We began a biography unit last week that will last until the end of April. The second graders had the opportunity to choose from a wide variety of biographies to read during our literacy block. We have a lot of the "Who Was/Is..." series. We focused on the comprehension strategy determining importance and picking out the main idea. The second graders took notes as they read. They wrote down important ideas as well as interesting ideas that might not be most important. For example, one group is reading about Helen Keller. That group determined that a big idea about Helen is that despite the fact that she was blind and deaf, she learned how to read and write. A less important yet interesting idea about Helen is that her parents found out she was deaf when she did not respond to the family dinner bell. We will culminate this biography study on Tuesday, April 26 from 1:00-1:45pm and we invite you to join us for this event. You will find out more details after spring break.
In math we delved into multi-digit subtraction with a focus on the "carrying" also known as "trade first" method. The second graders had a lot of practice with this strategy last week. We used the attached poem to help children remember when to trade and when to simply subtract the ones, tens, hundreds, etc. This would be a good skill to practice at home with your second grader.
Our big buddies came for lunch last week. The 7th and 2nd graders enjoyed eating together in our classroom. We invited them to our final open store day but they already had plans.
Our final open store day will be held this Tuesday, March 8 from 1-1:45 in our classroom. You are invited to join us. The second graders have worked hard on this project and we would love to have you there to celebrate with us. Last week the business owners planned and began creating commercials to get the word out about their products. These commercials will be playing during our marketplace on Tuesday.
Next week all second grade classes are taking a field trip to Chellberg Farm at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore to learn about maple sugaring. Our class will go on Thursday, March 10. On this day it is important that children dress for the weather. They will need a coat, hat, gloves, boots, and possibly snow pants depending on the forecast.
Next week for our work word, we will focus on words ending in -le. For example, bubble, giggle, title, circle, etc. We will also practice red words would, could, and should. When spelling these red words, children can think of the mnemonic device, "Oh U Lucky Duck."