Skip to main content
Mrs. Samantha Applegate » Home

Home

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

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!

Week at a Glance 11.10.25-11.14.25

Reminders:
  • Wednesday 11/12: two-digit subtraction assessment

Phonics

We are starting a new unit in Fundations on Monday. This unit focuses on vowel-consonant-e syllable type. This type of syllable has a vowel, then a consonant, then an e (v-e). The first vowel is long and the e is silent. Examples include cape, home, and pine. The trick words for this week are only, house, and move.

Reading/Writing

We are wrapping up our first module about the changing of the seasons. This week students will identify and sequence key details in the text, Sky Tree. Students will also practice identifying and revising missing parts of an informative paragraph.

Math

We will spend Monday and Tuesday reviewing 2-digit subtraction strategies for the exam on Wednesday, 11/12. Please see your child’s home folder for ways to practice at home. We will start 3-digit addition on Thursday. 

Religion

We will be working through session 7 in our Finding God textbooks titled “God Loves You.” We will define the word miracle, and we will also discuss how spending time with God in prayer and at Mass can help us remember how much God cares for each and every one of us.

Science

In our next science lesson, students investigate the effects of rocks tumbling in a river. Based on their observations, they construct an explanation for why there is sand at a beach. In the activity, Rocking the River, students pretend to be a river and tear up pieces of construction paper to model what happens to rocks as they travel along the river.

Wednesday 11.5.25

Homework:
1. Read 20 minutes
 
2. Phonics: 
  • Practice for tomorrow's assessment
    • Practice trick words always, once, often, know, knew, against
    • Practice segmenting words into syllables
    • Practice reading and spelling multisyllabic words (see unit packet for ideas of words to practice
3. Math: 4.9 Homework Page - two-step word problems
 
Reminders:
  • Have your child bring back their disguise a turkey to display on their lockers if you have not already!

Tuesday 11.04.25

Homework:
1. Read 20 minutes
 
2. Phonics: 
  • Suffix practice
  • Practice for Thursday's Assessment
    • Practice trick words always, once, often, know, knew, against
    • Practice segmenting words into syllables
    • Practice reading and spelling multisyllabic words (see unit packet for ideas of words to practice
3. Math: 4.8 Homework Page - problem solving
 
Reminders:
  • Have your child bring back their disguise a turkey to display on their lockers if you have not already!
  • Library books are due tomorrow because of no school on Friday.

Monday 11.03.25

Homework:
1. Read 20 minutes
 
2. Phonics:
  • Sentence Fill in the Blank
  • Practice for Thursday's Assessment
    • Practice trick words always, once, often, know, knew, against
    • Practice segmenting words into syllables
    • Practice reading and spelling multisyllabic words (see unit packet for ideas of words to practice
3. Math: 4.7 Homework Page - check subtraction with addition
 
Reminders:
  • Have your child bring back their disguise a turkey to display on their lockers if you have not already!
  • Library books are due on Wednesday because of no school on Friday.

Week at a Glance 11.03.25-11.07.25

Reminders:
  • Thursday 11/6 - Unit 5 Phonics Assessment
    • Practice trick words: always, often, once, know, knew, against
    • Practice spelling base words with suffixes: s, es, er, est, en, ment, ful, less, ness, ing, able, ish
 

Phonics

We will continue to practice reading and spelling multisyllabic words. Students will also practice adding prefixes and suffixes to multisyllabic words. The trick words for this week are always, often, once. We will have our unit 5 dictation assessment on Thursday 11/6.

Reading/Writing

Students wrote informational paragraphs explaining how changes in weather can affect the leaves in fall. They worked on including a topic sentence, three pieces of evidence, and a conclusion. Next week, we’ll review our writing using a checklist to be sure our ideas are complete, we’ve used transition words, and our handwriting and spelling are our best. Then, we’ll begin our final text of the module, Sky Tree, where we’ll explore the connection between art, science, and literature.

Math

We are continuing to practice 2-digit subtraction. Students will get more practice with the 2-digit subtraction traditional algorithm and re-writing horizontal problems vertically in order to solve. We will also use addition to check our subtraction. Finally, students will be solving two-step word problems.  Our 2-digit subtraction assessment will be the week of 11/10.

Religion

This week in Religion, we’ll learn more about All Saints Day and All Souls Day, which are part of Hallowtide. We’ll talk about why November is a special time to remember and pray for all the souls of those who have passed away.

Science

This week in Science, we’ll continue our unit on weathering and erosion by exploring what happens when we float down a river. Students will learn about how rivers flow and change the land over time. We’ll also build a model of a river to observe these patterns in action.

Thursday 10.30.25

Homework:
 
1. Read 20 minutes
 
2. Phonics:
  • Practice trick words know, knew, against
  • Practice segmenting words into syllables
  • Practice reading and spelling multisyllabic words (see unit packet for ideas of words to practice
 
3. Math: 4.6 homework page - rewrite two-digit subtraction
 
Additional Reminders:
  • Library books are due tomorrow!
  • Halloween dress down - Please adhere to the costume guidelines (as set forth from administration)
  • Disguise a turkey locker decoration project - Please send back the paper with your child by MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3rd

Tuesday 10.28.25

Homework:
 
1. Read 20 minutes
 
2. Phonics: 
  • Practice trick words know, knew, against
  • Practice segmenting words into syllables
  • Practice reading and spelling multisyllabic words (see unit packet for ideas of words to practice
 
3. Math: Chapter 4.4 Homework Page - subtract from a two-digit number

Monday 10.27.25

Homework:
 
1. Read 20 minutes
 
2. Phonics: compound words practice page
 
3. Math: Chapter 4.3 Homework Page - regroup a ten as ones