First Week in Second Grade!
It has been a great first week of second grade, focusing on community building, meeting new friends, and learning second grade routines.We were all happy to see each other and share our summer experiences on the first day of school.
We ended the week with a special Kabbalat Shabbat where we shared our highlights of the week. Answers included “Making new friends”, “Seeing my friends after a long summer”, “Having our first science”, and more!
Reading
To start our year off we read a lot of wonderful books this week. We explored our classroom library and were detectives during a Library Scavenger Hunt. We worked with a buddy using clues to find different genres of books, or books that looked interesting that we never have read. This activity culminated with choosing a book to read during the week.
We also had time for independent reading and found cozy spots in the classroom to sit and relax with a good book!
Talk to your child about their Scavenger Hunt and the genre and type of books they look forward to reading this year.
Math
We got to know more about each other by a Math About Me activity, which helped us to see how math is around us everyday. Some of the things we learned about each other with using math and numbers were: our birthdays, how many teeth we have lost, addition and subtraction problems, and how many people are in our family. We discovered whose birthday will come first during the school year, and which months will have the most birthdays. We learned a little bit more about each other through our math project!
Take some time to talk at home about how your family uses math and numbers to help your family in everyday situations.
Writing
In class we are continuing to establish ownership and a sense of responsibility over the classroom, developing the classroom community. We worked to together to make create a job chart, and wrote about how each job will help our community. We also played a fun team building game where in groups we had to build a cup tower using only string and a rubber band- no hands allowed! Since we are the Strawberries and Grapes we made individual door signs with our names. We practiced sharing our supplies and watercolors. Our decorated and painted door signs will hang proudly on our classroom door next week!
Social Studies
In social studies this year we will focus on communities in Brooklyn, but for the first week of school we started with our classroom community. We played “our favorites” game, where we learned each other’s favorite ice cream flavor, hobbies, and more. We also used pattern blocks to build a schoolhouse, but the house was filled with all sorts of school-related words we wrote down, then brainstormed other words we know that have to do with school. We played a team building game, where in small groups students have an elastic with pieces of strings attached, and second graders have to stack cups using on the strings and elastic- no hands! Following this activity we discussed how we needed to work together to build the cup tower and compromise- much like the classroom jobs. We learned what are jobs will be for next week and made our job chart together.
Ask your child what job they will have next week!
Science
For our first science class we read “What is Science?” by Rebecca Kai Dotlich and used our imaginations to explore the many subjects a scientist studies. Through a movement exercise, we shared with each other about our scientists. We then decorated our science folders for the year with different pictures related to science.
Ask your child what their scientist studied.
Hebrew
In Hebrew we focused on learning Hebrew routines, like reading our daily schedule in Hebrew and counting the days of school. This week the teacher led those routines, while next week they will be student lead. Each student made a sign for their locker with their Hebrew and English names, and illustrated them with a few items that they like. We practiced telling each other about our English and Hebrew names and our interestd in Hebrew. Below is a video of Sam describing himself while holding his card.
Lev leading an Energizer with Hebrew numbers
New locker cards!
Allietelling the class about his locker card in Hebrew
Ezra naming the colors of the cards in Hebrew
Aviva leading a Hebrew number Energizer
Sam Introducing himself in Hebrew from Hannah Senesh on Vimeo.
Yahadut: Starting the Year Responsibly
In Judaics we started the week by reading the book “I Say Shehechiyanu“, a book about new beginnings. We said the titular shehechiyanu blessing together as a class to mark the first day of a new school year, and in honor of receiving new kippot. Students planned designs for their new kippot and got to decorate them with fabric markers. We talked about being responsible for this new material and students generated ideas for how they can keep track of their kippah. In second grade, students wear kippot during t’fillah, snack, lunch, and Chumash class. Please feel free to send your child with an extra head covering to keep in school. They are welcome to use hats or bandanas if they like, or kippot from home.
We also talked about “Responsibility”, one of our school’s Jewish values, in the context of classroom jobs. Students learned about the many different jobs that help the second grade classroom run smoothly. They found out what jobs they will have next week and started to learn how to say it in Hebrew.
Here are some photos of students with the job pockets they made acting out their jobs for next week.
Adam, future Morning Meeting Helper
Ezra, future Calendar Helper
Lev, future Chazanit
Elliot, future Schedule Reader
Allie, future Counter
Hazel and Lev, future Door holders
Aviva, future Door holder
Sam, future Guest Greeter
Art with Iviva:
In honor of returning to Hannah Senesh, students began making portfolio covers to store their artwork for the semester. After looking at self-portraits by Florine Stettheimer and Frida Kahlo, and reviewing different face shapes and placement of features, students peered into mirrors, capturing what they saw on their paper. Some students also made a second version of themselves from memory or imagination.
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