Monday, November 30, 2015

2nd and 7th Grade Mass Sunday 6th December


This Sunday, 6th December we have a class Mass alongside the 7th grade children at 10am in St. Thomas Mores church. The Mass is for the presentation of Communion and Confirmation candidates.
Please be early and meet us in front of the Church at 9.45am as we want the children to sit together during the service.

Homework for week starting Monday 30th November

Homework week of November 30th


Monday, November 30th
Language Arts:
Read a nonfiction book or article. Make either a Venn Diagram, KWL chart, web, or cause and effect chart based upon the reading. Do

Superkids backpack page # 31

Math- 5-7

Tuesday, December 1st
Language Arts-
Make a Vocabulary Diagnosis based upon the nonfiction article or book you read.
Words I have never seen before…
Words I have seen, but I am unaware of what they
mean…
Words I know and can now teach someone

Superkids backpack page #32

No spelling test tomorrow. Spelling Test is Wednesday, December 9th.
Math- quick check page

Wednesday, December 3rd
Language Arts-
Backpack page # 33

Math- 6-1


Thursday, December 4th
Language Arts- Backpack page #34
Math- 6-2

History -Write three sentences describing something that you like about your state and three sentences describing something you like about your country.  Include the name of your state, community, and United States of America in your answer.




Enrichment : Extra Challenge!

1.Have children create an alphabet book called " A world of Countries" for kindergarten children. A page should include one letter of the alphabet and a continent, ocean, or country whose name starts with that letter. Encourage children to include colorful pictures to illustrate their book.

2. Understanding Environmental Concerns:  Water covers 70% of the word's surface.  Have children make a poster that encourages protection of a body of water they have learned about or visited. Have children make pictures of animals that depend on the water, activities that people do in or near the water, and different ways to protect the water. The poster should also include a short paragraph that describes the body of water.

3. We have been using an app in school for math called 'Front Row Ed'
We will be giving the students their login details for this and they can use this app at home. They will be asked to enter their first and last names and a class code which is z2vx8x
The children should then select math and follow the prompts to select the level they last worked on.

Monday, November 23, 2015

No homework Thanksgiving week

We will have no homework this week due to only having 2 minimum days in school for the Thanksgiving holidays.
Have a great time and enjoy your break.


Holiday Book Exchange & Food Party on Friday, December 18th!


We will be having a book exchange Party on Friday, December 18th! Please have your child bring a wrapped book from their bookshelf that they are no longer using! To ensure every child has a book to read, we ask that they be brought to class by Friday, December 11th!  
(Please do not write to on the wrapped book only write 'From…' Books will be chosen randomly.)

We will also be having a holiday party with food on Friday, December 18th. Please email both Ms. Wilkinson and Mr. McKillion if you can bring in some items to share with the class. 
Please no milk, nuts, fish, or peanut butter due to allergies. If there is chocolate in the food, please make sure the item is clearly labeled with chocolate on it.  

We would love to have healthy food at this party with the occasional treats.

Thanks,
Ms. Wilkinson & Mr. McKillion

Friday, November 13, 2015

Homework Week November 16th

Please see below the homework for this week.

Please also note report cards are due to be returned. Please turn them into Ms. Wilkinson signed if you have not done so already.



Monday, November 16th

Language Arts: Read a nonfiction book or article. Make either a Venn Diagram, KWL

chart, web, or cause and effect chart based upon the reading. Do Superkids backpack

page # 27

Math- workbook 4-2



Tuesday November 17

Language Arts- Make a Vocabulary Diagnosis based upon the nonfiction article or book

you read.

Words I have never seen before…

Words I have seen, but I am unaware of what they

mean…

Words I know and can now teach someone

Superkids backpack page #28

Study for Spelling Test tomorrow

Math-  Workbook 5-1


Wednesday November 18

Language Arts-Backpack page # 29

Start studying for Spelling test for on Wednesday, December 2nd

(Spelling list is in the white folder. Also all spelling lists are on Superkids online)

Math-  Place Value Worksheet




Thursday November 19

Language Arts- Backpack page #30

Religion-  Do the handout about heroes.  If possible, cut out the certificate and give it

to your real life hero.

