What's Going On In Second Grade?
Second Grade Information
Dear Second Grade Families,
This year has flown by. As we’ve been winding down the last few weeks, I’ve taken some time to reflect on this year, and the students that have made it so wonderful. Each child has played a special role in making up this class. Each child brought with them a unique quality that added a certain touch to our “team.” Each child has also left me with sweet memories I won’t forget.
Thank you all for your support and encouragement to your child and myself this year. We have grown and learned together, and it has been wonderful! I know they will be very successful in 3rd grade.
Please check out our class webpage for updates photos. There are some great photos of a few of the ABC days. http://misshartsecondgrade.googlepages.com/home
Next Week:
- Students will review concepts learned this year.
- NO HOMEWORK
Math
- Division and Multiplication strategies and tricks
- We will review concepts taught this year
Writing
- Letter writing
Learning NEVER ends!
Your child has worked hard all year long to reach a certain level in reading, writing, and math. It is very important that your child continues to work on his/her skills each day to maintain or improve his/her present level and not regress, go backwards. Below are some suggestions:
M
Junie B. Jones by Barbra Park
Arthur by Marc Brown
Magic Tree House by Mary Pope Osborne
The Littles by John Peterson
Kids of
N
Jigsaw Jones by James Preller
A to Z Mysteries by Ron Roy
Secrets of Droon by Tony Abbott
Judy Moody by Megan McDonald
Magic School Bus Chapter Books
O and P
Amber Brown Series by Paula Danziger
Danger Guy Series by Tony Abbot
The Secrets of Droon Series by Tony Abbot
The Time Warp Trio by Scieszka
Barkley’s School for Dogs by Debbie Dadey and Marcia
Jones
Julian Books by Ann Cameron
The Leftovers Series by Howard Tristan
Max Malone Series by Charlotte Herman
Rosie Books by Patricia Reilly Giff
The Zack Files Series by Dan Greenburg
Level Q
Animal
Baby-Sitters Club Mystery Series by Ann Martin
Blossom Series by Betsy Byars
The Case of the Disappearing......... books by Seymour Simon
Look Who Came From....... Series by Harvey Miles
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle Books by Betty McDonald
Pony Pals Series by Jeanne Betancourt
Meg MacKintosh Series by Lucinda Landry
Speedy Books by
Spider Kane Books by Mary Pope Osborne
Stacy Books by Ann Martin
Who said teachers don’t recommend their students to watch movies? Here is a list of book and film combos I recommend for your child’s summer entertainment. For the most part, the books will be challenging for your children, so I suggest you read these to them. Or the two of you could read it together by alternating pages. Then when you have completed the novel, watch the movie. Afterwards, compare the two. Talk about how they were alike and different. Discuss favorite parts in each. Ask your child why they think the screen writer changed certain events for the film. Have fun with a few of these book-film combos during your summer break:
Black Beauty
By Anna Sewell
1994 Black Beauty Rated G with Sean Bean
Summer of the Monkeys
By Wilson Rawls
1998 Summer of the Monkeys Rated G with Corey Sevier
Stuart Little
By E. B. White
1999 Stuart Little Rated PG with Geena Davis
Because of Winn Dixie
By Kate DiCamillo
2005 Because of Winn Dixie Rated PG with Annasophia Robb
Borrowers
By Mary Norton
1997 The Borrowers Rated PG with John Goodman
Indian in the Cupboard
By Lynne Reid Banks
1995 The Indian in the Cupboard Rated PG with Hal Scardino
Neverending Story
By Michael Ende
1984 The Neverending Story Rated PG with Noah Hathaway
Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time
By James Gurney
2002 Dinotopia Rated PG with Tyron Leitso
Pippi Longstocking
By Astrid Lindgren
1974 Pippi Longstocking Rated G with Inger Nilsson
Matilda
By Roald Dahl
1996 Matilda Rated PG with Danny DeVito
The Witches
By Roald Dahl
1990 The Witches Rated PG with Anjelicia Huston
Tuck Everlasting
By Natalie Babbitt
