Welcome back from break!

I hope you all had a safe and restful break! This week back has brought many adventures!
We have safely traveled to 6 of the 7 continents. It has been a whirlwind of a trip, but we have safely made it back to North America! Monday we will open up our passports and study the continent where we live. After this visit we will take our test over the continents and oceans.

Next week we will take a peek and have an introduction to our next science unit… reptiles and amphibians! We will be study about our slithery, scaly, and crawly friends for the upcoming weeks!

And speaking of animals… we have begun our biggest writing project of the year! You student, with a partner, has chosen an animal to research for a non fiction writing project. This week they gathered their resources and have started reading facts about their animal. Next week they will learn how to take notes and organize all of the new information they will be learning! Our final project will be a non fiction book about their animal.

This Friday Pricilla Howe came to visit us and shared many of her favorite puppets…including many new bat puppets. She talked about what habitats are and reviewed the concepts of a life cycle. Her visit prepared us for our upcoming visit to the wetlands. Information about our Baker Wetland field trip was emailed to you recently. Our class will be going on Monday April 12th, leaving from school at 12pm and returning around 3pm that day. This field trip is happening thanks to the Lied Center as a follow up to our visit to Stellaluna. I am still looking for a few volunteers to come with us as chaperones and guide a small group of children.

We wrapped up our author study of Joanna Cole, author of the Magic School Bus. This week we designed a new “crazy” outfit for Ms. Frizzle and finished writing an ending to a volcanic adventure!

In math we are studying about shapes and the attributes that make them different. We visited Professor Peabody and his friends in “Flatville”, where everyone is 2D! We have been helping him get around using slides, flip and turns. Friday a homework assignment was sent home (Due next Tuesday) where your child needs to help the kiddie car move around Flatville!

Upcoming:
Class pictures will be March 30th
Book orders due March 31st
Wetland field trip April 12th
Zoo field trip April 30th

Traveling the world

This week began our travel around the world! We will be visiting each of the 7 continents and experiencing a little of what life is like there! Our itinerary is as follows:
March 9 Antarctica
March 10-11 Australia
March 12 Europe
March 22 Asia
March 24 South America
March 25 Africa
March 26,29 North America

As you can see we have many busy days ahead of us. Our class is really enjoying learning about the landforms, climate, vegetation, animal life, landmarks, and especially the food of the continents we have studied! If you have any pictures or souvenirs from continents you may have lived or visited, and would like to share, please let me know!
In math we have continued our study of fractions! We continue to divide things into pieces and share equally... this week we have been able to play many fun games to help us become even better at fractions! When we return from break we will begin Unit 15 on shapes and slide, flips, and turns.
We continue our author study of Joanna Cole the author of The Magic School Bus. This week we focused on her biography and how these famous books began!
No new spelling words were given yesterday due to spring break. In class we will be practicing geography words and vocabulary from the places we have visited on our "trip". No test will be given after spring break and new spelling words will resume March 24th.

Several exciting opportunities will be coming up in the month of April! Our school was chosen by the Lied Center to be one of the recipients of a grant for a field trip to extend our viewing of "Stellaluna" this Friday. 2nd graders at Langston Hughes will be visited by the puppeteer Priscilla Howe two times in April. She will be teaching puppet-related lessons on various life cycles. As a culmination to this study, our 2nd graders will be taking a trip out to the Baker Wetlands! I do not have information yet on a specific date, as the trip is being planned by the great people at the Lied Center. It will be in mid-late April. When that time comes, we will need 5 parent volunteers from our class to go to the Wetlands with us. Please let me know if you are interested in going on this half day trip with us! I know it's difficult to commit without a specific date, but let me know if you think you MIGHT be interested and I will contact you when I have more information.


In addition to our trip to the Baker Wetlands, our 2nd grade field trip to the Kansas City Zoo is scheduled for Friday, April 30. This is a full day trip that also requires five parent volunteers to ride the bus and tour the zoo with a small group of students (4-5 students in each group). I would like to start lining up volunteers for this trip as soon as possible, so please contact me if you would like to go on this fun trip with us! It's always a favorite of the kids. The cost for adult entry to the zoo is $6. Permission slips for students, as well as information regarding cost, times, etc. will be coming home on Monday, March 22, so please keep an eye out for these items.


If you have interest in attending one, or even both, of our field trips, please contact me by e-mail or phone. My extension at the school is 1831. I look forward to hearing from you, and will give more information on both of these trips soon!

Enjoy a safe spring break!

Mrs. Crooker

I really enjoyed visiting with all of you at conferences last week! I loved being able to share your child's work with you!
This week we began a new unit in math about fractions. We have been studying how fractions are equal parts of a whole. Reading books, playing games, and lesson activities have been helping us to understand fractions.
We have also begun a unit in social studies about maps and globes. This week we have taken a look at basic city maps, the difference between urban and rural areas, and what our town of Lawrence has to offer. Next week and the week after spring break, we will be packing our backpacks and "traveling" to each of the 7 continents. We will take a peek at famous landmarks, geographics of the land, and the continent's cultures. If you have lived in or have visited another country, and would like to send something in to share with the class, please let me know! We will be sure to take great care of your things and will return them to you quickly!
In class we have been talking about the process and importance of the US census. We will be participating in class discussions about why this happens every 10 years and what is does for our country.
We began reading Flat Stanley this week and are preparing our letters to mail. If you have not returned a stamped envelope and address, please make sure your child returns theirs by Friday. Soon our Stanleys will be traveling all over the country!
No spelling test was given this Wednesday. Our next spelling test will be next week.
Next Friday March 12th we will be attending a production of Stellaluna at the Lied Center. We are excited to see this performance!
Be thinking ahead… we will be taking a field trip to the Baker Wetlands and to the Kansas City Zoo towards the end of April. We will be asking for chaperones soon!