Forest Ridge Academy
Second Grade Newsletter
Week of November 2 - 6
Native Americans have been the overall focus of much of our curriculum lately, and we have enjoyed every minute! This week, we covered Native Americans who grew up on the Plains and the Midwest. We also talked about how Native Americans keep their traditions alive today. In all of our culture areas that we study, the children learn about tribes that live in each. They learn about the types of home these people lived in, what they did for food, and special facts that separate various culture areas. This week, we finished up pen pal letters that we have sent to Native American children living in reservations throughout the United States. We are curious as to how many replies we will receive. In writing, we wrote persuasive letters from turkeys, encouraging humans not to eat them. These are very cute and are hanging outside of our classroom. Your child designed a “turkey in disguise” to set with their letters. Everyone was very creative! Also in writing, we thought about things that we are thankful to have in our lives. We created shape stories out of the many things we have. During math, we began learning about two-digit subtraction with regrouping. After our field trip next week, we will review and take a chapter quiz.
Next week, we will learn about the Pomo and Miami Indians. We will compare them to the other clans that we have learned about. On Monday's field trip, students will participate in a scavenger hunt, looking for vocabulary we have covered in this unit. We will also take a guided tour of the Pawnee Earth Lodge. Students will learn all about the daily life of the Pawnee. In energy class, we have been tracking the temperature and precipitation for November. We will be relating temperature to climate change and will discuss what we can do about it. We will make a plan that we could put into action this year to make a positive impact on our environment. Next week, we will also continue working on borrowing when the bottom number is bigger (Has your child sang the song to you yet?). Finally, we will put the finishing touches on our Grandparent's Day performances.
During the week of November 16th, we will have a Native American celebration. Students will take part in storytelling, crafts, face painting, and history centered on the information learned in class. Look for more information to come home about this next week. All parents are welcome to attend. Please send in one cereal box that can be used for one of our crafts. We will accept boxes as soon as you can send them. Have a great weekend!