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Welcome to 2nd Grade with Mrs. Applegate!
 
 
My name is Samantha Applegate. I grew up in central Indiana and graduated with my degree in Elementary Education from Ball State University in 2017. My husband and I relocated to the Chicagoland area in 2019 where I spent the first three years teaching Kindergarten. This will be my seventh year teaching and my fourth year teaching at St. Joe's. 
 
When I'm not teaching, you can find me spending time at the lake and watching college football. I also enjoy concerts, reading, and spending time with my friends and family. Some of my favorites include Diet Coke, Starbucks, and trips to Target.
 

Posts

Thursday 12.04.25

Tomorrow, Friday 12/5, is a Bears/Packers dress down! Students may dress down and wear Bears, Packers, or their favorite team apparel/colors but they should adhere to the dress down guidelines. Thank you!
 
Homework:
 
1. Read 20 minutes
 
2. Phonics: multisyllabic word practice page
 
3. Math: 6.8 Homework Page - problem solving
  • Our chapter 6 test will be on Wednesday 12/10. Please see your child's home folder for ideas on how to practice.

Wednesday 12.03.25

Homework:
 
1. Read 20 minutes
 
2. Phonics: sentence fill in the blank practice page
 
3. Math: 6.7 Homework Page - rewrite three digit numbers

Tuesday 12.02.25

Homework:
 
1. Read 20 minutes
 
2. Phonics: please see information packet that went home yesterday about our new phonics unit.
  • Practice spelling open syllable words
  • Practice trick words: eight, large, change
 
3. Math: 6.6 Homework Page - adding 3 digit numbers
 
4. Handwriting: cursive lowercase t practice page

Monday 12.01.25

Homework:
 
1. Read 20 minutes
 
2. Phonics: please see information packet that went home this afternoon about our new phonics unit.
  • Practice spelling open syllable words
  • Practice trick words: eight, large, change
 
3. Math: 6.5 Homework page - regrouping in the tens place
 
 
Reminders:
  • Check your child's folder for a permission slip to watch the Grinch the last week of school before break!
  • Please review the email I sent this afternoon about outdoor recess. 
    • If your child comes to school in snow boots, please send a pair of school shoes to wear throughout the day.
 

Week at a Glance 12.01.25-12.05.25

 

Phonics

We will begin Unit 7 in Fundations. Unit 7 focuses on open syllable words. Students will read and spell words with open syllables. They will also learn that y often works as a vowel in open syllables, saying the long i sound at the end of one syllable words and the long e sound at the end of multisyllabic words. Unlike previous units, unit 7 is three weeks long and will take us through to Christmas break.

Reading/Writing

We wrapped up Module 1 before Thanksgiving break and will begin Module 2 this week. Module 2 will focus on life in the West for early Americans. Students will ask and answer questions about the text, The Buffalo Are Back. Students will also understand and retell main topics and key events described in the text. 

Math

We are continuing to work on 3-digit addition this week in math. Students will practice regrouping to add 3-digit numbers. Students will also practice solving word problems involving 3-digit addition and rewrite horizontal addition problems vertically to solve.

Religion

We are continuing to discuss the season of Advent and how we can prepare our hearts to receive Jesus at Christmas.

Science

During Mystery Science this week, students will make hypotheses and investigate the causes of canyons.

Week at a Glance 11.24.25-11.28.25

Report cards went home in your child’s home folder on Friday. Please keep the report card and return the brown envelope to school. Thank you!
 

With the short week, we will be reviewing previously learned phonics skills, completing different Thanksgiving activities, learning about the man who invented the balloons for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade and designing our own balloon, and practicing addition skills in math. 

 

Thursday 11.20.25

Homework:
1. Read 20 minutes
 
2. Phonics: practice for tomorrow's unit 6 assessment
  • Practice reading single syllable and multisyllabic words with VCE spelling patterns
  • Practice comparing long vowels vs. short vowels (e.g., like vs. lick)
  • Practice trick words: together, place, right, move, only, house
3. Math: 6.4 Homework Page - regroup ones to add
 
4. Handwriting: cursive i practice
 
Reminders:
  • Library books are due tomorrow!
  • If your child will be missing any days around the Thanksgiving holiday, please email me and Mrs. Lentino. Thank you!

