Happy February! It was a crazy weather week, from 63 degrees on Tuesday to the bitter cold on Friday that prevented us from going outside. We hope the children have been enjoying the snow this weekend and have had the chance to show you their snow catchers in action! We sent them home on Friday.
MATH
In math this week, we introduced telling time on an analog clock. We reviewed the second hand, minute hand and hour hand. We talked about 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour and 24 hours in a day with the labels of a.m. or p.m. to show morning or afternoon/evening times. We practiced reading analog clocks and writing the time using a colon. We focused mainly on the hour and half hour. Many children still confuse the hour and minute hands and we encourage you to work on this at home. If you’re looking for a way to inspire and interest your child in learning to tell time, there are some great, affordable children’s Timex analog watches that include the minute markers (counting by 5s and 1s). They are fun learning watches, have appealing designs and some even have a glow-light for nighttime viewing! Children can also practice their time-telling skills with the app Jungle Time. This app allows children to adjust the level of difficulty and it great for children just beginning to tell time or for those who need more of a challenge.
For children who were already able to read an analog clock, we introduced word problems involving elapsed time. For example, Carrie started building a sand castle at 12:32pm. She finished building at 1:33 in the afternoon. How long did it take? or Rose started cutting her customer’s hair at 11:30 in the morning. She finished at 1:14 in the afternoon. How long did the haircut take?
We encourage you to give your children elapsed time problems (as simple or challenging as they need) to solve about their daily, real world routine, i.e. It's 7:00 a.m. right now. How long until school begins at 8:30 a.m.? During the morning routine at school, children sign in by writing the time they arrive in the classroom. Next week, we will replace the digital clock with an analog clock. We will also take away the digital clocks on our daily schedule. We'll see if they are up for the challenge!
READER'S WORKSHOP
As we launch into African-American History Month, we have been reading biographies of important African Americans, some well-known and others who may be new to the children. Earlier in the week, Ms. Harrison read When Marian Sang by Pam Munoz Ryan. Marian Anderson was an American Contralto who became a pioneer in overcoming racial discrimination. After being prohibited from singing in Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. because of her race, she performed instead on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to an audience of more than 75,000. She was also the first African American to sing at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. We watched the video below of Marian Anderson singing at the Lincoln Memorial and it really brought her story to life for the children.
MATH
In math this week, we introduced telling time on an analog clock. We reviewed the second hand, minute hand and hour hand. We talked about 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour and 24 hours in a day with the labels of a.m. or p.m. to show morning or afternoon/evening times. We practiced reading analog clocks and writing the time using a colon. We focused mainly on the hour and half hour. Many children still confuse the hour and minute hands and we encourage you to work on this at home. If you’re looking for a way to inspire and interest your child in learning to tell time, there are some great, affordable children’s Timex analog watches that include the minute markers (counting by 5s and 1s). They are fun learning watches, have appealing designs and some even have a glow-light for nighttime viewing! Children can also practice their time-telling skills with the app Jungle Time. This app allows children to adjust the level of difficulty and it great for children just beginning to tell time or for those who need more of a challenge.
For children who were already able to read an analog clock, we introduced word problems involving elapsed time. For example, Carrie started building a sand castle at 12:32pm. She finished building at 1:33 in the afternoon. How long did it take? or Rose started cutting her customer’s hair at 11:30 in the morning. She finished at 1:14 in the afternoon. How long did the haircut take?
We encourage you to give your children elapsed time problems (as simple or challenging as they need) to solve about their daily, real world routine, i.e. It's 7:00 a.m. right now. How long until school begins at 8:30 a.m.? During the morning routine at school, children sign in by writing the time they arrive in the classroom. Next week, we will replace the digital clock with an analog clock. We will also take away the digital clocks on our daily schedule. We'll see if they are up for the challenge!
READER'S WORKSHOP
As we launch into African-American History Month, we have been reading biographies of important African Americans, some well-known and others who may be new to the children. Earlier in the week, Ms. Harrison read When Marian Sang by Pam Munoz Ryan. Marian Anderson was an American Contralto who became a pioneer in overcoming racial discrimination. After being prohibited from singing in Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. because of her race, she performed instead on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to an audience of more than 75,000. She was also the first African American to sing at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. We watched the video below of Marian Anderson singing at the Lincoln Memorial and it really brought her story to life for the children.
The children are also working with Ms. Holladay on a book study about Harriet Tubman. Ms. Holladay introduced this study with a famous photograph of Harriet Tubman. Without telling the children who she was, they were invited to "wonder" about the photograph and Harriet Tubman's life. Ms. Holladay generated a list of the children's questions along with facts they may have already known about Harriet Tubman. Next, the children will read a simple biography and try to answer some of their questions. This study gives children a chance to practice the comprehension strategy of questioning (or wondering). Good readers ask questions when they read because it helps them understand what they're reading. When readers ask questions as they read, it keeps them thinking about the words and ideas in the book. It makes them want to read on or learn more. Asking questions helps them when they're confused, too. We are working with children to pay attention to that voice in their heads that is asking these questions. Questioning works especially well with nonfiction because true texts often spark children's curiosity. If your child isn't reading nonfiction at home, we encourage him/her to start! Happy Reading!
WORD WORK
We have been working on adding the suffixes -ed and -ing to verbs (or action words). The rule is simple but one that children need practice with. For most verbs, simply add -ed or -ing to the base word, for example ask become asked and asking. However, if the word ends in one short vowel and one consonant, you double the final consonant and add the ending. These words include hop, hopped, hopping or clap, clapped, clapping. Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule such as eat, ate, eating. See if your child can be a word detective to find these exceptions or practice following the rule with the words they write. Children can practice words in isolation for a spelling test but they do not show real understanding until they are able to apply the spelling patterns and rules to their writing. Later we will learn what happen when the verb ends in an e.
CHANGE 4 CRANES UPDATE
We finally have an official grand total for our Change 4 Cranes and the the children's estimate was only $11.47 off! They did a wonderful job counting and adding up all the money. A cashier's check is in the mail to Operation Migration for the total of $ 1263.18 plus a personal check for $50 which makes the grand total $1313.18. This will go a long way in helping the whooping cranes! Bravo second graders!
We hope the children have a fun day away from school tomorrow. We look forward to talking with many of you at our parent-teacher conference.
WORD WORK
We have been working on adding the suffixes -ed and -ing to verbs (or action words). The rule is simple but one that children need practice with. For most verbs, simply add -ed or -ing to the base word, for example ask become asked and asking. However, if the word ends in one short vowel and one consonant, you double the final consonant and add the ending. These words include hop, hopped, hopping or clap, clapped, clapping. Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule such as eat, ate, eating. See if your child can be a word detective to find these exceptions or practice following the rule with the words they write. Children can practice words in isolation for a spelling test but they do not show real understanding until they are able to apply the spelling patterns and rules to their writing. Later we will learn what happen when the verb ends in an e.
CHANGE 4 CRANES UPDATE
We finally have an official grand total for our Change 4 Cranes and the the children's estimate was only $11.47 off! They did a wonderful job counting and adding up all the money. A cashier's check is in the mail to Operation Migration for the total of $ 1263.18 plus a personal check for $50 which makes the grand total $1313.18. This will go a long way in helping the whooping cranes! Bravo second graders!
We hope the children have a fun day away from school tomorrow. We look forward to talking with many of you at our parent-teacher conference.