January 22- January 25

What a great weekend!  The weather was fabulous.  I guess we deserve a few cold days after the past few days of warmth.  I hope some of you were able to tune in to the inauguration of President Obama.  Every inauguration is such a historical moment in all our lives.  We are blessed to live in a nation that can disagree, but without a coup or uprising of mobs in the street.  Our nation is becoming rare in our world of turmoil.  Let's pray we can continue to keep a democracy of diversity in our nation.

THIS WEEK IN OUR CLASS!

MATH:
We will continue addition with regrouping but add the hundreds into the mix.  Homework will come in the form of worksheets that practice this academic concept.  We will have a quiz on Friday.  If your child struggled regrouping with two digits, please keep a watchful eye on him/her as we go one step deeper.


READING:
This week we will not concentrate on a story, but will use our time to investigate Main Idea.  We will also expand our knowledge of grammar to include pronouns.  So far we have covered Nouns, Adjectives, and now we will add Pronouns.  Next week we will venture into Verbs.

Small Groups:
We will continue to use our Sound Science Reader.  This non-fiction text has proved difficult, but I do think the students have learned as they have been forced to read difficult scientific words.  Thank you for working with them at home.  We will continue to read about Sound this week and conclude next week.  Please don't forget the

  EAR DIAGRAM PROJECT IS DUE MONDAY, FEBRUARY 2nd.

SPELLING:
Words Their Way.
Please make certain your child is familiar with the words.  I noticed that the grades on this week's test were not as high as usual.  Words Their Way also likes to throw in homophones.  This is why it is necessary that you and your child look over and study the words.  Last week one sort had both
ROAD and RODE.  Some of the children knew the difference, but many did not.

  BEWARE of THE HOMOPHONES!

SOCIAL STUDIES:

We have officially completed our study of the government.  I think the students were introduced to various vocabulary and items that they had been unfamiliar with prior.  That's what it is about!  Now when they do an in depth study of government later on, they will be familiar with many of the ideas of our government.  That is certainly exciting as we both educate our children to be responsible citizens of our nation.  This week we will use SCHOLASTIC NEWS to discuss the inauguration of President Obama.  What a perfect conclusion!

Next week we will begin to look into historic heroes and timelines.

(Sneak Peek - In March we will be having a Famous American Wax Museum as is tradition of the 2nd grade at Neuse Charter.  When I learn more about the details - I will let you know.  Just FYI)

LAST DETAILS:

Please don't forget to bring in the $8.50 for the MATTER SCIENCE IN HOUSE FIELD TRIP.  It is due by the end of the week.  We will dive into the theme of Matter next month.

Almost forgot. . .  Report cards go home this Thursday.  Some students grades fell a bit - mainly in writing.  Just remember - "N" means Needs to Improve.  If I am not seeing grade level products in writing, I must give an "N".  We have five more months to improve.  That is a lot of time if the student is motivated to improve.
FINALLY - Awards day will be Friday, February 1st.  Watch the website for specific times.