Los Feliz Arts

Math

This month in math we have a lot of new things happening. We are pleased to announce that we have started our Jiji math computer program by the Mind Institute. Here the children play computer math games that are geared to the California Second Grade Content Standards. They play many games involving mathematical concepts including but not limited to addition, subtraction, and ordering numbers. Our goal is to have children play these games for about 45 minutes two times a week. Our students are very excited about playing on Jiji, and although it is a challenging game we feel as though it is a great addition to our regular math program. In addition to Jiji math, we have been further deepening the children’s learning about numbers. We have been exploring fact families to get a better understanding of addition, subtraction and inverse observations. We are working on equations with missing numbers and solving addition equations with three numbers (3+4+2=9) The students are learning and understanding that we all have various strategies to solve problems-there’s no one right way to solve a problem, but there is only one correct answer. Our goal is to equip our students with the skills that they will need to solve any mathematical problem by honoring their thinking and asking questions to deepen their awareness and understanding of the way they solve problems.

Writer’s Workshop

As writers, all of second grade has just finished publishing their first writing piece! To reach this point, all students worked through a writing process to brainstorm ideas, create a rough draft, and edit the words they have put down on paper. Moving through each of the steps will help boost both the content and the mechanics of the students’ writing. The emphasis on the process will provide our budding writers with a platform to work from for the rest of their lives. Along with developing strategies to help during writing, our experience of publishing a piece that has been worked on extensively has helped strengthen their relationship and bond with the written word. Pride shown through each writer’s face during publishing, and it was something wonderful to behold. It is our hope that our young writers recall these feelings as they move forward to produce other stories, personal narratives, and non-fictional work.

DWoK

In DWoK, students have been exploring Native American Stories, and the amazing ways they communicate those stories to each other. We have listened to and read many legends that have been passed down through generations. These stories have helped us understand a unique world view while teaching us important lessons about effective storytelling and symbolism. Along with the traditional forms of verbal communication, we have looked at the visual storytelling of Totem Poles. Totem poles serve as a way to recall ideas or stories that are essential to the tribes who erect them. Students went through their own process of meaning-making when they chose animal totems to research and create totem poles around. The work helped each child recognize the intricate way stories, art, research, and family history interact in the world.

Reader’s Workshop

In Readers Workshop this month we focused on finding the elements in a story such as the setting (where the story takes place), characters (who the story is about), and plot (what happens in the story). The students completed a two week project using the book Where the Wild Things Are. The book was read several times to focus on the various elements of a story. At the end of the project the students made their own monster puppets and wrote a story that included all the elements of a story. The stories were very creative and the classes enjoyed hearing all the adventures that the monsters took. Please continue to work on finding the elements in a story at home because it will be an essential tool for next month in which we focus on reading comprehension skills.

Theatre

For Theatre Arts this month the students focused on using non-verbal communication to express and tell a story. This tool is one of many that the student will use at the end of the year to put on a play. We practiced using non-verbal communication through several drama games. The first one was Alphabet Charades in which each student was given a letter of the alphabet and they were to act out two things that started with this letter. The audience did a great job paying attention and guessing most of the letters. The letters “x” and “y” were a challenge. The second game was called Machines. The students were given a location such as the kitchen and as a group of four were to act out a machine in the kitchen. A favorite had to be the Xerox machine in an office. We finished the month off by introducing the art of pantomime. The students played a game called Mirror in which they had to mirror a movement with a partner. They really learned to slow down the movement in order to follow each other. Next month, we will be focusing on another important part of being a good actor which is eye contact.

Character Development

In our Character Development lessons, our second graders have been working to gain a better understanding of themselves, and in the process have made deeper connections to DWoK and Writer’s Workshop. Students have highlighted personal character traits, developing a vocabulary to express human characteristics that will help with interpersonal relationships and strengthen their abilities as storytellers. They also started the time-honored tradition of keeping a journal to record ideas, feelings and reactions to intriguing prompts. Throughout the year, we will continue journaling as we learn more about ourselves as unique individuals and as our writing skills develop and grow.

Welcome Second Grade Families!              
 
Wow, what a great start to the year.  We are very excited to have a new group of intelligent, talented and creative students.  We will be sending a newsletter home at the end of every month to recap what we have learned and explored during the month as well as give you a preview of what’s to come.  Go ahead and talk to your children about the content of the newsletter and see if they can show what they know!
 
