Second Grade Newsletter 5.26.23

Congratulations on completing 2^nd Grade! We’re proud of each and every student. They learned many skills and interesting things. They made new friends and read wonderful books. The best is yet come! They will discover and enjoy so much more in the years ahead.

We recommend the free website Math Playground for fun math practice over the summer. We hope your child will discover many books they want to read this summer, too. The Maricopa County Library summer reading program is a great way to motivate young readers. Other local libraries and bookstores have kids’ summer reading programs, as well.

Thank you, parents, for the many ways you have encouraged your children and supported our work as their teachers. We couldn’t do it without you! Thank you for your dedication to your child's education and our school at large. Your children have brought so much joy to our lives, and we wish you the very best as we send them off to 3rd grade! 

We hope you have a wonderful, restful, adventure-filled summer!

Warmest Regards,

The Second Grade Team

Second Grade Newsletter 5.19.23

Dear Families,

Friday is the last day of school, and we are having an End of the Year Celebration of Charlotte’s Web! Scholars will rotate through crafts, projects, and snacks themed with the classic, Charlotte's Web. Thank you for your celebration supply donations!

Please send a grocery bag with your child on Thursday, May 25. We will be cleaning out desks that day. 

REMINDER: Please return all school library and classroom library books as soon as possible. Thank you!

Check your local library for reading programs and incentives this summer! Remember, reading daily is crucial to development at this age.

Dates:

Tuesday, May 23 - Friday, May 26: Half Days

Thursday, May 25: Clean Desks - Bring Grocery Bag

Friday, May 26: Last Day of School, End of the Year Celebration

Conversation Starters:

What was your favorite curricular book in second grade?

What was the funniest thing that happened in class this year?

What is the plural of “half”?

What is the difference between “dew” and “due”?

Why was Wilbur happy at the end of Charlotte’s Web?

Who was Jackie Robinson?

Academics

Literature: We finished reading Charlotte's Web! Be sure to ask your scholar how they felt at the end of the book. Next week students will perform a Charlotte's Web reader's theater and listen to classic fables, myths, and fairy tales.

Grammar: Scholars will write a paragraph about their favorite part of second grade or their favorite part of the school year or perhaps their favorite Literature book that was read. They will have the option of choosing what they would like to write about. Scholars will also review grammar concepts learned throughout the year.

Spalding: Scholars will play review games for phonograms and Spalding words that were learned during the year. They will also work on cursive practice pages in their workbook. Any unfinished cursive pages in the workbook would be a wonderful thing for your child to work on over the summer.

Math: Students will close the school year with a few additional activities about fractions. We hope your scholar can find some time to practice math facts and review math concepts this summer.

History: We will conclude our unit on Civil Rights Leaders and finish the Civil Rights booklet. What has your scholar learned about the rights of citizens in our country? This makes great dinner table conversation!

Science: Students will participate in a STEM project to build a cotton ball launcher. We will also review science facts from the year using a Jeopardy game.

Have a great weekend!

Warmest Regards,

The Second Grade Team

Second Grade Newsletter 5.12.23

Hello Parents and Guardians!

Please check your scholar’s backpack each evening as they will start to bring home books and supplies that they will not need at school anymore. Please remove the items and keep them at home.

If you know your scholar will be leaving early during the school day, please email your scholar’s teacher a day in advance so that they can make sure your scholar is prepared to leave at the time you need them and any work they will miss will be given to them. Please keep in mind that we do not have a lot of time left to make up unfinished work and missed assessments and it’s difficult to stop the whole class when teaching to have a scholar pack up. Thank you. 

We have an exciting announcement to make! On Tuesday, the 16th, we will be hosting our highly anticipated End of the Year Assembly. This event is where we will announce the Kingdom Winner, we will also be unveiling our New Guardians for the upcoming academic year of 23-24. We invite all our scholars to participate by wearing the Kingdom Shirt on that day. Alternatively, they can wear any shirt in their Kingdom color (please avoid pop culture references). The rest of the uniform should remain as usual. We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude for your support throughout this year's Kingdoms program. 