Math- workbook 5-2



 Enrichment -challenging Have children make a map of a room in

their home. They should include a compass rose to show directions.

Remind students that they must establish one of the four directions

in order to position the compass rose properly. They can find north

by using a compass, find east or west by determining where the sun

rises for sets, or ask and adult at home for help.

No homework Thanksgiving week!! Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Monday, November 9, 2015

SuperKids extension work



Superkids Extra Work/ Challenge

Do you have extra time to extend your child’s learning? If so, here are some ideas of how your child can extend their Superkids knowledge. (Have your child turn in their extra work when it is completed and corrected by you and earn raffle tickets for our prize box. Students can also use the special teacher stamps to stamp their extra work each morning.)

Ideas from What's New magazine 1...

Make up an unusual flavor of ice cream.
Have your child create their own flavor of ice cream. What ingredients are in the ice cream? Compare and contrast the new flavor to other flavors tasted before.

Write a paragraph
Both the baby hedgehogs and the monkey in the article have found something new to comfort them. Have your child write about what comforts them. 

Write about trying something new
Have your child write about a time they tried something new. Was it hard? How long did it take before they were good at it?


Write about a contest
Alize wins skateboard contests. Have you entered a contest? Did you win or loose? Describe how you felt.


Create a crazy critter
Have your child draw or construct an imaginary unusual animal. The animal should have a surprising ability or appearance. When appropriate, students can also write about what their critter eats, its habitat, and its behavior.


Research the South American rain forests on the Internet
Have your child research why it is important to save the rain forests and write about what kids can do to help preserve the environment. (Many plants and animals only live there; many medicines come from plants found in the rain forests. Kids can recycle, conserve water, and use less electricity.)


Invent a new word
Have your child make up their own wacky new word and write a definition for that word.


Write about an invention they can’t live without
Ask your child to write about one invention they can’t live without. Why is this invention important to them?


Own a robot
If your child owned their own robot, what would they want it to do? Have your child write

about the special things their robots can do.

Research an invention
Instruct your child to pick one of DA Vinci’s inventions. Them them to use the Internet or the library to research the invention and write about it. How would it work? Would it be useful today?



Interview Leonardo DA Vinci
Ask your child to pretend they are reporters interviewing Leonardo DA Vinci. What questions would they ask about his inventions? How do they think he would answer? Tell your child to write about their questions and answers down and act out interviews with you playing Leonardo DA Vinci.



Draw an invention
Instruct your child to draw their own invention and write about what it does. Is it useful or just for fun? How much would it cost in a store? Label your invention.


Research invention contests
Have your child search the Internet under the words, kids, inventions, and contest. What kind of contests can kids enter? Tell your child to write about the contest they’d like to enter and why they chose it.


Invent a game
Take a game your child already knows and instruct your child to add their own twist to the game by changing the rules. Another option: students can create their own entirely new game.


Sequencing directions
Have your child write a set of directions for getting dressed in the morning and number their steps.


The first day of school
Have students write about how they felt on the first day of second grade. Were they nervous? How did they fell when the day was over? Did they feel better and more confident? How do they feel now? Full of confidence, we bet. Discuss the evolution of their emotions and tell them to remember how their feelings change whenever they face a new or scary situation.



Make a list of what they are good at
As suggested in Ouch! Have students make a list of the things they are good at. For those who struggle for ideas, brainstorm some suggestions. They may be good at sports, art, or math. They may be friendly, helpful, and kind. Instruct your child to make a list as long as they can and then it share.


Be the advice columnist
Pick a letter from the advice column Ouch! Have your child write a new solution to the problem written in the letter.

Ideas from It's Tricky magazine 2...

Science
Have a discussion about tornadoes and waterspouts and what causes them. For a fun experiment, make a tornado in a jar by filling a mayonnaise sized jar /4 full with water. Add a teaspoon of liquid soap and a teaspoon of vinegar to the water. Add food coloring if desired. Tighten the lid and shake it so it mixes well, then swirl the jar quickly in a circular motion to form a vorte or small tornado.

Research corn- based products
Many things are made of corn. Have your child use the Internet to research the large number of uses for corn in making other products.

Research the Titan flower
Have your child search the Internet to learn more about the flower. He or She write 3-4 facts that they learned though the research and illustrate their findings.

