Our Week in 2-3

Hello 2-3 families,

I hope you've enjoyed this gorgeous, long weekend!  I look forward to seeing the kids back at Dryden on Monday.  Here is a look at what we were up to this week.

Counting Money and Making Change
This week the kids continued to solve addition and subtraction problems using money.  The class is doing a very nice job being able to correctly use decimal points in their work and understanding the importance of the decimal point.  We also practiced inputing a variety of dollar/cent amounts into the calculator to solve problems.  I continued to reinforce the message that as the math problems become more complicated, it is very important that the kids check their work at least twice to avoid silly errors.

Moving West
As we continue to move through our Arlington Heights unit, the kids have really enjoyed writing about their covered wagon journey west.  We used the book, If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon to learn about how the pioneers planned and executed their journey west.  We learned about how the pioneers planned their trip, how long the trip took, what they packed into their wagons, who were in the wagon trains, and how they survived the challenges they would come across.  The kids had a blast with this activity.

Arlington Heights Historical Museum
Thank you to Mr. Albrecht, Mrs. Davis, Mrs. Hautzinger, Mrs. Nelson, and Mrs. Neri for joining us on our Arlington Heights Historical Museum.  We had a beautiful day for our trip and the kids learned so much.  This trip provides the kids with a lot of opportunity for hands-on activities and they loved it.  Check out all the photos from our tip.


Stage Write
I am thrilled that the 2nd graders at Dryden have the opportunity to participate in this program again this year.  Stage Write turns writing into live performance pieces!  We will be collaborating with a local theater company to turn poetry into performance.  April is National Poetry Month so the timing of this works out perfectly.  I will be introducing two poems to the students this week and our actor will be visiting our classroom on Wednesday to begin brainstorming performance ideas with the class.  This will be such a great activity for the kids.  I will keep you posted on the progress!

MAP TEST REMINDER
On April 23rd and April 29th, your children will be taking the full MAP test.  Please make sure they get a good night's sleep before the test and a good meal.  The test on the 23rd is first thing in the morning, and the test on the 29th is right after lunch.

I hope you all had a great long weekend!

- Danielle Porte