Dates: 

May 16 – Wear Kingdom color shirt

May 17 - Grammar Assessment 

May 17 - Fine Arts Night and Music Concert (2^nd grade concert at 5:30. Drop                     off at classroom at 5:15.)

May 19 - Science Magnetism Assessment 

May 23-26 - Half Days 

Conversation Starters: 

• What does “attract” mean? What does “repel” mean? 
• What did Susan B. Anthony fight for? 
• What was Charlotte’s “magnum opus”? 
• What is another way to say 2:45?
• Add an adverb to this sentence: The puppy played.

Upcoming Academics: 

Math: Students will continue to review and assess previous units focusing on time, data analysis, and money. We’re going to squeeze in a few lessons on fractions before we break for summer. There won’t be homework or a test for that unit – just exploration of the concepts during class.

Science: Students will bring home a green magnetism study guide on Monday. Please use this to help your student review before the test on Friday. We will also compare the strengths of magnets using compasses.

History: Scholars will continue to learn about Civil Rights Leaders such as Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. They will understand how segregation was a part of daily life in the U.S. and understand the challenges Jackie Robinson faced. 

Spalding: We will have our last Spalding words of the year. All words will be written in cursive and scholars will be given a letter formation grade for the cursive writing. There will be no Spalding homework or new words given on Wednesday, May 17^th, due to the Spring Concert.

Grammar: Students brought home a lavender grammar review page. They will demonstrate their comprehension of parts of speech and punctuation on an end of the year grammar assessment. Please use this review guide to help your student review before the test on Wednesday, May 17^th.

Literature: Students will finish reading Charlotte’s Web and create a medal for Charlotte or Wilbur, compose a eulogy for Charlotte, and identify the hope in the final chapter of the story

Have a terrific weekend! 

Warm Regards, 
The Second Grade Team 

 

Second Grade Newsletter 5.4.23

Important Dates: 

May 5: No School

May 8: "Lincoln" poem recitations due

May 17: Fine Arts Night

May 23-26: Half Days

Reminders:

As we approach the end of the school year, please watch for a sign-up link for items needed for the last day of school celebration. We appreciate your help with providing supplies for a fun and successful last day of school.

Thank you for your gifts and kind messages during Teacher Appreciation Week. We appreciate you and your scholars, as well!

Please send a water bottle with your child daily. 

Conversation Starters:

How did Andrew Carnegie live the American dream? What did he do with his fortune?

Why did Mrs. Zuckerman bathe Wilbur before the fair? What did she wash him with?

Every preposition must have an _____________________. (object)

Which Spalding word this week was a compound word? (sometimes)

Can a magnet attract a paper clip through plastic? Glass? Paper? Water? (Yes!)

What number is 71 tens + 15 ones? (725)

Upcoming Academics:

Math: 

Our cumulative review and assessment continues. We’ll review units of measurement, addition and subtraction word problems, drawing bar models, arrays and multiplication, time, and geometry.

Science:

We will continue our magnetism unit this week, discovering how magnets attract and repel, how to change a metal object into a magnet, and comparing Polar North to Magnetic North.

History:

We will begin our unit on Civil Rights this week. Students will learn what civil rights are and consider why things needed to change in order for people to be treated equally. Students will also learn about several leaders who worked to improve civil rights in America.

Spalding:

For the final two weeks of Spalding, all words will be written in cursive. Please check for proper letter formation and markings on homework. Scholars will receive a letter formation grade in addition to the regular grade for accuracy on Spalding assessments.

Grammar:

Memorization of “Lincoln” is due on Monday, May 8^th. We will continue to review various parts of speech and punctuation as we prepare for our end of the year grammar test.

Literature: 

We will read chapters 17-19 this week in the classic, Charlotte's Web. As we read, scholars will practice identifying character traits and plot features.

