Dear Families,
You may have heard that one of our classmates left for California yesterday. Gianna and her 3rd grade brother came to us over winter break. Unfortunately, she had to return to California. We will miss her very much because she was such a sweet member of our classroom. The kids were so loving and kind saying their goodbyes to her. We wished her the best of luck!!
Okay, we are officially starting what I call “the controlled crash” a.k.a. the last weeks of school. The May calendar is in place, so hang onto your hats or britches because it will go quick! We are also starting our ‘End of Year’ Testing. The kids need to understand that these STAR tests on the iPad are important and they need to truly do their very best. We will assess Reading and Math.
Please reinforce your expectations of behavior at school because it is an indicator of learning. It helps more than you know! Typically some children get anxious and hyper for a litany of reasons, but mostly because they get insecure about leaving school. It is a consistent part of their lives along with seeing all their friends, etc. I will email you if there is a problem, so that we can work as a team to resolve it.
We had several compliments on our Insect reports at the Night of Excellence. The kids were really proud of themselves, and I couldn’t have been more pleased with their efforts and skill! Talented and adorable Little Folks, they are!
Our study of the Civil War certainly resonated with our classmate, Greisan! He attended a reenactment in Kansas last weekend!! See attached photo/video clips.
Shout out to John Huddleston and Rachel Houston for attending our field trip to the Pikes Peak Center for Skippyjonjones. It was an interesting performance, but not nearly as good as the Levy’s in “Bye, Bye, Birdie”! What an amazing performance!
If you don’t know by now, your kids are delightful and full of love and joy. They amaze, amuse, and keep me on my toes every single day. Thank you for all of your support!
Mrs. P. 🙂
BrainPOP/BrainPOP, Jr.:
Username: MSES
Password: mustangs1
Front Row: Remember, this program differentiates and adjusts to your child’s needs in Math and Literacy. Reading and Word Study count as 20 minutes reading! Check it out with your child!
The website is as follows: Free App Download, too!
https://student.frontrowed.com/#login
Code: fm5xbb
UPCOMING EVENTS:
- May 6: PAC Fun Run (9:00-11:00 am)MSHS
- May 10: Bike to School (Manitou Pool@7:00) Must have an accompanying adult and helmet to participate.
- May 19: Field Day k-2 (9:00-11:00 am) MSES Play Park
- May 25: Last Day of School (Half Day: 12:00 dismissal)
STAR OF THE WEEK: Olivia 🙂
SPECIALS:
- MON.~Art
- TUES.~Music
- WEDS.~PE/Media w/Mrs. Bradbury
- THURS.~Art
- FRI.~Music
SKILLS LESSONS: CKLA
FOCUS: At this point, students have learned at least one way to write nearly every sound in English, with the exception of the very rare /zh/ as in treasure.
Here are some patterns for you to review:
- n’ and ‘kn’ > /n/
- ‘wr’ and ‘r’ > /r/
- ‘w’ and ‘wh’ > /w/
- ‘g’ and ‘j’ > /j/
- ‘f’ and ‘ff’ > /f/
SPELLING: Check out the website kidsspell.com (Free)!
PLEASE NOTE THAT SPELLING IS NOT ‘GRADED’ BUT ESSENTIALTO READING AND WRITING! DO THE BEST YOU CAN WITHOUT FRUSTRATION!
Bolded is sound/letter focus: (Domain 1812 specific)
- ransacked
- White House
- port
- harbor
- flag
- stripes
- ship
- construct
- commander
- rockets
- McHenry
- burned
- brave
- poem
- stitching
- anthem
- dawn
- fifteen
- giant
- bomb (Tricky Word)
Introduced on Monday/Test every Friday! 🙂
GRAMMAR:
In Unit 6, students will continue to review grammar skills introduced in previous units. In addition to the parts of speech that they already know— common and proper nouns; present/ past/future-tense verbs; and adjectives—students will learn to identify and use adverbs. The focus of the remaining grammar lessons is on the sentence as a unit. Building on their knowledge of subjects and predicates, students will learn to identify complete versus incomplete sentences. They will also learn to identify run-on sentences, as well as ways to correct these sentences. Finally, they will begin to work on writing increasingly detailed sentences.
WRITING:
In Grade 2 CKLA, students have thus far practiced writing personal narratives, as well as writing new story endings and story summaries. They have also practiced persuasive writing in the context of a friendly letter. At the end of this unit, they will be introduced to expository or report writing. This form of writing is well suited to the nonfiction text they are reading.
Report writing is focused on organizing information into paragraphs, each with a topic sentence and supporting details. The lessons have been written to build upon what students have learned about the War of 1812.
MATH:
Basic Facts: Front Row
Review and Practice:
- Money: coins and bills
- Time: hour, half hour, quarter hour, minutes
- Fractions: whole, half, thirds, fourths (adding/subtracting/comparing)
- Addition/Subtraction: with or without regrouping
Chapter 15: Multiplication of 3’s and 4’s
- use of arrays, dot paper, and pictures
- Conceptualize repeated addition
WEBSITES FOR PRACTICE AT HOME!
https://student.frontrowed.com/#login
ixl.com (website for practice)
http://www.math-drills.com
LISTENING AND LEARNING: Immigration
- We The People (Constitution)
- Immigration and Citizenship
- Review (see vocabulary and objectives below)
- Assessment
- An American Tail (G rating)
SOCIAL STUDIES: Immigration
The following list contains all of the core vocabulary words in Immigration in the forms in which they appear in the read-alouds or, in some instances, in the “Introducing the Read-Aloud” section at the beginning of the lesson. The inclusion of the words on this list does not mean that students are immediately expected to be able to use all of these words on their own. However, through repeated exposure throughout the lessons, they should acquire a good understanding of most of these words and begin to use some of them in conversation.
Core Vocabulary:
Lesson 1
ancestors, freedom, immigrants, immigrate, push and pull factors
Lesson 2
center, interpreter, liberty, opportunity
Lesson 3
customs, ethnic, officially, hostile, support, newcomers,
traditional
Lesson 4
afford, blight, emigrated
Lesson 5
characters, exhausting, honor, responsibilities, wages
Lesson 6
homestead
Lesson 7
descendants, famine, settlers
Lesson 8
citizen, naturalized citizen, principles, rights
Lesson 9
amendments, the Bill of Rights, consent, the Constitution, disagreements
Lesson 10
guaranteed, jury, refugees, legally
Core Content Objectives Addressed in This Domain
Students will:
Explain the term immigrant
Describe reasons immigrants leave their home countries to make a new home in the United States (e.g., push and pull factors)
Explain why the United States was and is called the “land of opportunity”
Identify the meaning of e pluribus unum
Explain the significance of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty
Describe how immigration has brought millions of newcomers to the United States
Describe why large populations of immigrants settled in major cities such as New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, Cleveland, Boston, and San Francisco
Describe why some immigrants settled in the Midwest
Describe how their ancestors may have been immigrants who helped make America the country that it is today
Explain what it means to be a citizen of a country
Identify ways that a person becomes an American citizen
Identify that the government of the United States is based on the Constitution, the highest law of our land
Identify James Madison as the “Father of the Constitution”
Explain the basic functions of government (making and enforcing laws; settling disputes; protecting rights and liberties; etc.) by making analogies to familiar settings such as the family, the school, and the community
Identify the Bill of Rights as a document amending the Constitution
Describe the rights and responsibilities of an American citizen
Demonstrate familiarity with the songs “This Land Is Your Land” and “The Star-Spangled Banner”
Embedded in CKLA