Second Grade

General Studies – Ms. Goldblatt

Geography and Tales: An Integrated Social Studies and Reading Unit

Students will be continuing their study of the traditional literature genre. The focus in May will shift to learning about how different cultures have adapted traditional tales. For example, students will look at versions of Cinderella from Canada, China, and South Africa, to name just a few. We will be comparing and contrasting story elements, character traits, and the morals in these stories. Simultaneously, students will be learning about geography as we study the continents and plot these countries on a map.

Students have enjoyed practicing their reading fluency by performing readers’ theaters of The Three Javelinas and The Three Little Pigs.

Creatively Writing Our Own Tales

Excitement has filled the air as students have begun to craft their own versions of some of their favorite fairy tales and folktales. A wide variety of adaptations are starting to appear in class. Some students have changed the setting or characters in a traditional tale. Others have told a tale from a different point of view and there are even some who have combined 2 tales into a cohesive story. In May, we will continue to improve our stories by investigating the structure of tales and incorporating it into our own texts. We will also work on elaborating our stories using interesting details and dialogue. Finally, students will be revising and publishing these works.

Exploring Balance and Motion

In May, we will be beginning our study of balance and motion. Through explorations, students will discover that there are many ways to balance an object. They will develop an understanding of what a stable object is and how a counterbalance can help to balance an object. Students will also investigate spinning and rolling objects.

Children delighted in designing homes strong enough to withstand the wind of The “Big Bad Blowdryer!”

Whole-Number Operations Revisited

Math this month will focus on a number of key concepts. Students will:

• practice addition and subtraction stories with dollars and cents
• use estimation to examine their answers and determine whether the answers make sense
• review the uses of multiplication and division

• begin to develop multiplication and division fact power, or the ability to automatically recall the basic multiplication and division facts
• work with multiplication shortcuts to help them extend known facts to related
• review telling time on clocks with hour and minute hands
• use larger units of time, such as centuries and decades
• keep track of time in years, months, weeks, and days
• interpret measurement data, with special attention to the range, median, and mode of sets of data.

To work with your child on the concepts taught in this unit and in previous units, try these interesting and rewarding activities:

• Review common multiplication shortcuts. Ask, for example: What happens when you multiply a number by 1? By 0? By 10? Use pennies to show that 2 x 3 pennies is the same as 3 x 2 pennies.
• At a restaurant or while grocery shopping, work together to estimate the bill.
• Take turns making up multiplication and division number stories to solve.

Hebrew and Judaic Studies – Ms. Etzion

For our Yom HaAtzma’ut theme, the second graders learned about the importance of water in Israel. We focused on three waterfalls in Israel: The Banias, the Gamla, and the Ein Gedi waterfalls. In addition to learning about Israeli waterfalls, we taught about the scientific way in which a waterfall is created in nature. The students were taken outside and created their own natural waterfall.

The students will spend a lot of time studying many holidays: Yom HaAtzma’ut ( Israel’s Independence Day), Lag B’Omer, Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem’s Independence Day) and Shavuot.

It will be a busy month filled with songs, stories, history lessons, workbook pages, projects, Hebrew reading and of course writing grade level paragraphs.

We will continue in our Shabbat workbook, focusing on Havdallah.

In our Shalom workbook, we will learn modern vocabulary that deals with everyday living. Such as: getting up in the morning, getting dressed, eating breakfast, going to school or work etc.

Hebrew – Ms. Taragan

The second grade students completed their second Hebrew textbook Kriyah V’od by Shahar and Rena Yonai and began the third and final book in this series. The stories and dialogues are performed as Hebrew skits in front of their peers. They read two delightful stories called “Batelephone” “On the telephone” and “Eyal V’Hashafan” “Eyal and the Bunny”. The students read the text with expression and then they continued the dialogue spontaneously in Hebrew.

Your children are very conscientious about doing their Hebrew homework. Thank you for listening to their weekly homework readings. In addition, the students are continuing to hone their writing skills in Hebrew script.

Their confidence with their Hebrew reading has soared this year. I am very proud of their accomplishments.

Art – Ms. Orkin

What we have been doing in second grade…

• Illustrated a Passover song-“Ehad Mi Yode’ah?”- Who knows one?

• Listened to the orchestral story of “Peter and the Wolf” by Sergei Prokofiev
• Illustrated the scenery and characters with pencil and watercolor
• Studied MIA Art Adventures final two art pieces

“Pacific” Tz’daka Box by artist Tony Berlant, made in 1998 on display in the MIA Jewish Art Collection

Chinese Ceremonial Gateway, made in 1728 of handcrafted ceramic tile.

Art Adventures Art Project

Chinese Doorway with photo collage decoration

• Thursday, May 17, 10 – 11 a.m.
• Bus leaves at 9:30 a.m. and returns at 11:30 a.m.
• Parents/grandparents are invited to help chaperone
• Please RSVP to aorkin@hmjds.org

Upcoming projects…

• Junk Sculptures
• Landscape drawing from observation outside

All student library books are due back to the HMJDS library on the students’ mid-May library day.

Heads up, pardners! The end of the school year is closer than we might think! All library books are due back to the HMJDS library on the student’s middle-of-May library day, unless still needed for a class report or project. This allows us to do inventory and make sure the books are all available for the students next year. Families will be billed for books that have not been turned on by the Wednesday before Memorial Day, May 25.

These are library due dates for each class:

Library Due Date – Class (General Studies Teacher)

• Monday, May 7 – Goldblatt
• Wednesday, May 9 – Vlodaver
• Monday, May 14 – Dorman/Schochet

May Second Grade Library Classes

In May, second graders:

• Enjoy checking out new books added to the library from the Scholastic Book Fair, especially Easy Chapter Books.
• Had the opportunity to check out books relating to spring holidays Passover and Yom HaAtzma’ut
• Finish up their study of nonfiction books in the Dewey Decimal System with 800’s – books about literature, including poetry, mythology, joke books and short story collections, and 900’s – books about Geography and History, including Biography.

Music – Mr. Shaw

Students will have a final playing assessment as we approach the last weeks of school to show that they can play from a musical score. The students will learn to play two different rhythm accompaniment patterns to What Shall We Do? and Hey, Ho! Nobody Home! This playing assessment requires the students to enter after an eight measure introduction and to pause during a musical interlude between pieces. Students will also have a final vocal assessment on the songs Button, You Must Wander, and Tideo that require them to perform sixteenth notes. We will also continue to learn new songs that we can perform in harmony. This will be accomplished by singing songs that are rounds or that have vocal ostinatos. An ostinato is a repeated pattern that can accompany a song using notes within the chordal structure of the composition. The students have grown immensely in their musical skills this year.

Featured Concepts and Understandings in Music Class Lessons:

• Sing a varied repertoire of songs with others.
• Play a varied repertoire of instrumental music that is grade level appropriate.
• Read music and notate their own compositions using grade level skills.
• Listen to, analyze, and describe music using appropriate vocabulary.
• Evaluate music and music performances.
• Understand the relationship between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.
• Understand music in relationship to history and culture.

Physical Education – Mr. Lindquist

Greetings Second Grade Parents,

Spring is a very busy time at HMJDS; as we have many observations and celebrations, including the sixty-fourth birthday of Israel (Yom HaAtzma’ut), Art Adventures, and Fitness Week. I hope your student(s) picked activities for Fitness Week that will provide them with a fulfilling experience.

What’s Going On?

Your Second Grader just finished our volleyball unit. They started out learning and practicing eye-tracking and striking skills using balloons and then progressed to beach balls. During the second half of volleyball students participated in a modified game called “nuke ’em” where they learned conventional front line, back line positioning, player rotation, modified serving, and scoring.

What’s Next?

After volleyball we will venture outside (weather permitting) to play soccer in addition to a variety of assorted games. Earlier in the school year we played different versions of line soccer, but this spring the games will be closer to official soccer. Students will play different positions and learn the difference between offense and defense. We will finish the school year as we always do, playing softball in the warm sunshine.

Please be aware that Fitness Week is the week of May 28 so look for volunteer opportunities.

