The Cooper School Daily

Bird Study Finale

Bird Finale

This week has been one for the books as Second grade wrapped their wings around another successful project-based study unit. The junior ornithologists studied beak adaptations this week and how birds have evolved for specific purposes over thousands of years. We also studied and created detailed diagrams of each bird’s nest, beak, and feet. Friday morning went off without a flutter and our bird lovers spewed facts on facts about their newfound passion. The students’ love and enthusiasm for their bird really shined in their presentations and art interpretations. We hope we’ve created lifelong bird lovers who caring greatly for other living things that share our planet.

 

Author Study: Roald Dahl

Second grade concluded the Dahl classic James and the Giant this week. Wow! The creativity and imagination that guides his stories are captivating and timeless. Students recalled literary points like setting, characters, and climax, as we rolled through this young adult masterpiece. We really love diving into our author studies and filling the classroom with interesting and new literature. Some of his other works that floated in between tables included Matilda, The BFG, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

 

End of Year Math Assessments

This week, Second grade took a series of Math assessments to evaluate progress made during the year. We are also using these results to drive the planning and reteaching of key skills for the remainder of the year.  Some of the most important topics include: telling time, making change from bills and other monies, naming place values up to 100,000s, basic fractions, fractions of a group, arrays for multiplication, and double-digit addition and subtraction. Each morning we have started our math lessons with time mini-lessons where students use a plastic clock to match times in a story. We have been introducing concepts and language such as “a quarter ‘til 5:00” and “half past 2:00.” Have your child practice at home if you have an analog clock or watch!

 

Important Dates

Climbing Wall May 15

Bird Study Presentation         May 18

Birds of Prey Field Trip May 18

End of the Year Picnic May 20 @ Magnolia Plantation

Memorial Day- NO SCHOOL         May 28

TCS Field Day June 1