This week in Language Arts the students will read A Lizard in the Sun. Centers will take place all week to reinforce the skills we have learned. At this point in the school year students should be reading at least 25 minutes at home each night. There will be a S.P.P. this week and a Spelling Celebration on Friday!

Unit 7 is well underway. We are learning about fractions. One half and one quarter are the fractions we focus on in second grade. Rocket Math will take place Wednesday and Friday. Please practice at home with your child on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Students should know all basic (1-9) facts by memorization at this point in the year.

G'day mate! We are spending our social studies time learning all about the community life in Sydney, Australia. Sydney is located in an urban community and there are many comparisons we can make to Glenview, Illinois. Ask your child all about the land down under!

Reminders

21 M~ Math Day: Let’s play math games today.
22 N~ Nice Note Day: Write a friend a nice note at school!
23 O~ Outrageous Hair Day:  Come to school with a crazy hair style.
24 P~ Poetry Day: Bring a favorite poem or poem book to share.
25 Q~ Quiz Day: How much do you know about your second grade teacher?

On Friday, May 11 we celebrated "G" day.....GREEN DAY!

This week in Language Arts the students will continue with reading groups. Ask your child which group he or she is in and what the various roles are within the group. At this point in the school year students should be reading at least 25 minutes at home each night. There will be a S.P.P. this week and a Spelling Celebration on Friday!

Unit 6 is coming along. Story problems are become more difficult as students much choose a strategy to efficiently solve the problem. Rocket Math will take place Wednesday and Friday. Please practice at home with your child on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Students should know all basic (1-9) facts by memorization at this point in the year.

Ms. Amundsen and the students have been learning all about dinosaurs. Our dinosaur unit is wrapping up. The kids are in the midst of creating "Daily Dinosaur News" which will feature different dinosaurs and the kids as news reporters. Look for the news segment to be posted later this week.

Reminders

This week in Language Arts the students will read a non-fiction book called Watching in the Wild. Using graphic aids to comprehend and better understand a story will be the focus skill. At this point in the school year students should be reading at least 25 minutes at home each night. There will be a S.P.P. this week and a Spelling Celebration on Friday!

In writing, the students will learn about synonyms. Synonyms are words that mean the same. The students will also do some more editing in the week using the COPS strategy they learned a few weeks ago.

Unit 6 started on Friday! The students will revisit addition and subtraction story problems.  Rocket Math will take place Wednesday and Friday. Please practice at home with your child on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

Reminders

**Field Trip- April 18th

**MAP Math Test- April 23

**MAP Reading Test- April 30

Our 2012 March Madness Winners!

This week in Language Arts the students will read a non-fiction book called The Bee. Using graphic aids to comprehend and better understand a story will be the focus skill. At this point in the school year students should be reading at least 25 minutes at home each night. There will be a S.P.P. this week and a Spelling Celebration on Friday!

In writing, the students will learn more about past tense verbs. Since spring has arrived the students will finish an informative paragraph explaining 3 activities they LOVE to do in the springtime.

Unit 5 will continue this week. Rocket Math will take place Wednesday and Friday. Please practice at home with your child on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

Reminders

**Field Trip- April 18th

**MAP Math Test- April 23

**MAP Reading Test- April 30

This week in Language Arts the students will be assigned to a Book Club. They will read the club's book and practice various reading strategies. There will NOT be a S.P.P. this week or a Spelling Celebration!

In writing, the students will continue checking their stories using the "COPS" editing strategy. Ask your child what "COPS" stands for and how it helps you become a better writer. They will have the opportunity to audio record their published stories as well.

Unit 4 assessment will take place Monday. We will quickly move into Unit 5. Using tables to represent the ratio relationship between two quantities will be the main focus this week. Rocket Math will take place Wednesday.

Our second social studies unit: Comparing rural, suburban, and urban communities will continue. Chicago will be our main focus as we learn about the Chicago flag, popular tourist attractions, and the Chicago River. We hope the students' Flat Stanley will start making their way back to Avoca West soon!

Reminders

**Healthy snacks----> fruit, granola bars, and/or crackers

** Art in Action Day   Tuesday, March 20  10:30am

** Contract Day    Friday, March 23   No School

** Spring Break    March 26-April 1

This week in Language Arts we will continue practicing strategies from our Daily 5 CAFE model. Our focus story will be A Chair for My Mother, a realistic fiction story about a girl who goes out of her way to surprise her grandmother. Students will participate in various center activities to help build independent reading skills. There will be a S.P.P. this week and a Spelling Celebration will be on Friday!

In writing, the students will learn all about verbs! They will participate in games on the Promethean board, act out "action words" by playing charades, make a verb poster using magazine clippings, and play Verb Viper on the laptops. Later in the week, Ms. Amundsen will model how to use the "COPS" editing strategy in order to check their stories. Ask your child what "COPS" stands for and how it helps you become a better writer.

Unit 4 will wrap up later in the week! Team Koerber collected data on the number of teeth that have been lost in our classroom. Ms. Amundsen was the outlier as she has lost 36 teeth! The students created various representations including a line plot. The students will now make predictions about teeth lost in Kindergarten, first grade, third grade, fourth grade, and fifth grade. Line plots will be created to represent the data collected. Rocket Math will take place Wednesday and Friday.

Our second social studies unit: Comparing rural, suburban, and urban communities will continue. Students will work in groups to create a 3-D model of an urban community. Mrs. Zebro will come into our classroom and share her childhood experiences growing up in downtown Chicago!  We hope the students' Flat Stanley will start making their way back to Avoca West soon!

Star Student-Dodge is our star this week! He has waited so long to be star student. Dodge enjoys playing all sports especially hockey. He also has an older sister, Alexandra. Dodge's family also loves to travel and we enjoy learning about Dodge's adventures.

Reminders

**Healthy snacks----> fruit, granola bars, and/or crackers

** Game Party    Friday, March 16  (Nico earned the party with 100 book reports)

** Art in Action Day   Tuesday, March 20  10:30am

** Contract Day    Friday, March 23   No School

** Spring Break    March 26-April 1