2002 Tuck Everlasting Rated PG with Alexis Bledel
Millions
By Frank Cottrell Boyce
2005 Millions Rated PG with Alex Etel
Anne of Green Gables
By L.M. Montgomery
1985 Anne of Green Gables Not Rated with Megan Follows
My Side of the Mountain
By Jean Craighead George
1969 My Side of the Mountain Rated G with Ed Eccles
The Swiss Family Robinson
By Johann David Wyss
1960 Swiss Family Robinson Rated G with John Mills
Harriet the Spy
By Louise Fitzhugh
1996 Harriet the Spy Rated PG with Michelle Trachtenberg
The Bad Beginning: A Series of Unfortunate Events
By Lemony Snicket
2004 Lemony Snicket’s: A Series of Unfortunate Events Rated PG with Jim Carrey
The
By Frances Hodgson Burnett
1993 The
The Thief Lord
By Cornelia Funke
2006 The Thief Lord Rated PG with Aaron Johnson
Holes
By Louis Sachar
2003 Holes Rated PG with Sigourney Weaver
The Iron Giant
By Ted Hughes
1999 The Iron Giant Rated PG with voice of Jennifer Aniston
By Lewis Carroll
1951 Alice in Wonderland Rated G with voice of Ed Wynn
Ella Enchanted
By Gail Carson Levine
2004 Ella Enchanted Rated PG with Anne Hathaway
Pollyanna
By Eleanor H. Porter
1960 Pollyanna Rated G with Haley Mills
The Incredible Journey
By Sheila Burnford
1993 Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey Rated G with voice of Michael J. Fox
The Wizard of Oz
By Frank L. Baum
1939 Wizard of Oz Rated G with Judy Garland
Writing: Help keep your child’s writing skills sharp and get ready for third grade. Try a few ideas below for some writing fun. Or, try adding your own ideas to the list, but whatever you do…write, write, write! Students can:
· Write to a pen pal.
· Email me at Lindsay_Hart@mcpsmd.org I promise to write back!
· Write a movie or book review.
· Make a Vacation Photo Essay Scrapbook.
o Take pictures from vacation.
o Write a short essay under each picture describing the picture.
o Make a scrapbook with the pictures and essays.
· Write a friendly letter to a family member who lives out of state. Ask for maps, tourism guides, etc. to learn about the state/country.
· Send themselves a post-card from places you visit over the summer. Describe everything using adjectives, verbs, and adverbs. Collect them and put them in a memory book about your summer.
· Create a brochure about a special place you visited over the summer urging people to visit to that place.
· Keep a daily summer journal of all the places, friends, or relatives you visited.
· Keep a writer’s notebook/journal over the summer.
· Write 10 questions you want to ask your teacher on the first day of school.
Word Wall Work: I have included link to a list of third grade word wall words http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/greenwoodes/media/ww_3.pdf . Practice these words over summer. If your child spells these words correctly when writing, his/her writing skills will improve greatly and she or he will be one step ahead!
Math: In math, continue working on three and four place addition and subtraction. Your child’s adding and subtracting skills must be very strong when entering third grade so your child can be successful. I highly recommend that your child make it a goal to memorize all multiplication facts up to 12. This will give your child a head start for third grade. Your child should also continue to practice telling time and counting money. Some suggested activities/websites:
- Math Websites:
General Math Practice
www.internet4classrooms.com/skills-3rd-mathbuilders.htm
This website offers many links to games and activities that will give students practice with the following topics: data analysis, money, addition & subtraction review, place value, fractions, multiplication, rounding & estimating, geometry, telling time, measurement, number sense, symmetry, patterns, and word problems.
www.iknowthat.com/com/L3?Area=L2_Math
Online Multimedia Educational Math Games for Kids - This is an index of all the math games and activities.
www.mathplayground.com
Action packed math site for elementary and middle school students featuring math games, math word problems, math worksheets, logic puzzles, and math videos.
