May 22nd-26th

Field Day was a BLAST!!! We showed great sportsmanship and earned 13 golden clips!

We are on the home stretch now, just 2 more weeks to go!  We are finishing up some units and starting some fun end of year learning and reflecting.

Writing:
We will write about memories this week.  We will focus on having a clear beginning, middle, and end in our writing.  We will show how much we have grown as writers by comparing our writing from the beginning of the year.  It is so neat to see how much we have progressed!

Reading:
We are finishing up our book clubs this week.  We have focused on comprehension skills such as making connections, character analysis, and author's purpose.  I hope you enjoyed the "book tasting" from Cafe 112 this week.  Your kiddos had a blast sharing their knowledge with you all.  

Spelling:
spelling has ended for the year

Math and Social Studies:
These subjects are combined this week because we are using financial literacy to improve our money sense.  We are working with debt, borrowing, interest rates, and donating this week.  Your kiddos have chosen classroom jobs and have been responsible for choosing a neighborhood that fits their budget.  It's been fun to watch them update their budgets and learn about spending, saving, wants, and needs.  

Reminders:
Career Day- May 26th 9:45-10:30 (same lunch time)  
2nd Grade Awards and Party- May 30th 8:00 awards and 9:45 Party (please sign up to help!)
Holiday- May 29th
Last Day of 2nd Grade- June 1st

April 24th-28th

The Reptile Show was a blast!  

Laguna Gloria and Hiking at Mayfield Park

Reading and Writing:
This week we will continue our investigation on our chosen animal.  We have some really neat creatures that we are learning about such as cockroaches and scorpions!  We will take our research facts and begin to organize them this week into paragraph form.  Our first draft will begin and later this week we will conference with our friends and produce a fancy piece to share.  

Spelling:
We will work on the -tion and -ure sounds this week.  Please practice at home!  These can be tricky.

Math:
We will continue with our fraction unit.  We will compare fractions, find equivalent fractions, and play a few review games.  We will assess our fraction knowledge and begin 4 digit place value at the end of the week.  

Science:
Our animal investigation will continue while learning about the food chain and adaptation.  We were so fascinated with the peacocks at Mayfield Park on the field trip.  Our inquisting minds are very curious about them.  We will spend some time learning about them this week too. 

Reminders:
Life Journals- Due every Friday

April 10th-13th

Reading and Writing:

We will continue to work on our research projects.  We are using a variety of resources to get information such as books and websites.  We have our topics and are setting goals this week.  We are also doing a lot of brainstorming to find out what we already know and what we want to learn.  This will guide our inquiry this week as we research.

Guided Reading:
We are finishing up our book clubs and working on a product to present to the class.  All of the book clubs went great and our reading knowledge is taking off in a big way!  

Math:
We are working with fractional parts.  This week we will focus on equal/unequal parts, halves, and other partitions.  We will use symmetry to help us to understand equal parts or "fair shares".  

Science:
We will continue on our life science unit.  We are specifically dipping into insects, seed/animal adaptations, and seasonal adaptations among living things.  Our enrichment clubs are going super!  If you have empty paper towel or wrapping paper rolls please send them in!

Reminders:

• Field Trip to Laguna Gloria- April 20th **Send in permission slips**
• April 14th- Good Friday holiday
• Return Library books on Tuesdays or before

April 3rd-7th

Writing:
This week we will finish up our poetry unit with our Poetry Theater.  We would love to have you join us to celebrate our creative side of writing.  It will be on Tuesday, April 4th at 8:00 in our classroom.  The kids are really excited to have you there as the audience.  

Later next week will start our Animal Research projects.  This will begin with research from books and online resources. We will set some goals and gather new information and facts.  This project will continue for several weeks.  

Reading:
We are working on reading non-fiction the next few weeks as we research on our Animal Projects.  We will be learning new vocabulary words and looking for the key facts.  We will also touch on dictionary skills and non-fiction text features again.