Technology – Ms. Olson

Let’s Learn Word

Second graders are digging deeper into Microsoft Word this month. It may seem a bit early to be teaching formatting tools including double spacing and headers and footers, but amazingly enough by the end of third grade, students are producing written papers on a productivity tool people in the business world use every day. Teaching second graders about the tools and icons related to Microsoft Word help allows them to become familiar with these types of tools so that when they see an icon in a different program they will recognize it and be able to use it accordingly. Challenge your child to show you how to:

• change fonts, colors, and the size of text,
• make a footer on a page, even,
• change their name by using replace.

We will surely visit these skills again in third and even fourth grade, but already your students are picking up skills they will use for years to come!

General Studies – Ms. Goldblatt

Fairy Tales and Folktales: An Imaginative Reading and Writing Workshops

Students recently completed a short unit on mysteries. The unit focused on the skill of inferring, reading between the lines. Students selected a book from the mystery genre, searched for clues, and inferred what the clue meant. In the pictures below, you can see several student detectives.

The next unit we will be studying focuses on the reading and role playing of folktales and fairy tales. Students will be asked to recount stories from diverse cultures, determine their central message, lesson, or moral and, compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story by different authors or from different cultures. The plan is that children will hone their skills of comprehension, critiquing and analyzing multiple perspectives, comparing and contrasting characters, story lines, morals, and lessons. Students will also have the opportunity to become actors and directors by performing Readers’ Theaters of several fairy tales. This will help readers to cultivate fluency through reading aloud repetitiously, each time with increasing authority and intonation.

In Writing Workshop, students will be writing adaptations of fairy tales and folktales. Students will be taught to make informal plans before they write. Students will learn to start thinking like an author and make decisions about how they are going to alter a traditional story.

Exploring Clothing in the Pioneer Times: An Integrated Science and Social Studies Unit

In April, students will be learning about the clothing worn by pioneers in the mid 1800s.They will compare and contrast the style of clothing worn by men, women, and children today and long ago.

Store-bought clothing was scarce. Most of what the pioneers had to wear was what they made themselves. Many pioneer families had to spin their own yarns and make their own cloth. Students will have the opportunity to try making some of their own clothing using fleece. Students will explore the following steps:

• Washing the fleece;
• Carding the fleece;
• Dying the wool using natural ingredients;
• Spinning the wool using drop spindles;
• Knitting the wool.

Developing Measurement Skills

In Unit 9, children will explore measurements of various types. They will estimate and measure distances by inch, foot, and yard, as well as centimeter, decimeter, and meter. Children will learn that measurements are not always exact; they will use terms such as close to, between, and about when describing measurements. For closer or more exact measurements, children will measure to the nearest half-inch and half-centimeter. In addition to measures of length, children will explore the areas of shapes using square inches and square centimeters. They will also begin to develop a sense of the size of units of capacity and weight, such as cups and liters and pounds and kilograms. Everyday Mathematics uses U.S. customary and metric units of measure. Children will make conversions within each system. They will not make conversions from one system to the other at this time. In Unit 9, your child will practice mathematical skills by playing the following games:

Equivalent Fractions Game

Players take turns turning over Fraction Cards and try to find matching cards that show equivalent fractions.

Fraction Top-It

Players turn over two Fraction Cards and compare the shaded parts of the cards. The player with the larger fraction keeps both cards. The player with more cards at the end wins!

Name That Number

Each player turns over a card to find a number that must be renamed using any combination of five face-up cards.

Number-Grid Difference Game

Players subtract 2-digit numbers using the number grid.

Hebrew and Judaic Studies – Ms. Etzion

It was wonderful seeing everyone at Yom HaSiddur! The students were quite impressive! Upon returning from Passover break we will immediately start learning about Yom HaAtzma’ut, Israel’s Independence Day. The students will receive a new workbook in which they will learn new vocabulary regarding the State of Israel. The students will learn the meaning of the Hatikvah and other popular Israeli songs. Yom Ha Atzmaut festivities will take place throughout the school day. This year, the school theme will be water and the importance of it in Israel. We will study a variety of important water sources in Israel such as the Kineret, the Jordan River, and multiple water falls. We will also incorporate Yom HaZikaron, which is the Memorial Day for Israeli soldiers, into our studies. Students will also learn about Yom Yerushalayim,the reunification of Jerusalem. They will be taught: new vocabulary, symbols of the city, songs, and the importance of Jerusalem to the Jewish people. Students will finally celebrate the completion of the Ariot Script workbook. The students are now fluent in script writing!!

Hebrew – Ms. Taragan

It was wonderful meeting with you during conferences and sharing the recordings of your child reading and speaking Hebrew. After conferences, I emailed each family the recordings for you to enjoy at home. I first recorded your child in the beginning of October and then recorded your child in the beginning of March. It is a joy hearing how much your child’s Hebrew skills have grown throughout the year!

The second grade students are completing their second Hebrew textbook Kriyah V’od by Shahar and Rena Yonai and will soon begin the third and final book in this series. The stories and dialogues are performed as Hebrew skits in front of their peers. They read a story called Lichvod Shabbat (In Honor of the Shabbat). The story tells of all the preparations that Ema does on Friday to get ready for Shabbat. She goes to the store to buy special foods, wine, flowers and hallot for their Shabbat dinner. The students read the text with expression and then they continued the dialogue spontaneously in Hebrew.

Your children are very conscientious about doing their Hebrew homework. Thank you for listening to their weekly homework readings. In addition, the students are continuing to hone their writing skills in Hebrew script.

The second grade students are also reading Pesah Kasher V’Sameah from the Tal Am series. Seder means “order”. The students will learn the Seder of the Seder (the order of the Seder- which part precedes each section in the haggadah). They will also learn the traditional songs which are sung at the Seder and talk about the customs of Pesah.

I want to wish you and your entire family Hag Kasher V’Sameah.

Art – Ms. Orkin

What we have been doing in art class…

Purim Masks and African Mask Making using an athletic sock, oil pastel, feathers, glitter glue, sequins and yarn.

Spring Portfolio Drawings of flowers and trees

Our final two pieces from the Art Adventures Program’s- Let’s Celebrate Life! Series.

California Artist Tony Berlant’s Tzedaka Box made in 1988 out of metal, plywood and steel.

Chinese ceremonial gate made in 1728 of hand-carved tile.

Upcoming project – Passover illustrated and laminated Song: Ehad Me Yodeah?

Important Upcoming Date!!!

Minneapolis Institute of the Arts Field Trip Wednesday is May 16 and Thursday May 17. Parent permission slips will be emailed home. The specific tour time will be on the slip. Students need written permission to go on the field trip. We encourage parents to meet us at the Institute of Arts ten minutes before the field trip if they wish to help chaperone. Please RSVP to Aimee Orkin if you can come help chaperone our tour.

Special thanks to the Sharon Lerner Visual Arts Fund, donated by the Posada and Lerner Families, for funding this amazing experience!

Library – Ms. Oskow

The library buzzed with excited students at the Scholastic Book Fair March 25-30. We earned more than $2,200 in profit for the HMJDS library budget. In addition, we took $1250 worth of books directly from the Fair for students’ immediate use, and earned $400 in book vouchers for more materials to order to complement classroom materials. Students are already excitedly checking out new books. People also donated books directly from the book sale to the classrooms or library.

A big thank you to the Book Fair Chairs, Beth Jasco, Ellen Berkelhamer, and Micki Litton, for all of your hard work!

And thank you to all of the great volunteers:

Judy Finkelstein, Gail Freedman, Michelle Gendlin, Alyssa Golob, Diane Greenberger, Michael Keller, Wendy Khabie, Becky Madigan, Melissa Mark, Emer O’Connor-Keller, Mark Roth, Laura Schmieg, Heidi Schneider, Beckie Skelton, Lisa Villalta, Kim Kotzen Wear, Lauren Weiser, and Dana Beth Weisman.

And student volunteers:

Talia H., Daniel H., Felicia & Haley J., Liang J., Avia K.-R., Chyna L.-L., Isaac M., Talia N., Ora R., Emmy S., and Zachariah W.S.

