The second graders have been busy getting back into the swing of things after our two-week break. After a long month of biography projects and reports, the students welcomed their vacation. Upon returning, the classrooms were abuzz as they discussed their vacation adventures. It sounds as if a wonderful time was had by all. Now the "Applewild crunch" begins until June!
 
After the break, the children switched reading teachers and each group began a new chapter book to study. Mrs. Buck's group has been reading Dolphins At Daybreak by Mary Pope Osborne; Ms. Reardon's group has been reading Muggie Maggie and Runaway Ralph, both by Beverly Cleary; and Mrs. Grzewinski's group has been reading Little Farm In The Ozarks by Roger Lea MacBride. Once these books are finished, the entire second grade will begin a unit on Aesop's Fables. Please ask your child to share some information with you about the various stories they read. This is an exciting unit, which has excellent tie-ins to Applewild's Values Statement since each fable has a moral to teach. 

After the break, the children also switched math teachers and began a new concept of study. Mrs. Buck's group has been learning about addition with regrouping; Mrs. Grzewinski's group has been learning and reviewing time; and Mrs. Carr's group has been reviewing place value and number facts.
Once these units are completed, the entire second grade will be introduced to multiplication. Based on current brain-development research, it has been found that is more appropriate to teach second graders addition and multiplication, and to save subtraction (regrouping) and division for third grade. So, we will begin Chapter 12 from the second grade program - Understanding Multiplication. The children will learn how to understand this operation and how to write multiplication sentences. We will learn about these new Math words- multiply and product. Then the children will be working on a book entitled 'HOW MANY IN ALL". Each student will contribute a page to the book with a multiplication problem to solve. Each child will then be able to practice the beginning concepts of multiplication by solving problems such as "How many legs can be found on four spiders?" We will move onto the third grade curriculum, which will further develop this concept of multiplication as repeated addition, as well as ask the children to develop strategies for learning their facts 0-10. Information will be sent home about how you can help support this unit at home. Children will be taught specific strategies to help them learn each of the tables. 

After completing our Unit 5 test in Fundations, children will now be working on Units 6-8. Some of the concepts covered in these units will be-Unit 6- review of the vowel-consonant-e syllable, two-syllable words with closed and vowel-consonant-e syllables, compound words and the suffix-ive. Unit 7-open syllable types, y as a vowel, combining open syllables with closed and vowel-consonant-e syllables, and y,ly,ty suffixes. In Unit 8 we learn about r-controlled syllables, sounds of ar and or, combining r-controlled syllables with other syllable types. 

After completing GUM Lessons 9 & 10- Conjunctions and Run-on sentences, children will have a review of Unit 1 and then take our final Unit test for this unit. Then we will collect our books and pass them on to third grade for next year. The second graders only complete Units 1 & 2 this year and Units 3-5 next year. We will then be able to use our extra G.U.M. time once every week for an additional Language Arts time- we certainly will always have plenty of writing to do! 

After reading the "circle stories" If You Give A Mouse A Cookie and If You Give A Pig A Pancake both by Laura Numeroff, children have been composing their own stories. By following the format of a circle story, children have selected an animal and food and have written their own stories. After proofreading, the children will then copy their rough draft into a hard covered book and also will be able to illustrate their story. Then the children will be able to read these original stories on Grandparents/Special Person's Day in May. Second graders will also be working on their "Budding Author" booklet and also poetry for the month of April.

If You Give a Dog a Dumpling
by Lysie Jones
If you give a dog a dumpling, then she'll want some jam to go with it.
If you give her some jam, then she'll get all sticky and that will remind her of glue.
If you give her the glue, then she'll want to make an art project.
When she's done with the art making, then she'll need to clean up in the bathtub.
If you give her a bath, then she'll need a towel to dry off with.
While drying off with the towel, she will be reminded of a swimming pool.
If you take her to the swimming pool, it will remind her of sandcastles.
If you agree to build a sandcastle with her, then she will want to use the sandbox in your backyard.
While you are building a sandcastle in your backyard, she will see the big tree that grows there.
When she sees the big tree, she will get the idea to build a treehouse.
After she builds the treehouse, she will be very hungry and will ask for some jam.
And, chances are, if you give her some jam...
She'll want a dumpling to go with it.

