The 2A Express
The Weekly Roundup
Week Thirty Four
Greetings Parents and Caregivers,
I hope this email finds you and your family ready for a relaxing weekend.
This week saw 2A continue with their independent and group assignments in Reader's and Writer's workshop, observing the way balance affects our physical world, begin their new multiplication and division unit and continue building and programming Lego robots.
On top of all that is happening in the classroom, I will be conducting the end of year reading assessments next week, providing an opportunity for the students of 2A to utilize their strategies and show the growth they have made as readers.
On another note, all of Second Grade are working together to promote awareness of the Shukran Committee and the upcoming Shukran Dinner for the ASD staff that help maintain our ASD campus in a variety of ways. More information can be found below.
There are plenty of tasks and activities that are happening in our classroom and no doubt this will ensure that the next few weeks will fly by!
Please take the time to look through the newsletter as there is some important information regarding the next few weeks, click on the images of your child engaged in learning and feel free to contact me with any queries or issues that may arise.
The Thirty Fourth Week
The Subjects
Math
This week saw the 2A mathematicians begin a new unit that explores the foundational understanding of multiplication and division.
The first few lessons have introduced the students to putting objects into equal groups and looking at how many objects are in each group and the total of all the groups. We used a range of manipulatives to see what this looks like in a concrete and kinesthetic way.
Following these lessons we began representing these groups of objects with drawings and introducing repeated addition.
Next week the unit newsletter will be sent home in your child’s folder. Please take time to look through this informative letter about the final math unit of the year.
The 2nd grade team kindly asks that you not teach multiplication facts as something to be memorized. This prevents students from reasoning out and practicing working with groups of the same number. Thank you for your support with this.
Below is the unit link by Eureka Math housed on YouTube embedded in the newsletter. This is a cluster of short videos that provides parents, students and teachers with an overview of the strategies that are being taught this unit lesson by lesson, and how to solve some of the questions that students are exposed to.
Our Latest Unit Tutorial YouTube Playlist
Math Pre-Assessment Activity
Making Equal Groups Up To 12 Independently
Making Equal Groups Up To 24 In Partners
Making Equal Groups Up To 48 In Teams
IXL Second Grade Resources
Reader's Workshop
This week saw the readers of 2A continue to meet with their partners and larger reading groups to discuss their thoughts about a range of topics within the series books they are reading.
We continued to review and discuss the author's craft; how an author creates vivid images from their word choice and sentences used.
Each group is working towards completing their assigned reading task with their partner and will present their findings mid week. I am looking forward to what they have to share about their book, character and series.
Series Reading and Book Clubs Lesson Slides
Great Reading resources for Second Graders and Beyond
Writer's Workshop
This week saw the authors of 2A put the final touches to their revised and edited nonfiction draft copies.
This unit has allowed the students to bring all their learning and understanding together in a cumulative book. Many have started to publish their final copy and will share these next week with their classroom members.
We will then be undertaking in a review of fiction writing, looking to craft an interesting and well written fictional text. This will be a wonderful opportunity for the authors of 2A to exhibit their growth and understanding in this genre.
Science
We have continued to build upon our understanding of force and motion by undertaking an experiment that allows us to observe the role of gravity and balance on all objects. After making predictions, the experiment saw the students use a craft stick as a stable platform, two clothespins and a cardboard arch and triangle, using the clothespins to balance the shapes on the craft stick and observe the effects of these physical phenomena.
We also looked carefully of the role balance and gravity has on a crane, something that we see everyday in Doha, and what a crane needs to be effective with and without a load.
Take a look at the photographs and ask your child what they observed when taking part in the experiments.
Experiment Three: Balance and Gravity
Building Balanced Cranes
Exploratory
What can robots do for us?
What can we program them to do?
In these next exploratory lessons we are exploring the potential of Lego robots, using Scratch to program these robots and looking to see what the possibilities these robots have for us as humans.
There have been many interesting comments made by the students of 2A regarding robots and their impact on technology and what the future of robots could look like for us.
Take a look at the photographs below to see the engineers and programmers in action.
Lesson One: Building
Lesson Two: Programming
Things To Know:
Grade 2 Service Learning Project: Shukran Committee and Dinner
Grade two teachers and students are excited about our upcoming service learning project which is taking place at the end of this month.
A special event called the “Shukran Dinner” honors all of the workers at ASD - cleaners, guards, cafeteria workers, bus drivers and monitors.
This wonderful celebration takes place on Monday May 30th from 5-7 p.m. in the HS/MS cafeteria.
Last month, students made individual cards and poems for each worker, and these will be distributed during the celebration. This Sunday your child will bring home a letter about how you can help to Support the Shukran Committee and honor our hardworking ASD workers.
Please look out for this letter and other upcoming information about the 2nd grade service learning project.
Science Field Trip
This is happening for 2A on May 30th.
It should be a great time to see our learning in action!
Arab Mothers Association Fundraising Activities
May Dates At A Glance
May 19 Trimester 3 ASA’s finish
May 22 PD – No Students
May 24 Full Day of School – Tuesday Morning Schedule
- May 30 Irish Storyteller Visit
- May 30 Science Field Trip
Mr Craig Campbell
Email: ccampbell@asd.edu.qa
Location: American School of Doha, Al Bustan Street, Doha, Qatar
Mrs. Danijela Delic-Domazet
Email: ddelic@asd.edu.qa
Location: American School of Doha, Al Bustan Street, Doha, Qatar