Teachers and Students Win Prizes in Book Fair Drawing

Two Grand Prize winners won $25 in Book Fair merchandise for the student, and $25 for his or her teacher to pick out books for the classroom: Sammie W. and Ms. Dorman/Schochet, Josh M. and Ms. Norton. Twenty-two other students in grades K-8 won posters. Students entered another drawing by creating a poster about a favorite book on a pineapple-shaped paper. Sydney W. won $25 worth of books from the Fair in that contest.

Hunger Games Mockingjay Pin Raffle

A limited-edition Hunger Games trilogy boxed set at the Book Fair contained a hotly desired Mockingjay pin. Mr. Gawronski and Mr. Portnoe were kind enough to buy boxed sets, keep the books, and donate their pins back for a raffle. Winners of the pins and a Hunger Games poster were pulled on Thursday, April 5.

Thank you to everyone who bought books, donated books or pins, or entered the Mockingjay raffle! Your purchases will enable us to buy many new books to enhance curriculum and aid students’ love of reading, as well as help us to update the library with electronic resources for the 21st Century.

Music – Mr. Shaw

We will continue to develop lessons about the members of the family of instruments. The students will hear all of the different tone colors of each of the instruments from the brass, woodwind, string, and percussion family. We will also be discussing the difference between a band and an orchestra. The students will be working on how to visually and aurally recognize the instruments by name and sound. Either in late April or early May grade two classes will watch a video presentation that is in the genre of historical fiction. Rossini’s Ghost is a wonderful story in which three women learn that friendship, like opera—or great pasta sauce—requires nurturing, patience, and time. In a kitchen in Italy in 1892, little Reliana helps her grandmother Rosalie make pasta sauce. As steam swirls magically through the kitchen Reliana finds herself transported though time back to a theater in Rome nearly 50 years earlier. During the story the students will hear an overture, as well as many arias from the opera, all with a storyline that keeps coming back to the value of friendship.

Featured Concepts and Understandings in Music Class Lessons:

• Evaluate music and music performances.
• Gain an understanding of the decision making process that musicians encounter when creating original music.
• Gain an understanding of musical style.
• Listen, analyze, and describe music.
• Understand music in relationship to history and culture.

Physical Education – Mr. Lindquist

Greetings Second Grade Parents,

I enjoyed meeting with you at spring conferences and sharing fabulous Fitness Testing results. In case we didn’t have a chance to connect at conferences, fitness results will be presented on report cards as well. As the school year draws to a close there are some wonderful events to look forward to, including Fitness Week!

What’s Going On?

Your first grader is in the middle of our volleyball unit. We started out learning and practicing eye-tracking and striking skills using balloons and beach balls. Students started out performing individual and cooperative partner skills. They were given many different volleying challenges using different body parts. During the second half of volleyball students will be taught a modified volleyball game where they will learn conventional positioning, player rotation, and scoring.

What’s Next?

After volleyball we will venture outside (weather permitting) to play soccer in addition to a variety of assorted games. Earlier in the school year we played different versions of line soccer, but this spring the games will be closer to official soccer. Students will play different positions and know the difference between offense and defense.

Please be aware that Fitness Week is penciled in for the week of May 28. Look for volunteering opportunities.

Technology – Ms. Olson

Typing and formatting is FUN!

In third grade, students begin learning how to type properly. As second graders prepare for this challenge there are things that we can do to help them get ready. In the coming month we will be working in Microsoft Word to learn some formatting. Students will also be learning a lot about how to sit at the computer, using both hands to type, and beginning to learn where the keys are on the keyboard. As students develop these important skills, they will be getting a little glimpse of what they will be doing next year.

General Studies – Ms. Goldblatt

Biographies: Developing Non-Fiction Reading and Paragraph Writing Skills

Students will be continuing to develop their reading and writing skills through the completion of the biography research project. We will spend much of March determining what facts are important, summarizing them, and organizing them. Next, students will synthesize this information into well developed paragraphs that feature a topic sentence, strong transitions, and a clincher. Some of the topics researched include early life, accomplishments, and character traits of the subject of their biography. The final product will be the creation of a large artistic representation of their biography subject in their traditional attire. The report will fit inside the clothing. Look for directions to be coming home soon to make the body.

Comparing and Contrasting Shelters: a Science and Social Studies Experience

In March, students will be beginning to apply the information we have learned this year about properties of material and matter. They will learn about the relationship between objects and the materials used to make them. Through discussions and experiments, the children will discover that the properties of a material make it ideal for some uses and less ideal for others. For instance, students will be asked to decide whether metal would be a good material for a window or string would be a good material for a chair? They will explore using materials to build towers, and even a house that can withstand the big bad hairdryer.

Students will be using these principles of science to help them understand the variety of shelters used by pioneers in Minnesota including dugouts, sod houses, and log cabins. They will learn about the typical interior and exterior of these homes and the challenges of living in these types of homes. Students will discover that climate, location, natural resources, and the wealth and makeup of the family are key factors in determining the type of home built by families moving to Minnesota in the 1850s.

In March students will be completing Unit 7 math. They will concentrate on number patterns, computational skills, complements of tens, and the application of mathematics through the use of data. They will continue to use the 100-grid to support their numeration skills and explore patterns of doubling and halving numbers, which will help prepare them for continued work with multiplication and division. Children will also collect and work with real-life data about animals, adults, and themselves. For example, they will collect data by measuring the lengths of their standing long jumps and then find the median jump length for the class.

Students will also begin Unit 8 which reviews and extends concepts of fractions. Specifically, they will recognize fractions as names for parts of a whole. Children will learn that many different fractions can name the same quantity. Students will also explore relationships among fractions as they work with pattern-block shapes and Fraction Cards that show shaded regions.

To work with your child on the concepts taught in this unit, try these activities:

• Review fraction notation. For example, ask: “In a fraction, what does the number on the bottom (the denominator) tell you?” “What does the number on the top (the numerator) tell you?”
• Draw a picture of a rectangular cake, a circular pizza, or a similar food (better yet, have the real thing). Discuss ways to cut the food to feed various numbers of people so each person gets an equal portion.
Read a recipe and discuss the fractions in it. For example, ask: “How many one fourth cups of sugar would we need to get 1 cup of sugar?”
• Compare two fractions and tell which is larger. For example, ask: “Which would give you more of a pizza one eighth or one fourth?”

Hebrew and Judaics – Ms. Etzion

Welcome back to school! Second graders completed their Purim curriculum and celebrated the holiday of Purim school wide as well as in their classroom. We will now begin our study of Passover, in which the story of Exodus will be taught at grade level Hebrew. Passover Seder rituals as well as traditions and mitzvoth will be covered as well. This unit will be studied until Passover break.

The students are very excited to be completing their Ari-ot workbook. Once they have learned how to correctly form all cursive letters. We will celebrate with an Ari-ot party. More details to follow. This month the students will be focusing on creative writing. We are trying to expand on sentence writing and using as many descriptive words in our sentences. The students are learning how to write grade level paragraphs. They are quite excited and confident to be writing in Hebrew! This of course has come with hard work and determination.

The students are preparing for the YOM HASIDDUR performance, scheduled for March 19 at 7 p.m. Please mark your calendars!

Looking forward to seeing everyone!

Hebrew – Ms. Taragan

The second grade students love their Hebrew textbook Kriyah V’od by Shahar and Rena Yonai. The stories and dialogues are performed as Hebrew skits in front of their peers. They read a story called “Ema Holah” (Mother is sick). The story tells of little Tziporah coming home and finding her mother sick in bed. Tziporah takes care of her sick mother by bringing her hot milk and comforting her. The students not only read the text with expression, but continued to embellish with the dialogue spontaneously in Hebrew. The students enjoy using props while performing the stories. The students carefully “track” one another reading the various Hebrew stories. The Hebrew stories will continue to be sent home at the end of the week. Your children are very conscientious about doing their Hebrew homework. Thank you for listening to your child read the stories and signing the Hebrew homework. The students are also continuing to hone their writing skills in Hebrew script. The students are feeling more and more confident with both their Hebrew writing and reading. I am very proud of the students’ accomplishments!

Art – Ms. Orkin

Students completed drawing a still-life of a toy from observation, using pencil and oil pastel. They then played with the toys. It is amazing how detailed their drawings are!

