It's hard to believe that we are already done with the first two months of second grade!!  I'm sure you are all looking forward to a Spook-tacular Halloween Weekend...I can't wait to hear all about it on Monday!

As usual, students were very busy this week.  Here's a quick overview:

Reading
In reading this week, our theme was “Coming to America.” The main selection this week was a realistic fiction story written by Helen Recorvits, titled My Name is Yoon. This story is about a little girl who moves to America with her family from Korea. As one might expect, Yoon experiences a range of emotions about the move and has a difficult time adjusting to the new culture. By the end of the story, however, Yoon’s feelings change and she begins to think that she might like it in America.

The reading comprehension strategy for this week was making/confirming predictions. The children are very good at making predictions and reading to determine whether or not these predictions are correct. This is something that we do a lot in our classroom – with our read-aloud, in science (with experiments) and even in math! When reading with your child at home, make predictions together and read to find out if they are correct, partially correct or completely wrong (which happens sometimes – and that’s OK!).


This week, students were responsible for 5 reading centers including:

Grammar:  Students do a noun hunt and identify/record 5 people, 5 places and 5 things from this week's story. 

Art: Students described in words and pictures how Yoon's feelings change throughout the story. 

Computer Center:  Students watched/listened to a video about making predictions and took a short quiz. They then looked at several different pictures and made predictions about what would happen next (in words or pictures).

Handwriting:  Students had lots of practice writing Os this week!

Independent Reading:  After reading in a small group, students independently answered comprehension questions about the book they read.

Math
In Math this week, we reviewed some important concepts and ideas, such as Function Machines (aka:  In and Out Boxes) and Frames and Arrows.  We wrapped up Unit 2 on Friday with an assessment.

Science
Students learned all about molecules (the tiny “particles” that make up matter) and students showed how molecules are arranged in solids, liquids, and gases using Cheerios!    Here are a few pictures:

Mystery Reader
Mr. Nealon, Lucas's dad, was our Mystery Reader today!!  He read two fabulous books, one of which the Nealon family donated to our classroom!!  (Incredible You, by Dr. Wayne D. Dyer)  Thank you so much!!