Reading Groups, Writing Celebration and More!

Math

This week in math we were regrouping machines! We regrouped in the ones, in the tens, and even in the hundreds. Some of us were challenged with numbers in the thousands! We reviewed the concept that if the sum of a number is more than 9, a two digit number, we must regroup. Next week we will be starting subtraction with regrouping.

If you want to help your child get a head start, practice subtraction facts this weekend!

Reading

We had a big week in reading as we began our reading groups. Some groups worked on prefixes, idioms, and reading fluency, while others worked on seeker the deeper meaning in a text, vocabulary, and how to ask big questions. We also sorted our new word sorts this week, and even timed ourselves to see how fast we could sort all our words correctly. Long vowel sounds, short vowel sounds, and vowel partners were just some of the topics covered in our sorts.

Ask your child what their fastest sorting time was!

Writing

We are officially second grade authors! We had a writing celebration this week to celebrate completing finishing our small moment narratives. We learned how to give compliments and be active listeners. We loved hearing each other’s stories we have worked so hard on, and enjoyed a very special treat.

Ask your child what their story is about and what compliment they gave their buddy!

 

Science

On Monday, the class did “edible science” by mixing solids together to create a fruit salad. They cut their ingredients and counted their pieces individually, as a pair, and then as a class, demonstrating their math abilities in regrouping. Students then mixed the fruit together and observed that it did not change the foods or make the mixture different. Thursday they conducted a more complicated experiment with mixing solids and liquids: gravel, toilet tissue, and salt with water. They first observed and described properties of the three solids, and then added each solid one by one to different glasses of water. Students wrote observations of the solid and liquid mixture before and after stirring. They will share and compare their observations next week.

For homework, your child will need to keep track of the solids and liquids s/he eats and drinks over the weekend. We will be calculating the numbers and making a graph next week.

 

Yahadut and Hebrew: Learning about our School’s Namesake

Both our Yahadut and Hebrew studies have been centered around learning about Hannah Senesh, our school’s namesake, in preparation for next week’s assembly in her honor.

In Yahadut, we focused on Hannah’s childhood and learned about Hannah’s family and hobbies. We read excerpts from her diary and tried to imagine how she was feeling when she wrote about the first day of school. We also watched excerpts from the film “Blessed is the Match”, looking for clues about Hannah’s life and interests. Ask your child who Hannah lived with and what they can tell you about her childhood. 

In Hebrew we learned two new letters that are her initials, Chet and Samech. We answered questions about her in Hebrew, and wrote about her as well.  Students can tell you the following facts about Hannah in Hebrew:

• Where she is from
• Who she lived with as a child
• Where she lived in Europe and in Israel
• What she liked
• What languages she spoke and wrote in

Elliot Reads about Hannah Senesh in Hebrew from Hannah Senesh on Vimeo.