Author: Elizabeth Wright

“Be somebody who makes everybody feel like a somebody.” -Kid President

Service Learning is an important part of the character development at our school. Spending time thinking about others, indirectly helps students think about themselves. This year, the second grade class has developed a reoccurring partnership with San Jose Family Supportive Housing (SJ Family Shelter).

In the fall the students worked with their 8th grade buddies to make blankets for the residents. We had the opportunity to take a trip and tour the facility, while also delivering the blankets the students made. It helped the students connect their blanket making to real people. It has brought about many discussions.

While we were there in October, we met with the Volunteer Coordinator, Sara Tran, who expressed the need for travel toiletries for the residents. The second grade students took this need seriously and have collected many toiletries! The students were inspired to sort and graph their collection and this furthered interest in graphing. (More on that in a future post!) Both classes collected over 500 items! They were so proud of their collection and how many people they could help.

At the end of January the second graders met with an 8th grade advisory to make more than seventy

Valentine’s Day cards for the residents at the shelter. Ms. Tran told us that she plans to slip them under the doors of residents on Valentine’s Day. On February 1st, the second grade students and the 8th grade advisory returned to the shelter to deliver the bags and bags of toiletries they collected, the many cards they made, and to decorate the dining room for Valentine’s Day.

We are currently working with Ms. Tran to figure out a project our second grade students can help with in the spring. Open to suggestions!

Thank you to everyone who donated toiletries!

2nd graders have opinions! And lots of them! This is perfect as we move into our newest writing unit: opinion writing!

The Process: 

We started our unit by first identifying the difference between a fact and an opinion. Students sorted different statements they read into two categories: facts and opinions. We also use this language through the day as different facts and opinions come up in order to help students solidify this understanding.

Next students were introduced to the idea of writing an opinion paragraph. We then read a few example second grade level opinion pieces and students noticed some similarities between them. Some of their comments included that they all stated an opinion about something, and they all used the word “because.”

We then discussed the general structure of opinion writing. They have an introduction that hooks the reader and states the opinion. After this, you will find the reasons and examples that support the opinion, complete with transition words. Finally, the conclusion, where the opinion is restated and wrapped up.

Students generated a list of topics they felt they could write their opinion about. These ranged from favorite dessert or movie, to whether they should wear uniforms and reasons their parents should get them a pet!

In opinion writing there are some words or phrases that are used frequently to make a stronger point. Students learned about some of these common sentence starters and transitions.

Here are a few of the sentence starters: 

I think…

I believe….

In my opinion….

____ is better than ___

In my opinion…

Some transitions: 

For example…

Another reason …

In particular…

Next Steps:

For the next phase of the writing unit, we will study each of the different parts of the structure in more detail all while giving the students opportunities to write more opinion pieces about topics of their choosing. We will also have conversations about which reasons are more convincing than others and how to support them.

Further down the road… 

In second grade students are expected to write an opinion paragraph that states their opinion, clearly provides reasons and examples to support it and then wraps it up by restating the opinion. In third grade and beyond, students will be expected to write an opinion essay: an introductory paragraph followed by three supporting paragraphs, one for each reason, and a concluding paragraph.

How can you help out at home? 

If you hear some strong opinions and convincing (or not) arguments supporting them, point these out to your second grader. This might sound like, “Wow! It sounds like you really would like to stay up 15 minutes later tonight. Give me a strong reason and example to support your opinion, and you may get 15 more minutes tonight.” Or maybe at dinner you hear, “I love ice cream!” Gently press your second grader to tell you why, more than just, “it’s yummy.”

Warning: Don’t be surprised if they ask you to support your opinions with strong reasons, too!

In math we have been spending time focusing on place value.
The students learned vocabulary words like digit, word form, standard form and expanded form. They practiced ordering from least to greatest, as well as identifying ones, tens, hundreds and thousands place values in numbers.

Beginning with identifying digits and place values supports students as they move into larger numbers and numbers with decimals.  Being able to identify numbers written as numerals, words, and expanded form helps students to see that five hundred is different than fifty or five, and the value of the digit is dependent on the place it holds in a number.  Using these skills, students have a deeper foundation when it comes to adding multi-digit equations. 

In addition to place value we have also been exploring and naming different addition strategies. Some of the strategies students have examined include: Turn Around Facts, Doubles, Tens Partners. The complete list can be found in the attached photo. 

Students are becoming much more fluent and flexible with their addition facts, which frees up thinking space for more complex mathematical work. We appreciate all of the time and effort required to support this growth at home.

