Taking on the World

We are the Deep Divers, the Forest Friends, the Desert Experts, the Masters of the Rainforest! We are biome teams! Each team is researching one of the largest regions of world. These regions, or biomes, are complex communities of plants and animals that share certain similarities in climate and terrain. It's exciting work - maybe our greatest adventure yet in second grade. This new unit gives the boys and the girls the chance to show all that they've learned about information reading and writing so far. And it raises the bar.

We began by noticing the ways that writers organize informational text. Whether writing a book or a script for a video, nonfiction writers group their related ideas by broad categories, or topics, and this help readers to see connections and to learn. Determining which of the many ideas from the books in our biome bins are most important is another skill we've worked on this week. The boys and girls learned that asking "what" helps to establish the topic of a page or a section (as in "What's this all about?") and that asking "so what" helps to identify the main idea (as in "So what is the writer really trying to tell me about my topic?")

Laura Witkov, Stormonth's literacy coach, and I are co-planning and co-teaching this nonfiction unit. It is great fun for me to work with Laura in the classroom. She brings an expert's knowledge of elementary reading and writing and a willingness to try new things. Eventually, our nonfiction work will overtake Writing Workshop, as well as Reading Workshop. Each child will be producing a nonfiction book on his or her topic. And to bring out their more artistic talents, teams will create a mini-version of their biomes in the classroom. That's right! A rainforest, grassland, ocean, forest, fresh-water habitat, desert, and tundra right in Room 222!

In math, we're under way with a new unit that is mostly about three-digit addition and subtraction. Lessons this week set the foundation by reviewing important place-value concepts. We'll begin adding hundreds, tens, and ones next week. Subtracting from hundreds will begin the week after that.

We've started a new science unit, too. Called "Solids and Liquids," it takes another look at ideas about states of matter, which students first investigated last year. This week, after some hands-on exploration, they considered the various materials from which solids can made, identified the properties of these materials, and decided which might be best-suited for specific purposes, such as building bridges or towers. Then they got a chance to test their theories.

On Tuesday, Network Photography will be at Stormonth to take a photograph of the entire student body and staff. We'll be positioned on the playground in the shape of peace sign. To make this work, second graders are asked to wear white. The picture will be featured in the 2016-'17 yearbook. Thanks for your help with this. Peace to you!

Mark Your Calendars:

Mon., April 10 - We'll have our first of five shorts visits from a Junior Achievement representative.

Tues., April 11 - All-school photo shoot, 2:45 PM. Please dress your child in a white shirt.

Wed., April 12 - Early Release Day for students

Fri., April 14 - No school

Mon., April 17 - No school for students. Professional development day for teachers.

Tues. April 25 - Book Fair and Cake Walk, 5:30-7:00 PM

Fri., April 28 - Field trip to Nicolet High School to see "Alice in Wonderland." Look for the permission slip that was sent home today.