Friday, January 29th, 2016

Today in the second grade, we:

• started off the morning by reviewing our weekly target vocabulary
• we then listened to and discussed our latest class story
• after which, we completed our pen pal letters to send off to Canada
• reviewed consonant blends, consonant digraphs, and r-controlled vowels in preparation for Monday's quiz in reading and phonics class 
• fine-tuned our dance moves for the Chinese festival in dance class
• identified different kinds of wild weather and discussed how we can prepare for this kind of weather  in science class

Tonight's Homework:

• Complete Journeys Practice Book pg. 79-80.
• 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:
  A Battle of Equals
• Read aloud for 15 minutes and have a parent sign your reading log.
• Prepare for next Monday's (February 1st) spelling quiz: fractions, whole, unit, half, halves, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, twentieth, thirtieth, fortieth (from Math pg. 225-256.)
• Prepare for Monday's phonics quiz on unit 3: consonant digraphs, consonant blends, and r-controlled vowels.

Announcements:

• I have sent home your child's pocket folder. Please send it back with your child on Monday.  
• We will be going on our field trip to the Ten Drums Cultural Center in Tainan next Tuesday, February 2nd. Thank you for giving me the field trip forms and fees! We will be leaving at 8:30 a.m. sharp.

Thursday, January 28th, 2016

Today in the second grade, we:

• took our cursive license test in language and spelling class
• echo read "Talk About Smart Animals!" from Journeys and made connections to ourselves by discussing the steps in teaching an animal a trick, to another text (Click, Clack Moo: Cows That Type) by comparing the setting and characters in each text, and finally to the world by discussing the parts of a letter and the reasons we write letters (ex: to request something like the cows from the story, to thank someone for something, to express our feelings) in reading and phonics class
• started our new unit on adding two-digit numbers by practicing regrouping by tens and ones in math class 
• continued comparing and contrasting various holidays from different cultures, and wrote about Chinese New Year to our Canadian pen pals in social studies class
• reviewed the target vocabulary and key concepts from our unit on weather in science class
• visited the school's garden for some weeding and watering and enjoyed some of the lettuce, cilantro and onions that we helped grow by making ceviche lettuce wraps during ECA

 
Tonight's Homework:

• Complete Math Practice 10.1-10.2.
• Read aloud for 15 minutes and have a parent sign your reading log.  

Announcements:

• P.E. day tomorrow: the children are reminded to wear their P.E. uniforms. 

Wednesday, January 27th, 2016

Today in the second grade, we:

• reviewed our weekly target vocabulary and practiced forming the past tense with regular verbs (verb + ed) in language and spelling class
• visited the library to check out a biography on a historical figure (the students were encouraged to read the book tonight for their reading log, as we will be writing a book report on our chosen historical figure next Monday, and I want the students to feel excited and comfortable by the person they chose)
• took our chapter 9 quiz in math class
• explored holidays around the world and compared and contrasted two different holidays and started our next letters to our pen pals by describing Chinese New Year to them in social studies class
• continued learning more about how seasons affect our lives and choices in science class  
• we also found a bit of time to squeeze in some holiday-themed art
  

Tonight's Homework:

• Log onto your Science Fusion account to watch the 5th video of Unit 7: "How Do Seasons Affect Living Things?" and complete the accompanying worksheet that is in your science notebook. The students have already started this worksheet.
• Read aloud for 15 minutes and have a parent sign your reading log. 

Announcements:

• It is grade two's turn to weed and water the school garden tomorrow! Please feel free to pack a smock or an old shirt for your child if you are worried about them getting their clothes dirty.
• The weekly sharing time has been moved to next Thursday, February 4th in order to give the students enough time to research their chosen sports and practice their presentations.

