May 11: 2nd grade field trip

• There are no reminders at this time.

WHAT ARE WE LEARNING

• Research: Students will explore nonfiction texts to gather information on a chosen topic and create a research project to teach the class about their topic. This unit will focus on using multiple sources to find information and deciding which information is useful for their project. As students sort through all of the information they gather, they start to analyze it with a critical lens. They ask themselves, “What information is important? What information should I leave out? What information is accurate and what do I need to change?” Students are empowered to use the learned information purposefully in order to share it and teach others. Students will practice organizing information to find the best way to share it with others. This unit spread across both reading and writing.
• Students will learn how to use the information we read to inform and change the mind of others. We will also learn that some changes can be predicted, while other changes can not; change is everywhere, happens over time and can be positive or negative.

HOME PRACTICES

• Read books to family members and pets
• Start a conversation and take turns sharing thoughts.
• Find ways to respectfully agree or disagree with others’ opinions.
• Write stories 

• Edit their sentences with a capital letter at the beginning, spacing in between each word, and punctuation at the end. 
• While reading, have them cite their evidence. “What in the book told you that” 
• Read books to your kids and talk about the stories. Ask questions.
• Myon
• Lexia

WHAT ARE WE LEARNING

• Time  
  • Students are learning to tell time to the nearest 5 minutes using both digital and analog clocks. Students will also learn to use a calendar to identify the days of the week and the months of the year. We will practice past, present, and future days of the week.
• Money
  • Students are learning to count a collection of coins (pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters) up to $2.00. They will use the cent symbol, dollar symbol, and decimal point to write a value of money. Once they learn to identify each coin and determine the value, students can use their previous understanding of comparison (greater than, less than) to compare collections of coins. Students learn the names of the coins through repeated exposure.

HOME PRACTICES

• ST Math
• Reflex Math
• Ask students to use approximate language to read the clock. The following sentence frames might support your students: “It’s about _____ o’clock.” “It’s a little past _____.” “It’s about halfway between _____ and _____.”
• Ask students to help count change when you are shopping or ask guiding questions like “How many __ will I need of I want to make $___” or “Tell me one way to make $__. Tell me another way to make the same amount.”
• Each day, discuss the date. Prompt student thinking by asking “what day will it be tomorrow? In a week? How many days until __”

WHAT ARE WE LEARNING

• Developments and Innovations & Communication and transportation: In science we are learning about important developments and innovations in the United States  that contributed to communication and transportation. Some examples of communication innovations  include telegraph, radio, television, telephones, computers, video games, and the internet. Some examples of transportation innovations include horses, covered wagons, steamboats, railroads, automobiles, and airplanes.

• Monarchs, Milkweeds, and Mexico: In this spring unit we are learning about plant life cycles. Students discuss plants as natural resources and habitats.  Additionally, we discuss weathering and  erosion. Students will get to plant a seed, watch it grow, and measure the life cycle of their own plant. We will track the monarchs as they migrate back to Virginia from Mexico. 

HOME PRACTICES

• Ask students which innovations they think are the most important and why
• Discuss developments and innovations they see in their everyday lives
• Talk about animals and plants in the springtime 
• Talk about animal and plant life cycles and growth
• Pebble Go
• Myon
• Benchmark Universe
• National Geographic Kids

A few of the AAP curriculum and strategies that second grade students have engaged in this month are: Jacob’s Ladder, M2 Math, Engineering is Elementary, Project Based Learning, Making Thinking Visible, and Point of View. Ask your child more about which strategies they engaged within their classroom in this month.

February

WHAT ARE WE LEARNING

• In reading, students are learning how to interpret stories using Author’s Message. Students build on the work they learned from the Characters unit, moving from a  focus on characters to a focus on plot and author’s message. They will expand their thinking to ask, “What might this book really be about? What might this author want us to think about?” 

Readers discover the authors’ messages in texts by studying plot, what characters do and say, mistakes characters make, and the endings of stories. 

• In writing, students are learning how to write realistic fiction stories. In this unit, students write realistic fiction stories. The characters, human or animal, in these stories have experiences that could happen in real life, such as going on a bike ride, losing a tooth, or getting lost. Realistic fiction stories have a narrative plot structure, a contemporary setting, and characters who behave, act, and speak like people their same age would act today.

