Tag Archives: Social Studies

Immigration Projects and Parent-Teacher Conferences

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Cecily’s trunk impressed the whole class. Very realistic and creative!

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A peek into Cecily’s trunk to see what she decided to “bring to the new country”!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As part of our social studies unit on Traditions and Customs, we are studying immigration. Last Friday, the students shared their “Suitcase/Trunk Project”. They packed a suitcase or trunk with the items they felt were important to bring with them if they were traveling to a new life in a new country.  Each student shared what they brought and we discussed what they chose to bring and what they may have forgotten. It was especially neat to see the old photographs that Kate L. shared of her ancestors and the ships they traveled to America on. Thank you for helping your children with this project!

Our next project is the recipe project. The students need to choose a recipe from their heritage and to fill out the form that went home on Monday. We will take these family recipes and make a class recipe book.  Please have all the recipes to school by the due date on Friday.

On the half day before Thanksgiving, we will be having our “Tasting Party”.  We would love it if you could prepare the recipe you child chose for the recipe project and send it to school on the morning of November 27th so we can all sample some foods from other cultures. It will be a wonderful way to share and celebrate our different heritages with our classmates.

Thank you to all the parents who took the time to come to Parent-Teacher conferences last night. It was nice to have the opportunity to meet with you and discuss your child’s progress. We all have the same goal of supporting your child through this second grade experience and I hope we can continue to work together to help them all have a successful school year! Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have as the year goes on.

 

Report Cards, Certificates and Reminders!

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Celebrating two of our Xtramath Superstars!

Today we celebrated two of our second graders who earned their Xtramath certificates for addition for demonstrating mastery of the addition table by answering all basic math addition facts in under 3 seconds per fact.  Tierra accomplished this on October 25th and Danielle completed hers this week on November 12th. They are now working on mastery of subtraction facts. It is important to note that we have another Xtramath superstar, Salvatore who completed both addition and subtraction while still in first grade and is currently working on mastering his multiplication facts!

Our second graders received their first report cards of the year today. Please review the grades with your child and return the signed card as soon as you can. The oral reading grade is graded on a S+, S, S- or U and is based on their Fountas and Pinnell testing and the reading level (1, 2 or 3) indicates if your child’s reading above, on or below grade level. The reading skills grade is based on the written reading assessments/tests. Science and Social Studies is also graded with S or U. I will be happy to discuss any questions or concerns you may have on these or any grades at the Parent-Teacher conferences on Monday, November 18th.

We are currently working on a combined ELA and Social Studies unit on Traditions and Customs. We will be talking about the students’ heritage/family history and the first project is the suitcase assignment which is due tomorrow. The students have to put themselves in the place of immigrants and pack a suitcase or backpack with the objects they would bring if they were immigrating to a new country. I have not assigned math homework tonight to enable the children to have extra time to finish this suitcase assignment. The children will be sharing what they packed tomorrow in class.

A second optional assignment on the Statue of Liberty was sent home today. It involves using the internet and since not all families have access to the Internet, this is not mandatory. The students who choose to do this will get extra credit (and a treat!) Speaking of treats, I sent home “homework passes” today with the eight children who had parents who commented on our class blog/website so far this year. Anyone who comments for the first time is still eligible to receive a homework pass for their child.

Another reminder that the Scholastic Book Club orders are due tomorrow (November 15th) if you plan to order any books by sending paper order forms and paying with cash or checks. If you want to order online, I can keep the online ordering open through Saturday as I probably won’t get around to placing the order until Sunday. Thank you to Hailey, Fatima, Tierra and Katie for their orders!

 

 

Needs and Wants!

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Today in Social Studies we discussed needs vs. wants. This was challenging for some of the students to distinguish between the two.  They had trouble realizing that though they might really, REALLY want a video game, they didn’t actually NEED one to live. This might be an interesting discussion to have at home too. Speaking of Social Studies, I had a few children ask me if I was sending home another social studies tutor sheet. I do not want to waste paper and I told the children to just practice reviewing with the completed tutor sheet that was sent home last Friday. If you need a new copy because it was recycled or is missing, please let me know. Our first social studies test will be on Friday.

Thank you to the parents who had their children try out Xtramath yesterday or after school today! Those children will be getting a PAW tomorrow for trying out the site at home. I hope you will all find the time to check out this resource for your child.

Thank you to Mrs. Khera for being the first to post a comment on my blog. It is so helpful to me to know if this blog is useful for the families. Since we are learning about needs and wants, here is something I “want”. I want to know how many parents are reading my new blog.  if you read this blog entry tonight and post a reply, you child will receive a surprise tomorrow.

Xtra! Xtra! Xtramath! and a “Powerful” Community Social Studies Lesson

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I would like to have our students use the math site Xtramath to improve their speed and accuracy with addition and subtraction facts. It is a free Internet-based program that was designed by teachers. I have used this website in the past and the children have enjoyed using it. Unfortunately at the present time, neither of the computers that I have in my classroom that are working can access the site due to browser issues. I have requested assistance from the tech department but until the issue is resolved, we can not do Xtramath in the classroom. I have printed up instructions to help you sign your child onto Xtramath to do it from a computer at home. I strongly encourage that you make it a part of your child’s routine. It only takes about 10 minutes and really strengthens their computation skills. If you have any questions, please contact me.

Today I showed the children a powerpoint about their community of Dracut and how the community has changed over the years. They saw that the original inhabitants were Native Americans and they lived in the part of Dracut where Brunswick Bowling is now in Pawtucketville in Lowell.  They also learned that Dracut used to have more than 20 dairy farms, an amusement park, a ballroom, a race track and even a stop on the Underground Railroad. Talk to your child to see what he or she remembers from the powerpoint!  Please continue to review the vocabulary on the social studies tutor sheet that went home last Friday. We will have our first social studies test on Friday. One last friendly reminder…the class has Physical Education tomorrow so they need to wear their sneakers!

 

 

Rainy Days and Mondays in Second Grade!

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We had to be flexible today because we had an assembly to introduce the children to the Jeanne D’Arc Banking program that is offered through the school and recess indoors due to the rain. We did reader’s workshop and talked about anchor charts. We read some stories and made an anchor chart about the different types (genres) of books. We did a lot of math with counting coins today and the children brought home the paper coins we used so they can use them if they need them to do their homework. You may keep these coins at home so they have them available for nightly homework.

I passed back last week’s spelling test that was a review test of words they had last year. If your child had a pink sign and return slip, please send it back signed tomorrow. Based on the spelling assessment I used, the children were given a spelling list that meets their specific needs at this time. Your child got either a blue, pink or gold spelling tutor sheet. Please practice these words nightly with your child. All children will take a spelling test based on the words they practiced.

In second grade, the social studies instruction is more formal than last year and they will be having a test on the concepts we are studying. I gave each child a social studies vocabulary word tutor sheet. Please practice this nightly with your child. I suggest starting with giving the definition to the child and having the child identify the vocabulary word. When they get more sure of the words, try giving your child the word and having him/her tell you the definition. Please keep both of these tutor sheets in their homework folder so I can check them each day.

Remember that school picture day is tomorrow. It is also their physical education class. Please wear (or bring) sneakers. Our Orientation is tomorrow night from 6 to 8 pm. At Orientation, you will have the opportunity to sign up for Parent-Teacher conference appointments. You will also have a chance to shop at the Scholastic Book Fair fundraiser in the library. I look forward to seeing everyone then!