Welcome to the month of May! I am hoping that temperatures start to match the time of year!  

We have Action Figure/Sci Fi Day on Thursday, May 4th. 
I will be out for a math conference on Thursday and Friday. The kids will be in good hands with Mr. Brien, but I will also be checking my email frequently so feel free to reach me that way if needed.


Curricular Updates

Reading - We will continue our series book clubs this week by learning as much as we can about characters across a series. Studying what characters do and say, as well as how they react to problems, tell us a lot about the characters.

Writing - We will finish up our informational writing unit this week and will begin opinion writing later this week.

Math - Unit 6 will wrap up this week. We will take the Unit 6 test on Wednesday. We will begin Unit 7 later this week.

• In Unit 7, students will "... learn about arrays and equal shares and solve problems involving the addition and subtraction of lengths. Visual models and real world situations are used throughout the unit to help children understand important fraction and measurement concepts." (Math Expressions)

Content - Students loved making tops and looking at the spinning motion last week. We will continue our investigations on balance and motion this week by working with "spinners".  


Have a great week!
Lisa

Our end-of-the-year assessments are right around the corner. We will take our Reading MAP test on May 15th at 8:15 and the Math MAP test on May 18th at 9:30. All results will be sent home at the end of the year.

Friday is "Funky Friday". Students are encouraged to dress as silly as they'd like. 

This is an exciting week in 2^nd grade. We are starting new units in Writing and Content!

Reading ~ We just began our final Reading unit – Series Book Clubs. Much of this unit focuses on characters and author’s craft. This unit will be a fun way to wrap up the school year!

Writing ~ Students will be finishing and publishing their nonfiction books later this week. We will have a museum share so students can read the writing of their classmates. Watch for their informational writing to come home early next week. The new writing unit aligns well with the new reading unit.  In writing, students will be Writing About Reading by writing opinion letters on what they have read. 

Math ~ We will be finishing up on our 3-digit addition and subtraction unit and will take the test on Friday. Our final unit will focus on arrays and fractions. 

Content ~ We will be starting a Science unit on Force and Motion. This is a hands-on, experiment-based unit. We will have 'Science afternoons' throughout the last month to allow ample time to explore and experiment. 

Enjoy the last week of April!

Lisa

I hope that your family also had an enjoyable break. It is hard to believe that May is right around the corner! We will have a busy remainder of the school year!

I will be out on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, but I will be checking email often. The students will be in good hands with Mrs. Desmond, a retired second grade teacher who has been with our class before. :)

This week's dates to note:

4/20: Tornado Awareness Day - A drill will be held around 1:00

4/20: Family Night 5:30

4/21: Earth Day - Wear Green and Blue
Earth Day Clean Up - 2nd grade will be cleaning the neighborhood at 2:30.


A few reminders and requests:
KAT
Last call for KAT pledge forms! We are still collecting through the end of this week. Thank you for the generous pledges. 100% of the donations go directly back to the school! Thanks to everyone who was able to help.

Birthday Boxes

Thank you for all the Birthday Box donations. We will be assembling boxes this Saturday, April 22. Please click the link below if you are interested in signing up to help!

http://signup.com/go/fa4ZnY

Please contact Kristin McEneany at  kristin.mceneany@gmail.com  with any questions.

Curriculum Updates:

Reading - We will be wrapping up our Informational unit this week. As a final project, partners are working on creating a digital presentation to teach the class about the topic they have been researching. Partners are creating the presentation on iPads and will be presenting to the class later this week.

Writing - Our writing unit has moved from lab reports to using scientific knowledge about forces and motion to write informational books. These books are about a topic that students know a lot about and will include scientific vocabulary and definitions. This writing is an extension of informational writing done earlier this year.

Math - Unit 6 continues to grow our mathematical thinking. We are reviewing what we know about 2-digit subtraction and using those skills for 3-digit subtraction. We will be working on this throughout the week.

Content - We will be working in centers looking at articles, pictures, maps, and newspaper ads from Kaukauna's history. These centers are done in a compare and contrast style in which students take notes on what they notice from the past compared with what these things are like today.  

Hello Families! I hope you enjoyed this gorgeous weekend! 

A few short notes:

• Students only have school on Monday and Tuesday. Classes will resume next Tuesday, April 18.
• Family Night slips are due on Tuesday. We hope you can join us on April 19 for Science, Social Studies, and Subs! Come to learn more about the history of Kaukauna!
• Tuesday is Class Color Day. Our class will be wearing green this year.
• Tuesday is also our annual egg crack competition. Please send a hard boiled egg with your child that day. 
• The KAT went great last Friday! Thanks to all who volunteered! If you chose to collect pledges, please send your pink envelopes back by Tuesday, April 11.
• Next Tuesday, April 18 is our next yoga day. Please send your child in cozy clothing that day.
• We will be doing our Earth Day walk on Friday, April 21. Students are asked to wear green and blue on this day.

Have a GREAT week and a WONDERFUL Spring Break!

Lisa

Welcome back! It is going to be an exciting week leading up to our Knowledge-a-Thon on Friday!!!

A few reminders and notes:

-Keep practicing KAT questions! Friday will be here before we know it! Let's enjoy the following special days this week as we gear up for Friday:

    -Monday is Brewer Day (or wear sports gear).

    -Tuesday is KAT Question or Answer Day (dress like a question or an answer to one of the KAT questions).

    -Wednesday is Pajama Day.

    -Thursday is Super Hero Day.

    -Friday is Fancy Clothes Day (so we will look professional during the KAT and fancy for our trip to the PAC).

-Friday is our trip to the PAC! Please remember to send your child with a cold lunch unless you signed up for a school bag lunch.

-Next Tuesday is our annual egg crack and class color day. Our class color is green so wear as much green as you can find in your closet. Each student will also need a hard boiled egg for the egg crack. They LOVE this activity! More information will come home later this week. 

-Just a reminder that there is no school beginning Wednesday, April 12th through Monday, April 18th. Classes resume on Tuesday, April 18th.

 

Curricular Updates:

-Our informational book clubs are going GREAT! Students are reading several books on the same topic, comparing and contrasting as they go. They are studying key vocabulary and main ideas and details of texts. Book club discussions are helping students push their thinking to deeper levels.

-We continue to conduct force and motion experiments and write about the experiments in lab books. We will conduct one more experiment this week and will then move on to writing force and motion informational books in writing.

-We will continue 3-digit addition and will begin 3-digit subtraction this week. We will work on subtracting up to 1000!

 

Have a GREAT week!

Lisa