HOME PRACTICES

• Read story books and discuss the following questions:
  • What lesson do you think the author is trying to teach you? Why?
  • What do you think was the most important part of the story? Why?
  • What was the problem or big event in the story? How did the character handle it?
  • What was the plot of the story? (what actually happened) and what is the theme? (what the author want you to know or think about)
• While reading, have them cite their evidence. “What in the book told you that” 
• Create characters and write a story about their lives.
• Brainstorm lists of realistic problems or events that might actually happen.
• Practice proper letter formation.
• Edit their sentences with a capital letter at the beginning, spacing in between each word, and punctuation at the end.

January

WHAT ARE WE LEARNING

• Poetry: In this unit, students read and write poetry. Students connect with poems and understand the meaning of the poet. Students learn many different types of poems with various structures and patterns. Students get to write many of their own poems.

HOME PRACTICES

• Read poems together 
• Talk about poetry 
• Write poems at home
• Read books to family or pets
• Talk about books and stories at home
• Lexia
• Myon 
• Pebble Go
• Explore books at home
• Starfall
• National Geographic Kids 

December

WHAT ARE WE LEARNING

• Poetry: In this unit, students read and write poetry. Students connect with poems and understand the meaning of the poet. Students learn many different types of poems with various structures and patterns. Students get to write many of their own poems.

HOME PRACTICES

• Read poems together 
• Talk about poetry 
• Write poems at home
• Read books to family or pets
• Talk about books and stories at home
• Lexia
• Myon 
• Pebble Go
• Explore books at home
• Starfall
• National Geographic Kids

Febuary

WHAT ARE WE LEARNING

• Fractions: In this unit, students deepen their understanding of fraction concepts that were introduced in first grade. Emphasis is placed on the use of models and fair shares in problem solving settings. Students identify, name, and write fractional parts for halves, fourths, eighths, thirds and sixths. Students will also compare unit fractions.
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HOME PRACTICES

• Name and write fractions represented by a set, region, or length model for halves, fourths, eighths, thirds, and sixths.
• Represent fractional parts with models and with symbols.
• Compare the unit fractions for halves, fourths, eighths, thirds, and sixths, with models.
• Distribute items equally into fair shares/parts
• Practice splitting shapes into equal parts on paper or by using something in their hands. 
• Name fractional parts (“one of the four blocks are red. 1/4th of the blocks are red.”

January

WHAT ARE WE LEARNING

• Building Base 10 Concepts (part 2): In this unit, students extend their understanding of two-digit place value to three-digit place values, for example going from 45 to 245. They read and write three-digit numbers, demonstrating an understanding of the value of each digit in the number. They use their knowledge of place value to compare three-digit numbers.

HOME PRACTICES

• Practice adding and subtracting up to 20

• Practice identifying a number that is 10 more, 10 less, 100 more, and 100 less than a given number up to 999
• Compare and order whole numbers between 0 and 999
• Practice identifying, describing, creating, extending and transferring patterns found in objects, pictures and numbers in the real world

December

WHAT ARE WE LEARNING

• Conceptual Addition and Subtraction: In this unit, students will begin thinking about two-digit addition and subtraction. Students are developing fluency with basic addition facts and the related subtraction facts, and developing fluency with multi-digit addition and subtraction.

• Building Base 10 Concepts (part 2): In this unit, students extend their understanding of two-digit place value to three-digit place values, for example going from 45 to 245. They read and write three-digit numbers, demonstrating an understanding of the value of each digit in the number. They use their knowledge of place value to compare three-digit numbers.

HOME PRACTICES

• Estimate sums and differences of 1 digit numbers and 2 digit numbers
• Create and solve single-step and two-step practical problems involving addition and subtraction

• Practice adding and subtracting up to 20

• Practice identifying a number that is 10 more, 10 less, 100 more, and 100 less than a given number up to 999
• Compare and order whole numbers between 0 and 999
• Practice identifying, describing, creating, extending and transferring patterns found in objects, pictures and numbers in the real world

February

WHAT ARE WE LEARNING

• In science, we are learning about matter and forces. We investigate the cause-and-effect relationships of motion and forces in our everyday lives. In 2nd grade we learn the 3 stages of matter and how matter changes if form. We also learn about magnets and magnetism in this unit. 
• In social studies, we are learning about the ideas and contributions of European explorers Christopher Columbus and Christopher Newport, and the impact on our world today. Then we will learn about the  ideas and innovations of American leaders George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and Abraham Lincoln, and how they continue to impact us today. 
• Lastly, in social studies, we will learn about economics. Students are learning to describe and give examples of natural, human, and capital resources in their daily lives. Students learn about bartering and exchanging money for goods and services. We will practice using a decision-making model to make informed economic decisions.