If you are looking for ways to practice addition and subtraction facts with your second graders, here are a few fun ideas:

1. Roll two dice and add them together. (You can increase the difficulty by adding more than two dice or by using dice with more than 6 sides!)
2. Play Yahtzee
3. Play the card game War and add the two cards together
4. Hold two cards, show only one card to your student, but also tell them the sum of the two numbers. Have them figure out the other card.
5. Show a flash card (for example: 4+7) and then do that many of a certain type of exercise. So in this case, 11 pushups/jumping jacks, high knees, etc. Repeat for different facts and exercises. Wear them out AND learn facts! Double win!
6. Point out when you see a fact in use in your daily life and ask your second grader to help you solve it. For example, if you order something from Amazon on Dec. 5 and it says it will be delivered in 7-9 days. What day could it arrive?

What works best for your family to practice addition facts? We would love to hear your ideas!

The second grade students have launched head first into a new unit of study in reading: nonfiction!

The first part of the unit students focused on different text features found in nonfiction texts.

To name a few: titles, bold words, diagrams, photos, and captions. Students read many different kinds of nonfiction texts and noticed how they often looked differently than the fiction texts they read. They pointed out the different features, named them, and discussed the authors purpose for including them.

Next the students made their own short informational book to teach others about nonfiction text features!

Looking at other published texts as a guide, students chose different features from our list to highlight and made a different page for each feature, combining them all into a short book.

Students will continue their reading study of nonfiction texts by making connections to what they read and thinking more deeply about how it helps them understand more completely.

They will also notice when they learn new information from their reading and how it connects to what they already know about the topic.

In addition to further developing their nonfiction reading strategies, students have begun to think about topics they are specialists on and could teach someone else about. This will guide their informational writing.

In just 5 short weeks the second grade students have participated in a variety of service learning experiences, both in the classroom and off campus.

1. On September 11 Hillbrook School as a whole participated in a Day of Service. The second grade students partnered with their 8th grade buddies to make blankets for Project Linus. We began our experience by reading aloud the book, Owen by Kevin Henkes. In the story, the main character, Owen, has a special blanket that helps comfort him wherever he goes. Our mission during this experience was to make 22 blankets for the families at the SJ Family Shelter and offer a bit of comfort during the difficult time in their lives. Parent volunteers helped to gather and prepare materials for the project. Students in both grade levels, as well as some faculty and staff volunteers, then came together and tied knots on the blankets to complete them. Together there were many meaningful conversations about where these blankets were heading, a special “blankie” or “lovey” that helped our students through difficult times, homeless people they had seen, and many more. By the end of the 45 minute period, everyone had improved their ability to tie knots, as well as having had the experience of helping someone by making blankets. A few students were so engaged that they even gave up their recess to continue to tie knots in blankets and construct a plan for how they could make more blankets in the future.
2. That Friday, September 15th, Mr. D. visited the second grade and shared with the students his organization which collects meals every weekend and delivers them to people in need. One of those locations is the SJ Family Shelter, the same place we donated the blankets the students made with their 8th grade buddies. The students were interested in where the meals come from, how he delivers them, what kind of foods he delivers, and much more.

   

   During his presentation, he shared a video of a director from one of the donation sites, that thanked a few of the students for their donation of toiletries they collected during a project in first grade. This prompted more students to be interested in bringing in spare toiletries they had at their house. Our collection is already growing rapidly! We plan to donate these to the SJ Family Shelter at the end of the year.

3. We read another book in class called The Teddy Bear by David McPhail. In this story the main character has ateddy bear that is very special to him and he brings everywhere. It becomes lost one day while his family is at a restaurant and a homeless man ends up adopting it and finding comfort it in. Students shared their experiences with losing a favorite stuffed animal, as well as feelings of sadness for the homeless man who finds it.
4. This week students had the opportunity to visit the SJ Family Shelter and personally deliver the blankets they made a few weeks before. It was a really powerful experience to see the facility.

   

   Students saw the area where residents can get clothes, eat their meals, study and read, and a room that a family may live

   

   They learned that residents can only stay for 90 days and that a case worker will help a family to find a new home and a job during that time. While we were there the students placed a couple of blankets on the beds of a resident who was moving in shortly. The students also shared that we were collecting toiletries. Visiting the shelter helped connect the collection and blanket project to reality. The director shared that their greatest needs are toiletries, new pillows, sheets and blankets, and picture and board books. The students were so excited to share they they could look at home to see what they could donate! When we got back to campus we talked about the experience and what the students learned or what surprised them. Many were surprised that the

   

   rooms for the families were so small and wondered how people could have jobs and/or cars and still become homeless. They shared that they were glad that residents could get breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks in the dining area. Many students shared that they wanted to help out more.

   

5.  in.

In just 5 weeks, it has been an incredibly powerful start to our service learning in 2nd grade!