Students created African masks after studying about an African Plank mask on their second installment of the Art Adventures program.

Students created Purim sock puppets. They drew emotions on the face and painted it. Then they added hair and hat and put a costume on their puppet. Students then decorated the puppets with pom poms, sequins, and oogley eyes.

Upcoming projects include:

We are in the midst of our third installment of the Minneapolis Institute of Art’s Art Adventures curriculum on the theme “Let’s Celebrate Life!”

Students looked at:

A Lakota Native American women’s dress from 1880 and an Indian sculpture of Shiva Nataraja from the late 10th century.

Our project will be a beading mosaic picture of Native American Indian design.

Our Passover project will be a painted afikomen napkin for the middle matzah to be hidden in.

Happy upcoming holidays!!

Ms. Orkin

Library – Ms. Oskow

HMJDS Scholastic Book Fair March 25-30!!

Biggest fundraiser of the year for the library

Books available for preschool through adults at Scholastic’s discounted prices. 25% of money collected goes to the library.

Book Fair Hours:

Sunday, March 25 - 9:00 AM-1:00 PM

Monday, March 26 - 8:00 AM-7:15 PM – HMJDS Class Preview Day

Tuesday, March 27 - 8:00 AM-7:15 PM – HMJDS Class Preview Day

Wednesday, Mar. 28 - 8:00 AM-8:00 PM – HMJDS Conferences PM

Thursday, March 29 - 8:00 AM-7:15 PM – HMJDS Conferences PM

Friday, March 30 - 8:00 AM-4:00 PM

Student Preview Days

Each HMJDS class visits the Book Fair Monday, March 26 or Tuesday, March 27. Students write a Wish List of books and may buy books.

Teacher Wish Lists

Teachers post Wish Lists and families can buy books or Gift Certificates to dedicate for classrooms, specialists, or the library.

Contests to Win Free Books

Parents or adult relatives can enter their students in a drawing anytime they stop by the Book Fair together through Thursday, March 29 (once per student). On Thursday, March 29, two students’ names will be drawn to win $25 worth of books—and a winning student’s teacher also chooses $25 worth of books! Students’ names are drawn for other prizes, too.

Additional drawing: for students who design posters celebrating their favorite book to decorate the library. Posterboard available from Ms. Oskow. Posters due by March 22.

Visit the Book Fair Online

http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/homepage/hmjds

The Online Book Fair:

• allows your child to send wish lists, and invite family and friends to participate in the Book Fair
• offers an expanded book selection – books for all ages, even adult titles
• is available for an extended time: Monday, March 19 to Sunday, April 8.

Volunteers Needed For Book Fair

• Set up the Book Fair on Friday, March 23
• Tear down the Book Fair on Monday, April 2
• Staff the Book Fair during open hours

Please contact Book Fair Chairs Micki Litton, Beth Jasco or Ellen Berkelhamer – or sign up on the sheet that will be posted outside the library.

Music – Mr. Shaw

During the month of March we will be reviewing the different parts of notes so students can continue composing their own rhythms. We will spend time in class practicing how to draw whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, eighth notes, and the quarter rest. We will use these rhythms to write four measure compositions. Children will then use these rhythmic compositions as material to play on non-pitched percussion instruments. I am hoping that these compositions will be ready for the students’ music portfolios so you can see your child’s composition skills at spring conferences. I also anticipate that we may work on the concept of musical style and how the same song can sound quite different depending on musician’s interpretation.

Featured Concepts and Understandings in Music Class Lessons:

• Read lyrics from song sheets.
• Use solfege (Curwen) hands signals to indicate melodic direction.
• Develop the competency to perform music through modeling.
• Gain an understanding of musical style.
• Identify appropriate song styles.
• Read and write visual symbols that indicate rhythm.

Physical Education – Mr. Lindquist

Greetings Second Grade Parents,

I hope everyone had a meaningful Sh’vat. In my lower school classes we recognized Tu b’ sh’vat by incorporating the holiday theme into our warm-up activity. I also hope that you have been enjoying Adar!

What’s Going On?

Your second grader just finished their rope jumping unit and is now participating in gymnastics. This year we will use the balance beam, vault and the handstand spotter.

In the beginning the balance beam height will be 30 inches. It will be raised six to twelve inches during the course of the unit. Students will be introduced to different balance beam challenges to create two to three different skills in their balance beam routine. This includes the dismount onto the crash mat while landing on their feet without dropping to their knees.

In vaulting students will learn the proper approach to the spring board, hurdle onto two feet and either tuck or straddle over the 24-36 inch vault.

Handstands will be introduced using the wall for support. If your student is capable of supporting their own weight they will be able to use the back handspring spotter.

Please be aware that Fitness Week is penciled in for the week of May 21 so look for volunteering opportunities!

Technology – Ms. Olson

How Do I Find GREAT Websites For My Second Grader?

Have no fear… HMJDS is here! It just so happens that at school your child uses our custom Portaportal website to find safe and age level appropriate websites that are also interesting, educational and fun! If you don’t already have the HMJDS Portaportal set up on your home computer, please follow these instructions:

• Go to www.portaportal.com
• Along the right side you will see a field in a box labeled Guest Access. Click in the box and type hmjds.
• Once hmjds is typed, click visit.

It’s that simple and now your child will be able to access all of the websites that we work on in school and even try out some others… You may even sneak back into the first grade list for some fun games they used to play or up to the grade three list to try something more challenging.

The HMJDS Portaportal site is updated periodically when a new website comes to our attention that we feel is important to share with students. If you know of a site that you feel we should know about and possibly add to the Portaportal, please contact me and I will consider it for addition to our Portaportal.

General Studies – Ms. Goldblatt

Biographies: Developing Deeper Reading Comprehension, Note Taking, and Reporting Skills

As we begin the month of February, students will be completing their exploration of nonfiction texts through the biography genre. Having read a variety of texts about people across many ways of life, the students will choose one person on whom to focus. They will read one biography of this person and they will be writing a report on this person’s life. In developing the report, students will learn the following skills:

• distinguish between the main idea and supporting details in a non fiction text
• summarize information using Post-it notes
• write a paragraph with a topic sentence.

Students will focus on identifying important events that shaped their person’s life and recording them in sequential order, recognizing the person’s accomplishments, and inferring character traits about the person.

Examining Pioneer Times: a Science and Social Studies Experience

At Curriculum Night, students had a wonderful time exploring:

• ways to change a liquid to a solid while making butter
• mixtures while creating their perfect lemonade
• games played by pioneer children

In February, students will continue to explore the life of pioneers in Minnesota. We will wrap up our exploration of the food of this time period. Some highlights of this unit include:

• making ice cream and/or popsicles
• creating our own version of Stone Soup
• learning about preserving foods.

Next, we will begin to focus on the shelters used by pioneers. The housing of this time period includes dugouts, a simple house built into a hill, sod homes, and log cabins. Students will have an opportunity to build one type of shelter in an integrated unit with their art class.

One of the most exciting things about our pioneer unit is that students are learning many concepts of physical science while investigating the mid 1800s. For instance, students will have the opportunity to compose and decompose several mixtures of solids and liquids. They will also be discovering the importance of understanding the property of a material selected for an item. For example, students will discover that homes made out of sod often did not withstand heavy downpours.

Investigating Geometry

Excitement is in the air as children begin our new unit of study, geometry. Studying geometry helps develop spatial sense and the ability to represent and describe the world. In this unit of study, children will consider five basic kinds of 3-dimensional shapes: prisms, pyramids, cylinders, cones, and spheres. They will sort the shapes, while exploring similarities and differences among them, as well as become familiar with both the names of shapes and the terms for parts of shapes. Children will also study polygons, or 2-dimensional shapes that form the flat surfaces of prisms and pyramids, as they look for examples in real life. Later in the unit, children will explore line symmetry as they experiment with folding 2-dimensional shapes and matching the halves. Children will also cut out shapes and look for lines of symmetry in each shape. Some of the vocabulary introduced in this unit include: line segment, angle, parallel lines, polyhedron, face, vertex, and ray.

Hebrew and Judaics – Ms. Etzion

The story of Purim will be read to the students in Hebrew.

