Welcome to June!

My apologies again for the lack of posts.

We have two weeks of school left, here's what we're up to...

Math- we will be discussing what the equal sign means ("is the same as").

For example, 10 + 5 = 7 + 8. This is called the communicative property. In grade 2 we explore this idea by looking at addition sentences. Students will also work towards filling in the missing addend in similar equations (10 + 5 = 4 + __ ).

Literacy- we are continuing to work on synthesizing. In writing, we are working on persuasive. Most students are finished their letters to Mr. Slack. We had lots of great opinions and letters! Next, the students will write a letter to their parents persuading them to get them a specific pet.

Homework and WWW- the last set of WWW went home today. This is the last week for this, meaning there will be no new words for the last week of school.

Science- we are continuing the unit on Air and Water in the Environment. Following Thursdays quiz, we will talk about melting and evaporating, uses for air and water, and describing air and water.

Mini Water Cycle (Evaporation, Condensation, Precipitation, Conservation (or Collection)

Art- we are currently working on dance.

We're getting close to the end, but there's still lots to do and learn!

Ms. Moga

Measurement, Measurement, Measurement!

Over the past few weeks, our math focus has been on measurement. We learned about length, width, height (using non-standard units, centimeteres and metres), area, and perimeter.

Measuring objects around the classroom with non-standard units

Inquiry: How many centimetres are in 1 metre? 

Measurement with Centimetres- Draw and Measure using a Ruler

Measurement Gardens

 Measurement Bunnies 

Measurement Olympics- measuring using a metre stick 

Exploring Perimeter 

Exploring Area

We've been busy, busy, busy collaborating, discussing, and showing what we know about measurement. We finished off by making area robots today! 

Field Trip to Bonnenfant Centre

My apologies for the delay!! It's that time of year...

On May 20th, our class visited the Bonnenfant Centre. We experienced a lot of great Outdoor Education! Students participated in cooperative games, a nature hike, and orienteering.

Here are some photos I took!

Update from Room C-3

Hello all, we are moving right along. The long weekend is upon us. Here are a few updates and housekeeping.

WWW:
also
let's
buy
by
doesn't

Tuesday May 19- Pasta Lunch

Wednesday May 20- YMCA Outdoor Education Field Trip **PLEASE RETURN THE PERMISSION FORM ASAP IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY**

Friday May 22- Pizza Day

Housekeeping- I will be sending some work home. This was work form Term 1, so it was already assessed by Mrs. Campbell. Any other work completed from February until the end of the year will be kept here until the end of June.

Language- We are beginning persuasive writing. We've read some examples already, will work on a shared writing as a class, and then the students will write their own.
In reading, we are working on synthesizing. This can be a difficult concept, but the idea is the students use all the reading strategies they have learned throughout the year in order to better understand a text.

Math- we have moved onto linear measurement. We are working on length, width and height.

Science- we are working on our last unit- Air and Water in the Environment. This should be an exciting unit with some hands on activities, and it includes learning about the water cycle.

Family Life/Religion- we are exploring and discussing living in the world. We are working towards developing an attitude of respect and appreciation for Earth and its gifts.

Drama- we are continuing with Reader's Theatre and are currently practicing a version of the Three Little Pigs

Physical Education- we continue to play cooperative games and will also be working on stability skills.

I hope everyone has a safe and peaceful long weekend,
Ms. Moga

International Food Day

Here are some pictures from our International Food Day on Tuesday. It was a delicious success! Thank you to those parents/grandparents who were able to volunteer or send in food. The students and staff truly enjoyed the meal.

And Manasvi's dance performance

Hello May!

Good evening everyone!
It's hard to believe that May is in full swing. We kicked off Education Week this morning with our Open House. It was great seeing some familiar and new faces.

Tomorrow is International Food Day. Mme. Anne says our class has the most volunteers- so thank you for taking the time to help out!

That means Sub day has been moved to Wednesday.
Mass is on Wednesday. Please join us if you can.

Thursday is the Talent Show.

Last, Friday is Young Authors- 4 students were selected and you should have received your invitation already.

There are only 36 school days left this year! Some of our weeks are full of fun events, and I know it's hard to stay focused on work when the weather is beautiful, but we still have lots of learning to do!

This week:

Math- we are wrapping up 2-digit subtraction with borrowing
Literacy- we are wrapping up Main Idea (our reading focus) and our Narratives (writing)
Science- we are wrapping up Simple Machines and will have a test on Thursday (a yellow "study sheet" was sent home today. Students were told to read it over each night to prepare for the test).
Art- we are continuing with Drama and are beginning a new play. This time, we will be in smaller groups allowing the students more time to speak/demonstrate their acting.