If You Give a Bear Some Bread
by Caroline Miskovsky
If you give a bear some bread, then he will want butter to go with it.
If you give him butter, then he will get all greasy and want to take a bath.
If you let him use your bathtub, then he will want some bubbles to go in it.
When he is done with the bath, he will ask you if he can use your favorite fuzzy towel to dry off with.
If you give him your favorite towel, then it will remind him of the warm hay in his den back home.
If he thinks of his den, then he will want to build another one closer to your house.
If you find him a cave to build a den, then he will want some floor polish to fix up the place.
If you let him use the floor polish, then he will want a broom to sweep up his new shiny floors.
If you give him a broom, then it might have dust left on it from the last time you used it and it will get on the floor of the cave.
If the floor gets dirty again, then he'll ask for some more polish to clean it up again.
If you give him the greasy floor polish, it will remind him of butter and he'll want some.
And, chances are, if you give him some butter...
He'll want some bread to put it on.

If You Give a Bunny a Bun
by Grace Lyons
If you give a bunny a bun, then she'll want some butter to put on it.
If you give her some butter, then she'll get all greasy and she'll need a napkin to clean her face.
If you give her a napkin, then she'll feel all better and want to play.
If you offer to play with her, then she'll ask you to push her on a swing.
After you are finished pushing her on the swing, she'll be thirsty and ask for a drink of water.
If you give her some water, then she'll realize she's tired and want to go to bed.
Once she's in bed, she'll want you to read her a book.
If you read her a book, then she'll look at the pictures and realize that she'd rather do some art than take a nap.
If you get her some art supplies, then she'll want to draw a picture of herself being pushed on the swing.
If you let her draw a swing, then she will want to draw a butterfly too.
While she is drawing the butterfly, she'll be thinking about butter and want some.
And, chances are, if you give her some butter...
She'll want a bun to go with it.

If You Give a Cat a Cucumber
by Madison Lessard
If you give a cat a cucumber, then she'll ask you for some dip.
If you give her some dip, then she'll ask you for a napkin.
If you give her the napkin, it will remind her of a towel. She'll probably want to take a bath.
If you give her a bath, then she'll feel energized and will probably want to go for a walk.
If you take her for a walk, then she'll want to go a little farther and go on a trip.
If you take her on a trip, then she will run into a family of bees and that will remind her of honey.
If you give her some honey, then that will remind her of her friend Bear.
If you suggest you find Bear, she will want to go to Bear's house.
If you take her to Bear's house, then she'll want to have a party.
If you let her have a party, then she'll start a pillow fight.
If you let her have a pillow fight, then she will lead it into the kitchen.
If she takes it into the kitchen, then she will see a vegetable platter on the countertop.
If she sees a vegetable platter, then, chances are...
She'll want a cucumber.

If you Give a Jaguar Some Jellybeans
by Jamie Acieukewitz
If you give a jaguar some jellybeans, then he'll need a drink to go with them.
If you give him a drink, then he'll get it all over himself and he'll need a towel to wipe his face.
If you give him a towel, then he'll remember that he didn't take a bath that morning.
If you give him a bath, then he'll need to blow dry his hair.
If you help him blow dry his hair, then he'll need to get dressed.
If you lend him some clothes, then he'll want to go shopping to get some of his very own.
If you take him shopping, then he'll see a backpack in the store window and he'll want it.
If you buy him a backpack, then he'll want to go to school to show it off.
If you take him to school, then he'll want to go out to recess.
If you let him go to recess, then it will remind him that it will soon be lunchtime and he'll start getting hungry.
If you feed him lunch, then he'll want a drink to go with it.
If you get him a drink, then, chances are...
He'll ask for some jellybeans for dessert.

If You Give a Cheetah a Cake
by Chloe Cyr
If you give a cheetah a cake, then she'll want some candles to go on it.
If you give her some candles, then she'll feel thirsty from all the blowing and she'll want some milk
If you give her some milk, then she'll be reminded of a cow.
If she thinks of a cow, then she'll want to go visit a farm.
If you take her to a farm, then she'll want to ride the fastest horse there.
If she rides the horse, then she'll want to dress up like a cowgirl.
If you dress her up like a cowgirl, then she'll think of the Wild West.
If she thinks of the Wild West, then she'll want to watch a Western movie.
If you watch a movie together, then she'll want to go home and sit by the fireplace.
While she's sitting in front of the fire, she'll be reminded of candles.
And, chances are, if she's thinking of candles...
She'll want a cake to put them in.

The children have been anxious for spring to arrive and, with spring comes the celebration of Earth Day. We'll be discussing Earth Day and how important it is to take care of the earth. We'll also be discussing how each and every one of us can help make the world a healthier and cleaner place.
Second graders will be continuing their Junior Atlas program. After learning about the World, United States, and North America, the children will study South America and Europe. We will also travel to the Highlands for our monthly visit to the Adult Day Care Center.

Jenn Buck
Kathie Grzewinski