It was such a pleasure
meeting all of the children last week! I can already tell that it's going to be
a great year! I hope you had a wonderful long weekend. Despite the heat, we are
keeping busy. Here is a glance into what has been happening in your child's
second grade classroom these past two weeks. Along with continuing to get to
know one another, we also began establishing routines in many of our academic
areas.
We spent most of our
reading blocks reviewing the Daily Five structure. For those new to Robinson or
those unfamiliar with Daily Five it is a literacy structure that allows for
differentiation in the classroom and provides consistency. It is an integrated
literacy instruction and classroom management system that is used during our
literacy block. While I am working with small groups for Guided Reading, the
other children have literacy “tasks” that include: Work on Words, Work on
Writing, Read to Self, Read to Someone, and Listen to Reading. It takes a few
weeks for me to assess all of the children and to determine their reading
levels and while I am doing that, the children will build their stamina in each
of the "task" areas.
We kicked off Daily 5 this
week by introducing and practicing the "Read to Self" component. The
kids did a great job, increasing their "stamina" to stay on task and
read quietly for up to 15 minutes by the end of the week!
In math we continued with
with Unit 1, which we began last week. This unit does a lot of review of
concepts learned in first grade and allows time for us to establish math
routines in the classroom. We focused on number scrolls and number grids this
week as tools to help us solve addition problems.
I also assessed the
children on the 100-second grade high frequency words. This is done
periodically throughout the year to see what words your child needs to
practice. These words will become part of their weekly spelling words that they
will practice at school and home.
"Star of the
Week" was introduced to the children on Friday. Each week one child
will be chosen to be our "Star" for the week. That child gets
to bring in photos and other special items that tell about themselves. We
will display those items for the entire week, and the child will get to present
their items to the class on Fridays. This week I got to be the
'Star"!! It was a fun way to demonstrate what "Star of the
Week" might look and sound like.
Finally, we also began our
first social studies unit on "Apple Economics." In the first lesson,
the students learned about the apple tree and the "goods" that come
from the tree. In our next lesson we looked at some important vocabulary
words (goods, services, consumer, producer, and community). These are
words that we will use a lot in the next few weeks through various in-class
activities.
**Second Grade Homework
starts next week! Please check your child's folder daily for homework
assignments, beginning Monday, September 10th. We will start with only the
Spelling Tic-Tac-Toe. Your child will be expected to practice their spelling
words at least two nights per week. The Spelling Tic-Tac-Toe sheet will have a
variety of choices for your child to pick from in order to practice their
words. Also, second graders are expected to read for at least 15 minutes per
night. Your child will not need to record what book they read, however we
strongly encourage this routine for your child's enjoyment and/or extra
practice. The Spelling Tic-Tac-Toe sheets should remain in your child's
Take Home Folder all week and will be passed in on Fridays. Thank you for your
help and support on homework.
**Just a reminder that
Curriculum Night for 2nd Grade Parents will be on September 17th from
7:00-7:45pm.
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