Gr 2 Blog Week of 1/30/18

Dear Families,

Here is a look into the week ahead:

This week in math, we are continuing our work with the T-Shirt Factory. We split into teams to take inventory of the different sizes of t-shirts. Your student will be responsible for one size. As a factory, it is important for us to know how many rolls and loose t-shirts we have in stock. Below are some examples of student work explaining how they found the total number of t-shirts in their size:

Set of problems:

Student Work:

Later this week the kids will be introduced to the concept of storage boxes that hold 100 t-shirts (10 rolls), which pushes their place value understanding into the hundreds. The storage boxes also help bring up the concept of unitizing: 100 loose t-shirts is the same as 10 rolls of 10 shirts, and also the same as 1 box of 100. This can be a confusing concept for children, which is why the context is so vital. In addition, this week the kids will begin to take inventory of all the different sized t-shirts that are in the warehouse. They will need to calculate how many total t-shirts we have, as well as how many total boxes, rolls, and loose t-shirts are in the warehouse.

In Writer’s Workshop, our students have been creating posters or books showcasing the amazing biographical information that they have discovered about their chosen person. They have learned how to take a simple thought or fact and stretch it into a more complex sentence. We have done this by asking questions about our information such as Who, What, Where, When, and Why?. We can’t wait to share their fascinating work with you!

Here is a chart that we used to show how to stretch a thought/fact:

In Science this week we are continuing to think about balance. We have learned that for something to balance it needs to be stable. We have discovered some great words to help describe what stable means: still, steady, sturdy, and we understand that a stable object doesn’t fall or break apart. We will be creating mobiles using index cards, rubber bands, paper clips and straws. We will be planning what our mobile should look like and we are going to test it out to see if it balances. Here are some pictures some pictures!

In Reader’s Workshop, we are continuing to work with our reading partners. We have learned that just because we are working with a partner does not mean we need to use our voice to communicate. This week our students will be communicating with their partners through writing. They will be working together to ask their partner questions and their partner will have a chance to write their answer and vice versa. This will be great practice for our kids to take all the thinking work they do in their minds and get it down onto paper.

Just a few Reminders:

• Scholastic orders will be submitted on 1/31/18 for class 201 and 2/14/18 for class 202.
• January/February Birthday/Valentine’s Day Celebration will be on February 14th.

Have a great week,

Ms. Mathis and Ms. Anne