Homework- we still have our weekly WWW. The list of words should last almost until the end of June!


Wishing you a wonderful week,

Ms. Moga

Weekly Update

Hello all, it's hard to believe that May is upon us! There are only 8 weeks of school left, but there is still so much to do!

This week's WWW:

pretty
sale
shook
those
should

Next week, May 4- 8 is Catholic Education Week. There are many events taking place that you are welcome to attend. A note with the schedule was sent home today (on blue paper).

Literacy- we are working hard on our personal narratives to show off next week. There will also be some winners of our Young Authors Award (a note will come home if your child is receiving this award).

Math- we have moved onto 2-digit subtraction with borrowing. Today we tried out some games to reinforce this concept.

We will be moving into some new units soon for the month of May. I will update you on this in my next post.

"It's a beautiful day".- Yes it was, so we took our gym class outside! 

Here we are playing some math games to reinforce the concept of subtraction with borrowing

Ms. Moga

Quick Update

Good evening, we had a long Monday with all indoor recesses. Keep your fingers crossed that the rain lets up and that the students can get out to play this week!

Firstly, you should have received a yellow form today (Monday). Mme. Anne is working very hard to put together the International Potluck again this year. Please fill out that form and return it ASAP, and no later than Thursday, April 30th.

The form looks like this:

Secondly, we had a visit by a lovely woman from the National Art Gallery today. She presents to one class at a time, so the students were able to participate and stay engaged in the different paintings that she presented. They used some of their prior knowledge of art and creating art, and learned some new concepts such as perspective, abstract, and realism. 

If you're interested in taking your child to the Gallery, children under 11 are always free. However, admission is also free for adults every Thursday evening from 5-8pm. 

Lastly, we have been working on addition with regrouping (or carrying). Most students seem to have grasped the concept, but it never hurts to practice a basic skill like this. 

I receommend the IXL website if you're looking for more practice for your child. 

http://ca.ixl.com/math/grade-2/add-two-two-digit-numbers-with-regrouping

Wishing you all a great week!

Ms. Moga

What's Happening in Grade 2...

Hello again, my sincere apologies for the lack of updates that past few weeks. I have unfortunately been sick and was focused on getting better when not planning!

Spring has sprung! With that being said, we still have some cooler mornings and days, so please make sure your child is dressed appropriately with a heavy sweater or spring jacket.

Holy Week booklets were sent home. I hope that your child shared his/hers with you. I think they turned out really well, and hope that the painting of the different symbols helped with their understanding of all the events of  Holy Week.

This Sunday, APRIL 19, 2015 is the First Communion at St. Augustine Church. We have been learning about what communion means and examining the different parts of mass. I look forward to seeing those students and their families that are completing this sacrament there.

Math- we are beginning addition with regrouping (or carrying). We started by using base-ten blocks to show our answers so that students can visualize the idea that when they have more than 9 in the 1's column, they regroup and make a group of 10. We will also be learning the standard format with carrying the 1 into the tens column, Next up will be subtraction with borrowing. I encourage you to review these concepts at home as well.

Literacy- we have been working on main idea when reading a text. This can be a tricky concept. The students know that the main idea of a non-fiction book is quite obvious, but when reading fiction, they have to look at the details and think what was the story mostly about.
In writing, the students are working on narratives (stories). They are working towards writing their own narrative which will be ready for Education Week (the first week of May).

Science- we are wrapping up our unit on Movement. We have looked at the simple machines and understand they are used to make like easier and more enjoyable for humans.

Art- we are working on a drama unit. Currently we are doing a Reader's Theatre based on the book Wemberly Worried. The students have been assigned a role. They are working on the volume of their voices, expression, and following the script to know when it is their turn to speak.

I hope this gives you an idea of what we have been up to in grade 2 the past little while. I will do my best to keep the updates coming more frequently.
Please don't hesitate to write a note in your child's agenda or leave a message with the office administrator to have me call you if you have any concerns.

Ms. Moga

Here are a couple pictures of the students doing "Addition around the Room"- they find the addition questions that were posted around the room, write them down, then answer. A great activity to get them moving about during math!

Hello April

Good evening everyone! It's hard to believe April is upon us. We have two short weeks with Easter taking place this coming weekend.

That means this is Holy Week. We began talking about Palm Sunday last Friday and will continue to discuss the events of the week leading up to Easter. The students are working on a booklet called "Holy Week in Handprints". These may not be ready to go home on Thursday (it involves a lot of painting), so look for them to come home next week.

The Weather
Our school yard has many puddles, and the ground is quite wet. If possible, I would recommend sending your child with splash pants to school. An extra pair of pants may also be a good idea, as it seems sometimes even splash pants are not sufficient enough to keep the students dry and comfortable.

