Larry and Lucy the lobsters being held and "petted".
And we're off! I have seventeen students who are a lovely group of eager learners!
I appreciate that the students are coming to school prepared with the necessary supplies and a healthy peanut and tree nut-free morning snack. The morning begins with a snack, a necessary energy boost to help students focus and do their best academic work. Lunch isn't served until 12:20p.m., so second graders need a nourishing breakfast and snack every school day. It's a long 4 hours until lunch.
At 9:00a.m. we begin Everyday Math, Unit I. We 're reviewing some first grade math. Highlights include simple addition and subtraction facts, skip-counting, number lines, and number grids. Memorizing all the combinations of ten will be emphasized.
Writing personal narratives with attention to audience awareness for details and a story with a beginning, middle, and end is the focus this month.
Students will be assessed on a list of 138 high use words to determine what words need spelling practice. Word work in class will be phonics- based.
Lessons on how to choose a "just right" book for reading, care of books, location of books in the classroom library, along with learning how prediction about the book's content and story can help with comprehension when reading text will be a focus this month. We will also work on reading stamina and learning some behaviors of fluent readers, i.e., what a fluent reader sounds like when reading out loud.
Reading homework involving book bags begins this month. Book bags will go home M-Th. It is expected that students will borrow soft cover books over night. Parents, please sign your child's book log indicating he or she has read for 15-20 minutes, and please make sure the book is returned each day, even if the book comes home for several nights in a row. The book bag has reading strategies sheets you may refer to in book talks with your child.
It's going to be a wonderful year of growth and discovery! We have some field trips to look forward to, as well, beginning with Strawbery Banke in November.
Check out the grade two website http://2ndgradesandpipers.blogspot.com/ for more information.
