The Eleventh Week of Second Grade

We had a busy week in Room 104. We read and wrote non-fiction stories, experimented with solids and liquids in science, and went to a cool assembly, and got our vision checked.  Let's learn more!

Our ELA block of learning included a list of /o/ words, using short o /cvc/, long o /cvce/, and oa /cvvc/ in the Words Their Way spelling program. During Reader's Workshop, we read more non-fiction and focused on finding and defining keywords using text features. Students learned to look for captions, diagrams, glossaries, and more to help them as they read. We read more of "Tigers" in class (both versions), too. In Writer's Workshop, we started "how-to" books. We used different writing paper as we ordered our story and then added information to keep readers interested.  We also practiced handwriting, accessed RAZ-KIDS, SeeSaw, and Lexia on our iPads, and practiced fluency and comprehension in small groups at W.I.N. time.

In Science, we worked with both solids and  liquids this week. We observed the results of our evaporation experiment to see how some solids changed or reappeared after the water evaporated. Then we tried to figure out if toothpaste is solid or a liquid. After hazarding some guesses, we listed reasons why it could be either a solid or a liquid. We observed it in water, then saw how it changed when shaken. After a day, we found that  it mixed, made bubbles, but also left power on the bottom of the container. We had students think again about what it was, but decided that toothpaste has the properties of both a solid and a liquid.  Next week we hope to study changing properties.

In Math, we continued Module Three on Place Value, Counting, and Comparison of Numbers to 1,000.  We took the mid-module assessment on Monday before working with place value disks. We counted the value of ones, tens, and hundreds with the place value disks and worked on reading and writing numbers to 1,000 using the disks. Finally, we compared different forms of numbers using >, <,  and =.  We did notice that converting each to standard form really helped a lot!

We also sang songs and had Music with Ms. Brown, read, wrote, and discussed descriptive features in Spanish with Sra. Colmenero, checked out new books in the library with Mr. Withers, painted with watercolors in Art with Ms. Sundquist, and played floor hockey in P.E. with Mr. Simatic. Tuesday included a special assembly where we got to see "The Pirates of Penzance" as part of the Opera for the Young initiative. We also got our eyes checked on Friday at a vision screening. You will get a call or email if your child had any difficulties or concerns.

Have a great weekend!  See you back in Room 104  on Monday!