Second Grade Newsletter October/November
Greetings:     It's hard to believe that nine weeks have gone by! We have been very busy in second grade learning our routines and getting familiar with our curriculum. It was nice getting to see all of you last month at Open House.  I look forward to meeting for fall conferences to discuss your child's progress. I know we are heading into another great nine weeks! Science/Social Studies:      Our class has been learning many new concepts this past nine weeks. In social studies we learned about the different types of communities, our state and country, and the continents and oceans of our world.      In science students have explored the different types of matter; solids, liquids, and gases. We even used the scientific method to perform some simple experiments that demonstrated how matter can change.  Looking ahead to this nine weeks we will be studying landforms in social studies and the human body in science.	Reading/Language:     All second grade students have taken the DRA, PAPI, and fluency probe this past nine weeks. This  information will be discussed with you at your conference.  Based on those results, your child will be placed in the appropriate reading group.  Reading groups are done within the classroom in conjunction with the second grade reading basal.  Our reading groups are intended to help meet the various needs of the students.  Whatever the needs are, each group will have goals to help obtain the skills that are necessary to be successful readers.     Students have completed their first outside reading project with the story The Biggest Bear.  Students did a wonder job creating a story map on a book read at home.  Another project students will be completing at home late in November goes with the story The Mixed-Up Chameleon.  For this project students will invent and write about their own mixed-up animal.  These projects will be displayed in our hallway in the upcoming weeks.           In November we will read Cranberry Thanksgiving. This is a book that we enjoy as a grade level. As a culminating activity, second grade will have hands on experience with actual cranberries on our “Cranberry Thanksgiving Day.”  Students will complete tasks that will reinforce reading, math, and science skills.

Math:
Important units of study in second grade are place value, addition, and subtraction. These units form the necessary foundation for the upcoming units; which are addition and subtraction with regrouping. Please continue practicing the math facts through sums of 18 with your child nightly. Knowing these facts will ensure your child's success with regrouping as well.	As you review the math facts with your child, please encourage the use of the strategies he/she has learned (doubles, doubles plus one, making 10, and fact families).  We want students to use their heads, and not their fingers when calculating sums and differences.  Thank you for all the work you do with your child. Your support is truly appreciated!