Mrs. Connor's
Newsletter
April 19, 2016
The second graders have been very busy
since returning from their Spring Break!
We have begun a wonderful science unit
on plants and animals. This week, each
student will plant a sunflower seed. In
addition, they will begin observing a
mealworm as it matures into a darkling
beetle. Please join us for Open House
th
on Thursday evening, May 5 to view
the plants and the mealworms plus many
other projects the boys and girls have
been working hard on!!
There has been a noticeable increase in
the off task talking during small group
activities and independent work time.
This conversation interrupts the learning
process for all the students. It is
important that every student be able to
listen and learn without interruption not
only in our classroom but music, art,
library and gym. When I say Give Me
Five or Ring the Chimes, that is the time
that all students stop immediately, listen
attentively and ask questions if they do
not understand something.
Scientist of the Day
Kayla kept eggshells from cracking even with
books on top of them! Brooke N. tapped on
water glasses filled with different amounts of
water and we listened for high and low pitches.
Brooke H. demonstrated positive and negative
charges using balloons. Everyone did an
outstanding job!! More on the way!
Reading Workshop
During reading workshop, the boys and girls have
begun a unit on fiction. Fiction stories are typically the
stories your children will be most familiar with. They are
stories they remember hearing when they were
younger. These stories can be told and retold from one
generation to another. Students will begin to recognize
different types and structures of fiction such as fantasy,
traditional tales and realistic stories. They will identify
common story elements and key details in fiction texts
(characters, setting, plot, conflict, and resolution). The
boys and girls will be using their retelling ribbons once
again!
Students will review that fiction books tell
entertaining stories that have been created from the
writer’s imagination. They will learn that there are three
basic types of fiction. They are:
Traditional Literature – stories from around the world
passed down through generations; often told orally.
Realistic Fiction – stories made up from the author’s
imagination, but they could really happen.
Fantasy Fiction – stories that are fanciful and stretch
the readers’ imagination. They cannot possibly be real.
They have unrealistic characters (talking animals) and
settings such as living on Mars.
Reading Tip: Your child has learned that fiction stories follow a chronological structure with a sequence of
events that unfold over time. While reading with your child, have them practice retelling the key details that
occurred in the beginning, middle and end of the story.
Email address: molly.connor@lz95.org
Phone Number: (847) 540-2874
Math
Science
We began our unit on plants and animals
by viewing a video narrated by Greg
Marshall, a scientist who watches
animals closely to learn more about
them. He attaches a small camera called
a remora on animals and this camera
“rides along” and sees what the animal
sees.
Upcoming lessons will focus on how
Earth materials contribute to the growth
of plant and animal life, identify the
major parts of plants and their functions,
identify and compare parts of living
things and categorize living organisms
using a variety of observable features
such as size, shape, and color.
Social Studies
Students will soon begin a new unit
entitled Citizenship. The big idea
students will focus on during this unit is
presented as a question. Why do we
need government? Key vocabulary
words are: government, Constitution,
election, judge, Congress, Supreme
Court, monument, Washington D.C. as
the nation’s capital and the Capitol
building where Congress makes the laws.
During this unit, we will study community
helpers. Each student has chosen a
community helper to research and write
an expository essay. They are reading
books in class and learning how each
worker helps the people in their
community. They will learn what
education/training is needed to do the job
and what equipment they use.
Thanks for helping your child decorate their
community helper figure and type the final copy
of their expository paragraph! It will come home
edited with instructions on the font size and
margins!
The boys and girls have finished lessons in Module 7. This module
explored the concept of multiplication. We used the multiplication
language, but the boys and girls did not write multiplication number
sentences. They worked with skip counting by twos and fives, and
equal jumps of two or equal-length jumps of five on a number line.
They used counters to construct equal groups and wrote addition
number sentences using the same number, or repeating the number
(such as 5+5+5=15 which represents 3 groups of 5). Students are
relating equal steps made on a number line to repeated addition. These
activities support the development of the linear model for multiplication.
The array model for multiplication is introduced as a way to show equal
groups by arranging them in equal rows. The reason for using an array is that
it provides a picture for multiplication that can be interpreted two different
ways. Students made arrays using connecting cubes. They made two rows of
5 and turn it around to make 5 rows of 2. The “turning of the array” is a
great way for students to see that the array can be described in two ways.
Vocabulary: Objects on an array:
Row: objects positioned horizontally across
Column: objects positioned vertically down
We have begun lessons in Module 8. Please look for the parent letter
for this module coming home this week. Students have been
composing and decomposing two-digit numbers, subtracting one-digit
numbers from two-digit numbers using a number line, calculating the
difference between two two-digit numbers, and using a number line
to solve subtraction problems.
Writing
Each student is following the writing process to plan, draft, revise
and edit an expository essay. An expository paragraph gives
information that explains a topic. It can tell how to get someplace, how
to do something or provide information on a variety of topics. Students
learned what makes an explanation easy to understand. They will
often refer back to the following ideas:




Giving all the needed information
Using easy to understand words
Staying on the subject
Putting ideas in order
I
Expository Writing will always: Teach nform
Explain.
The boys and girls have been reading about their community helper,
taking notes on a notecard and writing rough draft paragraphs to
complete their expository essay.