Welcome to Second Grade!
Hi there and welcome to the 2021-2022 school year... please know that we're going to make learning new things FUN and EXCITING! As your child’s Second Grade teacher, I appreciate all of your help in making this year happen for our kids. Below are some ‘points of interest’ regarding Second Grade…
· Snacks – Students may bring a healthy snack to school, as we enjoy a mid-morning snack daily. Yum! This really helps to keep us focused since we have lunch at 12:35.
· Homework – Students should be practicing spelling words, addition and subtraction facts, and reading assigned stories from our reading book. (As well as ANYTHING else they want to read…research shows that even 15-20 minutes of reading outside of school daily dramatically improves student achievement and test scores!) Reading story slips come home with our reading book on Tuesday to be signed by an adult and returned on Wednesday. (Or the following day if you forget, these things happen!) This once a week assignment should be thought of as a reading together time, and should be FUN...the reading stories DO NOT need to be read independently by your child. Remember you can spice up this reading time by reading in silly voices, using fun accents, reading under the covers with a flashlight, etc, and by taking turns reading aloud with your child, you can model reading skills. (We also encourage our Second Graders to read aloud with siblings, Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles, babysitters, etc, please don't think that this weekly reading assignment must be completed with a parent, share the fun!) We’ll also be working on telling time and counting coins this year, so practicing these skills at home, or even in the car, will really help your child.
· Daily specials
Computer Lab – Tuesday and Thursday
Library – Tuesday and Thursday
Music – Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
P.E. – Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
· Spelling Tests - The first unit in spelling will consist of 12 words per list. Units two through six will consist of 15 words per list. Each unit is five weeks long. Spelling tests are given every Friday morning, unless otherwise noted due to a special circumstance. (Our first spelling test will be on Friday, August 27.) Spelling lists are available anytime if yours happens to get misplaced; all your child needs to do is ask. They are also available on my teacher website. Remember, words may be practiced orally while in the car, traced with a finger in some salt on a cookie sheet, 'painted' on the sidewalk with a paintbrush dipped in water, traced with your finger in shaving cream, etc! There are many ways to keep spelling word drill from becoming dull. Please feel free to ask if you have any questions.
· Accelerated Reader – AR is a great supplemental program used to promote reading. In Second Grade AR is NOT used as part of a student’s reading grade. It is strictly an additional resource for children to read and answer questions regarding what they have read. Children are given time to read AR books and take AR tests in our library and in our classroom as well. Reading should be fun and enjoyable and never a chore; we always want to be mindful of promoting reading as a relaxing and enjoyable way to spend time. Students are encouraged to read at home, in the car, or wherever a few extra minutes might provide some bonus reading time! Again, please remember that reading should be enjoyable, and that AR is a fun 'extra,' not a chore. :)
· Math Fact Practice – In Second Grade we spend a lot of time committing our addition and subtraction facts to memory. These facts need to become automatic (now called fact fluency) so that when we begin double and triple digit addition and subtraction, as well as other more difficult math concepts, your child isn’t struggling with their basic facts. To help us memorize our basic addition and subtraction math facts, we take two minute timed tests. In order to memorize addition and subtraction facts, we use a program called ‘Spaceship Math’ in Second Grade. It starts with simple facts and then becomes increasingly more difficult, repeating facts many times to help with memorization. Please practice addition and subtraction facts at home to help your child commit these facts to memory. The Spaceship Math website is free and very helpful! The website is: http://www.dadsworksheets.com/. If you click on addition and subtraction (both located on the left hand side of the home page screen after scrolling down, under 'Core Math Worksheets') you’ll see Spaceship Math listed, and you can then print off practice sheets exactly like our Spaceship Math papers we work on here at school! Absolutely free, yahoo for free! :)
(On the website these are labeled as one minute timed worksheets but we give two minutes to complete these worksheets.) You will see many practice papers coming home (labeled ‘practice’ in the upper left hand corner) and then we will begin taking two minute timed tests with 40 problems. Our actual tests are labeled ‘2 minute test’ in the upper left hand corner, and consist of the same problems as our practice sheets. We do take a grade on these timed tests and they count for half of a regular school assignment. This also allows us to track how your child is doing with his/her fact memorization. Again, it is critical for your child to memorize these facts so that when we move on in math he/she is not struggling with basic facts. Third Grade does a similar program with multiplication as well. Please practice, practice, practice with your child at home. (Flashcards kept in the glove compartment of the car can provide a few extra minutes of practice on the go!)
Thank you again for your help at home and for all that you do to help make Illini Bluffs a wonderful place to learn, despite our current circumstances! Please know how much fun we're going to have learning new things, we'll make sure it's a GREAT year! :)
Welcome to the first week of Second Grade!
Hello and welcome to the 2021-2022 school year! As your child’s Second Grade teachers, we’d like to let everyone know that we're going to make our FIRST year of being UPSTAIRS a GREAT year! We also wanted to make parents immediately aware of a few important items:
* We have a daily mid-morning snack time in Second Grade as our lunch time is at 12:35. Please send a healthy snack with your child every day as this seems to help us concentrate throughout the morning! Students are also asked to bring water bottles to school.
* Please also note that our first spelling test will be Friday, August 27. The Unit 1 spelling lists are on the reverse side of this note. If you misplace this spelling list, more spelling lists are always available, and they are on the home page of my teacher website as well.
Thank you for all that you do at home to help us ensure that your child has a successful school year, we appreciate all of your help! :)