Second Grade Rock Stars
Tour News!
Our Difference Makers!
Next on tour: Upcoming Events
Coming on Tour Soon:
- 01/22: Progress Reports go home! You keep the one with the progress tracker on the back. Please look over the progress tracker, the tests attached, and, of course, read the notes written on the progress report. Please contact me if you have any questions!
- 01/25: Application Assistance at 6:30-7:30 pm
- 01/27: Geography Bee at 6:00 pm on the PW Campus (Click Here for Flyer)
- 01/29: WCS Applications are due before 3:00 pm
- 02/03: WAVE Astronomy Night 6:30-8:30 on the DP field led by the Sacramento Valley Astronomy Society
- 02/04: WAVE Coffee Talk 6:00 pm
- 02/04: WAVE Meeting 6:30 pm
- 02/05: Field Trip to the California Museum (students to wear most recent spirit shirt and bring a sack lunch). See the "Tuned In" area of the newletter for more details!
- 02/05: GATE Forms due (If you are interested in having your child tested for GATE, fill out the Parent Referral Form. You can check the Timeline for testing dates.)
- 02/06: My Princess and Me Dance (Get tickets HERE or volunteer HERE)
- 02/08: Lunar New Year
- 02/10: Science Fair at 5:00 pm on the PW Campus
- 02/11: WCS Board Meeting 6:30 pm on the PW Campus
- 02/12: Spirit Day: Twin Day
- 02/12: WCS Talent Show 6pm-8pm at NP3 Gym
- 02/15-02/19: No School
Math Workshop
Our Highlights: What We've Been Rockin' At!
Students have begun researching their people who made a positive difference in the past. Students filled out an interest inventory to help guide their focus on what type of people they might be interested in researching (adventurers, inventors, scientists, artists, leaders, etc.). Students picked some amazing difference makers this year!
Students will be writing a non-fiction biography book on their Difference Maker, presenting a speech about their person to present during a living wax museum, and doing lots of research that will go into those two big products. Students came home with their concepts of what they hope to wear and props for their living wax museum day. Our current date is Tuesday, March 15th at 9:00 am, but this date is yet to be confirmed. We invite everyone to come! Parents, grandparents, community members, new reporters, etc. The official and confirmed date and time will be relayed to you shortly as we are currently working out the details of scheduling the cafeteria. We appreciate your patience!
In math, we have been delving into subtracting 3 digit numbers with regrouping and verbally explaining how to do so. Being able to articulate what you are doing provides a deeper understanding of the material and promotes the ability to be able to lead, coach, teach, inform, debate, and critique yourself and others. Ultimately, when one knows it well enough to be able to teach another, they have gained that knowledge for life.
In reading, we have been doing lots of small group reading of biographies. From Harriet Tubman, Tomie dePaola, and Lou Gerig to Cesar Chavez, Wangari Maathai, Molly Williams, Thomas Edison, and Frida Kahlo. We have been loving learning about people and the story that they have to tell! We have learned a few things about history: we learned that history tends to repeat itself- unless people know enough about what happened in the past to stop it, and that history is not all about dates (though the timing of people and the events are important), it is about the people who lived it, the journey they took, and the positive changes they helped make. That's all part of what we learn in second grade.
Rockin' and Rollin' into Next Week!
Reading: Non-Fiction: Main Idea and Details, Text Features, Types of Non-Fiction
Writing: Non-Fiction Informative Writing: Biographies of People Who Made a Difference, citations, reliable sources, editing, and revising
Language: Prefixes, suffixes, and root words
Theme: People Who Made a Difference
People who made a difference unit
Tuned In: Notices and Reminders
- Please fill out the Parent-Teacher Collaboration Conference Form to let me know where and when best works for you to meet for a conference. (Starbucks, your house, etc.)
- Field Trip on the February 5th! Current chaperones are Melissa G., Dipali, Cynthia R., and Vanessa A. Please be sure that students bring a sack lunch and wear their most recent spirit shirt.
- Fill out the GATE forms by February 5th If you are interested in having your child tested for GATE. Make sure to fill out the Parent Referral Form. Check the Timeline for testing times and dates.
Questions to ask your Rock Star...
- What did their Difference Maker do to change the world?
- What "legacy" would they like to leave behind?
- How did you decide who you wanted to research?
- Can you name who someone else is being and how that person made a positive difference?
- How is addtion and subtraction with 3 digit numbers similiar? Different?
- Can you answer the Math Monday problem? CLICK HERE to get to it. Remember to answer in a complete sentence. Extra points for explaining what strategy you used!
Contact the Band Manager!
Second Grade Teacher
Westlake Charter School
Remind 101:
All of Second Grade Reminders Text: @wcs2nd to the phone number: 81010
Messages that only pertain to our class: text @4rockstar to the number: 81010
Email: jmartin@westlakecharter.com
Website: http://MrsMartinsRockStars.weebly.com
Phone: 916-567-5760
Twitter: @MrsMartinsRoom