Welcome to 2nd grade!

Mrs. Clough

Mrs. Hockensmith

Ms. Tosten

Mrs. Clough

• Experience: @ F.T.E. for 11 yrs.

• Home: Dillsburg, PA

• Education: Shippensburg University, B.S. Elementary Education, Penn State, M.S. Curriculum and Instruction

• Fun Fact: Zumba Instructor and Zumba Kids Instructor

Mrs. Hockensmith

• Experience: 2yrs. @ F.T.E.

• Home: Hanover, PA

• Education: Towson University, B.S. English Literature, York College, B.S. Elementary Education

• Fun Fact: I am a new mom to my dear son, Reed Alexander.

Miss Tosten

• Experience: 1yr. @ F.T.E.

• Home: Fayetteville, PA

• Education: Gettysburg College, B.A. Psychology & Elementary Education

• Fun Fact: soon to be Mrs. Ryder on October 4, 2014

Academics

• Language Arts• Journeys

• Spelling• Words-Their-Way

• Phonics based program

• Mathematics• Everyday Mathematics

• Resources• Everydaymathonline.com

Language Arts

Journeys-Core program for language arts that encompasses

reading comprehension,

vocabulary, grammar, and writing.

Mathematics

• Everyday Math

• Spiral Program

• 12 Units

• Pre-test & Post-Test

• Measures growth for each unit

• Part A v. Part B

• EDM online

Daily Schedule

• Reading Comprehension• Whole Group Instruction-45 minute block of whole group direct instruction of

reading strategy & skill

• Small Group Instruction-Guided reading based on your child’s BOY DRA Assessment that reinforces the reading comprehension strategy on your child’s individual reading level

• Grammar & Writing• Basic grammar & writing skills

• Lunch & Recess

• Specials• Physical Education, Music, Library, Art

Daily Schedule Cont.

• Spelling• Students may switch teachers 3x/week for spelling instruction based on your

child’s BOY Words Their Way Spelling Inventory Results

• Science (Mrs. Clough)/Health (Ms. Tosten) /Social Studies (Mrs. Hockensmith)• Students switch 2x/week

• Math• Pre-Assessment before each unit to guide instruction & a Post-Assessment to

measure growth

• Only Part A is averaged for report cards

Grade Level Rules

• Expectations• We expect 2nd graders to follow school rules that generally equates to: respect

themselves, respect others, and do their best work.

• Consequences• Possible loss of Smiley, loss of rewards i.e., Holiday Centers

• * Teachers use rewards and consequences as fairly as possible while evaluating each situation on an individual basis

• Reward Examples• Special Holiday Activities

• Fun Friday

• Lunch with the Teacher

What does homework typically look like?

• When? Monday-Thursday

• What?• Reading-10 min. + each night

• Spelling-4 spelling activities for each night of the week that remain consistent throughout the year

• Math-worksheet each night that corresponds with that day’s lesson

• Who? It’s your child’s responsibility but you will need to help them along the way

READINGReading Record

• Reading is Monday-Thursday

• Starting at 10 min./night

• Student completes the date, title of book, time read, and pages read

• Parent initials for confirmation

SPELLINGSpelling Homework Sheet

• Monday-Thursday and a the test on Friday

• Each night has a different assignment that remains consistent throughout the year *exceptions* some weeks may be shorter due to breaks

• Student completes the exercise

• Parent initials and dates for confirmation

Spelling Homework Sheet

*Please keep this in your Spelling Envelope.

Monday: sort the words into categories and read each word aloud during this activity. Ask your child to explain to you why the words are sorted in a particular way—what does the sort reveal about spelling in general? Ask your child to sort them a second time as fast as possible. You may want to time them.

Parent Initials __________ Date _____________________

Tuesday: blind sort Lay down a word from each category as a header and then read the rest of the words aloud. Your child must indicate where the word goes without seeing it. Lay it down and let your child move it if he or she is wrong. Repeat if you child makes more than one error.

Parent Initials __________ Date _____________________

Wednesday: writing sort/ Practice Test, in the wordbook, to prepare for the Friday test. Don’t forget to practice the Sight Words. As you call out the words in a random order your child should write them in spelling categories.

Parent Initials __________ Date _____________________

Thursday: sorting and gluing the sort into wordbook and have your child spell them to you.

