Seth Paine Elementary
Classroom Highlights
Lodewyck Room 102
50 Miller Rd.
Lake Zurich, IL 60047
February 1, 2016
847-540-4761
K a r e n . L o d e w yc k @ l z 9 5 . o r g
“Promise me you will always remember, you’re braver than you believe, stronger than you
seem, and smarter than you think.” ~ Christopher Robin to Winnie the Pooh
Curriculum Continued
Message to PARENTS:
Teddy Bear Factory and Celebration will be here
before we know it! A letter was sent home last week.
There are many volunteer opportunities. Please
consider helping out. This is a wonderful way to help
make a special event memorable for our second
graders.
Last week, a letter about Valentine’s Day also went
home that included a class list. If your child is
bringing valentine cards to school, please make sure he
or she has one for everyone in our class. We will
decorate a bag in class to hold their treats.
Curriculum
Reading
The children enjoyed studying figurative language! It
was wonderful to see students identify examples of
personification, similes, and idioms in the books that
they’re reading. Continue to encourage your child to
share examples with our class.
We have also been “making connections” while we read.
Our goal is to identify a detailed example so we can
clearly see the relationship between our connection and
what we are reading in order to understand the text better.
Three types of connections include: text to self, text to
world, and text to text.
This week, we’re going to focus on cause and effect
relationships within our reading. The “cause” is why
something happened, and the “effect” is what happened.
Pointing out cause and effect relationships that happen in
“everyday” life will also help your child develop a clearer
understanding.
Writing
We’ve been studying expository writing. One form of
expository writing is to explain how to do different
things. The format includes a topic sentence, body
sentences and a closing sentence. We’ll also explore a
variety of attention getters and interesting ways to end a
paper. Last week, the students were challenged with
explaining how to get from our classroom to our school
library. The children are encouraged to use detailed
descriptions and a variety of transition words.
Spelling
Due to CogAT testing, the children do not have a spelling
list this week.
English
We have completed our unit on verbs which included:
action verbs, linking verbs, helping verbs, and verb tenses.
We also studied subject and predicate. On Thursday, the
children will take a quiz to demonstrate their
understanding of verbs.
Math
We’ve been studying subtraction by decomposing twodigit numbers based on place value. The children will
demonstrate this concept on the number chart and on the
number line.
Science
This week, we’ll begin our unit on pushes and pulls. The
important vocabulary will include: force, push, pull,
motion, direction, and magnet. Our first investigation will
challenge the children to determine how they can make a
paper cup move on strings. For the second investigation,
the children will work to find out how the number of turns
affects how fast a wind-up toy moves.
Important Dates
February
2, 3, 5 CogAT Testing
4
Honk Jr. Field Trip to the LZHS
11
Valentine Party
12
Institute Day ~ No School
15
President’s Day ~ No School
23
Six Flags Reading Log is due
19/20 School Musical (4th & 5th graders perform)
26
Trimester Ends