Hello 2EH Parents,
Here are some things that are happening this week and also in the coming weeks.
**This week your child will likely be brining home some homework from their LLB (Chinese or EAL) class. This will be the first part of their homework each evening. In the coming days and weeks, we will send home the 2nd grade classroom homework. Establish a routine where they can work for about 20 minutes each evening for (combined) LLB homework and classroom homework. We do not require a set reading time, but encourage as much your child can do.
Literacy: We have kicked off our Readers and Writers Workshop units. Students have reviewed good reading and writing habits and are now starting their first units of study. Ask your children regularly what they are learning about in reading and writing.
In Writer’s Workshop, we are working on improving the quality of our personal narratives. Students are learning to take a small moment in time and stretch it out to include interesting leads, details, and a clear beginning, middle and end. Many children come into second grade producing narratives that resemble lists; we are transitioning into more interesting and detailed story telling by examining plenty of mentor texts and having focused lessons and discussions about them. At this stage, we are hoping to be able to get kids to go from telling a story to writing a great story. You can practice this at home by asking your child to tell you a true story about something that happened to them. Ask questions to draw out details and name parts of the story as they go. (i.e…”Oh that was an exciting ending!” or “I really liked the part in the middle when you described how the ocean looked on our vacation.”) Be sure to ask them if they are telling a “watermelon” or a “seed” story. We are shooting for seeds! Examples:
Watermelon=going to Thailand for Spring Break Seed=visiting an elephant preserve and riding one
Watermelon=visiting Disney World Seed=favorite ride
Watermelon=visiting grandparents Seed=catching a fish with grandpa or making cookies with grandma
In Reader’s Workshop will be focusing on three things between now and October Holiday:
1. HELPING CHILDREN MAKE DECISIONS BASED ON HABITS, VOLUME, AND STAMINA
2. READING IS THINKING – BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER
3. PARTNERS CAN TALK ABOUT BOOKS TO GROW IDEAS
Recently, we had several lessons on how to choose, “just right books,” and the difference between, “real reading and fake reading.” We have also familiarized ourselves with classroom routines around reading and how to communicate ideas from what we read.
Social Studies: This week kicks off our first unit in Social Studies. This unit focuses on the EAGLES of SAS. EAGLES stands for students who are:
E- Empowered
A- Adaptable
G- Global-Minded
L- Literate
E- Ethical
S- Skilled Inquirers
Big words for a 2nd graders huh?! Don’t underestimate their ability to, not only know these words, but also how they relate and become each one of these things.
Math: Our first unit of Numbers and Routines has helped us establish good classroom habits by allowing us to explore what a second grade math tool kit looks like, what supplies our classroom holds to help us with math, and how we can work together during our math time. We have, so far, worked with clocks, calendars, money and number lines/grids. This week we will explore deeper into each of those things. Later we will focus on relations (<,>, =), base ten structures, and counting patterns.
