February 2010 Archives

What a wonderful week of reading. The students really enjoyed the used book sale in the cafeteria each day at lunch and the reading assembly with their eighth grade buddies on Friday afternoon. I'm sure the highlight for many was the book festival family night on Friday evening. Check out the pictures of students reading on Friday!

The students are beginning to work on telling their stories to others. They have created storyboards to use to help them as they stop using their books. A letter about storytelling will be sent out be email on Monday. If you have any questions let me know.

This week the students read a wonderful Asian folktale called Two of Everything. Ask your child about the pot that doubles everything. Next week they will read some legends. They will start with The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush by Tomie dePaola.

In math, the students started learning about fractions. They learned about unit fractions and also learned the terms numerator and denominator. They seem to be able to tell what a fraction is and enjoyed playing fraction bingo on Friday. Next week is more work with fractions.

Next week
-Library day is Wednesday.
-All school ice skating party at Aldridge Arena is on Wednesday at 4:00.

Have a great week!
Mrs. Baier

On Friday I sent home a save the date note for the second grade storytelling tea. It will be held on Wednesday, March 17th at 9:00. The event will start in the Kreischer Gym. All second grade students should have picked out the books they will learn for their storytelling presentation. Next week, they will begin to learn their stories to tell to others. It is a fun event and we hope you can make it.

This week the students read and listened to many different fables. They were really good at coming up with morals for the stories. They will do a bit more with fables at the beginning of the week and will move onto folktales and legends after that.

In math, the students will start to work with fractions next week. They will learn how to divide a whole into pieces to make a fraction and will eventually begin to compare fractions. They will also learn the words numerator and denominator next week.

In science the students did a bit of work with examining liquids. They identified the properties of liquids in bottles. The newest vocabulary word was viscous. They seemed to like the word and did a good job understanding how to apply it to liquids. Next week they will make some solutions and learn a bit more about substances that will and will not dissolve in water.

The students also got together with their birthday box partners from Mrs. Scalia's room to put together their birthday boxes. Here are a few pictures from the activity.

Next week
-The book festival is here! The gallery is set up and ready to go for the annual MPA book festival. Remember Friday night is the book festival family fun night at 5:00.
-Library day is on Thursday.

Have a great week!
Mrs. Baier

Thank you to everyone who has made it in for conferences this week. As I write this I still have a few more of you to visit with about your child and am looking forward to it. Please feel free to contact me if you reflect on something we talked about at conferences and want to explore it further.

Thank you again to all of the second grade parents who supported the Valentine's party on Wednesday. The students really enjoyed the time and were remarkably calm. I hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's Day with those you love! Here are some student pictures from the day to get you in the mood.

I failed to mention to the students before they left on Wednesday that they can start looking for a story they would like to use for our storytelling event in March. So far the students have studied fairy tales and tall tales. Next week they will work with fables. The idea behind the storytelling event is for students to pick a story they would like to learn and will be able to retell (not word for word) to a small audience. They will be put into groups of students and their audience will be those students and any parents that attend our storytelling tea (more information to come) in March. If your child has a favorite story please send it to school in the next week or so and we will get started. If you aren't sure if the story is appropriate just send it to school and we can look at it. I have plenty of options in the classroom, as well. Ideally all stories will be at school by February 22nd. Any questions just contact me. Thanks!

As I mentioned above the students have been experiencing different tall tales over the last couple of weeks. They have read many tall tales and have identified facts and exaggerations in each. They are also writing their own tall tale about their own life. They should be quite fun to read.

In science the students have finished their experiments with floating and sinking. They tried putting various solids in water after making a prediction on whether it would float or sink based on their newfound knowledge. This week the students made their own boats out of aluminum foil. The idea was to make a boat that would hold as many marbles as possible prior to sinking. The design of the boat was key as many students quickly found out. It was a fun experiment. Next week the students will start to examine liquids a bit more.

Notes/Reminders
-Birthday box items are due at school on Wednesday, February 17th. Thanks for your support in this community service project.
-Library Day is on Wednesday.

Have a wonderful long weekend!
Mrs. Baier

Today, the students will be bringing home a yellow folder with a calendar of activities inside. In my attempt to keep up with the exploring minds of this second grade class I have decided to send home these monthly mind mover activities. Students can do as many or as few of the mind movers as they want (or you encourage). At the end of the month each student should bring back the folder with the activities he/she has completed. The students seemed very excited about the activities so hopefully it will be easy for you to get them to try some at home. Thanks for your support!

On Wednesday, February 10th there will be a small classroom Valentine's Day party. Tricia Hutton is organizing it and sent out an email today about it. It is very low key and each second grade class will stay in their own classroom. On February 10th students will also be able to share any valentines they have brought to school. The students in room 112 will decorate bags early next week to use for collecting their valentines. They are welcome to bring stickers or other things to decorate the bags. If you have any questions about this just let me know.

Mrs. Baier