Week of April 30th-May 4th

Curriculum News

This week during our Literacy Workshop time we will still be continuing with our unit on Taking Care of Ourselves.  On Tuesday, however, we will break from this theme and spend the whole day reading both fiction and non-fiction books about Hawaii as we take part in the annual 2nd Grade Lei Day Celebration.  On this day we will also be working on some Math story problems that involve activities found in our 50th state.  We will also spend some time learning a bit about each individual island and what makes each one unique.  During the afternoon we will get the opportunity to sample a few treats from Hawaii and see some photos and videos exactly what makes our beautiful “Aloha State” so special.  Please remember boys and girls to show up in some bright colors or aloha gear to help spread the “aloha spirit” to all students in our building!

(Leis will be provided!)

During our Social Studies time we will be taking a closer look at our nation’s history.  Students will get the opportunity to take a closer look at some of the struggles that our early citizens endured as our battle to become an independent nation took place.  They will also hear about some of the famous Americans who helped shape our wonderful nation into what it is today.

 

Spelling Words/  Hawaiian Words (No challenge Words)

aloha   turtles   islands    lava    mountains   beach   coconut   surfboard   waves    Hawaii   volcano    mango   beautiful    dolphins

 

Reminders/Announcements:

*Tuesday, May 1st-Lei Day

*No more reading logs!  Students have done very well all year long!

 

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Johnson

 

 

 

 

Week of April 23rd-27th

Curriculum News

This week during our Literacy Workshop time we will be continuing our unit on Taking Care of Ourselves.  This week we will be reading several different books and pieces of information regarding food choices and how we can make better choices.  This will give us the opportunity to study some of the components on food labels as well.  We have already looked at some parts of these labels but will get a chance to see first-hand what exactly things like nutrients and carbohydrates do to our body.  This will actually go right along with our visit on Thursday of this week to the Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital.  There will be a note going home on Monday that explains our visit in greater detail.  Students always enjoy this trip and come back with a lot of very worthwhile information and knowledge!  Our work on writing time will be spent completing our own concept books. Students have gotten the opportunity to select their own topics and do a bit of research to compose and even illustrate their very own books.  They have been working very hard on these!

During Science we will continue to explore the fascinating topics of weather and our solar system.  Students will also be taking a closer look at various types of maps and understanding their value to us in our daily life.  Our Math time will allow us to go back and revisit some very necessary skills that go along with counting money.  We will be working a bit more with making change and some “Real-World” math problems that involve the use of money in our daily lives.

 

Spelling Words/ Earth Day Words                    

painter   washer  dryer   flyer   server   worker   singer   teacher   speaker    thinker   author    actor

Challenge Words:      elevator     inventor

 

Reminders/Announcements:

Wednesday, April 25th–  11:30 Dismissal

Thursday, April 26th– 2nd Grade Mini Medical Days at Lincoln Hospital (leave @ 11:50 and return @ 3:00)

 

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Johnson

Week of April 16th-20th

Curriculum News

This week during our Literacy Workshop time we will be working on developing our very own concept books.  This will give students an opportunity to brainstorm, make drafts, and write their own work.  In addition to this writing activity, we will also be taking a closer look at a non-fiction book called Magic School Bus: Inside the Human Body.  This will kick off our unit which is called, Taking Care of Ourselves.  This will give us the opportunity to dive into several different books which will help us get a better understanding of ways to properly take care of ourselves and make healthier choices.  During our Math time, we will be continuing with our work on Real-Life Word problems but will also turn our attention towards a variety of measuring methods that do not include the use of rulers!

During Science we will still be exploring weather and our environment but will also be discussing ways to take care of our beautiful and important habitat.  This will also be highlighted as we discuss a variety of topics that tie in with our Earth Day lessons!  This next week we are also asking that students wear certain colors on specific days to bring attention to various aspects of our vast and amazing Earth.  Earth Day is Sunday, April 22nd but we will be celebrating and learning all week long about our amazing home planet!

*Flag posters are due Monday, April 16th!

 

Spelling Words/ Earth Day Words                     (No challenge words this week!)

reduce    reuse   recycle   trash    litter   water    Earth    green    soil    pollute   world    energy   people     air

 

Reminders/Announcements:

Dress up days for Earth Week

Monday- Wear brown

Tuesday- Wear blue

Wednesday- Wear yellow

Thursday- Wear green

Friday-Wear Tie-dye or multicolors

Week of April 9th-13th

Curriculum News

During our first full week of school since our spring break, we will be wrapping up our unit of “Hand-Me-Down Tales From Around the World.”  Part of the time will be spent reviewing the elements of Folktales while some of our time will be spent taking a closer look at concept books.  As we look at several examples of some simple concept books, we will use them to compare and contrast several topics that are covered by them.  This will give students the opportunity to see what goes into making a concept book and why they are an important and fun type of non-fiction book that can be used and enjoyed by all age levels.  We will continue in Math with some extra practice on 3 Digit Subtraction and then will move on by taking a closer look at some real-life type of story problems that will require students to put their addition and subtraction strategies to work!

Our Science time will be spent exploring a variety of types of weather……which we seem to be experiencing right here in central Illinois on a daily basis!  Students will hopefully have a better understanding of how our weather can fluctuate so much from day to day.  In Social Studies we will continue to take a look at symbols of our country and take a closer look at some of the important dates in our country’s history.  This study allows us to lean a bit about our country’s symbols but students will also learn a lot about some of the other country’s symbols as students continue to work on their “Flags From Around the World” poster which is due Monday, April 16th.

Spelling Words 

badly   madly   quickly   weekly    daily   sadly    gladly   proudly     softly    loudly    bravely    safely

Challenge Words (Extra Credit)      extremely       actually

 

Reminders/Announcements:

* Flag posters are due Monday, April 16th!

 

Mrs. Johnson