Mrs. Baker's Newsletter
April 13th, 2017
What is going on?
Writing: We will be reviewing persuasive writing for the next few weeks. This week, we will focus on looking at mentor texts to learn how an author uses language to persuade.
Spelling Words and Grammar: buy, fire, hat, high, more, right, same, thank
Reading: We will be in our second week of the unit, “Read Like a Third Grader”. In this unit, we teach strategies strong readers use to comprehend and answer questions about a selection of text. These strategies include: numbering paragraphs, rereading the questions two times, and going back to the text to find evidence for an answer choice. This week we will also be looking at reading for fun vs reading for a test and analyzing the wording of tricky questions. This will help us prepare for a benchmark in May.
Math: We will begin discussing money, including counting a collection of coins up to one dollar (pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters). We will also learn about the the different symbols (¢ and $) and how they can be used to name the value of a collection of coins. Please be sure to bring approximately 20 pennies, 10 dimes, 20 nickels and 4 quarters in a plastic bag by Monday!
Science: We will move our study on to animals and all of the things that make them special. Students will observe, record, and compare how the physical characteristics and behaviors of animals help them meet their basic needs such as fins help fish move and balance in the water. We will begin our 2nd PBL with a special trip to the Zoo!
This and that...
Calendar:
April 14th Good Friday- No school
April 20th Zoo Field Trip- Please bring disposable lunch in a ziploc baggie- Please wear our class t-shirt-
Bring more water to this field trip. We will be outside walking around more than the Jungle Book. Please wear comfy shoes and class t-shirt.
Volunteers needed for the Zoo Field Trip- All parents are welcome and needed! We would love to have you join us! I will send an email asking for Volunteer commitments as it gets closer to the date! One thing is so important! You must have your yearly background check complete and updated. The ladies in the office can help you get updated.
Updated: Volunteers-
Mrs. Yarusso, Mrs. Vest, Mrs. Murugan, Mrs. Padua, and Mrs. Tran are my wranglers- If you would like to join us. please notify me soon. It is a fun trip.
Dear Families,
Next week we will begin a money unit. We have found that plastic/school money is not quite as good as the real thing when practicing money counting skills. We would like to use real coins (pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters) for math this year. Please gather approximately 20 pennies, 10 dimes, 20 nickels and 4 quarters to send to school. We will use these coins for the rest of the year for money practice and will send them home at the end of the school year. Please send the coins to school by Monday, April 17th. Please send money in a ziplock or container labeled with your child’s name.
Thank You,
The Second Grade Team