April News

April News
4-20-2012

Next month, the children will be taking a cumulative math test to assess what they have learned in math for the year. I wanted to give you a heads-up about the test and to encourage you to practice for it when you have the chance. The test will be assessing the following:

• Telling time to the nearest 5 minutes
• Adding basic addition and subtraction facts with 100% accuracy (use of fingers is okay)
• Adding and subtracting 2 and 3 digit numbers
• Counting mixed change
• Making change from a $1.00 (something costs 87 cents, you pay with a $1.00…)
• Identifying fractional parts (1/3 of the square is shaded, 2/8 of the rectangle is shaded,…)
• Multiplication and division (Each of 4 kids gets 3 pieces of gum. How many pieces of gum do you need? You have 20 M & M’s to share with 5 friends. How many pieces will each friend receive?)
• Equivalence (2+___+5 = 5+5; 14+3 = 11+___; 11-___ = 6).
• Estimating how long something is in inches (less than 1 foot long)
• Identifying cubes, cylinders, spheres, cones
• Identifying numbers on a 100’s chart
• Identifying even and odd numbers on a 100’s chart

Five minutes a day a few days a week reviewing a concept or two will make a great difference in your child’s confidence. Should you have any specific questions about what to practice, please do not hesitate to ask.

As always, please continue to read aloud to your second grader as often as you can. Briefly discuss unfamiliar vocabulary while you are reading.

Solon’s D.A.R.E. officer, Officer Felton, is visiting our room several times this spring to talk about safety and making good choices. She interacts with the children really well and they get the chance to ask her lots of questions about her role as both a D.A.R.E. officer and a police woman.

Melody’s grandparents visited this afternoon, sharing a few of the animals they care for at their Chardon rescue farm. As we continue our science unit on Ohio plants and animals, this provided a wonderful, hands-on experience.

As the end of the year approaches, little things often come up about your child’s classmates and the things they may or may not be doing that are bothersome. Please let me know about these things right away so that I can be a proactive as possible.

Thanks for all you continue to do every day for your second grader.