Math

May 26th
We have been working on partitioning rectangles and writing addition and multiplication equations to represent the rectangular arrays.  We will focus on partitioning circles into halves, thirds, and fourths next.  We will finish the year with a unit on time.  Last week we also completed our end of the year assessment, which included addition and subtraction fact fluency checks.


May 12th

We are right into the swing of our geometry unit, learning about polygons, solving word problems related to geometry, sorting, counting, and recording the number of sides of different polygons.  We practiced our skills at creating line plots with this data, and will move into talking about 3D shapes, partitioning rectangles, and fractional parts.


April 28th

We wrapped up our unit on measurement before vacation and this week we've been learning some new games that students enjoy.  One is called "100 or Bust," where students roll one die or draw one card at a time.  Each time they get to choose to use the number they get as it is or change it to groups of ten.  For example, if a 6 is rolled, they can keep it a 6 or change it to 6 tens (60).  They have to roll or draw a total of 6 times to try to get as close to 100 without going over.  It is a game that involves some great strategy and number sense.

Next week we will begin a unit on Geometry, which will lead into talking about arrays and an introduction to the concept of multiplication.  We do not teach multiplication facts in second grade, but instead approach the concept of multiplication through the representation of arrays and the idea of repeated addition.


March 31st

While away last Tuesday and Friday I learned some great new things related to math and non-fiction writing.  Some take aways from the math workshop were guided math groups and a structure for math stations that I would like to try out in the upcoming weeks.  Also, a few new games found their way into our math lessons this week.  Odd One Out and Roll 5 are both great games for developing strategy, critical thinking skills, and fluency with multiple operations.  We are winding down in our measurement unit, but we've had great fun play many games that involved estimation of lengths and measuring the length, width, and height of various objects using non-standard and standard units.  We've compared metric and US customary units, found the difference between the length of different objects, and even measured parts of our bodies like arms, feet, fingers, hair, and even compared heights of other students in the classroom.  This week we will be doing a lot of jumping!  We will see how far each person can jump starting on two feet and lunging forward and landing on two feet.  We will collect the data and make a large graph together.  Students will also practice creating and interpreting line plots.

Our next big focus in math will be geometry.  We will explore 2D and 3D shapes and describe them using mathematical terms such as sides, corners, edges, vertices, and faces.  Second graders will know the names for 3-10 sided shapes and draw them, as well as identify 3D shapes like rectangular and triangular prisms, cones, pyramids, cylinders, and cubes.  This is a fun unit with lots of hands-on activities.  At the end of the unit we transition into talking about rectangular arrays.  This is how second graders are introduced to the concept of multiplication; however, we do not focus on multiplication in terms of knowing facts, or times tables.  They will do this in third grade next year.