The final stretch is here

Second graders came back from the long weekend well-rested and with plenty to share about!  This final stretch of the school year will be a busy one- with a field trip to Squam Lake Science Center, Career Day, Step-Up Day, and Last Day celebrations!

In class your second grader has been busy researching a New Hampshire animal using books and websites such as Google Kids, N.H. Fish and Game, and National Geographic Animals.  Each child is writing a non-fiction book to teach about their animal and we'll publish these later this week using Google Docs on the Chromebook computers.  We'll also write descriptive poems about New Hampshire animals and illustrate them using watercolor paints!  Your child has several pieces of published keepsakes that will come home the last week of school.  :)

As the year winds down, we will review math and literacy skills through many games and paper/pencil activities.  If you're looking for ways to keep your child's skills fresh this summer, the internet has an overwhelming amount of educational games.  Some ideas are:
ixl.com- a great website with tons of math and literacy games
Study Island- our school has a subscription to this great site
Also, you might want to check out the many websites we've used in class listed below.
Reading:
Starfall: Reading Games and Online Stories

Storyline Online: celebrities read your favorite stories

Oxford Owl: fun reading practice

Young Explorer National Geographic Online Magazine

Scholastic News Magazine (type in team27)

Math:
Math Games
Excellent Math Games from Greg Tang
Many math games from abcya.com
More Math Games from abcya.com
Money
Dolphin Feed Money Game
More Coin Counting Practice
Graphs
Create your own Bar Graph
Bar Graphs on ixl.com
More bar graphs on ixl.com
Pictographs on ixl.com
More Pictographs from ixl.com
Graphs on kidsmathgamesonline.com
Telling Time
Practice Telling Time
Telling Time Challenge Game

The National PTA has some great resources for understanding what your child will be learning in each grade.  Here's the link for the Parents' Guide to Student Success for Third Grade.

Second Grade Update

Last week our class very worked hard on our end-of-year math and reading tests!  Each student showed their best work and should be proud of their growth in second grade!  The whole school earned an extra recess tomorrow for their efforts in these important assessments!  Way to go!

In math, we are ending our geometry unit.  We've learned about 2-D and 3-D shapes and how to divide them into equal parts.  This week we'll learn more about fractions- dividing shapes into halves, thirds, and fourths.  Children will practice these through fraction bingo games, online games, and paper practice.

In other news, we started a new chapter book read-aloud today called Horrible Harry Cracks the Code.  Ask your child about the characters!  In science we continue to learn about habitats and each student will choose an animal to research more in-depth.

Reminder: Please let me know if you're interested in chaperoning the Squam Lake Science Center trip!

Today in Second Grade

We started our morning learning and practicing contraction words (are not=aren't, we will= we'll, etc.)!  We played some online contraction word games and practiced spelling the words on individual dry erase boards.  Check out the games here:
 Contraction Match Game
Contractions Games on Learninggamesforkids.com

Ask your second grader to tell you about:
*The Legend we read called "The Clamshell Boy"
*Their Shape Riddle Book
*What topic they choose to write about in Writing Workshop
*Learning about the forest habitat

Mid-Week News

We're glad to have spring finally here!  Each child is observing their sunflower plant and we've been discussing plants, animals, and habitats in science.  In math, we're studying geometry!  Seconds graders will learn about 2-D and 3-D shapes and their attributes.  In addition, we'll talk about dividing shapes into equal parts as a foundation for fractions.  Tomorrow we'll begin making Shape Riddle books to show our learning!

In other news, we used the Study Island website today to review and practice literacy skills.  The "game mode" was a huge hit!  For each correct question, children were able to play a quick "game."  It was great motivation to read carefully and apply themselves!  Students can log into this at home with the username and password they know.

2nd Grade News

Our class has been very excited to use the iPods during math to check their addition and subtraction answers using QR codes!  Check out an example below!

To learn about the life cycle of plants, each child planted sunflower seeds today in science.  We'll observe our plants over the next few weeks!  During the unit we'll also learn about habitats, animals, and the differences between plants and animals.  In June, second graders will travel to Squam Lake Science Center to observe real New Hampshire animals!

The Bike Rodeo is this Saturday from 10-1 at Simonds School!  There will be free food, fun, and games at this event!

Also, if you're interested in having your child participate in an online summer reading program through Plymouth State University there are information sheets that I can send home.

Next Wednesday is Family Lunch Day.  If you'd like to be a guest reader for our class, please let me know!