• Many additional Hebrew vocabulary words will be taught this month, in addition to many Purim songs.
• The traditions, as well as the mitzvoth of Purim, will be discussed throughout the month.
• We will celebrate Purim in class, as well as school wide activities, as soon as we return from mid-winter break.

We will start rehearsing for Yom HaSiddur performance, working on all the prayers in the Siddur and learning their meanings. Please mark your calendars for March 19, 2012 for the Yom HaSiddur performance.

We will be learning the following letters in cursive: Lamed, Tzadee and Tzadee Sofet, and Ayin.

Hebrew – Ms. Taragan

Wow!!!! The second grade students will soon be completing the second book in the three-part-series Kriyah V’od by Shahar and Rena Yonai. The humorous stories and dialogues are thoroughly enjoyed by the students. They continue to perform Hebrew skits in class in front of their peers. A favorite skit was about a mailman delivering a letter to Ziva from her grandfather. The students used props while performing this story for their peers. The students carefully “track” one another reading the various Hebrew stories. The Hebrew stories and dialogues are later sent home. The students are very conscientious about doing their Hebrew homework. Thank you for listening to your child read the stories and signing the Hebrew homework. Their Hebrew reading has tremendously improved throughout year. The students are also learning to write the Hebrew letters in script. The students are feeling more and more confident with both their Hebrew writing and reading.

I am very proud of the students’ accomplishments! Kol Hakavod!

Art – Ms. Orkin

What we’ve been doing in art this month…

• Learned about our first Minneapolis Art Institute Art Adventures art work; The Birthday Party by John Singer Sargent, 1887, and The Blessing of the Tuna Fleet at Groix by Paul Signac, 1923
• Tu B’shvat crayon engravings of trees from Israel

Upcoming units of study include…

• Our next two pieces of study on the theme of “Let’s Celebrate Life” from the MIA will be a painted wooden African Plank mask created in 1960 and a wooden Kundu drum from New Guinea.
• Creating Purim groggers (noisemakers)
• Sculpting shelters and painting with glaze
• Purim sock puppets

Parents, please send in a labeled large white athletic tube sock for your child’s sock puppet in the next week! Also we need cardboard toilet paper tubes for our Purim groggers.

Library – Ms. Oskow

In February, they learn about:

• 500’s – books about Science, including math, astronomy, Earth science, biology
• 600’s – books about Applied Science and Technology, which include books about the human body, inventions, vehicles, farms, pets, and cooking

They also are introduced to Easy Chapter Books about related topics, such as pets.

Last month when they learned about the 300’s—books about Social Sciences (which I explained as “groups of people, and how they get along together”)–second graders enjoyed the special sub-section 398: Folk and Fairy Tales.

HMJDS Scholastic Book Fair Coming March 25-30!!

Biggest Library Fundraiser

The Scholastic Book Fair runs Sunday, March 25 – Friday, March 30. It is the single biggest fundraiser of the year for the library. Books will be available for all ages from preschool through adults, at Scholastic’s discounted, tax-free prices. Shoppers can make purchases for themselves as well as consider donations directly to the library or to HMJDS classrooms. 25% of all money collected will go to the library.

Look for more information following Mid-Winter Break.

Volunteers Needed For Book Fair

Volunteers are needed to help:

• set up the Book Fair on Friday morning, March 23
• tear down the Book Fair on Monday morning, April 2
• staff the Book Fair during the hours it is open

Please contact Book Fair Chairs Micki Litton, Beth Jasco or Ellen Berkelhamer – or sign up on the sheet that will be posted outside the library after Mid-Winter Break.

Music – Mr. Shaw

During the upcoming month students will demonstrate that they are ready to learn how to play the melody to “Plant a Tu BiSh’vat Tree” on the Orff instruments. The students may even play a two-part layered harmony accompaniment to the song. This is challenging for students, as they have to keep a steady beat while other parts play different rhythms and pitches at the same time. I had not anticipated that they would be ready for this level of playing, and I am very impressed by how well they are progressing with more advanced playing techniques. Also during the month, we will be learning how to play more melodies to songs like “It’s Time to Wake Up,” which is a song that highlights information about Groundhog’s Day in the lyrics. Toward the very end of month and when we come back from mid-winter break, we should have a lot of fun when we start working on songs for Purim, such as Hag Purim, Ani Purim, and Mishenihnas Adar.

Featured Concepts and Understandings in Music Class Lessons:

• Sing and play songs that vary in tempo.
• Read simple rhythm patterns that include combinations of half notes, quarter notes, quarter rests, and paired eighth notes using standard music notation.
• Distinguish melodic features: high, middle, and low tones; and melodic direction.
• Read visual symbols that indicate rhythm and pitch.
• Develop the competency to perform music through modeling.
• Learn varied accompaniment patterns.
• Play accompaniment patterns to multi-chord songs.

Physical Education – Mr. Lindquist

I’m happy to say that we made it through the floor hockey unit unscathed and now have switched from competitive team activities to individual challenges such as gymnastics and rope jumping.

What’s Going On?

In gymnastics your second grader begins with strength and balance challenges on the floor mats. They learn about body lines and the importance of rigidity in maintaining balance and control. To assure success at all levels we begin with very basic movements to learn and practice these elements. Students then will proceed cautiously and at their own speed. I’m a firm believer in learning skills in stages, and would never make a student try a skill without proper lead-ups, or do something they are not capable of doing. Our floor challenges begin with basic log rolls to learn controlled rigid body movements. We then add balance into that theme, as it is the root of body control. We carry that theme into the apparatus skills that include the balance beam, vault, and the back handspring spotter. On the balance beam the second graders are required to create a 4-5 skill routine that includes a dismount that they try to “stick.” The balance beam starts out 30 inches high and is raised during this unit to 38 inches, which is very challenging for most students. The vaulting box height mimics the balance beam, starting out at one level and then adding a second or maybe a third.

What’s Next?

Volleyball!

Technology – Ms. Olson

Tick Tock… We’re Almost Done With Tickatok!

We are nearing the end of our traditions project in technology. I’ve enjoyed this project because it’s really the first long term project that second graders get to work on in the lab. It allows them to really get to know a program well and work with it at their own pace. In the coming month, we should be putting our finishing touches on the writing and inserting the pictures that parents have sent in or that students have drawn. If you still haven’t sent in photographs illustrating your child’s traditions, please feel free to email them to me jolson@hmjds.org with your child’s teacher’s name and his/her name listed in the subject line.

Once these projects are complete you will be impressed with the hard work your child has put forth and how important your family traditions are to them. You might even be surprised by some of the things that have made an impression on your child. I know I have seen some beautiful writing and some very special memories written about too!

General Studies – Goldblatt

Exploring Life in Minnesota during the mid1800s: an Integrated Science and Social Studies Project

Students are very excited to have begun investigating what life was like when the state of Minnesota was just being formed. Over the next few months, students will be immersed in many hands on projects that will explore the challenges of living in this time period. In particular, they will learn about the food, clothing, housing, and transportation of this era.

Through the food portion of this unit, students will be learning more about the states of matter. They will be studying how to change the state of matter by making butter and ice cream like the pioneers. Next, students will be learning what a mixture is and how to separate mixtures by making lemonade, and soup.

Biographies: A Tool for Learning to Read Nonfiction Texts

In January, students will be exploring the genre of biographies. They will be reading a variety of books that engage them in stories about real people who have done remarkable things. Through this study, students will be developing new strategies for reading nonfiction books. They will be encouraged to pause frequently while reading, and jot down their thoughts and questions. Students will learn to determine the key ideas in a text and separate it from the details. Finally, they will be applying the character traits they learned in our realistic fiction unit to the real life characters in their biographies.

Expressing Your Opinion in Writing Workshop

Writing workshop this month will focus on persuasive writing. Students will be given the opportunity to be a critic and write a variety of reviews about topics they are passionate about. They may choose to review books, movies, restaurants or even video games. This unit will help second graders to recognize that they have a voice and that writing can be a great vehicle to share what they think with others. Students will be taught to write with great detail and to use strong examples that will convince others of their argument.