This year, we all walked into a new classroom space, filled with unique possibilities.  For the first few weeks of school, the students and teachers in second grade have explored how to work together as one family unit under the same roof.  Respect has played a large role in helping each interaction to be supportive and beneficial to the entire team.  With “Cool Tools” and upcoming lessons in goals and positive self-talk, we will continue to build positive social skills and self confidence of every student. 

COOL TOOLS:
Has your child come home saying that somebody gave them a put up that
made them feel really good or maybe told you that they used their exit shoes to
walk away from a conflict? If so, they are using the tools that we have practiced in
the classroom called Cool Tools. Cool Tools vividly teaches strategies for handling different forms of conflict and promotes healthy conflict resolution from LFCSA to your home. Cool Tools was created to ensure a caring community in which all students feel safe to learn and play without threats of physical, verbal, or non-verbal harassment of any type. Our goal is to provide students with an internal “toolbox” they can choose from when conflict arises, not just now, but for the rest of their lives. Practice is essential not only for reinforcing the skills they are learning, but also for retention and transfer to new situations at school and at home.

READERS: For readers this month, the students learned what their jobs as a reader  are.  Each day during Reader’s Workshop they learned different elements of their jobs such as how to choose a reading spot, how to stay focused on a book, and how to read with a partner. Our overarching goal in Reader’s Workshop was to encourage readers to develop a deep love for and enjoyment of books.
 
WRITERS:  Launching our Writer’s Workshop this first month, we have focused on our jobs as writers. Each student has entered second grade with a special toolbox of strategies from which to pull , and our writers  have taken the time to remind themselves of how much they already know.  Experienced writers use their skills to zoom in on “small moments,” capturing ideas and feelings with great detail.   Our writers have done just that, working through the first cycle of the writing process, starting with brainstorming and progressing through drafts and editing.  We are excited to be publishing our first piece very soon.  In October, we will be looking at “Authors as Mentors,” just like in Reader’s Workshop.  Students will gain tricks and tips by examining their favorite authors.
 
DWoK:  DWoK stands for Different Ways of Knowing, a thematic, project-based curriculum that uses a constructivist approach to learning  which serves as a framework for  inquiry and lifelong learning.
 
Our overall theme for DWoK this year is “America’s Family Stories.”  In September, our classes focused on family stories and how to turn family memories into stories.  This gave the students an opportunity to tell authentic narrative stories about themselves.  Telling family stories was also a great way to integrate DWoK into the other subject areas we are focusing on in second grade. For example, in Writer’s Workshop, the students were able to transfer their knowledge of their family memories into writing down their family stories.  The students also had a great time telling their family stories through pictures and have created a time capsule using this information.
 
As we dive into the month of October, we will be exploring Native American family stories.  This unit poses questions such as “What do we know about Native American family stories?” and “What questions do we have about Native American family stories?”  Students will learn that the United States has been and continues to be populated by families, each of which can tell a uniquely personal story that is part of a larger story within the historical events of the time.
 
The unique part of the DWoK curriculum is that students will learn big ideas and concepts such as traditions, cultures and relationships that they can share with each other and with their own families. We encourage parents to have conversations throughout the year to share stories about grandparents and relatives with your children, allowing them to discover who their ancestors are, where they were from. and what unique customs and traditions  they brought with them when they first came to America and/or to parts of the United States and then California. Our goal is to help our children develop a keen sense of respect and appreciation for each other so that they value what we each contribute to the story of America’s families.
 
MATH: Our first math unit this year is exploring strategies to understand number relationships. We have been deepening our understanding of essential big ideas such as inverse, commutative property, fact families, math vocabulary, and addition and subtraction facts. Developing these concepts about number relationships will lay the foundation for units to come. In our math program, we have a balance of using hands-on manipulatives and collaborating in small groups. Our children love exploring math further as they ask questions, learn from one another and solve problems together. The next unit we will be exploring is time and money.  Ask your children to tell you the time and ask them to think about what time it will be in 5 minutes and 10 minutes. Additionally, 2nd grade is a great time for students to be filling up a piggy bank and counting up their coins.