Monday, November 30th, 2015

Today in the second grade, we:

• observed the first week of advent and were updated on our house points during our weekly assembly
• took our weekly spelling quiz, practiced identifying and pronouncing consonant blends with "str," "sp," and "sn," and practiced using our idiom of the week: "Feeling Blue"  in reading and phonics class
• identified plane shapes (triangles, circles, rectangles, squares, hexagons, and trapezoids) in math class
• took our unit 3 quiz in science class
• during ECA, we brainstormed ideas for this week's sharing time and listened to and discussed some more of our current story
  

Tonight's Homework:

• Complete the reading response on "Color Shows Mood" and check the rubric (in your child's assignment book.) 
• Read aloud for 15 minutes and have a parent sign your reading log.

Announcements:

• The topic for this Friday's weekly sharing time is: Where Were You Born? The students have received their outline and are welcome to start working on their presentations. The outline will be due on Wednesday, December 2nd.

• The spelling words for next Monday's spelling quiz (December 7th) will come from chapter 7 in math: plane shapes.

1. plane
2. shapes
3. triangle
4. circle
5. rectangle
6. square
7. hexagon
8. trapezoid
9. side
10. curve
11. vertex
12. vertices
13. angle
14. congruent
15. line
16. symmetry

Quarter Two Exam Schedule

• Monday, December 7th: Health pg. 70-85
• Tuesday, December 8th: Chinese and Music
• Wednesday, December 9th: P.E. (soccer fast/slow dribble, side stem and back peddle, explain where they should be in relation to teammates in a team sport) and Computers
• Thursday, December 10th: Christian Living (chapters 5-8)
• Friday, December 11th: Social Studies
• Monday, December 14th: Science and Math
• Tuesday, December 15th: Reading & Phonics and Language & Spelling

The students will receive their major subject study guides by next Monday, December 7th.

Happy Thanksgiving Long Weekend!

I hope you and your family are enjoying the long weekend. It was great to see many of you yesterday at the language festival.

Wednesday, November 25th, 2015

Today in the second grade, we:

• identified and used nouns that change their spelling in the plural form (children, men, women) and continued our cursive writing unit in language and spelling class
• took our chapter 6 quiz in math class
• added information to our notebooks about the 7 continents and 5 oceans and took turns sharing our world traveler passports with each other in social studies class
• spent the rest of the afternoon preparing for the language festival

Photos from yesterday's reading buddy session:

Homework for the Long Weekend:

• Complete Journeys Practice Book pg. 56-57.
• Complete the Think-Tac-Toe (in your child's language notebook.) The students are directed to choose three activities from the sheet. Please sign each activity they complete. All written work should be shown in your child's language notebook.
  The cartoon that the students were recommended to watch on the TTT is:
  Wild Kratts: Polar Bears Don't Dance
• Read aloud for 15 minutes and have a parent sign your reading log.
• Prepare for next Monday's (November 30th) spelling quiz: continent, ocean, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Australia, Europe, Antarctica, Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern, Arctic (from your child's social studies unit "Me On A Map.")
• Prepare for next Monday's science quiz on unit 3.

Announcements:

• The language festival will begin at 10 a.m. tomorrow. Lunch will follow, with the students being dismissed at 12:45. The G2 students have been working hard on our little skit of "A Day At School," and I hope you are able to come and enjoy it!
• The students are directed not to bring their bags to school tomorrow, but to only bring their water bottles and a healthy snack. We'll have a great half day before we start our Thanksgiving long weekend!

Tuesday, November 24th, 2015

Today in the second grade, we:

• reviewed our weekly spelling words and created storm safety posters in reading and phonics class 
• formed plural nouns by adding 'es', used these nouns to create a short story, and continued our unit on cursive writing in language and spelling class
• reviewed the target vocabulary and key concepts of chapter 6 in preparation for tomorrow's quiz in math class
• reviewed what fossils are and how they are created in science class
• met with our K2 reading buddies during ECA 

Tonight's Homework:

• Complete your World Traveler Passport (in your child's assignment book.)
• Prepare for tomorrow's chapter 6 quiz in math.
• Read aloud for 15 minutes and have a parent sign your reading log. 

Announcements:

• Library day tomorrow: the children are reminded to bring their books.

School Calendar Changes

There have been some changes made to the school calendar. These changes were made due to the changes in the Taiwan labor calendar and due to the request to have half days for students taking quarterly assessments for major subjects.

There is a copy of the changes made in your child's assignment book.

