As we come to the end of November, I wanted to update everyone on all of the things currently happening in the classroom.

We have completed our Science unit on Simple Machines.  The students brought home a booklet tonight which they are to complete and return by Thursday, December 7th.  This homework activity will help them to review simple machines in preparation for their assessment on Thursday.  Please remember to return their duotangs back to school by this day as well.

In Math, we have been learning about patterning.  Grade 2 patterning includes growing/shrinking patterns, learning about the pattern rule and identifying how patterns change by various attributes.  Help your child practice these skills by identifying patterns at home and in their environment!

Our current focus in Reading is comprehension, and we are regularly using the Shape-Go Map which I distributed in interviews to help them retell the story.  Hopefully the students are practicing this at home as well, as it is an important skill to help them become better readers.  We have also been working on the strategy of visualizing, which becomes especially important when students begin to read chapter books without pictures.  Another strategy which has been our focus is making connections between what we are reading and our life.

Our writing focus for the past few weeks has been descriptive writing.  The students will bring in their favourite stuffy tomorrow and describe it using our format of title, introduction, characteristics and evaluation (how do they feel about it?).

Thanks once again for all of the time you are spending practicing the WWW with the children.  Their writing is improving every day, partly due to their ability to spell all of these new words.

Reminders:

Please check agendas daily.  There are important notes and notices going home which often go unread until it is too late.  The students are working on being responsible by giving their agendas to their parents every evening.

Please send spare socks and mittens in your child's bag.  These often get wet and a spare pair comes in very handy.

Many students are attempting to go outside for recess without proper winter clothing.  Despite many reminders, there are some who still insist on going out underdressed.  Please remind your children the importance of dressing appropriately for the weather.

Thank you and stay tuned for all of the upcoming December and Christmas activities and events!!