Reading Buddies

Tuesday, January 26th, 2016

Today in the second grade, we:

• created a readers theater of our latest story in Journeys, "Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type" during reading and phonics class 
• reviewed what we have learned about pronouns and verbs, and used this information to create original sentences in language and spelling class
• reviewed chapter 9 in preparation for tomorrow's quiz in math class
• identified ways the seasons influence our activities and attire during science class
• met with our K2 reading buddies during ECA

Tonight's Homework:

• Complete Social Studies Activity Book pg. 44-45.
• Read aloud for 15 minutes and have a parent sign your reading log. 
• Prepare for tomorrow's math quiz on chapter 9: fractions.
• Complete sharing time outline on "Sports." The students have been directed to research their chosen sport, rather than only speaking from experience and opinion. They can find information for a variety of popular team sports at these websites:
  
  
  • Ducksters
  • Kids Konnect
  • Kidz Search

Announcements:

• Library day tomorrow: the children are reminded to bring their library books.
• P.E. day tomorrow: the children are reminded to wear their P.E. uniforms. 

 

Monday, January 25th, 2016

Today in the second grade, we:

• were updated on our house points, celebrated the angel of the week, and learned about the virtue of "fortitude" during our weekly assembly
• took our weekly spelling quiz, previewed our weekly target vocabulary, and identified r-controlled vowels, consonant digraphs, and consonant blends in a short story in reading and phonics class
• worked on solving fraction-based word problems in math class
• created a bar graph showing how many people we know from different countries in social studies class
• made sentences with this week's idiom: "Stand Up For Yourself," brainstormed ideas for this Friday's sharing time, listened to our latest class story,  practiced January's class poem, and January's class song during ECA

 

 

Tonight's Homework:

• Complete the fiction book report on "Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type" and check the rubric (in your child's language notebook.) 
• Read aloud for 15 minutes and have a parent sign your reading log.

Announcements:

• The topic for this Friday's weekly sharing time is: Sports. The students started their outlines today. The outlines will be due on Wednesday, January 27th.
  
• There will be a phonics quiz on unit 3 next Monday, February 1st.
  
• 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 (February 1st) will come from Math pg. 225-256.

1. fractions
2. whole
3. unit  
4. half
5. halves
6. third
7. fourth
8. fifth
9. sixth
10. seventh
11. eighth
12. ninth
13. tenth
14. eleventh
15. twelfth
16. twentieth
17. thirtieth
18. fortieth 

Friday, January 22nd, 2016

Today in the second grade, we:

• started off the morning by reviewing our weekly target vocabulary
• we then listened to and discussed our latest class story
• wrote a narrative about a funny event that we experienced, heard about, or read about in reading and phonics class 
• continued learning our dance for the Chinese festival in dance class
• reviewed capital and lowercase cursive letters in preparation for our cursive license test next Thursday, January 28th, and took turns presenting on the weather during our sharing time in language and spelling class
• learned why some animals migrate, while some hibernate in science class

Tonight's Homework:

• Complete Journeys Practice Book pg. 75-76.
• 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:
  If The World Were a Village (the audio begins at the 26 second mark.)
• Read aloud for 15 minutes and have a parent sign your reading log.
• Prepare for next Monday's (January 25th) spelling quiz: culture, religion, ancestor, custom, heritage, tradition, people, recreation, Inuit, unique, different, point of view, explorer, pioneer, immigrant, route, person (from Horizons pg. 164-183.)

Announcements:

• I have sent home your child's pocket folder. Please send it back with your child on Monday.  
• There will be a math quiz on chapter 9: fractions next Wednesday, January 27th.
• There will be the cursive license test next Thursday, January 28th. If your child does not pass the test, they will have other opportunities to apply for their license at the end of each month.

Thursday, January 21st, 2016

Today in the second grade, we:

• worked on subject-verb agreement and practiced writing our spelling words in cursive in language and spelling class
• echo read our new story in Journeys, "Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type" and practiced making predictions about the text in reading and phonics class
• reviewed fractions with a matching game in math class 
• differentiated between family members and ancestors in social studies class
• identified seasonal chances and watched a short clip on how the tilt of the Earth causes seasons in science class
• practiced sharing about the weather in preparation for tomorrow's sharing time, listened to our latest class story,  practiced January's class poem, and and January's class song during ECA

Rei and Daniel discuss their reading buddy's Christmas card.

The students' fraction skills have improved these past two weeks.

Tonight's Homework:

• Complete Math Practice 9.5-9.6.
• Read aloud for 15 minutes and have a parent sign your reading log.  
• Practice your sharing time outline for tomorrow's presentations on weather.

Announcements:

• P.E. day tomorrow: the children are reminded to wear their P.E. uniforms.