Grade 2 Week of 3/28/17
Dear Families,
It was a pleasure seeing many of you at our bridge raising last week. It was amazing to see our kids working together to build this masterpiece. Here is a recap of our week ahead:
In Writer’s Workshop we are investigating how writers tell us about the character’s traits and how they get the description into the story. We have learned that writers do this in one of four ways: letting the character tell us about themselves, having another character tells us about the character, the writer simply could tell us about the character, or the writer could tell us and we need to dig a little deeper and infer. During this investigation we are sifting through our bin of realistic fiction and choosing a book that each student wants to work with. We will then be noticing what we know about the character and trying to figure out how the writer showed us this. We are also noticing what words in the text showed us this and if we needed to infer. We will then be charting our noticings. Here is the heading of chart and what we are looking for:
| Name of character | What we know about the character | What words in the text made you say this?
“…” |
Which of the Four ways did the writer use to help us know the character |
Example:
|
He did not like where he lived. | “Solomon Singer lived in a hotel for men near the corner of Columbus Ave and 85th St. in NYC, and he did not like it.” | The author simply stated it. |
In Reader’s Workshop, we are continuing our shared read aloud of The Chalk Box Kid. We are looking closely at our text and making connections between what we have noticed in writer’s workshop and this text. We are also thinking deeper about connections between other books we have read. Examples are Jake Drake, Bully Buster and The Chalk Box Kid. Students are beginning to create links between themes and problems/conflicts and solutions in the two stories. Be sure to talk to them about what they are noticing.
Just a few reminders, a spelling list has been sent home for the students to review. They will be assessed at the end of the week. This list is going to be a challenge for them. They are currently using these words in their writing and spelling them incorrectly. We are also working in our small groups to address specific spelling needs.
In math this week, we are continuing to explore rectangles. Students are working to determine how many different rectangles they can make with a set number of square tiles. Our class discussions involve an investigation of the word “congruent”– how rectangles can be the same size and shape regardless of the direction they are facing. We will wrap up the week with a return to 3D shapes. Students will be constructing 3D rectangular prisms from a set of 2D rectangles. Through the challenge of putting the pieces together, students will explore the attributes of rectangular prisms.
In Social Studies, students are beginning to create their watercolor paintings. They have chosen the community they would like to paint, and are planning out which positive and/or negative attributes of the community they will include. For example, some students plan to highlight the advantages of nature found in the suburbs, while others are focusing on the disadvantages of severe weather on different communities. I can’t wait to see the finished products!
A permission slip for our next trip to The Queens Museum on April 20th has been sent home. Please send it in along with the money as soon as you can. Please note that we can only bring 2 chaperones per class. Scholastic will be submitted on Friday for 201 and 202.
Have a great week!
Ms. Mathis and Ms. Anne
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