We hope you enjoy a terrific-iffic-iffic (ask your student!) weekend,

The Second Grade Team

Second Grade Newsletter 4.28.23

Reminder:

Please send a water bottle with your child every day. 

Dates: 

May 1: Optional “My Family’s Story” packet due

May 5: No School

May 8: "Lincoln" poem recitations

May 17: Fine Arts Night

May 23-26: Half Days

Conversation Starters:

Tell me 2 interesting facts about the Statue of Liberty.

What was the miracle at Zuckerman's barn in Charlotte's Web?

How many lines does it take to draw a cube?

What are some items in your home which would be attracted to a magnet?

What are the 2 meanings of “excuse”?

Tell me an imperative sentence. What type of end mark should it have?

Academics:

Math: 

Our Singapore math book content is complete for the year, so students will review the year’s worth of content for the remainder of the quarter. First up is a focus on fact knowledge. Perhaps help your student practice addition and subtraction through 20 (i.e., 9 + 2 = 11 or 15 – 6 = 9 ), and multiplication facts (x0 through x5) at home to support this developing skill.

Science:

We will learn more about magnetism this week. Students will determine if objects with magnetic fields can be moved through objects, identify parts of a magnet, and observe a compass to learn about the magnetic pulls in the earth.

History:

Studies of Immigration continue with lessons on becoming a citizen of the United States.  We will focus on our basic rights and responsibilities as a citizen, learn about voting and the importance for all citizens to have this right and responsibility, and hear Senora De Cossio share her story about when she became a United States citizen. This is a highlight of our year, and we are grateful she will be joining our class to discuss this with our scholars.

Spalding:

As we have a short week, we will have 10 words only. Then, the final two weeks of Spalding, all words will be written in cursive for the homework and the test and scholars will be given a letter formation grade (penmanship/cursive grade) on the final two tests in addition to their regular grade for spelling accuracy. Please check for accuracy of letter formation on their Spalding homework. Thank you!

Grammar:

Scholars will review the parts of speech including pronouns, prepositions, and adjectives. They will also review commas as we are preparing for the end of the year grammar test. Scholars will continue to practice their “Lincoln” poem to prepare for recitations on May 8^th .

Literature: 

We will read chapters 14-16 this week in the classic, Charlotte's Web. As we read, scholars will work on identifying the main idea of chapters and use visualization to help them comprehend the story.

We hope you have a fantastic weekend! 

Warm Regards,

The Second Grade Team

Second Grade Newsletter 4.21.23

 

Dear Parents,

As you may have seen in a communication that Archway Chandler sent on Wednesday, April 19th, we are working together with the Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center (SARRC) on a research project regarding a universal screening for social challenges designed to be implemented in public schools. Every student in 2nd and 4th grade at Archway Chandler will be screened by their teachers in two weeks, unless their parent or guardian chooses to opt out of the screening.

Please read this letter from Christopher Smith, Vice President and Director of Research at SARRC, for more information about the screening, and read the answers to frequently asked questions which are available here.

Please note that your child’s identifying information will not be shared with SARRC. If additional evaluations are suggested after the screening, we will contact you for permission to share your contact information. If you wish to opt out of the screening, please complete the form here.

If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Important Dates:

April 26 – Math 2-D and 3-D Shapes Assessment

April 27 - Science Simple Machines Assessment

May 1 – History optional My Family’s Story project due

May 5 - No School

May 8 – “Lincoln” poem due for recitation

May 17 - Fine Arts Night

News:

Scholars brought home a "My Family's Story" project this past Thursday along with an information letter. This project is optional. If you have your scholar complete the project, it will need to be turned in on Monday, May 1st. This project coincides with our history unit on immigration and citizenship. 

Conversation Starters:

• Why is Abraham Lincoln someone who we remember? 
• Name one reason immigrants came to the United States. 
• Was Wilbur successful at making a web? Why not?
• What is friction?
• How many ways can you divide a rectangle into equal fourths? (Draw as many ways as you can!)
• What is the difference between “to”, “two”, and “too”?