Wednesday 11.19.25

Homework:
1. Read 20 minutes
 
2. Phonics: compound words practice page
  • Unit 6 Assessment is Friday 11/21
  • Practice reading single syllable and multisyllabic words with VCE spelling patterns
  • Practice comparing long vowels vs. short vowels (e.g., like vs. lick)
  • Practice trick words: together, place, right
3. Math: none

Tuesday 11.18.25

Homework:
1. Read 20 minutes
 
2. Phonics: Unit 6 Assessment is Friday 11/21
  • Practice reading single syllable and multisyllabic words with VCE spelling patterns
  • Practice comparing long vowels vs. short vowels (e.g., like vs. lick)
  • Practice trick words: together, place, right
3. Math: 6.3 Homework Page - Mentally add 10 or 100

Monday 11.17.25

Homework:
 
1. Read 20 minutes
 
2. Phonics: syllable practice page
  • Practice reading single syllable and multisyllabic words with VCE spelling patterns
  • Practice comparing long vowels vs. short vowels (e.g., like vs. lick)
  • Practice new trick words: together, place, right
3. Math: 6.2 Homework Page - adding hundreds

Week at a Glance 11.17.25-11.21.25

Reminders:
  • Wednesday is our field trip day!
    • Students should be in their regular school uniforms.
    • Students should eat breakfast before coming to school, we will eat snack before we leave.
    • Please send your child to school with lunch and a water bottle. We will eat in our classroom when we return to school from the show.
  • Friday 11/21 - Unit 6 Phonics Assessment
 

Phonics

We will continue practicing silent e words. This week we will learn how to read and spell two-syllable silent e words. The trick words for this week are right, place, and together. Our next assessment will be this Friday, 11/21.

Reading/Writing

We will be wrapping up Module 1 this week. Students will be discussing all of the things we have learned about change. Students will also experiment with a variety of sentence lengths, sequence events in a text, and determine the central message of a text.

Math

We continue to practice 3-digit addition this week. Students will use expanded form to add 3-digit numbers and add numbers in the 100s place. Students will also practice adding 10 or 100 mentally and regrouping. 

Religion

We will work through Session 8 in our Finding God textbooks, Jesus Calls Us to Love. Students will discuss the jobs of different church leaders. Students will also explain how the pope is the leader of the Catholic church and how the line of popes traces all the way back to the first apostles.

Science

During science this week, students will explore the phenomenon of flash floods and create an explanation of why these severe weather events are more or less likely in different regions. They specifically attempt to locate and explain a unique region in Texas known as Flash Flood Alley. In the activity, Find Flash Flood Alley, students develop a map to document how land and water interact across the state. Students then use that map to explain how different shapes and kinds of land increase or decrease the chances of rainfall causing a flash flood.
 

Thursday 11.13.25

Homework:
1. Read 20 minutes
 
2. Phonics: long vowel word match
 
3. Math: 3-digit addition expanded form practice
 
Optional: Sock Hop Coloring Sheet - due tomorrow
 
Reminders:
  • Library books are due tomorrow.
  • Please send your child with appropriate outerwear for outdoor recess. We will hopefully get outside most days!
  • Please label all sweatshirts, hats, etc. with your child's name so that items do not get lost.

Wednesday 11.12.25

Homework:
 
1. Read 20 minutes
 
2.  Phonics:
- Practice words with VCE syllables
- Practice trick words: only, house, move
 
3. Math: none - we will start our new chapter tomorrow.

Tuesday 11.11.25

Homework:
1. Read 20 minutes
 
2. Phonics: ck/k spell check practice page
 
3. Math: practice for tomorrow's 2-digit subtraction assessment

Monday 11.10.25

Homework:
 
1. Read 20 minutes
 
2.  Phonics: Practice words with VCE syllables (e.g., cake, mine, etc.)
  • see Unit 6 home packet that went home today for more information
 
3. Math: Chapter 4 Practice Test
  • Chapter 4 Test - Wednesday 11/12
 
Additional Reminders:
  • Please send your child with an additional pair of shoes if her or she comes to school in boots.
  • As winter has come in full force, please make sure to label all of your child's belongings. (hats, gloves, etc.) Thank you!