Curriculum News & Information

With February just around the corner, we will be starting a brand new unit during our Reading/Literacy Block.  We will be starting to look at a unit called A Long Journey To Freedom by taking a closer look at Abraham Lincoln and hopefully gain even more respect for our 16^th president.  We will be continuing our work with counting money.  Students are struggling a bit but are working hard at this very necessary skill.  I encourage you to give your child any opportunity possible to count loose change to help build their confidence with this skill.  We will be working on it for some time to help ensure that students truly understand and retain this very valuable skill!

We will also be continuing with our unit on the 7 Continents.  Students have been doing an excellent job with our study of maps and have been learning a lot about the culture of various countries found within each continent.  It is always fun to learn about and explore these new places!

 

Spelling:    learn      should   world     hush    slush     dash    wash     dollar    dish      money      coin      cent

Challenge Words:       America          united

 

Announcements & Reminders

During this upcoming week, we will get the opportunity to celebrate the 100^th Day of School.  There was a note going home on Thursday which asked  that us to dress up on that day as if we were 100 years old.  This should be a very fun and exciting day in which we will be reminded of how far we have come since our first day of school!  Wednesday, February 1^st is the 100^th day…hooray!

 

Thank you!

Mrs. Amy Johnson

 

Curriculum News & Information

With this past week being rather short, we only found time to begin our exploration of our current author of choice, Tomie DePaola.  We were introduced to one of his most famous characters and began looking at why he chose the path that he did but will definitely need more time to read and discuss more of his other very entertaining works.  There are still so many stories and adventures to discover as we take a closer look at this author.  Some of our writing will also tie in with this as we work on making our own short stories that include some of the main characters from his books!

In Math, we will continue our work with money.  With benchmark tests taking place this past week, we were only able to get some basic skills covered and practiced so we will definitely be spending a few more weeks practicing this very important skill.

During our Science time in the afternoon we will continue our work with animal classifications and habitats.  We have only begun our study of this very fascinating part of our environment.  This will carry over as we also take a look at some ideas for protecting these places so that wildlife can thrive for many years to come.

 

Spelling:    letter      found        study       much      such      church     search       march      starch       flinch

subtract      group

Challenge Words:       answer         question

 

Announcements & Reminders

There are no early dismissals or upcoming events this next week!  This will give us plenty of opportunities for learning and fun!

 

Thank you!

Mrs. Amy Johnson

 

 

Curriculum News & Information

This past week we spent some time during our Reading/Literacy block taking a look at some fun stories about winter.  This also gave us the opportunity to look at the changing seasons which we get the chance to enjoy right here in central Illinois.  During this upcoming week, we will be looking at a number of stories written by the very popular children’s author Tomie DePaola.  With the number of books that he has written and the variety of topics, this is something that might take longer than 1 week!  Students always enjoy diving in to one of his many books!  As we explore some of his books, we will also be looking at writing styles and author viewpoint which will come in handy as students are asked to write their very own short story during our writing time in class.

In Math, we will be starting our unit on money.  With that in mind, I am asking for your help by sending in some real coins to help us practice counting money.  It is always best to work with the real thing so that they can feel and see it first-hand.  There was a separate note sent home on Thursday which states exactly how many coins will be needed.  I really do appreciate your help with this!

During our Social Studies time, we will be continuing with our study of the 7 continents as we take a closer look at the continent of Africa with a special focus on the country of South Africa.  These lessons allow children the opportunity to learn a bit more about the different cultures and landforms found around this beautiful planet which we call home.  It also gives them a chance to sharpen their map skills as they closely explore each of these amazing seven continents found on Earth!

Spelling:    away        animal      house     point     page      desk      mask      task      ask      tusk        disk        events

Challenge Words:       process                 multiply

 

Announcements & Reminders

There is no school on Monday, January 16^th because of Dr. Martin Luther King Day!

 

Enjoy your 3 day weekend and stay safe and warm this weekend!

 

Thank you!

Mrs. Amy Johnson

 

 

 

 

Curriculum News & Information

As we slowly transition back into school mode, second grade will be spending some time taking a look at some fun “wintery” stories.  This will allow us to review the concept of main idea as well as fact and opinion during our morning literacy block.  Since we will be already discussing the topic of winter, we will continue the discussion during our Science time as be learn a bit more about the weather as well as the water cycle which allows us to enjoy that “white stuff” which children so enjoy playing in during the winter.  We are pushing right along with our study of the 7 Continents and will be taking a closer look at the continent of Asia with some extra time taking a look at the country of China.  Students are doing an excellent job on their weekly map work and getting the opportunity to better understand the vastness and beauty of this amazing planet!  Since we were so busy with numerous extra activities before our Christmas break, we will be taking some time to go over some more graphs to help ensure a better understanding of this very important and useful tool during our math time.

Another important topic which will be discussed over the next two weeks is the idea of practicing a “Growth Mindset”.  We will be discussing what exactly it means and how we can effectively use it on a daily basis to help create a more positive learning environment.  Essentially it is the belief that one’s intelligence, skills, and abilities can change with effort, practice, and hard work.  My intention is to help them feel more empowered or actively involved in their education and help them to see that they help choose whether they have a positive or negative day at school.  We will be looking at ways to help ensure that our second semester is a very productive and successful one!

 

It is time to start back with our Spelling Tests!  This week’s words are below!

Spelling:    off       play      spell      air      bend      send      mind       sand       land      draw       steps       label

Challenge Words:       object             change

 

Announcements & Reminders

Show and tell is back in full swing!  If there needs to be a change in your child’s day just let me know!  I am looking forward to a fantastic second semester!

 

Thank you!

Mrs. Amy Johnson