May 2 - 6

We Dissected Owl Pellets This Week!

Dates to Remember                                                                          

Week of May 2 - MAP testing
Week of May 9 - Aimsweb Testing
Wed. May 11 - Field trip to DuPage Children's Museum
Fri. May 13 - Early Dismissal

ABC Countdown has begun!!
These days are completely optional, but fun for the kids!  A list of all of the days came home last week, so you can plan ahead if needed.  

5/2 - Crazy Hair Day
5/3 - Dance Day
5/4 - Exercise Day
5/5 - Freeze Pop Day
5/6 - Game Day

Reading - This week we're reading a selection called Carnivores, by Aaron Reynolds.  It is a humorous tale about 3 carnivores, a lion, shark, and timber wolf who realize that it's lonely at the top of the food chain.  They decide to become vegetarians to start making more friends.  They try disguises as well, but nothing works.  They finally learn to accept themselves and feel at peace.  

Vocabulary words this week:  frenzies, misleading, carnivores, vegetarian, disguise, appetite

We'll work on writing a story summary and answering the Five "W" Questions (who, what, when, where, and why) about a story.  We'll also discuss the topic of debating a subject.  The students will read a selection, form an opinion, then support their opinion with reasons. 

Math - We'll continue working on 3 digit subtraction this week.  Our next chapter will focus on arrays, multiplication, and division!

Estimation Jar Winners - Ken and Sophia
Positive Paw Winner - Christine

Reminder - A permission slip and fee needs to be returned for our field trip on May 11.  If you have not returned them, please do so as soon as possible.  Thank you!

April 25 - 29

Open House was Spectacular!

I really enjoyed seeing all of you again last night at our Open House!  The students were so happy to show off their hard work, buy some new books, and experience our first Art Show! What a great evening!  

Dates to Remember

Fri. April 29 - Reading Incentive Fuzzy Friend Day
Week of May 2 - MAP Testing
Mon. May 2 - April Reading Logs due
Week of May 9 - Aimsweb Testing
Wed. May 11 - Field Trip to DuPage Children's Museum
Fri. May 13 - Early Dismissal
Wed. May 18 - Career Day at Ide
Thurs. May 26 - Poetry Cafe 9:15am

Reading
This week we will focus on retelling as we read 2 selections about ants.  Two Bad Ants is a fiction story about two ants who decide to leave the safety of their home and explore a kitchen.  Ant is a non fiction story about the life cycle, habitats, and different types of ants. We'll compare and contrast the two selections and work on the reading strategy of visualization.

Math - We will be working on 3 digit subtraction this week.  We will also be adding and subtracting money as well as working on problem solving skills.

Positive Paw Winner - Sara
Estimation Jar Winner - Alyssa


Field Trip - The 2nd graders are taking a field trip on Wed. May 11 to the DuPage Children's Museum in Naperville.  We'll be exploring the museum as well as learning about GeoSpace in the learning lab.  A fee of $5 is required along with the permission slip, which will come home on Monday, April 25.  Our PTO has generously donated money to help pay for a portion of the fee for the trip.  

April 18 - 22

Dates to Remember                                                                                            

                                                                                                                                               
Tues. April 19 - Wear blue or green for Earth Day
                          A special "All School" picture will be taken!
Thurs. April 21 - Open House, Book Fair, Art Show at Ide  
                           6:30 pm  Everyone is Welcome!
Fri. April 29 - Reading Incentive Fuzzy Friend Day
Week of May 2 - MAP Testing
Week of May 9 - AimsWeb Testing
Wed. May 11 - Field Trip to DuPage Children's Museum
Fri. May 13 - Early Dismissal

Open House - Our Spring Open House is this Thursday, April 21 from 6:30 to 8:00pm.  All family members are invited!  PTO is also hosting a Book Fair and Ms. Smeltzer has organized an Art Show to display your child's art work!  Please mark your calendar and plan to come!  It will be a great evening at Ide!

Science - Our butterfly larva have arrived and the kids are SO excited!  We're watching them eat and crawl around!  As they change over the next 2 weeks, we be recording our observations in butterfly journals.  Ask your child about it!

Reading - This week we'll read and compare 2 selections, Owls and Owl Moon.  One is realistic fiction, the other a nonfiction story.  We will discuss point of view and retelling.  At the end of the week we will be dissecting owl pellets!

Grammar focus will be on abbreviations.

Literature Circles -  All 2nd graders have been learning about literature circles this month.  We've started implementing them into our reading block.  Follow the link below for more information.  The students have done a great job practicing the roles and learning to read with purpose!

Literature Circles

Math -  We have started a new unit focusing on 3 digit addition.  We've worked on mental math and adding 3 digits with and without regrouping ones.  Next week we'll be regrouping tens, estimating sums, and problem solving.

Positive Paw Winner - Ben
Estimation Jar Winners - Jania, Sophia, Jack W.

April 11 - 15

Dates to Remember                                                      

                                                                                               
Wed. April 13 - Early Dismissal
Fri. April 15 - Animal Poster or diorama due
Thurs. April 21 - Open House, Book Fair, and Art Show

Reading - We will continue our work on Habitats this week. We'll be adding text features to our research reports.  We'll also begin our Butterfly unit this week.  We'll learn about the life cycle and our larva should be arriving!  The students will be keeping a journal to record their observations as the larva transform into Painted Lady Butterflies!

Math - We'll continue our chapter focusing on geometry and plane figures.  We'll learn about symmetry and practice dividing plane figures into congruent figures.  We'll then review and take a chapter test.  Next up is adding three digit numbers!

Remember - Animal Posters or dioramas are due next Friday, April 15.  Any questions, please contact me.  Several students have brought their projects in and they are amazing!  I'm so impressed with their creativity.  Thanks so much for helping with this fun project!

Positive Paw Winner - Grant
Estimation Jar Winner - David