“A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new." — Albert Einstein
Upcoming Events:
STEM Fair on Dec 26th, 2019
In Writing Workshop this week, Grade 2 will be tackling introduction to letter writing. In the letter they will be giving their opinion about a book that they have read and supporting their opinion with reasons.
In Reading Workshop, Grade 2 is working on becoming more fluent readers. We are revising:
Rereading aloud and in our heads
Talking like characters
Making our voices match the mood
Reading with a 'just right' pace.
In Math, Grade 2 is practicing and reinforcing the skills that they have learned so far.
We are working hard for STEM Fair!
Reminders:
Last day of school before winter break is Dec 26th, 2019
Please read books on razkids and do the quiz at the end.
Back at school on Sunday, January 19th (Day 4), 2020!
“Teachers can open the door, but you must enter it yourself.” — Chinese proverb
Landform Picture Gallery
Upcoming Event:
MAP testing on December 16th, 2019
STEM Fair on December 26th, 2019
In Writing Workshop, we are starting a new genre of writing. It is called writing about reading. This unit is about writing opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking words (e.g. because, and, also) to connect opinion and reasons and provide a concluding statement or section.
Before we start this unit, it is important for students to understand the difference between fact and opinion. Therefore, next week students will work on understanding the difference between fact and opinion.
In Reading Workshop, we have starting a new genre of reading - Bigger books mean amping up reading power. This means we are reading fiction books that take longer to finish. We are focusing on: Chapter books that have one central plot-line, readers must carry the story from chapter to chapter. The focus of this unit is literary language
There are 4 parts to this genre. They are: 1. Reading with Fluency 2. Understanding Literacy Language 3. Meeting the challenges of longer books 4. Tackling goals in the company of others
Students have been exposed to different figurative language like alliteration, rhymes, simile and unusual phrases. Alliteration: the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words. For example:
She sells seashells on the seashore
Sandy Shaw’s soft swede shoes
Simile: a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid (e.g. as brave as a lion). Similes are used as a method of comparison. As cold as ice. Tall like tree.
Unusual phrases: ‘piece of cake’ – very easy; ‘hit the nail on the head’ – accurate
Rhymes: A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounding words. For example – Twinkle twinkle little star How I wonder what you are
In Math, students will continue to explore polygons
In STEM, students will plan and prep for the upcoming STEM fair.
In Social Studies, students will utilize this time preparing for the STEM fair.
Reminders
Reading on razkids and completing the quiz at the end.
Bring a dictionary to school.
Last day of school before winter break is December 26th, 2019.
"The more you give away the more happy you become. Why fit in when you were born to stand out?" -Dr. Suess Upcoming Events: There is a lot going on this week...
Unit 4 Math assessment - Wednesday, November 20th
House Games Day - Thursday, November 21st. Please ensure that your child is wearing a t-shirt in their house color.
Book Character Parade - Thursday, November 21st.
Early Release Day: Students leave at 12:00 PM - Thursday, November 21st.
More Information on upcoming events:
This Thursday, MLS is hosting a Book Character Parade. In honor of this occasion, mothers of students (or female family members) are warmly welcome to attend the parade. In addition to their costume, all students are strongly encouraged to bring in the book that their character represents to share with their classmates. The parade will take place between 7:30 am - 8:00 am.
Students will also need to bring a change of clothing to wear following the parade. MLS students will be participating in House League Games, and should wear their MLS uniform or P.E. pants and a t-shirt in their house color.
Please be aware that as per the MLS Academic Calendar, Thursday, November 21will also be an Early Dismissal Dayfor all students. **Please note that characters should not reinforce violence and no item resembling a weapon will be allowed at school.
This week in class...
Writing Workshop
In writing workshop, students will continue to be making experiments and writing their lab reports for it. This week's experiments are EXTRA cool! Our experiments include making Lava Lamps and Underwater Fireworks. EXCITING!
Reading Workshop
In reading workshop, students will be introduced to informational text features. This week they will be introduced to the glossary, labels, captions, and diagrams, as well as the index.
Math
In math, students will be reviewing unit 4 and practicing applying the concepts taught in this unit. On Wednesday, November 20th, students will be assessed on the unit. It would be helpful to practice the following math lessons at home with your:
Adding two digit numbers with regrouping (remind them about carrying the '1' over to the next column.
Ballpark Estimation. Please the video below for examples of Ballpark Estimation.
STEM
In STEM, students will learn and understand the properties of rocks, including texture, color, size, streak.
Social Studies
In social studies, students will learn more definitions of landforms, including peninsula, coast, plateau and bay. Students will write the definition of each and draw a picture to go along with it.
Great things never come from comfort zones. ------------------------------------------------------ A big THANK YOU to all the Moms and Aunties that joined us last week for our writing celebration. We couldn't be prouder of these kiddos for working so hard on their writing pieces :) This week in class... Writing Workshop In writing workshop, students are continuing to write lab reports. They will be doing a new experiment everyday. One experiment that we're doing this week is observing what happens to the shadows of an object when you use different colored flashlights at once. Reading Workshop In reading workshop, students will be reading to identify the main idea of a paragraph by looking for the topic sentence, and key text features, such as headings and captions. Math In math, students will be learning about estimation and more about temperature changes.
STEM In STEM, we are starting our new unit called Sand Silt, and Pebbles. This week, students will be learning about Geologists. They will also be learning about the properties of rocks, including texture, size, color, and streaks. Social Studies In social studies, we are starting our new unit called Landforms. Students will be introduced to the definitions of mountains, hills, valleys, and plains.
Reminders:
Early release day: Students dismiss at 12:00 PM - Nov 21st.
