August 31, 2023

LANGUAGE ARTS:  This week we read and discussed We Are Super Citizens and Clark the Shark.  We Are Super Citizens is a personal narrative while Clark the Shark is a fantasy.  We worked on skills such as decoding words with short "a" and "i," using story vocabulary in context, identifying the subject and predicate in a sentence, blending and decoding words with a consonant-vowel-consonant pattern, identifying action verbs in a sentence, identifying the setting of a story, recognizing antonyms (words that have opposite meanings,) and learning ten new high-frequency words.

MATH:  Our first chapter is over fluently adding and subtracting within 20.  This week students used the strategy "make a ten" to add numbers, used number patterns on an addition table to complete addition equations, counted on and back on a number line to subtract, and used addition to help with subtraction facts.

SPELLING:  Your child brought home a list of words for week 1 on Monday.  We have been working on our spelling words at school, but any help from home with studying the words would be greatly appreciated! We will take the spelling post test over our week 1 words tomorrow, September 1.  The post test will be sent home each Friday so you can see how your child scored.

SCIENCE:  Our first unit is called "engineering design process."  So far students discussed how things we use and see in our everyday lives, such as ramps, phones, and even a stapler can be used to solve a problem.  They explored how an engineer defines a problem and solves it by using steps in a design process.  The steps are:  Define a problem, plan and build, test and improve, redesign, and communicate.

SOCIAL CONTRACT:  In last week's newsletter I mentioned that the second grade would be creating a social contract, an agreement of behavior for the class to follow.  Below is the social contract the second graders created:

• help others
• be respectful/polite
• include others
• be kind
• share/take turns
• listen to others
• be responsible
• follow the Golden Rule (treat others the way you want to be treated)

The second graders signed the above social contract to state that they would honor it.  They understand that there are consequences for not following the social contract they helped to create.

EARLY DISMISSAL:  There will be a three hour early dismissal tomorrow, September 1 for teacher professional development.  Since school will be dismissing at 12:10, school lunch will not be provided.

SPIRIT DAY:  Tomorrow, September 1 is a "Spirit Day."  Students can pay $1.00 to wear sweatpants or a hat to school if they wish.  The money raised will be used to help those in need in our local community.