Second Month of School Update

We’ve had a busy and exciting second month of school! Students are settling into routines and showing great growth in both academics and classroom community. Here are some highlights from this month:

Literacy Workshop Focus

Every  week our literacy centers target phonics and word work skills with an emphasis on rhyming, decoding, and spelling. This week students practiced words containing ir, er, ur, ear, or, and ore.

• Rhyming Center: Students will sort and match rhyming words that share the same r-controlled vowel pattern.

• Decoding Center: Students will read and find words with the target patterns, focusing on sounding out and blending then recording them on paper.

• Spelling Center: Students will practice writing and spelling pattern words, applying them in sentences and word sorts. Our new favorite game to play in a small group with me is “Guess the Word”. I give certain clues, like # of letters or syllables, then small hints until they guess the spelling of the word. Ask your child about how much fun they have in this center!

     • Roll and Write: students will use a dice that has ir, ur, er, ear, or, ore. They will roll, look, and spell the word, then record it on paper. 

These activities help students strengthen their ability to recognize patterns, improve fluency, and apply spelling rules in their reading and writing.

Science – States of Matter

Our science lessons centered around exploring matter. Students learned how matter can change from solid to liquid to gas, and we even got hands-on with experiments like figuring out what type of material is more or less absorbent.

We also learned about the Cherokee game of Stickball, connecting history and culture to our studies. Students created their own mini stickball crafts, linking reading with hands-on creativity. This activity sparked great conversations about teamwork, traditions, and how games can tell us about different cultures.

We dug a little deeper into our science unit and explored matter deliciously by making ice cream! Students learned that matter can change states from a liquid to a solid when cooled. These brilliant little scientists observed a liquid turning to solid (a milk mixture turning to ice cream) and a solid turning to liquid (ice melting while cooling the mixture). Science sure can be sweet! :)

Also, in 2nd grade we have been learning about helping and linking verbs, so this morning, they were able to complete a "write the room" where they had to decide if certain words were verbs, adjectives, or nouns. They all did great!

2nd Grade is a big year full of brand-new things to learn! Throughout the year, students will grow together as readers, writers, mathematicians, scientists, and friends. Amazing things are bound to happen with this wonderful group of students!

Wow! We can’t believe how fast second grade went by! It feels like just yesterday we were meeting our new teacher, learning the rules, and finding our seats. Now we’re reading big chapter books, solving tricky math problems, and writing awesome stories!

This year we learned how to tell time, add and subtract big numbers, and even started multiplication! We read some amazing books, like Camilla Capybara and Nim’s Island, and we wrote about our favorite animals, fun adventures, and even made our own Wordly Wise stories in our final project!

Now it’s time for summer break! We can’t wait to swim, play, read books, and maybe even eat a few popsicles.

Thank you, second grade—you were the best!

Every year in the spring second grade students take a trip to Tyler, TX to visit the Caldwell Zoo. Students are always so excited to see so many types of animals and habitats. This year, the much anticipated Amazon River Front exhibits were completed and students were able to see many more animals. Thank you to all the parents that were able to transport students to and from the zoo!

The Little Mermaid Jr. was a fantastic show with many talented students! Second grade students performed a solo as seagulls and sang “Human Stuff” and were also sea creatures in many other ensembles. The Spring Musical is always a major production with many moving parts and these students were ready for the challenge! They knew all their lines and were ready to perform at all the right times. Congratulations to the second grade students on their amazing performance!