Second Grade: We covered both social studies and science over the last two months. In social studies students spent time learning about famous people who have made a difference in our world. They learned about Barack Obama, Tomie dePaola, Louis Braille, Martin Luther King Jr., and the Wright Brothers to name a few. They also researched famous people who made a difference. Students in Mrs. Mirabelli’s class chose a person they were interested in learning more about and researched that person using books and the internet. The children wrote rough copies of their reports, edited them, and typed them. Students printed out photos of their important person, and they organized all their data on a large poster. Their culminating activity was to present their research project to their classmates, basing their presentation on the Pennsylvania State Standards for speaking and listening. Students in Mr. Schumann’s class will participate in researching an important person within the next few weeks. In science students participated in our life cycle unit. It was very exciting for our students to receive fertilized chicken eggs from the 4-H Club. Our second graders took great care in turning the eggs each day and ensuring the eggs were kept safe. Once the hatching began, the real excitement started! Students cared for the baby chicks by exercising them twice a day. By the time the chicks left at the end of the week, some of them were flying! Although our second graders were sad to see the chicks returned to the farm, they understood that it was a necessary part of raising chickens! In math the second graders practiced problem solving and critical thinking strategies throughout all the units covered. Students participated in a variety of measurement activities using both inch and centimeter templates. Our students also measured perimeter, area, capacity, and weight using different measuring tools. Second graders practiced identifying numbers to the hundred thousands using place value tools. They also analyzed data sets and practiced subtraction with trading. Students learned to create arrays to solve multiplication stories, and they were introduced to the concept of division. Every school day we finish up by having the students participate in writing activities. This spring students had the opportunity to write about a variety of topics. They wrote responses to their Crooked Billet pen pals. Second graders also wrote “small moment” nonfiction pieces. After studying Tomie dePaola, students modeled his writing style by choosing an interesting moment that occurred in their life and writing about it. Students had the opportunity to share their small moment with the rest of the class when they read them aloud. Your children have really improved in their writing this year. They use topic sentences, supporting details, and concluding sentences to organize their writing and make it more interesting. |