Parent Initials __________ Date _____________________

MathHome Links

• Each day’s lesson has a corresponding homework sheet or “Home Link” to be completed that reinforces that lesson’s skills and other skills to be practiced.

• Student completes the worksheet

• Parents, please look for the symbol of the house to differentiate between Home Links and other papers

Other

Sometimes we will send announcements about:

school events, class parties, volunteer

opportunities, fundraisers, etc… We will print these

special announcements on colored paper. Please, be sure to check your child’s homework folder nightly.

2nd Grade Rocks

• The Great Poetry Race

• Holiday Centers

• Fine Arts

• Class Parties for the Holidays

• Field Trip to the Whitaker Center

• Junior Achievement

The Great Poetry RaceThe Great Poetry Race

Dear Parents,

Fluency, or the ability to decode words correctly and effortlessly, is one of the skills we will continue to build on over the school year. One way we will do this is by participating in the Great Poetry Race. Once a month, your child will come home with a poem we have read together in class. Their job is to read this poem to as many people as they can. The repetitive reading will help to increase your child’s reading skills, particularly fluency. There is more information about fluency on the back of this page.

On the back or attached to each poem will be a place for adults to sign once your child has read the poem aloud. Your child’s goal is to get as many signatures as they can. At the end of the month, your child will bring the signatures back to school and we will celebrate their success. Thank you for supporting with this reading project.

 

Thank You,

The Second Grade Teacher

Reading Fluency

Is More Than Just Reading Fast and Accurately

 

Reading with proper expression brings better comprehension and retention. As children often comment, “If you don’t ride your bike fast enough, you fall off.” This analogy can be applied to reading fluency and comprehension. If a student struggles to recognize the words and laboriously read a page, the meaning can get lost and the student may not remember what he or she read.

Reading fluency is often perceived as recognizing words effortlessly while reading fast and smoothly. “Although automatically (automatic word recognition) and fluency are sometimes used interchangeably, they do not measure the same skill in reading. Automaticity refers only to accurate, speedy word recognition, not to reading with expression. The National Reading Panel defines reading fluency as reading with speed, accuracy, and proper expression.” (NRP 2003).

So…Fluency = speed + accuracy + proper expression (including the use of correct punctuation)

Monthly Poem Example

To be read aloud to 15 adults

Signature Sheet signed by each adult listener

Holiday Centers

Students practice key language arts and

mathematics skills at one of many hands-on

holiday themed learning stations.

Merry Christmas!

Gingerbread House

decorating…YUM!

Field Trip

Exploring the water cycle at the Whitaker

Center.

Junior AchievementTheme: How Money Circulates Through a Community

Beginning of the year assessments (BOY)

• Diagnostic Reading Assessment (DRA)• Benchmark Levels 16-20

• Everyday Mathematics Beginning-of-Year Assessment

• Words Their Way Spelling Inventory• Benchmark Within Word Early

• DIBELS• Benchmark 52 WPM or 75%

• Writing• End of Year Goal towards 24 points

Everyday MathematicsBeginning-of-Year

(BOY) Test

• The EDM BOY test is 23 multiple choice question diagnostic tool used to create a baseline for your child’s math skills coming into the 2nd grade.

Words Their Way BOY Test

• 26 Spelling Words

• Examines spelling patterns students can hear and spell

• BOY expectation• Within Word Early Stage

= consonant blends

Writing• BOY cold writing prompt

• District mandated writing prompt and subject

• Cold write each quarter

• Throughout the year working towards of score of 6 in each cateogory

• BOY and End-of-Year (EOY) kept in permanent file

What can I do to prepare my child for the 2nd grade?

Math• Everydaymathonline.com

Reading• Summer Reading Program

• Retell Hand

What can I do to prepare my child for the 2nd grade?

Writing• Journaling

• Scrapbooking-Take pictures over the summer and write a caption.

Spelling• Make-and-Take Games &

Supplemental materials

Summer Reading Program Information

• School Goal: 100,000 minutes read over the summer• School Prize: Poetry Alive Performance

• Class Prize: Ice Cream Party & extra recess

• Choose 1: Scrapbook, Research Report, or 5 Book Reviews (online component)• Complete 2 or more and your child gets a book and/or extra prizes

• Summer Book Swap