Basic Facts
www.honorpoint.com
This is a wonderful website that can help students review, study, practice, and test themselves on their facts.
www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/Mathmagician/cathymath.html
Math Magician Games - Has math games for training addition, multiplication, division, and subtraction at different levels.
Telling Time and Elapsed Time
classroom.jc-schools.net/basic/math-time.html
Making Change
www.funbrain.com/cashreg/
FunBrain Change Maker is an educational game where the player must calculate the change given for a money purchase.
***Sometimes using real coins to practice making change is better than a game on the computer. So, why not play store or have your child be the cashier at a garage sale? Real-life experiences help the learning stick!
Measurement
www.funbrain.com/measure/
***Again, real-life experience would be the best when it comes to practicing measurement. So, get out the yardstick, tape measure, scale, measuring spoons & cups and have fun! Here are some ideas:
• Have your child find the area and perimeter of his/her bedroom. Repeat for other rooms in the home. Compare the findings.
• Measure how tall your child is at the beginning and end of the summer and see how much they’ve grown. You could include the weight.
• Have your child measure how long the garden hose (or other long object) is in feet, and then convert that measurement into yards.
• Bake some cookies and have your child do the measuring of ingredients.
• Save gallon, half gallon, quart, liter, 2 liter, etc. containers and take them outside on a hot day. Fill them with water and see how many of each can be poured into larger containers.
- Summer Math Reading A great summer activity for parents and children is to sit down and read a good book. There are many books that present math themes in an interesting and enjoyable way. Take the following list with you to the library and enjoy!
Fiction
• Math Curse by Jon Scieszka & Lane Smith
• One Grain of Rice by Demi
• The Rajah’s Rice by David Barry
• The Greedy Triangle by Marilyn Burns
• Spaghetti and Meatballs for All by Marilyn Burns
• Counting on Frank by Rod Clement
• Sir Cumference and the Sword in the Cone by Cindy Neuschwander & Wayne
Geehan
• Sir Cumference and the First Round Table by Cindy Neuschwander & Wayne
Geehan
• Grandfather Tang’s Story by Ann Tompert
• Ben Franklin and the Magic Squares by Frank Murphy & Richard Walz
• Alexander Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday by Judith Viorst
• Minnie’s Diner: A Multiplying Menu by Dayle Ann Dodds & John Manders
• Polar Bear Math: Learning About Fractions from
Whitehead Nagda & Cindy Bickel
• Pigs Will Be Pigs: Fun With Math and Money by Amy Axelrod
Non-Fiction
• Calculator Riddles by David A. Adler and Cynthia Fisher
• Marvelous Math: A Book of Poems by Lee Bennett Hopkins & Karen Barbour
• Easy Math Puzzles by David A. Adler & Cynthia Fisher
• Mathamusements by Raymond Blum, Claire Bazinet, & Jeff Sinclair
• Mathamazing by Raymond Blum
• Math Appeal: Mind Stretching Math Riddles by Gregory Tang & Harry Briggs
• Math for All Seasons by Greg Tang
• The Grapes of Math by Greg Tang & Harry Briggs
• Arithme-Tickle: An Even Number of Odd Riddle-Rhymes by J. Patrick Lewis & Frank
Remkiewicz
• Anno’s Mysterious Multiplying Jar by Masaichiro Anno & Mitsumasa Anno
• Anno’s Math Games III by Mitsumasa Anno
• If You Made a Million by David M. Schwartz & Steven Kellog
• On Beyond a Million: An Amazing Math Journey by David M. Schwartz & Paul
Meisel
• Mental Math Workout by Michael L. Lobosco
• The I Hate Mathematics Book by Linda Allison, Marilyn Burns, & David Weitzman
• Career Ideas for Kids Who Like Math by Diane Lindsey Reeves & Nancy Bond
Have a wonderful summer!
