Second Grade News
January 2016 * Jennings School * Mrs. Sennhenn
Curriculum Update
We have finished our Non-Fiction Features book about ourselves and shared them with the class. In this unit we discussed the use and purpose of text and graphic features. The students needed to include a feature on each page. We all went to the computer lab to publish our table of contents. We will use this as a springboard for our spring non-fiction repost writing assignment.
"Persuasive Writing" is our new unit. The second graders will learn that persuasive writing attempts to make someone feel or think a certain way. Our unit will begin with identifying fact and opinion. Each student will then write a short persuasive paragraph about their favorite place to visit. When they have a better understanding of persuasive writing, we will discuss the specific details a piece MUST have. First, they must have the name of the subject they are writing about; for example; book, place, movie, restaurant. They should use descriptive words to make the reader feel good about the topic. Finally, they will use words that create a powerful ending. We will spend time on each step. This should be fun!
Reading and Spelling
We have just begun Unit 3 Lesson 11 in Journeys. The BIg Idea this unit is: We can all learn from each other. This lesson's comprehension focus is using story clues to Infer and Drawing Conclusions. The Journeys newsletter sent home on 1/04 highlights ways that you can help your child with this skill throughout the week. It also includes the vocabulary words, vocabulary skill (using prefixes) and spelling focus (adding -s and -es).
Math
We are almost finished Chapter Five: Multiplication and Division. The students learned to use repeated addition to understand multiplication and repeated subtraction to understand division. This week we will be reviewing reading word problems with multiplication and division and preparing for the end of chapter test on Friday 1/08. Chapter Six will extend multiplication to the learning of math facts for 2s, 5s, and 10s.
Science
We are almost done our unit on Changes in States of Matter. So far, the students have mixed solids with solids (gravel and salt) , solids with liquids (salt and water, sugar and water) and liquids with liquids (ink) and separated them as well with different processes- using a sieve, evaporation, and chromatography. Next, we will look at changes that occur when solids and liquids react chemically with one another. We will be using baking soda and vinegar and discussing how sometimes a new substance (gas) is formed when they combine.
FYI
Happy New Year!!
- We go outside most days (unless very cold windchill) please send your child to school prepared to be outside for 30 minutes
- January 8th -Chapter Five Math test
- January 11th - Field trip to Franklin Institute (pack a lunch)
- January 18th- Happy Birthday MLK! no school
- Students should be reading 20 minutes daily