Monday, November 23rd, 2015

Today in the second grade, we:

• were updated on our house points and presented the theme of "Courtesy" during our weekly assembly
• took our weekly spelling quiz, practiced identifying and pronouncing consonant blends with "bl" and "pl," and practiced using our idiom of the week: "Walking On Air"  in reading and phonics class
• wrote number sentences, found patterns, and drew pictures to represent equations in math class
• learned more about the continents and oceans and started creating creative replicas of our foreign passports in social studies class
• practiced for the language festival and listened to and discussed some more of our current story

Tonight's Homework:

• Complete a non-fiction book report of "Super Storms" from Journeys pg. 226-244 and check the rubric (in your child's assignment book.) 

• Read aloud for 15 minutes and have a parent sign your reading log.

Announcements:

• I sent home the weekly spelling quiz. Please sign and send it back with your child. Thank you!

• The spelling words for next Monday's spelling quiz (November 30th) will come from our current social studies unit "Me On A Map" (in your child's social studies notebook.)

1. continent
2. ocean
3. Asia
4. Africa
5. North America
6. South America
7. Australia
8. Europe
9. Antarctica
10. Pacific
11. Atlantic
12. Indian
13. Southern
14. Arctic

• There will be no sharing time this week due to the Thanksgiving holiday.
  
  
• This Thursday, November 26th, will be a half-day, with the students dismissed after lunch at 12:30. The schedule for Thursday is as follows:
  
  
  • 8:30-9:45: Mass
  • 10-11:30: Language Festival
  • 11:45-12:30: Thanksgiving Family Lunch
    
• There will be a math quiz on chapter 6 this Wednesday, November 25th.
  
  
• There will be a science quiz on unit 3 next Monday, November 30th.

Friday, November 20th, 2015

Today in the second grade, we:

• reviewed our weekly target vocabulary and practiced identifying and pronouncing words with the "gr" and "cr" consonant blends in reading and phonics class
• took turns sharing what our parents do during our weekly sharing time and continued our cursive writing unit in language and spelling class
• continued to practice our dance moves in dance class
• reviewed our DIY fossil recipe and used it to make our own fossils in science class

Tonight's Homework:

• Complete Journeys Practice Book pg. 53-54.
• Complete the Think-Tac-Toe (in your child's language notebook.) The students are directed to choose three activities from the sheet. Please sign each activity they complete. All written work should be shown in your child's language notebook.
  The cartoon that the students were recommended to watch on the TTT is:
  Wild Kratts: Secrets of the Spider's Web
• Read aloud for 15 minutes and have a parent sign your reading log.
• Prepare for next Monday's (November 23rd) spelling quiz: shaped, branches, pond, deepest, hang, break, winding, blooming, shovels, plain, wrinkled, scent, tough, nodded (from Journeys pg. 162-163 and pg. 190-191.)

Announcements:

• I have sent home your child's pocket folder. Please send it back with your child on Monday. 
  
  
• As you have seen, we have finished our social studies unit on the government and have just started our new unit "Me On A Map." We will begin this unit by exploring the seven continents and five oceans in order to increase geographical awareness among the students. We will then go into a personal study of our birth countries, where the students will research their birthplace. I'll be showing the children how to create a digital presentation of what they learned, culminating in an oral presentation in front of the class.
  
  In order to start this project, I need a copy of the picture page of each students' passport. You can send me a printed copy or email me a scan or photo. Please feel free to blacken or block out any information like the passport number that you don't want shared. Thank you for your help! We only have three weeks until the second quarter exams and I'm hoping to fill them with memorable and engaging lessons.
  
  I don't need the passport copies until next Monday, November 23rd. I appreciate your help-as always!

Thursday, November 19th, 2015

Today in the second grade, we:

• formed irregular plural nouns that end in 'es' and continued our unit on cursive writing in language and spelling class
• pair read "Super Storms!" and summarized the key information about each of the four major storms (thunderstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes, and blizzards) in reading and phonics class
• extended, described, and created repeating and growing patterns in math class 
• started our new unit "Me On A Map" by discussing the seven continents in social studies class
• learned how to take care of our school garden from Mr. Chao and started making our fossils during science class
• listened to a presentation from Sister Heart during ECA 

Daniel learns that we can't pull up plants when we are weeding.

Mr. Chao shows us what healthy soil looks like.

 The students compare the healthy soil with unhealthy soil.

 

Mr. Chao shows us the different plants we will grow.

Mr. Chao shows us the difference between weeds and plants.

 

 

 

G2 celebrated Fiona's success at the spelling bee.

Well done, Fiona!

 

Tonight's Homework:

• Complete Math Practice 6.1-6.6.
• Read aloud for 15 minutes and have a parent sign your reading log.  
• Practice sharing time outline for this Friday's sharing time.

Announcements:

The students had a wonderful time learning about the garden and taking the first steps of helping our garden grow. It was, however, a bit messy. I apologize for sending your children home a bit muddier than usual. Please feel free to send a spare change of P.E. clothes and/or shoes every other Thursday. The next time we will be gardening will be on Thursday, December 3rd. Thank you for your understanding!