I wanted to included a copy of the notes I sent home this week on this blog. I hope to see everyone at our Open House Tuesday night, August 26. Please let me know if you have any questions.
English
– We will continue to use Shirley English for our language program. We will take chapter tests wherever they fall
during the week. It may not necessarily
be on a Friday. The students will always
have a chapter review for homework the night before a chapter test. We will also have mid-chapter tests and
journal grades in English. If you would
like to provide extra English practice for your child, have them practice
writing sentences that contain at least five words; have them sort words into
groups of nouns, verbs, adjectives, or adverbs; or have them write stories at
home.
Reading –
As explained in the letter sent home last week, we will use a reading program
called Daily 5/Café. We will spend our
first weeks working intensely on building our reading and writing stamina and
learning the behaviors for Daily 5. I
will also spend time learning about your child’s strengths and greatest needs
as a reader in order to best plan for each student’s instruction.
One thing you will notice is a direct decrease in the
number of worksheets your child will bring home. While worksheets keep students busy, they
don’t really result in the high level of learning I want for your child. Another change that you will see is that we
will stop using a weekly story from a reading book. Instead, your child will be taught to select
“Good Fit Books”, or books they can read, understand, and are interested
in. They will be spending most of their
time actually reading, which research supports as the number one way to improve
reading. I anticipate the motivation and
enjoyment of reading will skyrocket when this gift of choosing their own books
is accompanied by extended practice and specific reading instruction for each
individual child.
Spelling
– Each week we will learn a different spelling pattern or rule. We will practice that rule all week using
spelling worksheets, centers and computer games. The students will have nightly spelling
homework. On Monday nights, homework
will usually consist of a worksheet to be completed. This worksheet will help the children to see
the pattern or rule we are learning. On
Tuesday night, the children will write sentences using some of their words or
put their words in ABC order. Wednesday
and Thursday nights are “Speller’s Choice” nights. The students may choose an activity from the
Speller’s Choice page in their binder.
Graded Tests – Graded tests will be sent home on either Monday or Tuesday in the
“Return to School” section of the binder. Please look through the tests, sign the
conduct sheet and return the papers to school the next day.
It is helpful if students
arrive each morning around 7:45-7:50.
When they come into the classroom, they unpack their book bag, make
their lunch choice, go to the restroom, copy the homework assignments, and
begin their morning work. Being on time
helps your child feel better prepared for his/her school day. Please do not send your child to the
classroom before 7:30, as there is no teacher on duty until that time.
I use a texting app to send
reminders and notes to all parents in my classes. You do not need to download the app to get my
text messages. To receive the texts I
send to the group, please send a text to (786)
329-4784 with the message @509e6d. I will get a message that tells me you have
joined our group!
I hope these notes will be
helpful to ease your transition into second grade. Please contact me if you have any questions
or concerns. I am looking forward to a
great year!