Research King Tutankhamen
Use the Internet to research the famous King Tutankhamen of Egypt and his life as a child kind or other facts about Egypt. Have your child write about four facts they discovered in their research.

If you were king or queen...
King Tutankhamen became king when he was nine years old. Have your child imagine being king or queen. Draw a picture of what their life would be like as king or queen and write about what they would do everyday.

Art
Make origami cranes with your class. There are many sites online with easy to follow directions.

Research an endangered animal
Provide your child with a list of endangered species. Have them pick an animal to research and write about, explaining why it is endangered and how humans work to protect it.

Make a puppet
Make a crane puppet out of colored paper and attach it to a craft stick. Have your child pretend they are scientists feeding a baby crane with their puppets.

Interview a friend
Have your child ask a friend about a time he learned something difficult. What tricks could he share what helped him get better at it?

Draw a picture of new learning
Have your child draw a picture of something they have recently learned to do that was tricky and write about it.

Make a healthy snack recipe collection
Have your child make a list of healthy snacks they can eat every day. They can illustrate their favorite ideas and compile them into a book.

Magic can be a fun way for students to perform in front to the class. Below are some books that can help turn scholars into magicians.
Kids Make Magic: The Complete Guide to Becoming an Amazing Magician by Ron Burgess
Magic Tricks by Cynthia Kingel and Robert Noyed

Create a bug
Have your child create their own bug or other creature that has an amazing way to protect itself. They can draw a picture of it, or make it out of modeling clay or pipe cleaners. Have your child write a few sentences to describe what their bug does that is so unusual.

Make a bug list
Have your child make a list of all the busy they can think of and illustrate their three favorites.

Learn everything you can!
Have your child pick the insect that was the most interesting to them. Encourage students to learn more by looking up the insect in books or on the Internet. Have them prepare a short report and share their findings with the class.

Creative writing: Lava Street
Have students imagine what ti would be like to live on a street with real water and lava. Would they like living on that street? What wouldn't they like? Write about the experience of living on Lava Street.








Five Favorite Things

Hi Second grade,

Here are some photos of our  5 favorite things. 

We are having fun in science learning about animals and plants.



Box Tops

Our class is collecting Box Tops from cereal boxes, tissue boxes and soup cans etc
Some children have been very good at this but we are going to try to increase our efforts on this.
Every box top gets us 10 cents to spend on school supplies which is a great reward. So have a look around home and see if you can find any.
As an incentive each time a student brings in a box top they will get a raffle ticket and we have decided the person with the most box tops for each month will be rewarded with one free homework pass to use on any night they wish!

Below are examples of the box tops we are looking for.


Friday, November 6, 2015

Homework for the week of November 9th



Monday November 9
Language Arts: Read a nonfiction book or article. Make either a Venn Diagram, KWL chart, web, or cause and effect chart based upon the reading. Do Superkids backpack page # 23

History- Start memorizing the ocean song (it’s on the backside of the continents song paper) for Friday.

Math – workbook sheet 3-5: making 10 to subtract


Tuesday November 10
Language Arts- Make a Vocabulary Diagnosis based upon the nonfiction article or book you read. Words I have never seen before… Words I have seen, but I am unaware of what they mean… Words I know and can now teach someone
Superkids backpack page #24
Study for Spelling Test tomorrow
Math 
workbook sheet 3-6: problem solving
topic 3 response paper (problem solving)

Wednesday November 11
Language Arts-Backpack page # 25
Start studying for Spelling test for next Wednesday (Spelling list is in the white folder. Also all spelling lists are on Superkids online)

Math
topic 3 word problems and response paper




Thursday November 12
Language Arts- Backpack page #26

History- Memorize ocean song for tomorrow!

Math-
workbook sheet 4-1 : repeated addition



  • Enrichment (Challenging) Have children make flashcards with a state on the front and its capital on the back. Then have the child read the state and challenge your parent to name the capital. Children can also read the capital and challenge partners to name the state.

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Examples of work



Below we have attached a few pictures to show parents some good examples of the work we are receieving. Hopefully this will highlight the standard of work our 2nd grade children can produce and give you the parents an insight into the kind of work the children are being asked to produce.