Studies:
Grammar: Scholars will complete narration, copy work, and dictation exercises by using passages from the book A Child’s Geography of the World. We will also review interjections, synonyms and antonyms, conjunctions, and reinforce quotations. Scholars will also review the four types of sentences.

Math: Scholars will review and practice concepts from our 2-D and 3-D shapes unit before taking an assessment on Wednesday. We will then explore heuristics problem solving, and then end the week with a review and assessment of addition facts on Friday.

History: In history, we will continue learning about immigration and citizenship by recognizing the Statue of Liberty as a symbol of freedom, exploring Ellis Island to understand the process immigrants took to come to America, and learning about the different jobs immigrants had once in America.

Literature: Scholars will continue reading Charlotte’s Web, chapters 11-14. We will practice summarizing by composing a newspaper article, identify character talents, and learn about personification. Please sign up to volunteer for Reading Groups!

Science: Scholars will finish our unit on simple machines with an assessment on Thursday, April 27^th. Please help them prepare by using the green study guide at home. We will then begin our unit on magnetism with scholars identifying what magnets are and which objects magnets are attracted to. Our classroom caterpillars are undergoing tremendous changes within their chrysalides. The scholars are waiting expectantly for what will come next!

Enjoy a marvelous weekend,

The 2^nd Grade Team

Second Grade Newsletter 4.14.23

 Dates:

April 18: Civil War Assessment

April 27: Simple Machines Assessment

May 5: No school

May 8: “Lincoln” recitation due

May 17: Fine Arts Night

Conversation Starters: 

How have our classroom caterpillars changed? What do you expect to happen next?

What does Wilbur think about the way Charlotte gets her food?

How many sides does a pentagon have? How many vertices does it have?

Give a synonym for “cold”. What is an antonym?

What is the difference between “guessed” and “guest”?

What was Clara Barton’s nickname?

Reminders:

Friday Folders – Expect your child’s Friday Folder to come home most Fridays. Check through your student's Friday Folder papers. Sign and return the papers that are stamped (usually assessments), keep the other papers at home, sign the inside of the folder, and send it back to school with your child the next school day.

Reading Logs – Students receive a homework completion grade for their Reading Logs. Each day must be signed by a parent or adult. We prefer that the student fill out the rest of the log. These are due weekly. If your child doesn’t turn in their Reading Log when it’s due, make sure they turn it in the next school day in order to receive half credit. Diligence with Reading Logs is an important skill that is also expected in 3^rd grade.

Next Week's Academics:

Math: 

Students will continue to learn about shapes. Students will learn names and attributes of 2-D and 3-D shapes. Students will also practice partitioning 2-D rectangles into equal squares.

Grammar/Writing: 

Scholars will complete narration and copy work exercises by using excerpts from a poem called, “The Duel.” They will continue to learn to recognize and use synonyms and antonyms. Scholars will receive their next poem, “Lincoln,” on Monday. Recitations will be due on May 8^th.

Literature:

We will continue Charlotte’s Web with chapters 6-10. Scholars will practice identifying main events and character descriptions. We will also discuss the idiom, “back to the drawing board.”

Spalding: 

We will have a normal week of Spalding words. Scholars will now have 5 words in cursive and 5 words in manuscript on Monday through Wednesday.

History:

Students brought home their Study Guide as well as a Lee/Grant Venn diagram. Please review these with them so they are prepared for their Civil War assessment on Tuesday, April 18^th. We will review in class on Monday as well. Later in the week, we will begin our unit on immigration. On Thursday, scholars will bring home a “My Family’s Story” packet along with a letter regarding this project. Please read the information and if you have any questions, please contact your scholar’s teacher.

Science:

Our caterpillars grew quickly and are now moving into position to form chrysalides. The students are very excited about their development! This week we will learn about pulleys. Scholars will complete their simple machines study guides for home study use.

We hope you enjoy a lovely weekend.

Warm Regards,

The Second Grade Team