Math:
You have some smart kiddos!  We have really enjoyed learning different strategies to multiply and divide numbers.  Remember- it is not about memorizing the facts in second grade- our focus is on learning the basic understanding of how it works.  Next week we will review with games and assess to check for understanding.  We will start our fraction unit next!

Science:
We are really getting into our study of Life Science.  We dissected a seed and found a baby plant, cotyledon, and seed coat.  It was exciting!  We also got to plant our own plant people.  The plant people will be coming home soon for your child to continue to care for.  We will experiment with light and plants next week along with seed dispersal.  

Reminders:

• April 1st- Family Dinner Night at 5:30- come and play even if you didn't purchase tickets ahead of time!!
• April 4th- Class Poetry Theater- 8:00-8:20 a.m.
• April 5th- Early Release Day at noon.  Lunch as usual
• April 7th- Family Fit Night at school

March 6th-10th

Writing and Reading:

We will begin our unit on Poetry starting off with imagery or sensory language.  We will activate our 5 senses and talk about why authors use certain language in their writing to entertain us.  I love hearing all of the fun words the kiddos use during this unit.  

We will also continue our book clubs that started this week.  We have some great books with a lot of humor that have been very entertaining to read.  Each group is working on different tasks to improve their comprehension, fluency, and accuracy while reading. Keep up reading at home!

Math:

Last week we worked on 3 digit addition with regrouping (carrying) and this week we will get into 3 digit subtraction with regrouping (borrowing).  It will be more than just computation.  Word problems and problem solving will be a huge part of this week.  

Science: 

This week we will finish up our state research projects and present our knowledge the the class.  It has been fun learning about 7 of our 50 states and I can't wait to see what projects they pick!

February 13th-17th

Writing:
We will continue to write our persuasive letters to the City of Austin in hopes that they will implement some better safety features in the neighborhood for bikers, walker, and drivers.  We will also work on writing from the perspective of a weather forecaster.  We will practice using vocabulary words from our weather unit.  

Math:
We will continue with measurement this week.  We will measure Area, centimeters, and yards.  We will compare measurements and estimate the measurements of objects as well.  

Science:
Weather is our focus this week.  We will work on reading a thermometer, learning weather vocabulary, and reading a weather map. 

Reading:
We will perform our famous "readers theater" this week at the party on Tuesday.  The performance will begin at 1:30 so don't miss out!  We will also work on reading skills during our guided reading groups and I will be doing some middle of year reading assessments.  

Reminders:
Valentine Party- 1:30-2:30 on Feb. 14th
Valentine Cards- Send now!
Readers' Theater- 1:30 on Feb. 14th

January 30th-February 3rd

Writing:
We have finished up our fables and they turned out great!  This week we are focusing on persuasive writing.  We will recognize persuasive language that authors use to persuade the reader.  We will also discuss audience and how we construct our writing accordingly.  We will focus on persuasive writing for the next few weeks and the unit will end with persuading the City of Austin Transportation Department to make our neighborhood safer for bikers and walkers.  I can't wait to see what solutions your kiddos come up with!

Reading:
Our book club is coming to an end this week.  We will begin a reader's theater and enjoy performing that for you soon!  Reader's Theater is a great way to build on our fluency, voice, and pronunciation.  

Math:
We will continue working on telling time.  In second grade students are expected to tell time to the minute on an analog clock and digital clock.  The analog clock is challenging to read so please practice at home using one!  This is also a great time to get your kiddos an alarm clock so they can start getting up on their own in the morning and recognizing the concept of AM and PM.  

Social Studies:
Our safety solution groups have been divided up into regions.  The United Safety Of Caraway is the chosen name of our safety county.  Each region will become a map including landforms, water features, laws, roads, and a key.  

Innovation Lab photos!  Such a fun place to learn at Caraway!! :)

Reminders:
Library- Tuesday
Life Journals- Due Friday
Spelling- practice at home!
Reading- for enjoyment- 20 min. minimum each night
Valentine's Party- Feb. 14th at 1:30pm- info. is coming soon!