and ey. During Unit #12 we will work on the following: *Sounds of oi and oy *Spelling generalizations of the /oi/ sound. *Combining the "D" syllable with other syllable types *Trick Words: mother, father, brother, neighbor, early, ocean

Writing:
The children are having a blast writing persuasive paragraphs and letters! They have asked for longer recesses, no homework, crazy pets, and interesting lunch choices. Reading the persuasive books for shared reading, read aloud, and independent reading has been a favorite activity. The children have learned a lot about this genre from the mentor texts. They have become experts on the difference between facts and opinions. Providing reasons and details to support their opinions has been a main target for this genre. During the month of March we will be focusing on factual description and short stories.

Math: We are currently working in Unit #8. The lesson objectives consist of the following:
*Equal Parts of ONE
*Exploring Fractions, Multiplication and Division, and Volume
*Collections of Things
*Equivalent Fractions
*Equivalent Fractions Using Fraction Cards
*Comparing Fractions
*Fraction Number Stories
Unit #9 will cover the following objectives:
*Measuring with Yards & Meters
*Fractional Units of Length
*Perimeter
*Measuring Longer Distances
*Weight
*Exploring Capacity, Area, and Measures

Social Studies:
The children were thoroughly engrossed in our study of Harriet Tubman, slavery, and the Underground Railroad. They had many questions and curiosities. We are well into our study of economics. Students are discussing the differences between producers/consumers,needs/wants, and goods/services. We will also be learning about capital resources, natural resources, scarcity, surplus,and opportunity cost.

Parent Tips: Author's Message, (a.k.a. moral or lesson) can be very difficult for the children to understand on their own. Reading fables is an excellent way to help children understand this difficult concept, and is a great place to start. It would be helpful if parents would discuss the message of any book read as it comes up in the book, and again at the end. Parents are not always able to read every book their child reads, but often they watch television shows with them. Many children's shows also have a message. Discussing the message with the children as you watch can help build a foundation for reading.

Congratulations!
Thank you all for helping your child prepare for our second grade science fair. They did a fabulous job following the format, presenting, and explaining their findings. It was a learning experience for us all. We appreciate all of the parents who were able to come and be a part of the fun!