Class Dojo- this week's goal is 10 points (since we have 1 less school day).

I'm looking forward to another busy, but great week, in grade 2!

Hard at work last week...

Welcome Back

Good evening everyone, 

                                        I hope you enjoyed a relaxing March Break. I was happy to hear about museum and art gallery visits, and get-togethers!

This week:

Math- we're shifting our focus to addition and subtraction strategies.

Language- we are continuing to determine importance when reading. This week we are still reading non-fiction texts. We will move into determining importance (or finding the main idea) in fiction texts next week.
In writing, we are continuing with narrative writing. This week, students are finishing their How to Catch a Leprechaun stories. We will then look at each element of narrative writing working towards writing a personal narrative at the end of the unit. 

Science- we are continuing to discuss movement and simple machines. This week we are looking at the wedge. 

Art- we are shifting our focus to drama. Students will be working on a short readers theatre play. 

Family Life- you should have received the letter regarding Theme 3. We will be beginning this tomorrow (Tuesday). 

Let's all cross our fingers for some warmer weather!

Ms. Moga

Not -so- Quick Update

Hello all,
               we have a busy week ahead before a much-deserved week off.

Monday- today we finally had our winter play day. The sun was shining, the students were smiling, and lots of fun was had by all. We took this opportunity to survey our class and then graph our results about the students' favourite activities.

Tuesday- we will be treated to an "Inuit Performance".
Wear your SENS gear (or your favourite team's gear if you have another preference).

Wednesday- we will have our Word Wall Word quiz. I will not assign new words for over the break. We will resume homework and WWW quizzes after the break.
For a $1 donation, students can wear a costume (no masks or weapons please) or their pajamas.

In math, we're wrapping up graphing and temperature.
In language, we're continuing our focus on Determining Importance when reading. We have also begun to examine narrative writing.
In science, we are discussing simple machines as they relate to movement.
In religion, we are beginning to look at the Eucharistic celebration of mass as we move towards First Communion in April.

Class Dojo- thank you to those who have signed up for Class Dojo. You will notice that every Monday, your child's points go back to 0. Each week, I set a goal for the students (this week is 13), if they reach that goal they may claim 1 of 3 rewards (e.g. 15 min on an iPad). If their whole group gets 13 points each, they will all get a prize from the prize box.
So far, this system seems to be working and I will continue it this way after March Break.

Making a Line Plot after using a Spinner 

Your partner in education,
Ms. Moga

Weekend Update

Good evening, it's hard to believe that March is already here. We have two weeks of learning ahead before a well-deserved break for all!

This week:

Language- we're moving onto determining importance while reading. We will be using mostly non-fiction texts to work on this reading strategy.
In writing, we're beginning narrative writing.

Math- we are wrapping up graphing. We are working on line plots, and interpreting data in order to answer questions.

Science- we are continuing our focus on movement. We are examining various simple machines, working towards understanding that they simplify our lives.

Physical Education- I am looking at the students stability skills. They will be playing games to get them moving and working on their stability skills.

Our monthly recognition assembly will take place on Tuesday at 10am.

Keep your fingers crossed that we'll be outside for every recess this week!

Ms. Moga

Good evening, I hope everyone got out and enjoyed the snow and warmer temperatures this weekend.

Here's some of what we've been up to...

Math-  we are continuing with Data Management. We are working on conducting a survey, tallying our results, and then graphing them (with a bar graph or pictograph).

Language- we are continuing to work on making inferences when reading. An inference is when a reader reads between the lines. You must use what you already know (your background knowledge) and combine this with clues from the text (either from the pictures or the words) to make a guess about what is happening or may happen in the text. I encourage everyone to practice this concept when reading at home. Below, students are working on making inferences about a picture of two men hiking in the woods.

Art- we continued our discussion of the colour wheel, focusing on the primary and secondary colours. The students made beautiful hearts displaying the two sets of colours.

Lastly, here we are enjoying the library on a cold Wednesday afternoon. 

I'm looking forward to another great week in grade 2!

Ms. Moga

This Past Week

Good evening all,
                             I will try to update the blog every Sunday. I will let you know about upcoming events, and/or maybe post about happenings from the previous week.

Homework: the homework policy will remain the same. Every Wednesday, students will receive their new WWW. They should be bringing home their homework book that night. The homework is due on Monday. Every other week, I will also send home 1 page of math that corresponds to what we're doing in class. This will begin this week.

Captured on Camera This Past Week!

Grade 2's Presenting the Virtue of Love

Reading Together During Library

Making the Most of Indoor Recess

Probability Games in Math

We had another great week in grade 2. I'm looking forward to what this week will bring! 

Ms. Moga