Curriculum

You will notice that a lot of this week’s topics tie in with our upcoming celebration of Lei Day.  This is a real holiday celebrated in Hawaii on May 1st.  We, however, will need to celebrate on Thursday, April 30th because of too many conflicts/activities that have come about on Friday.  Our literature study this week will cover topics like the ocean and will lead to children’s books about Hawaii as our week comes to an end.  Math will give us an opportunity to wrap up our unit on time but will also lead us into our next topic-organizing data and graphs.  During our Science time we will be exploring the topic of plants and learning about their different parts while also taking a look at some of the unique plant life found in Hawaii as well.

Yes, even our spelling words all of something to do with Hawaii!  There are no challenge words, however.

Spelling Words

aloha       islands        mountains         coconut        waves        lava          Hawaii        beautiful         turtles        lei        beach       surf       volcano          luau          mango          dolphins

Extra Activities

On Thursday, April 30th, we will celebrate Lei Day in second grade.  Our whole day will involve work that covers the topic of Hawaii.  We will be learning about the meaning of practicing the “Aloha Spirit”.  Students will receive their Hawaiian names that day and will be doing various activities that will allow them to learn more about our “50th State” and will better understand my love of this beautiful, welcoming land.  All I ask is that students wear their “aloha” gear that day to school.  It can me anything from a floral shirt of shorts to simply a brightly colored shirt!  Students will, of course, receive the Hawaiian symbol of friendship and giving- a lei to be worn that day at school and will be allowed to take it home with them.  I always look forward to this day every year and students always enjoy it as well!

Friday May 1st-  In the morning we will be going over to the high school for the annual FFA petting zoo.  This is always a wonderful event put on by our FFA Department and is enjoyed by everyone!  That afternoon will also be the Jump Rope for Heart event in the gym.

Students should have a fun-filled week packed with plenty of learning and worthwhile experiences!

Aloha!

Curriculum

With last week being such a busy but fun-filled week, we are left playing catch-up for a while.  Second grade greatly enjoyed the annual visit to the Lincoln Memorial Hospital.  Students learned a lot about how our local hospital is run and hopefully that it is not such a scary place to visit.  Our drop everything and read day will certainly be another fun yet relaxing way to celebrate Emden Elementary’s love of reading!

During our literacy block, second grade will be taking a look at a number of poems written by the very famous poet-Robert Louis Stevenson as well as get some experience writing poetry of their own.  Social Studies will give us the opportunity to take a closer look at a variety of topics such as goods and services and other important parts of our community.  Our spelling list this week will help us discuss the use of suffixes on words and how it changes their meaning.  And of course, Earth Day will be a very important topic of discussion throughout the whole week!

Spelling Words

badly        madly        quickly        weekly       daily       sadly        gladly      proudly       softly          loudly       bravely        pattern    extend      simple

Challenge

describe            determine

Curriculum

With only seven weeks of school left and still so many things to cover, we need to move things into “High Speed” through the end of the year.  During our literacy block this week, we will be taking part in another fun author study of Kevin Henkes.  He has written several fun stories for young readers such as Chrysanthemum, Owen, Chester’s Way, Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse, Wemberly Worried, and a fun chapter book called Junonia about a young girl growing up next to the sea.  We will get an opportunity to explore them all this week as we look a bit closer at author’s purpose for writing stories such as these!  Time will still be practiced and emphasized during our math time as we help ensure retention of this necessary skill.  During our Language Arts/Writing time we will be working on writing alliterations and better understanding things such as synonyms and antonyms.

Spelling Words

whale      when      where      what      why      which       whip       whiff       while      whirl       show        display      know       count

Challenge Words-       represent        whistle

Reminders

Thursday, April 16th will be our annual trip to the Lincoln Hospital.  Students will be able to see how our local hospital is run and hopefully feel a little more positive about hospitals in general.  It is put on by the volunteers at the hospital and is always a very worthwhile trip.  We will be leaving school at about 11:40 that day and will return around 3:00.  Students will still eat a school lunch that day but will just be eating a bit early.