Post 15

Dear Second Grade Families,

We welcomed back your children this week to a time in the school year when teachers typically spend time re-teaching expectations for how we all will take care of ourselves and our learning, each other, and our materials.  Time was also spent reviewing whole-school expectations.  Our second graders will be spending a significant amount of time reviewing rules, reflecting on individual hopes and dreams, and routines next week as well.

HOMEWORK

Thank you for your feedback regarding homework this past week.  We've heard a variety of opinions and have looked closely at the data we've collected via the survey.  Our second grade teaching team has spent a significant amount of time considering your feedback, studied research on the matter by thought leaders in the field, and discussed our past and current research practices at length. 

At this time, we would like to extend the conversation for another week so that we may make what we feel would be the best-informed, most reasonable decision regarding future homework practices at the grade level.  

Please take a moment to share your voice via the brief homework survey if you haven't already done so.  The homework expectation for NEXT WEEK will be the same as for last week: Read for 30 minutes each night.

Thank you in advance for your feedback and flexibility as we "reset" expectations for the remainder of the year.


-- Second Grade Team

HOMEWORK SURVEY DATA TO DATE

IMPORTANT DATES:

January 16, 2017 - NO SCHOOL - Martin Luther King Jr. Day

REMINDERS: 

Wow words:  Please continue to help your child gather new words each week through their reading and your conversations at home and bring them in on Wow Word Wednesday. Here are links to an online dictionary (Merriam Webster for kids - Word Central) and our wow word worksheet in case you need a new one. This is an ongoing reminder for the year. Please make acquiring new words part of your home routine.

CURRICULUM UPDATE:

In reading we: 

• Read Squirrels New Years Resolution by Pat Miller and wrote our hopes and dreams for the remainder of second grade. We then made an action plan for how we will work on our most important hope and dream.
• Read My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett and discussed story elements. 

At home, set goals together. Show your children how you work towards goals.   

In Fundations (Word Study) we: 

• Began unit 6, in which review the vowel-consonant-e syllable.
• Trick words only, house, move   

At home, Please refer to the Unit 6 family letter to learn how you can support our word study work at home. Also, look though the fundations/word study section on my website. There, you will find all of the first and second grade trick words. If your child needs practice with these words, please practice through activities such as playing bingo, memory or through reviewing them on flashcards. Here is a link to a great website with different sight word games that you might like to try. 

Next week, we will continue our work in unit 6.   

In writing we: 

• Continued writing informational books. We learned techniques from writing more down the page and adding more chapters.  

At home, talk about your child's writing. Ask about what each chapter is about and feel free to make suggestions. You could also encourage your child to do research on his/her topic to have more information to add to his/her book. 

Next week, we will continue our work on writing informational books

In math we:

• Worked on various addition problems in conjunction with money. 
• Worked on our math games.

At home, continue to help your child to apply their understanding of adding double digit numbers to real-life situations, such as when adding money and when talking about time.  

In Social Studies we:

• Discussed the qualities of an effective leader.
• Learned about Diego Rivera, a famous Mexican artist. 
• Compared responsibilities of some children in Mexico with our own responsibilities. 

Next week, we will continue our exploration of Mexico, learning about Dia de Los Muertos and foods traditionally eaten in Mexico.

At home, talk with your child about what they are learning about Mexico. 

Enjoy the weekend!