The Second Grade Ranch

Hello Second Grade Families, The second trimester ended last Friday and your child will be bringing home their report card with the grades that they each earned at the end of this week (Friday, March 1st).  When your child's report card arrives home, please take a moment to sit with your child to praise them for the areas that they excelled in and to also discuss the areas where they need to grow.  In the second grade classroom, the children and I always talk about our gifts (our strengths) and our challenges (individual focus areas to help us grow).  Your children know that my gift is in the language arts, but they also know that algebra was my achilles heal when I was in high school.  Please also take a moment to talk to your child about their humanity.  For example, is your child friendly, gentle, or helpful?  If so, those are gifts they easily share with others, which benefits everyone that they come in contact with.  However, it is also importa...

Welcome Back Second Grade Families! I hope that you and your families had a wonderful extended weekend!  In honor of President's Day, your children will be learning about the life of our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln.  Our short 4 day work week will be filled with many other learning activities too, so please continue reading to discover all that will be taking place both in our classroom and right here at ACS. ELA ( Strong Communicators) Spelling ~ Words with or, ore Grammar ~ Commas in a series Writing ~ Narrative Writing Target Skills ~ Compare and Contrast, Figurative Language, Monitor/Clarify Math  (Resourceful Learners) The students will continue to work in unit 6.  Unit 6 focuses on adding and subtracting to the hundreds place.   In class, the second graders will continue their math "sprints" to assist them in the skill of "automaticity" with their basic addition and subtraction facts.   Please note, that the second grade...

Hello Second Grade Families, This week is a 4 day school week as there is no school on Friday.  There is also no school on Monday due to it being President's Day!  Enjoy the extended weekend.  The second graders will be learning about the history of Valentine's Day and how it all began with a wonderful selfless saint by the name of  St. Valentine.  This will allow the students to better understand why Valentine's Day is a day to celebrate our love for one another.  Below, you will find facts about St. Valentine. Please continue reading to discover all that will be taking place in the second grade classroom and right here at ACS. ELA ELA ( Strong Communicators) Spelling ~ Words with ar Grammar ~ Commas in Dates and Places Writing ~ Narrative Writing Target Skills ~ Text and Graphic Features, Point of View, Questions Math  (Resourceful Learners) The students will begin a new unit this week.  Unit 6 focuses on adding...

Hello Second Grade Families, Welcome to the month of February!  The month where we celebrate the gift of a loving spirit.  On Monday, your children will begin the month of February by attending our all school Rosary at 2:20 inside St. Gabriel's Catholic Church.  What a beautiful way to honor the gift of love by remembering the love that our blessed mother has for each and every one of us by sharing her son, Jesus with us all.  Please continue reading to discover all that will be taking place inside our second grade classroom and right here at ACS. ELA ( Strong Communicators) Spelling ~ Long e sound for y Grammar ~ The verb be Writing ~ Narrative Writing Target Skills ~ Understanding Characters, Author's Word Choice, Analyze/Evaluate Math  (Resourceful Learners) The students will continue their learning from chapter 5 in their "Go Math" learning series.  This unit will focus on double digit subtraction with and without regrouping. I...

Happy National Catholic Schools Week! This week will center around celebrating the gift of receiving a Catholic education!   What a blessing it is for children to experience a Christ centered education.  An education that chooses to meet the needs of the whole child.  Your children have an exciting learning adventure ahead of them this week,  so please continue reading this newsletter to discover all that will be taking place in our second grade classroom and right here at ACS, Catholic Schools Week Calendar of Events: Monday ~ Celebrate the Community Free Dress Day! Tuesday ~ Celebrate Students Community Prayer It is crazy sock day! Wednesday ~ Celebrate Vocations Vocational guest speakers will be visiting.  It's also vocation dress up day!  Your child must wear their school uniform, but they may add a prop for what profession they may want to do as an adult. Thursday ~ Celebrate the Nation Buck -O-Jeans Day! The students may wear red,...

Hello Second Grade Families, Welcome back from your extended three day weekend!  Our class has been celebrating the life of  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for the last week, and we will continue our lessons on this selfless man's legacy.  Dr. King taught us what it means to stand up for what is right, to embrace faith and morals, and to be people of peace even during times of adversity.  Your children are learning all about the life and the history of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.    Thank you Dr. King for teaching us what it means to be a person for others.  Please continue reading to discover all that will be taking place in the second grade classroom and right here at ACS. ELA ELA ( Strong Communicators) Spelling ~ Base Words and Endings (ed, ing) Grammar ~ Pronouns Writing ~ Narrative Writing Target Skills ~ Story Structure, Understanding Character, Infer/Predict Math  (Resourceful Learners) The students wil...

Hello Second Grade Families, Welcome to the second week of being back in school.  Your kids are off to a great start and we completed every single scheduled learning activity last week!  Yippee!  Class Dojo was a huge hit and the second graders are actively engaged in recognizing their daily learning choices.  Also, the consensus for the class is that the "less is more" approach to homework is meeting the needs of your children.  Thank you for all of your feedback and I was so happy to hear of all the meaningful activities that your children were able to do because of minimizing the homework in the second grade.  With that being said, your children's homework expectation will be to read nightly for at least 15 minutes and to complete their reading log.  The students will also need to study their weekly spelling words for Friday's test.  Reading logs will always be due on Friday's.  Please continue reading to discover all the lear...