Mathematics: Whole-Number Operations and Number Stories

In our next unit of study, children will take another look at the addition and subtraction diagrams that were introduced in the previous unit: parts-and-total diagrams and change diagrams to help them organize information in addition stories, as well as articulate their problem solving strategies by sharing algorithms. Later in this unit, children will develop their understanding of multiplication and division as they: act out number stories using manipulatives and arrays, complete diagrams to show relationships in multiplication problems, and then begin to record corresponding number models. To help reinforce concepts taught in this unit and in previous units, please try these interesting and rewarding activities:

• Have your child show you how making an array or making equal groups can help solve multiplication number stories. Use common objects such as buttons or pennies to act out the number stories.
• Also try the opposite: Draw or make arrays and multiples of equal groups. Have your child create and solve number stories to go with them.
• Discuss equal-sharing (division) stories. For example, use objects (such as pennies) to portray a situation such as the following: We have 7 cookies to divide equally among 3 people. How many whole cookies will each person get? (2) How many cookies will be left over? (1)

Hebrew – Etzion

Calendar Change: PLEASE NOTE – The Yom Ha Siddur Program has been changed to March 19, 2012

As we return to school to begin the second half of our school year, the children seem much more settled in and comfortable in Hebrew.

We continue to use our Shalom Babayit (Hello at Home) book. The chapters we will cover are:

• Different parts of the body
• Clothing, with emphasis placed on winter attire
• Seasons, winter

In addition to doing workbook pages, many supplemental worksheets are completed. We also are learning many new songs, playing educational games, and conducting interactive activities.

We continue to learn more tefillot (prayers) and their meanings.

On Fridays, we use our Shabbat book and learn customs and Shabbat rituals. We will also continue to learn about Parshat Hashavuah (weekly Torah portions) every Friday. The children love to hear the stories; they sit motionless waiting to hear what happens next. They all offer their opinions, ask questions and compare some of the lessons learned to their real life.

Towards the end of January, we will be learning about the Jewish holiday, Tu B’shvat. The students will receive their new Tu B’shvat books. The class will learn about the different parts of a tree and the importance of the holiday and traditions. Students will be taught, new songs, and new vocabulary in Hebrew.

Hebrew – Taragan

It is so wonderful having the second graders back at the Minneapolis Heilicher Jewish Day School after the winter break. They came back enthusiastically to resume their Hebrew studies after a fun-filled winter break.

The students love reading with partners in class. They continue to perform Hebrew skits in class in front of their peers from their text book Kriyah V’od. They carefully “track” one another reading the various Hebrew stories. The Hebrew stories are later sent home. Thank you for listening to your child read the stories and signing the Hebrew homework. Their Hebrew reading has tremendously improved this year. The students are learning to write the Hebrew letters in script. The students are feeling more and more confident with both their Hebrew writing and reading.

I am excited to hear their Hebrew skills continue to improve throughout the year.

Art

Lifedrawing and Costume drawing from Observation

Upcoming units of study include…

The Art Adventure program from the Minneapolis Institute of the Arts is a curriculum our school has integrated into our lower school art program for the past decade. It begins this month and continues through May, when we will take a field trip to the museum to see the eight art pieces we studied in depth in class.

Once a month, we will study two art pieces from diverse cultures and time periods. This year’s theme is “Let’s Celebrate Life.” It looks at eight objects to explore ways that people commemorate special times in their lives. Whether it is the festive atmosphere of a communal holiday, the solemn ceremony of a sacred ritual, or a private moment to mark a personal milestone, celebrations bring people together. The artworks in this series highlight the similarities and differences in how and why humans celebrate.

• Observing and drawing feelings in our faces using mirrors
• Toy still life drawing
• Crayon engravings of trees in honor of Tu B’Shvat holiday observance
• Portfolios will be brought home full of artwork for your child to share with you
• Please consider displaying your child’s art work around your home!

Music

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday observance we will learn “Sing About Martin,” “This Little Light of Mine,” and “America, the Beautiful.” The students will be busy continuing to compose four measure rhythms and then have their music performed in class. These compositions use half notes, quarter notes quarter rests, and paired eighth notes. Once a rhythmic composition is written it can be shared with others in the room. By using cooperative learning groups students will experience how their piece can sound different on pitched and non-pitched instruments. As winter continues in Minnesota we will be singing songs that reflect the season. Echo songs like “Snowflakes” and “Climbing Up the Mountain” shall certainly bring a musical chill into the air through song in the music room. To continue our frosty winter theme in class we may sing “The Winter Wind.” We will be returning to playing Orff instruments in the very near future so that we can accompany ourselves while we sing.

Featured Concepts and Understandings in Music Class Lessons:

• Sing songs that vary in tempo.
• Use solfege (Curwen) hand signals to indicate pitch.
• Sing longer composed songs in A-B-A form.
• Read lyrics from song sheets.
• Develop the competency to perform music through modeling.
• Read simple rhythm patterns that include combinations of half notes, quarter notes quarter rests, and paired eighth notes using standard music notation.
• Read visual symbols that indicate rhythm and pitch.

Physical Education

I hope you enjoyed the holidays with family and friends. It is great to hear from your child about the time you spent away from school and the places you visited.

What’s Going On?

We are in the second period (hockey term joke) of Floor Hockey, which is the first of our striking units. The second graders are using Pillow Polo Paddle sticks and are getting more competent at striking a moving object. We began participating in a variety of drills and modified games, during which they learned the difference between forehand and backhand striking. The latter part of the unit is where they play games and learn the value of teamwork while improving their hand-eye coordination.

What’s Next?

Gymnastics and Rope Jumping are the next units on the horizon. This is refreshing for students who need a break from competitive games. This is where your student works individually on understanding and improving body core strength, balance, and flexibility. In second grade we begin on the floor mats with simple body challenges that require strength and balance, in addition to partnering skills. We then move into the apparatus skills. The rope jumping unit works on timing and coordination in addition to greatly improving aerobic fitness. Students begin taking on the challenges of performing different jumping patterns associated with feet placement and tandem partner jumping using varying rope lengths. Students always enjoy these units!

Technology

Special Traditions!

I have been amazed at the fun traditions that I am reading about in the second grader’s traditions books! They are taking their understanding of paragraph and descriptive writing to the computer and are learning tons of tricks along the way. This month we will continue with this exciting project and will also learn how to upload pictures as well. What I love about this project is how many different skills they are incorporating into one project. Not only are they learning how to write in class, but they are amazingly skilled at inputting that information into the Tikatok program. When there are mistakes, they are learning how to move the cursor and edit their work and are learning how to read for edits as well. Beyond that, they are learning the basics of design: choosing background colors, font colors, and positioning elements on the page in a thoughtful way. I’m sure that when you see your student’s books you will be amazed with what they’ve learned AND what they can now do as a result!

Some students have taken Tikatok to the next level making their own books at home on this powerful and fun program! Ask your child to see their progress and we all know you’ll love the finished result!

General Studies – Goldblatt

In the Reading Studio: Book Club Conversations

We will continue to use the structure of book club conversations to support differentiated instruction, by targeting specific strategies within clubs. Children will continue to deepen their comprehension by:

• lifting levels of inferring about characters
• providing relevant textual evidence
• comparing and contrasting characters and themes

It is our hope that during this unit of study, children will create buzzings about books, as they continue to make connections with characters; igniting an interest that results in children wanting to know everything about the characters; compelling them to read longer and stronger to discover the delightful details!!

