Math Workshop

This year we have been using the Workshop model for our math time. After our word problem of the day and a brief lesson, we break off into small groups to practice and build our skills as mathematicians. Students learn through partner work, small group lessons, math games, and fact fluency practice.

Our math board tells us our plan for the day and reminds us of important vocabulary.

We work in small groups to review the skills we're learning.

The "Hands On" station is a chance to practice by playing math games.

Independent practice is an opportunity to show what we know.

Xtra Math on the iPads helps us practice fact fluency.

Sincerely,

Mr. Kilham

Mr. Kilham's Teaching Team

Hello Parents!

At this time in the year, you may have heard your student mention one of the other wonderful teachers we have in our classroom. We are very fortunate to have these educators with us during our school day to help us in our learning!

Mrs. Jordan helps us all with our work in the classroom, and gets to go to our specials too! 

Miss Saunders visits us during our math time, and helps out during science and social studies sometimes as well.

Sincerely,
Mr. Kilham

Walk-A-Thon

Last week, our students participated in a walk-a-thon to raise money for the playground. Thank you to all of you who made and helped gather the generous contributions for our cause! We had a great time :)

We kept track of our laps as we walked.

Water to stay hydrated

The laps added up!

Big smiles on a sunny day.

We did it! :)

Sincerely,

Mr. Kilham

Second Graders Have GRIT!

How does GRIT help us as students and citizens?
Hello parents! Last week we were talking about how we all show GRIT (Guts, Resilience, Innovation, and Teamwork) in some way or another, and it is impressive what your students can do! We heard stories of bravery, perseverance, integrity, cooperation, spirit, kindness, and generosity. We spent some time recording these thoughts, and together with the other second grade classrooms we have made an impressive display! Check it out:

Sincerely, Mr. Kilham Common Core Standard: Writing 8. Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.

Our Government

What is a government, and why is it important for us to know how it works?

This week, we started a new social studies unit on our government. We will be learning much during this time, including how government works in our town, our state, and our country, how the government makes laws and enforces them, and how the government helps its citizens. We began with a discussion of what we already know (boy was I impressed!) and what we hope to learn. I'd say we're off to a great start!

Here is a Schoolhouse Rock video all about the three branches of government. The information in this video is a little more in-depth than we will cover in second grade, but it's a fun way to introduce the way our government works!

Sincerely,

Mr. Kilham

Resilience Song

Hello families!

As you know, our theme this year at Steward School is GRIT (Guts, Resilience, Innovation, Teamwork). We have spent much time discussing what these words mean to us as learners and as members of our school community. To further explore these ideas as a school, each grade level has been assigned a word. Grade two is Resilient! As a grade level, we are singing a song at an upcoming assembly called Don't Give Up by Bruno Mars and some Sesame Street friends. We introduced the song today, and will be working hard to learn the words here at school. You can help by practicing at home as well! Below is a link to the song through Nicertube, a website that plays youtube videos without ads, comments, or links to other videos. Check it out, it's a fun song!

Don't Give Up by Bruno Mars


This is a version with lyrics

Sincerely,
Mr. Kilham

When you want to do something that’s new

And it seems really, really hard to do

You feel like quitting, you feel you're through

Well I have some advice for you

Don’t give up, keep on trying

You’re gonna make it, I ain't lying

Don’t give up, don’t ever quit

Try and try and you can do it

Don’t give up, yeah

If you want to catch a ball

But you’re having no luck at all

The ball hits your head, it hits your nose

It hits your belly, your chin and toes

Well, try and try and try again

Keep on trying until the end

You put your hands out in the air

You’ll catch the ball

Yes this I swear

Don’t give up, keep on going

You’re on a boat, so keep on rowing

Don’t give up, don’t ever stop

Try and try and you’ll come out on top

Don’t give up

You got yourself rollerskates

You put them on

And you feel great

You stand up

Then you fall, don’t think you can skate at all

You get back up, then you trip,

You skip and tip and slip, and flip

You try and try and try some more

Soon you’re skating across the floor

Don’t give up, keep on moving,

You’re gonna get there, just keep on grooving

Don’t give up, don’t pack it in

Try and try, and you’ll win

Don’t give up, no no no

Don’t give up, no no no

Don’t give up, no no no

Don’t give up, no no

Don’t give up!

Let's Build Our Reading Stamina

Developing reading skills is an important task for second graders. We start the year "learning to read," when students are taught to read accurately, fluently, and to think about and understand what they are reading. As time passes we begin to transition to "reading to learn," when students will analyze different genres and do their own research, taking notes and sharing what they have learned through a variety of mediums using their own voice.

In order to begin this reading journey, we must first build our "reading stamina." This means we practice finding a quiet place to read, keeping our bodies calm, and staying focused on our books for as long as possible. Our goal is 20 uninterrupted minutes, and we've already made it to 12! We'll keeping practicing, and keep on reading at home :)

As we practice we are very focused on our reading...

...except when Mr. Kilham asks us to smile :)

There are so many books to choose from!