Mrs. Ballnik's Second Grade

Classroom News from Mrs. Ballnik’s Class
My email is ballnic@dearbornschools.org
Friday, March 22, 2019
Important Days and Notes to Remember- No school- April 1 – 5 (spring break)
School calendars are located under the District news at the Dearborn Website.
Field Trip to the Dearborn Historical Museum is on Tuesday, March 19th. Thank-you to Omar’s mom, Zeinab’s mom and Tameem’s mom for being able to help us on the field trip! Your help made everything run smoothly.
The students all seemed to enjoy our trip through history. We wrote a narrative about our experience in our journals and sent thank-you cards to the museum.
I judged the students’ positive feelings by the enthusiasm about the experiences. Please ask your child about the butter they made (and tasted), seeds they planted, oldest house in Dearborn that they learned about, and having school in the one room school house with slates to write on.
Gym on Monday- Please remember to wear tennis shoes and bendable clothes (not jeans).
March is Reading Month Calendar- Please read over the March is Reading Month calendar and do the activities. (Came home last week)
PLANNER -Please bring them every day. Use it as a homework folder, or supply your own, if you choose.
FRIDAY SPELLING TESTS – Next week’s spelling words are words with /ge/, /dge/, /rge/, /nge/, /lge/. The words are cage, indulge, range, pledge, large, rage, bulge, hinge, bridge, charge, The Dolch words are: going, walk, again, round, give.
Spelling tests will be given on Friday . Then they are corrected and sent home on Monday. I don’t have time to correct, analyze mistakes, and record them on Friday.
MATH We continue to add and subtract with 3 digit numbers (hundreds) now. We were bundling 10 and carrying it over into the ten’s column with pictures. For addition. Please go over it to show the difference from subtraction. Thank you for studying with your child for the end of the module (unit) test 4( midmodule) which will probably be given on Tuesday. I will be sending Exit Slips home to go over for some practice. Looking over the homework is valuable also.
Please read the homework helper and check the homework to help your child fix the wrong ones. Thank-you to the children who are correcting their homework. This is a good activity to revisit the concept.
This new Eureka math program is challenging, so please be sure to go over the homework that is sent home each day for corrections with your child. There is an explanation sheet that comes with it. There are parent tips on my blog to access. We have a new computer site that goes along with the math called “Zearn”. Zearn login and passwords were glued into your child’s planner. Please use Zearn, if you have a computer available.
SCIENCE- We will guess a few mystery bags a day. Keep asking your child to describe things with properties using their 5 senses. Our unit is about Earth Science. This includes how the forces on earth will shape the earth. We wrote informational reports about 4 landforms that each student chose.
SOCIAL STUDIES – Our unit is about Economics. We have nice discussions about needs and wants, as well as trade, income, goods, services, consumers, producers, scarcity and opportunity cost (second choices). Can your child tell you the difference between Human, Capital, and Natural Resources? Capital Resources are what you use to produce other goods and services. For example, factories and tools are capital resources. We will be talking about producers and consumers. Next week , there will be a study guide sent home to go over with your child. Please sign and return it .
READING- Read, Read, Read and don’t forget to ask the important comprehension questions. Please ask me, if you need another list of questions to ask your child about the story. Telling the characters, setting and what happened first, next, last are always questions to ask and determine if your child is understanding the story or just reading the words Students are being tested for the report card at this time.
CHILDREN WILL READ, IF THEY ENJOY THE BOOK. THAT IS WHY, STUDENTS THAT GO TO THE LIBRARIES WILL HAVE A GREATER CHANCE TO TAKE OUT A BOOK THAT THEY WANT TO READ, AS SOME OF YOU ARE DOING.
Please be sure that your child reads something at least 30+ minutes per day. In addition, reading aloud to your child is important also. Please go to the beautiful Dearborn libraries to get additional books. I give new book bag books after I bring them back from the library located at the other end of the school. I sometimes just ask students that want to switch book bag books to come up (because it takes valuable reading time). I usually have reading groups switch books, to be sure that I get to everyone.
Color in the March reading calendar and fill in Dr. Moughni’s pink reading log for the month of March.
Remember, the easiest way to communicate with me is by email, ballnic@dearbornschools.org and look at my BLOG on the Dearborn schools website. Links to RAZKIDS and FRECKLE (math and reading) are there, also. RazKids should be back online soon. I sent cards for the Zearn math practice in your child’s planner (or homework folder, if planner is missing). Please tell me if another is needed.
MANY STUDENTS STILL NEED PENCILS AND A SHARPENER! Thank-you for sending these in.
Congratulations to Radwan Almurisi for being the Star of the Week!
Happy Birthday to Tameem AlHaj on March 22!
Happy Birthday to Sadn Alqaissy on March 22!
Have a great weekend with your wonderful child!

Cheryl Ballnik