In the Writing Studio: Realistic Fiction Writing

We will continue working on our realistic fiction writing this month. Children will work on planning their writing, while using strategies that will be introduced in new mini-lessons and revisited from previous work. Children will continue to enrich and extend their writing by:

• developing characters
• creating settings that support events in their writing
• taking the reader through a series of events that create a plot
• presenting problems for their characters to face
• finding solutions to their characters’ problems and cleverly incorporating into their writing

We will look to familiar authors and our surroundings for inspiration in our writing. Children will have the opportunity to start many realistic fiction pieces and select which seed stories will blossom into wonderful works of writing. As they plot and plan their writing, they will learn that revision is an ongoing process, helping to paint a picture in the readers’ minds as characters and events seemingly come to life. This unit will give children an opportunity to choose how each story will unfold, while continuing to work on their writing skills which we have been developing since last year. They will work closely with their writing buddies to share ideas, increase the quality of their writing and help their writing grow and glow!! Children will select one piece of realistic fiction from their collection to prepare for publishing, by adding:

• polish: conventions (capitals, ending marks, punctuation, language FUNdamentals)
• pizzazz: bold beginnings ~ mighty middles ~ exciting endings

Mathematics: Developing Mental Math Skills

In Unit 4, children will use addition and subtraction stories to develop mental mathematical skills. Mental math is computation done in one’s head or by drawing pictures, making tallies, or using manipulatives (i.e. counters, money, number lines, and number grids.) They will use parts-and-total diagrams and change diagrams to help them organize information in addition stories, as well as articulate their problem solving strategies by sharing algorithms. Children will also develop estimation skills by solving problems that involve monetary transactions. For example, your child will estimate whether $5.00 is enough to buy a pen that costs $1.69, a notebook that costs $2.25, and a ruler that costs 89¢. They will continue to gain hands-on experience with thermometers, money, tape measures, and rulers. Children will practice addition and subtraction skills by playing the following games:

• Addition Spin: A “Spinner” and a ”Checker” take turns adding two numbers and checking the sum. After five turns, each player uses a calculator to find the sum of his or her scores. The player with the higher total wins.
• Name That Number: Each player turns over a card to find a number that must be renamed using any combination of five face-up cards.
• Fact Extension Game: Players find sums of 2-digit numbers and multiples of ten

Science: Exploring the States of Matter

In science, we will be wrapping up our investigation of the states of matter. Children will be able to identify whether an object is a solid, liquid, or gas and to describe its properties. Next, they will begin to explore ways of changing the states of matter. Children will conduct scientific experiments:

• Changing a liquid to a solid by changing the temperature (making ice cream)
• Changing a liquid to a solid by emulsifying (making butter)
• Changing a liquid to a gas (indoor rain).

Social Studies: Documenting our Family’s Traditions

Children will continue working on their family traditions project. They are in the process of creating their own e-books through the use of a wonderful website http://www.tikatok.com/ Children will learn to use the hamburger model to write a paragraph with a topic sentence, details, and a concluding sentence.

They will be discovering that every family’s traditions are different, but that there are many similarities between them. They will learn that many of these traditions originated in the cultures of our earlier generations. This will be the link to our next social studies unit – family heritage.

Hebrew – Etzion

What are we going to learn next?

• Students will learn the following letters in script: Shin, Sameh, Kof, Het and Dalet.
• We will start our unit on Hanukkah. We are learning the story of Hanukkah in Hebrew, Hanukkah songs, traditions, blessings, and more Hebrew vocabulary words associated with the holiday.
• The students will receive a new Hanukkah workbook which we are using until winter break.
• This month, our emphasis in T’fillah will be Birkot HaShachar. We will learn one B’rakhah at a time and discuss what it means, and why we say it.
• Every Friday, we continue working in our Shabbat books, practicing the Kiddush, and learning the various traditions for Erev Shabbat.

We are also practicing our song for the Hanukkah performance which is on December 20 at Adath Jeshurun at 7 p.m.

Hebrew – Taragan

WOW!!!!! The second grade students completed their first book in the three part series Kriyah V’Od….Limud Hakriyah, Havanat Hanikrah V’habaah Baal Peh U’bichtav by Shahar and Rena Yonai. The students are so excited that they will soon begin the second book of the series! The second book introduces the vowels hirik and holem and reinforces kamatz, patah, hataf-patah and shevah.

The students love reading with partners in class. They continue to perform Hebrew skits in class in front of their peers. They carefully “track” one another reading the various Hebrew stories. The Hebrew stories are later sent home. Thank you for listening to your child read the stories and signing the Hebrew homework.

The students are also learning the Hebrew letters in script. They are doing a great job with this new skill. Kol Hakavod!

The students continue to ask one another questions in class. Some of the questions are:

• Aizeh hag ata/at achi ohev/ohevet? – What is your favorite holiday?
• Aizeh ohel ata/at ahi ohev/ohevet? – What is your favorite food?
• Aizeh sport ata/at achi ohev/ohet? – What is your favorite sport?
• Aizeh sefer ata/at achi ohev/ohevet? – What is your favorite book?
• Aizeh seret ata/at achi ohev/ohevet? – What is your favorite movie?

The students are becoming more and more confident with their Hebrew reading, speaking and writing! I am very proud of them!

I would like to conclude this newsletter by wishing you and your families a “Hag Urim Sameah”.

Barbara Taragan

Art

What we have been doing in art:

• Visited the Abstract Painting art exhibit by Susan Schaleger at Sabes JCC
• Created abstract textured paintings and abstract painted kippot
• Designed and block printed Hannukah Greeting Cards

Upcoming Art Units are:

• Portfolio self-reflection and sharing
• Drawings of bodies from observation—our “life drawing.”
• Paintings of bodies from observation

Library

In December, second grade library classes will learn about:

• The 300’s of the Dewey Decimal System–books about Social Sciences, explained as “groups of people and how they get along with each other”
• 398, Folk and Fairy Tales–a special section within the 300’s–a real favorite of students and of Skoob the library Shelf Elf
• Hanukkah books
• New easy reading and easy chapter books

Keep Reading Jewish Books Over Hanukkah!

Some suggestions:

• On Hanukkah by Cathy Goldberg Fishman
• Asher and the Capmakers by Eric Kimmel – A Hanukkah fairy tale
• Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins by Eric Kimmel
• Jeremy’s Dreidle by Ellie Gellman (sister-in-law of HMJDS teacher Robert Portnoe)
• The Uninvited Guest by Nina Jaffe
• Letter on the Wind by Sarah Marwil Lamstein
• The Trees of the Dancing Goats by Patricia Polacco
• Chanukah in Chelm by David Adler
• Elijah’s Angel (A Story for Chanukah and Christmas) by Michael J. Rosen

Thank you to all of the grandparents and special people who bought books to donate to our library on Simhat Dor L’Dor!

Music

Hanukkah Program Preparation

Students will spend time preparing for the Hanukkah program by singing many of the traditional songs. The songs the children will learn may include: Hanukkah, Maoz Tzur, Hanukkah, O Hanukkah, Ner Li, S’vivon, and I Have a Little Dreidel. There is a lot of musical content embedded in these familiar holiday songs. We will be studying the concept of melodic direction, which is how notes ascend, descend, or stay the same in musical phrases. The students will also determine which style is appropriate for certain songs; whether a song is meant to be a lullaby, a joyous folk dance, a royal march, or upbeat rock ‘n’ roll. The concept of tempo (how a song can speed up or slow down) will be included in our studies. We’ll also look at how the tempo impacts the mood of a selection. The children will read rhythms from beginning to end for some of the simpler songs. They will be provided with the words in Hebrew as well as English, so they will also have the opportunity to practice their Hebrew reading skills.

Featured Concepts and Understandings in Music Class Lessons:

• Sing songs that vary in tempo.
• Read visual symbols that indicate rhythm and pitch.
• Use solfege (Curwen) hand signals to indicate pitch.
• Distinguish melodic features: high and low tones; and melodic direction.
• Sing longer composed songs in A-B-A form.
• Read lyrics from song sheets.
• Develop the competency to perform music through modeling.

Physical Education – Lindquist

Greetings Second Grade Parents

I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving. It really is a wonderful holiday that bonds family around the dinner table and reminds us how fortunate we truly are.

What’s Next?

We’re just finishing up our basketball unit, during which your second grader improved their ball handling skills. Our next unit will be floor hockey, which is the first of our striking units. In second grade we use Pillow Polo paddle sticks for striking a special Nerf Ball. We then proceed to using floor hockey sticks while wearing protective eye gear. We begin by demonstrating how to grip the stick with separated hands instead of a golf club grip. We teach that in hockey, it is more common for a right-handed person to shoot with their left hand than their right. What’s most important is that they hold the hockey stick in a manner that feels most comfortable for them. Before we play the regulation games, students learn how to control and shoot the puck by participating in a variety of passing drills and modified games. When we begin playing games students will improve their agility and aerobic fitness by reacting and moving quickly in all different directions in relationship to the puck. Floor hockey is a great cooperative group game that teaches teamwork and improves hand-eye coordination. Who knows, this may be the first step in you becoming a hockey parent down the road, like me!