HOME PRACTICES

• Describing characteristics of the three phases of matter: solids, liquids, and gasses 
• Classifying and compare objects as solids, liquids, and gasses
• Practice measuring solids
• Practice measuring liquids 
• Talk about how to measure gasses
• Observe and talk about push and pull forces in everyday life
• Investigating the effect of magnetism on the motion of other magnets or metal objects predicting and test the magnetism of various objects 
• Talk about American leaders and how they contributed to impact us today
• Talk about examples of natural, human, and capital resources
• Talk about economic decision making
• Pebble Go
• Myon
• Benchmark Universe
• National Geographic Kids

January

WHAT ARE WE LEARNING.

• Weather: This unit of study focuses on weather. Throughout the unit students develop their understanding of the different types of weather on Earth and the importance of weather data collection. Students will study the characteristics of weather, learn how to measure, record, and interpret weather data to identify weather patterns, and track weather to prepare for weather and storms.

HOME PRACTICES

• Talk about the weather at home 
• Watch the weather forecast on the news
• Read books on Myon about weather

December

WHAT ARE WE LEARNING

• American Indian cultures of the past and present: In this unit, students will construct an understanding of and compare the lives and contributions of three American Indian cultures of the past and present, with an emphasis on the Powhatan of the Eastern Woodlands, Lakota of the Plains, and Pueblo of the Southwest. The students will learn to describe the relationship between the geography, climate, environment, and culture of all three cultures. The student will learn to describe and evaluate the natural, human, and capital resources of all three cultures.
• Weather: This unit of study focuses on weather. Throughout the unit students develop their understanding of the different types of weather on Earth and the importance of weather data collection. Students will study the characteristics of weather, learn how to measure, record, and interpret weather data to identify weather patterns, and track weather to prepare for weather and storms.

HOME PRACTICES

• Ask students what type of resources an item is: natural, human, or capital and explain why
• Visit the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in DC
• Read books on MyON: Powhatan | Longhouses |  Teepees | Plains Communities Past and Present | The Sioux: The Past, Present of the Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota | Mato the Bear and |Pueblos, by Jack Manning | Secrets of Mesa Verda: Cliff Dwellings of the Pueblo
• Talk about the weather at home 
• Watch the weather forecast on the news
• Read books on Myon about weather

November

WHAT ARE WE LEARNING

• In our nonfiction reading unit, the focus shifts away from characters and community and moves into how text structure, vocabulary, and background knowledge can support the reader to gain new knowledge, understanding, and perspectives.

• In our nonfiction writing unit, students select their own topics based on interest and background knowledge to write complex and comprehensive All About books that involve sophisticated organizational and text structures.

HOME PRACTICES

• Lexia
• Myon nonfiction books
• Pebble Go
• Read nonfiction books to family or pets
• Explore books at home
• Starfall
• National Geographic Kids

October

WHAT ARE WE LEARNING

• We are in our characters unit. In this unit, students begin to understand how the text is an anchor to having deep and meaningful conversations about story elements, particularly characters. Students will expand their vocabulary by seeing and using new vocabulary from texts, as well as observe characters and use knowledge of what they know about the characters to identify character traits unique to that specific characters. Understanding characters is one component of text structure that is important for readers to understand the whole story.
• In this unit, students share the stories of their lives by writing personal narratives. Students are learning and practicing the steps of the writing process

HOME PRACTICES

• Myon
• Lexia
• Read to family or pets
• Explore books at home
• Discuss character traits

September

WHAT ARE WE LEARNING

• Students are learning to be a part of a community of readers and writers. Students learn routines of a writer’s workshop while exploring what it means to be part of a community of readers and writers. Students learn that readers and writers study how words work.

HOME PRACTICES

• Myon
• Lexia
• Read to family or pets
• Explore books at home
• Practice writing letters

November

WHAT ARE WE LEARNING

• Measurement: In this unit, students explore why we use standard units of measurement, how to select an appropriate unit of measure, and what tools to use based upon the attribute being measured. This unit focuses on length in inches, weight in pounds, and temperature in Fahrenheit. 
• Conceptual Addition and Subtraction: In this unit, students will begin thinking about two-digit addition and subtraction. Students are developing fluency with basic addition facts and the related subtraction facts, and developing fluency with multi-digit addition and subtraction.

