Second Grade Newsletter 1.27.23

 Hello parents and guardians!

Kingdom Day: 

Just a reminder that you child may be building/creating a castle in preparation for our next Kingdom meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 1st. Please do not send in items prior to the meeting date. Thank you!

Great Hearts Day:

Great Hearts Day is just around the corner! On February 14th, we will be celebrating each other’s virtues. Our 2nd Grade Great Hearts Celebration will be from 11:45am – 1:05pm. Please do not send store bought cards or candy. All store- bought cards and candy will be sent home with your child that day. It would really dampen our spirits to have to disappoint a child in this way. We have other fun and thoughtful ways to celebrate the day. Rather than focusing on goodies and merchandise, each student will focus on their minds, bodies, and hearts. 

The students will write a friendly letter and deliver their Great- Hearted cards via a reenactment of the Pony Express. Students will learn to Square Dance after reading about the dance at Grandpa's in the book, Little House in the Big Woods. We will also celebrate Arizona's birthday with a fun craft. Thank you to all of those families that donated materials for this event.

 

Important Dates:

Feb 1: Kingdom Meeting Date (send in upcycled materials)

Feb. 3: 12:30 Dismissal; Teacher In-Service

Feb. 4: Father-Daughter Dance

Feb. 6: The Preamble Recitation

Feb. 9: Galileo Testing

Feb. 14: Great Hearts Day

 

Conversation Prompts:

What do cells group together to form? (Cells group together to form tissue.)

What was Christmas in the Big Woods like? (The Ingalls had their relatives over, they made snow pictures, heard a story, Pa played the fiddle, they opened presents, Laura received a rag doll, they ate pancakes.)

What is one cause of the War of 1812? (The impressment of American sailors was one of the causes of the War of 1812. Another was the British aid of Native Americans groups such as leader, Tecumseh. Lastly, the War Hawks convinced many Americans to go to war.)

When do you use quotation marks?

Which would you use to measure a book, centimeters or meters? Why?

“What’s the difference between “there”, “they’re”, and “their”?

Academics:

Math

Students will finish up learning about the customary system by measuring objects in yards. We will then compare and order units in the metric system and customary system. Lastly, we will solve word problems involving measurement, remind your child to annotate a word problem, draw a bar model, write an equation, solve, and write a complete sentence to properly answer a word problem.

Literature

This week students will read about Laura’s life and what she may and may not do on Sundays. Pa helps her understand by telling her a funny story about Grandpa and his sled. The weather warms but then cools and Laura learns about sugar snow. To celebrate the abundance of maple syrup Grandpa hosts a dance! To follow along this is chapter 5-7, happy reading!

Grammar

We will continue to work on memorizing the Preamble, with recitations being due Monday, 2/6. Narration and Dictation Exercises will continue with excerpts from "The Hare That Ran Away". Students will also learn the difference between a direct and indirect quotation.

History

This week we discussed the causes of the War of 1812. Next week, we will discuss key individuals, such as James and Dolley Madison. We will also learn about the National Anthem and an important military vessel, "Old Ironsides."

Science

Next week, we will begin learning about the digestive system. Students will observe how teeth, along with saliva, break down food before our tongue pushes the food down. We will also learn about taste buds and the esophagus and their roles in digestion.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

Your Second Grade Team