Technology

Tikatok ROCKS!

December will find second graders digging deeper into the Tikatok program. Has your child shown you this yet? Tikatok allows students to create their own amazing looking books. We are using the program to create a book about the traditions described in the pictures students brought in last month. In class, students will write about how the tradition works in their home and then students will take the writing into the lab where they will type it into their book, add pictures, and put their own colors, fonts and designs in to make the book their own creation.

It is important to note that technology integration is very effective to show students that the tools we use for one project can be used in other projects. In fact, as your student is thinking about the special people in their lives as Hanukkah approaches, why not think about creating a Tikatok book? While Tikatok books may be purchased and sent, they are free to view online and look fabulous!

Important Note

If you have not already submitted your child’s pictures digitally, please do so. It is important to have the pictures in a digital format so your child can easily retrieve them from their file and insert them into their book. Please send the image as an attachment in an email to your child’s teacher.

Second graders in Mrs. Goldblatt’s class used Microsoft Word to make amazing looking Acrostic Poems!

Mrs. Goldblatt’s Grand Gatherings

Cozy Connections in the Reading Studio

Children will be enriching their repertoire of strategies for understanding character and plot, by spending time reading books that are part of a series. Reading from collections offers a new palette for children to practice these skills by encountering familiar characters and places, book after book, throughout a series. Children will continue to deepen their comprehension by:

• inferring and predicting
• identifying characters’ attributes
• recognizing patterns in storylines
• thinking across books
• building stamina for reading

It is our hope that during this unit of study, children will find connections with characters in a series. Sparking an interest that results in children wanting to know everything about the characters and needing to read longer and stronger to discover the exciting details!!

Cozy Connections in the Writing Studio

Children will be opening their imaginations as we begin a joyous journey into the whimsical world of writing fiction. Children will continue to be challenged by creating short stories that read like real literature, stories that published authors themselves would craft. We will continue to weave into our writing a myriad of messages we gathered from Kevin Henkes, our mentor author as children explore:

• writing over passing time
• writing bold beginnings, mighty middles and exciting ends that tie the story together
• planning strategies for problems and solutions characters will experience in their stories
• writing stories that unfold bit by bit
• writing with rich details, hoping to paint pictures in the readers’ minds

The stories children create may be rooted in their own experience (see teeny tiny topic notebook seeds of thoughts) or the experiences of others who they know. We will encourage children to write about characters that are their contemporaries, so that they have a wondrous wealth of experiences and emotions to channel into their characters. This unit of study will have a considerable focus on revision, as we continue to pair and share while adding polish and pizzazz to our written works of art!!

Magnificent Mathematical Minds

In Unit 3, children will read, write, and compare numbers from 0 through 999. They will be working on concepts and skills built upon since Kindergarten Everyday Mathematics. Specific skills include:

• place value, or the meaning of each digit in a number
• money concepts including: finding the values of coins, identifying different coin combinations for the same amount, making change
• read and record time using the hour and minute hands on an analog clock

Do-Anytime Activities

To work with your child on the concepts taught in this unit and in previous units, try these interesting and rewarding activities:

• Have your child tell the time shown on an analog clock.
• Draw an analog clock face without hands. Say a time and have your child show it on the clock face.
• At the grocery store, give your child an item that costs less than $1.00. Allow your child to pay for the item separately. Ask him or her to determine how much change is due and to check the change received.
• Gather a handful of coins with a value less than $2.00. Have your child calculate the total value.
• Reinforce place value in 2- and 3-digit numbers. For example, in the number 694, the digit 6 means 6 hundreds, or 600; the digit 9 means 9 tens, or 90; and the digit 4 means 4 ones, or 4.

Science Spotlights: What’s the Matter?!

In science, we will be investigating the states of matter. Students will learn the difference between a solid, liquid, and a gas. Some of the activities we will conduct include:

• exploring the viscosity of liquids by racing a liquid down a ramp
• determining whether a powder is a liquid or a solid
• discovering that even though a gas is usually invisible—it takes up space
• identifying “alien matter” by its properties

Social Studies Highlights: Community Connections – Then and Now

Children will be focusing on traditions in their own family, as they gather meaningful moments. Cross curricular integration will occur, as children learn to incorporate paragraphs into their writing and enjoy a variety of children’s literature to help them understand the development and diversity of traditions in communities. As a culmination to our traditions unit of study, children will be creating their own book that presents traditions shared in their own family.

Hebrew – Etzion

Cursive Writing

We will learn how to write the following letters in script: Resh, Hey, Bet, Vet, Sameh.

• We are learning many new nouns and verbs associated with each letter.
• The students are writing their own sentences each week using newly and already learned words.
• We focus on proper grammar and lengthier sentence writing.
• Each student will write at a level in which they are comfortable.

Shabbat

Each Friday, we study our Shabbat workbook, read Shabbat stories, and learn new songs, rituals, blessings and traditions.

Torah

We have started learning the first book of the Torah; Genesis. We will continue every Friday learning the Parsha for that particular week.

Hebrew Language

In our workbook, Shalom, we learn modern Hebrew vocabulary. Worksheets, vocabulary, stories, games, songs and grammar are incorporated into every chapter. This month our focus will be body parts, and the different seasons, with emphasis placed on Autumn.

As always, please feel free to contact me with any issues or concern.

Michelle

Hebrew – Taragan

It is a sincere pleasure teaching your children Hebrew again. I loved having them in kindergarten Hebrew and now I have the pleasure of working with them in second grade. This year we will be using three books by Shahar and Rena Yonai. The first book is: Reading and More….Learning Reading, Understanding What Is Read and Expressing Oneself Orally and In Written Form.

The students are very excited to be using this book. The students love reading with partners in class. They enjoy performing Hebrew dialogues in front of their peers. They carefully “track” one another reading Hebrew. The students enjoy asking and answering one another questions in Hebrew. Their Hebrew vocabulary continues to grow and grow and grow. Your child is learning to write Hebrew script this year. They are doing a very good job with this new skill.

Your child will be having short Hebrew reading assignments sent home throughout the year. I would appreciate it if you would sign the bottom of the homework sheet after they read the passage. Todah rabah!

It was a pleasure meeting you at conferences and sharing the recordings of your child. I am very proud of their accomplishments and I look forward to a wonderful year of learning together.

Barbara

Art

Harvest Vegetable Still life Drawings in honor of the Sukkot Festival

Second graders drew shapes of vegetables with oil pastel from observation and then added details, blending and highlights and shadows.

Upcoming unit:

• Design and carve into Styrofoam a Hanukkah Greeting card design
• Printmaking Hanukkah Greeting Cards

Library

Second graders learn about the 200’s of the Dewey Decimal System this month, which are books about religion. This fits perfectly with our celebration of National Jewish Book Month, because the 200’s contain plenty of stories from the Torah, stories about holidays, and other Jewish topics.

Students may make a poster celebrating a Jewish book and bring it into the HMJDS library by mid-November to decorate for Book Month. The same poster can be shared with General Studies and the library.

Include on the front of the poster:

• Student’s first and last name
• Student’s grade and first letter of homeroom teacher’s name (e.g. 2-G for Second grade-Goldblatt)
• Title and author of the book
• Colorful picture–student’s own best effort illustrating something from the story
• Any medium, such as crayons, oil pastels, markers, paint, collage
• If the General Studies teacher requires more information on the poster–all the better!

Look for the posters on library walls by mid-November!

Simhat Dor L’Dor Book Sale – Donations to the Library

On Simhat Dor L’Dor Bet, Tuesday, November 22—the day before Thanksgiving Break—from 1:30-3:30, books are available for purchase to donate to our library collection. Students whose grandparent, parent or other special person donates one are given first opportunity to check the book out of the library. Thank you to the families who bought books for donation on Simhat Dor L’Dor Alef!

Happy Reading and Creating!—Cathi Oskow, HMJDS Librarian