HOME PRACTICES

• Estimate and measure length to the nearest inch of toys at home
• Estimate and measure weight to the nearest pound of toys at home
• Read the temperature on a Fahrenheit thermometer to the nearest 10 degrees
• Estimate sums and differences of 1 digit numbers and 2 digit numbers
• Create and solve single-step and two-step practical problems involving addition and subtraction

• Practice adding and subtracting up to 20

October

WHAT ARE WE LEARNING

•  Students continue to count and compare quantities, and work with place value concepts including rounding. Students also apply their knowledge of patterns to extend their understanding of our base-ten number system. Students are thinking about place value of two-digit numbers. 

HOME PRACTICES

• ST Math
• Practice addition and subtraction 1-20
• Read, write, and identify the place value of each digit in a two-digit numeral, with and without models 
• Identify the number that is 10 more and 10 less than a given number up to 99
• Compare and order whole numbers between 0 and 99 
• Round two-digit numbers to the nearest ten 
• Identify, describe, create, extend and transfer patterns found in objects, pictures and numbers

September

WHAT ARE WE LEARNING

• In Unit 1, students add and subtract whole numbers and build fluency of basic facts to 20. This will help build a foundation for Unit 4 and Unit 7 when students will be adding and subtracting two-digit numbers. Also in this unit, students will continue to strengthen the counting sequences from 1st grade. In first grade, students learned about ordinal numbers 1-10. This work is extended to numbers 1-20 in second grade in September. 

HOME PRACTICES

• ST Math
• ordinal numbers
• Skip counting by 2s
• Skip counting by 5s
• Skip counting by 10s
• Count forward by twos, fives, and tens to 120
• Decide if a number is odd or even
• Count backward by tens from 120
• Practice addition and subtraction 1-20

November

SCIENCE

WHAT ARE WE LEARNING

• Weather: This unit of study focuses on weather. Throughout the unit students develop their understanding of the different types of weather on Earth and the importance of weather data collection. Students will study the characteristics of weather, learn how to measure, record, and interpret weather data to identify weather patterns, and track weather to prepare for weather and storms.

HOME PRACTICES

• Talk about the weather at home 
• Watch the weather forecast on the news
• Read books on Myon about weather

SOCIAL STUDIES

WHAT ARE WE LEARNING

• American Indian cultures of the past and present: In this unit, students will construct an understanding of and compare the lives and contributions of three American Indian cultures of the past and present, with an emphasis on the Powhatan of the Eastern Woodlands, Lakota of the Plains, and Pueblo of the Southwest. The students will learn to describe the relationship between the geography, climate, environment, and culture of all three cultures. The student will learn to describe and evaluate the natural, human, and capital resources of all three cultures.

HOME PRACTICES

• Ask students what type of resources an item is: natural, human, or capital and explain why
• Visit the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in DC

• Read books on MyON: Powhatan | Longhouses |  Teepees | Plains Communities Past and Present | The Sioux: The Past, Present of the Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota | Mato the Bear and |Pueblos, by Jack Manning | Secrets of Mesa Verda: Cliff Dwellings of the Pueblo

October

SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES

WHAT ARE WE LEARNING

• Monarchs, Milkweed, and Mexico - Fall 
• Students are learning about the life cycle of a monarch butterfly. We watched caterpillars grow and develop into crysalististes then into butterflies. Students also learned about habitats, environments, and seasons.
• The student will use maps and globes of the world and the United States to locate seven continents, five oceans, equator, Prime Meridian, four hemispheres, major rivers, mountain ranges,  lakes, and other physical features in the United States.

HOME PRACTICES

• Talk about the life cycle of a monarch butterfly and other animals
• Pebble Go for geography, life cycle, or monarchs
• Benchmark Universe for geography, life cycle, or monarchs
• Explore maps
• Practice Identifying the oceans and continents on a map

September

WHAT ARE WE LEARNING

• In Social Studies, students are learning to be an ethical and global citizen. Students are learning about respect and responsibility online and offline. Students will construct an understanding of symbols (American flag, bald eagle, Washington Monument, Statue of Liberty) and traditional practices (Pledge of Allegiance) of the United States to understand patriotism. Students will learn about the major holidays in September. On September 12, the science unit Monarchs, Milkweed, and Mexico - Fall will begin. It will last through the first half of October. 

HOME PRACTICES

• Talk about American symbols (American flag, bald eagle, Washington Monument, Statue of Liberty)
• Talk about the life cycle of a monarch butterfly
• Pebble Go for symbols, life cycle, or monarchs
• Benchmark Universe for symbols, life cycle, or monarchs