Math resources


An app which we have been using in school for developing mental math strategies and can help with doing addition and subtration problems is 'quick math'. The app costs $2.

The app symbol can be found here
:https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/quick-math-multiplication/id537802071?mt=8

Monday, November 2, 2015

Some school work and homework information

Every Monday through Thursday there will be Superkids homework, usually a backpack page, and a math sheet or sheets. Classwork not finished in class will be assigned as homework.
When a student is absent they must make up the work that they missed. Missed work will be in the child’s desk. It is their responsibility to bring it home and do it.
There may be other homework assigned such as reading an article in Superkids online and doing a corresponding activity that goes along with it.
Please check your child’s planner and homework every night. Also please write your initials on your child’s homework after you have made sure homework is finished, checked by you, and correct. Students will earn two raffle tickets for every night their homework is finished, checked by you, and initialed.
Each Monday until Christmas break read a non-fiction book or article. It can be on Superkids, Rakids, or one that you choose. Make either a Venn Diagram, KWL chart, web, or cause and effect boxes based upon the nonfiction article or book. Please vary up the reading strategies your child is using. Also spelling and grammar should be correct. The reading techniques should also be done to the best of your child’s ability. If for example, you are making a Know/Wonder/ Learn chart, the child should have learned at least three new facts.
Every Tuesday based upon the nonfiction article or book write a vocabulary diagnosis.

Words that I have never seen before
Words I have seen but I am unaware of what they mean
Words that I know and can know teach someone else







There will be a formal Spelling Test every Wednesday. Wednesday start studying for Spelling Test- Spelling Test will be the following Wednesday. The Spelling list will be in your Wednesday folder. (If your child can spell the words with ease, then make him or her write each spelling word in a sentence. If the spelling word has more than one definition, try to write two sentences to reflect that. The next level would be using different forms of punctuation and detailed complex sentences.)
Thursday there will be either science, religion, or history homework based upon what we are learning in class.
Go to mathletics, Razkids Superkids. Students who have the highest score in mathletics each week will receive two raffle tickets. The student who has read the most pages per week and answered the questions in Razkids will also receive two raffle tickets.
Corrected work will be sent home on Wednesdays.
Homework credit will not be given to homework with no names, messy homework, very late homework, or homework with many errors. This includes sentence fragments, no punctuation, or missing back sides of homework.

What we are currently learning

What we are learning in second grade currently.
History
We learned about geography and family history. Please discuss your family history with your child. Use words like ancestors, traditions, family tree, generations, etc. in your discussion.
We are now learning about our home, the Earth. We are learning about our county and its 50 states, our neighbors, and oceans near us. Please review states, continents, oceans, different type of landforms at home, and our natural resources. These topics would make good nonfiction books/ articles for students to read.
Science
We learned about the life cycle of plants. We are also now learning about animals and their life cycle. We are also very lucky to have Ms. White, the upper grade science teacher come in sometimes and teach us about science as it correlates with what we are doing in class. Last time, Ms. White brought in crickets for us. Please review plant and animal cycles at home. These topics would make good nonfiction books/ articles for students to read.
Math
Mr McKillion will be working the math scheme with 2nd Grade this year. The last topic that was covered was addition and using a variety of methods for adding. Starting this monday (11/2/15) we will be moving on to subtraction and also looking at different methods and strategies for this.
The math homework will generally be:
a page from our workbook on the lesson, but we also try to extent the children and will often give any work we didn’t get finished in class. The children may also get additional worksheets to reinforce the learning.
To assist your child’s learning it would be very beneficial to play maths games with them and quiz them on their math facts and mental addition and subtraction. Here is a link that contains some fun math games for you to try with your child
http://www.math.com/parents/articles/funmath.html
Superkids
Superkids is our brand new language arts program. There are many parts to it. We have a Superkids decodable reader, workbook, magazines, novels, daily routines, online games, and much much more. Check out the website for more details.
Religion
In Chapter 1 we learned what it means to the be the people of God and as people of God we welcome others and celebrate a holy meal at Mass. The Church is like the human body and it has many parts. In Chapter 2 we recognized the signs of the sacrament of Baptism and identified ways to bring God’s light to others.