Second Grade Curriculum Night Caleb’s Creek Elementary School September 2012

Meet the Teachers Mrs. Vaught /Mrs. Carey/ Ms. Kimber Mrs. Payne/Mrs. Price/ Ms. Kiger

Agenda  Classroom Rules and Procedures  Homework Policy  Daily Schedule  Assessments  Common Core Standards  ELA  Math  Science  Social Studies  Technology?  Proposed Field Trips  Staying Informed  Ways You Can Help at Home  Questions?

Classroom Rules and Procedures Purple – Good Day Green – Ready to Learn. Everyone starts here each day, then moves up or down depending on their behavior or somedays they may remain on green. Yellow – Think about it. This is a warning, you need to decide what behavior you are going to exhibit the rest of the day. Orange/Red– Consequence. You make the choice of consequences. (Silent lunch, walking during recess, lack of center time.) Contact parents of your behavior by phone call or letter home.

Homework Policy Homework –I know that you all lead very busy lives so I will send all homework on Monday and ask that it be returned on Friday. This will usually be two math sheets and a reading comprehension sheet or Raz-Kids. Math: Students will have assigned math facts to study for a weekly test. In addition, they will also bring home two math worksheets to review a skill that has been previously taught. Please let them do this independently, as it helps us to know if they have mastered the concept or need more time with it. Reading Comprehension: will be on their reading level. Writing: is the only thing that I will ask of them to do nightly. Your child will start the first day of school bringing their journals home nightly. They are required to write 3-4 sentences about something they did during the day or they can make a story up. I want to encourage them to write in their journals as much as possible at home. It is important that second graders write daily to become better writers. Journals are to be returned to school every morning. Students can write about anything that they want to in their journals. I have taped a list to the inside of their journals to refer to if they are “stuck” and cannot think of anything to write about. Thanks for your cooperation!

Take a Look at Our Daily Schedule 8:25-8:55Morning Work (Math) 8:55-9:40Specials 9:45-11:00Math 11:00-12:20Reading 12:25-12:50Lunch (Payne) 12:30-12:55 Lunch (Vaught) 1:00-2:00Writing/Social Studies 2:00-2:30Recess 2:30-3:00Spelling

K-2 Assessment (Running Records, Retells) DIBELS Next End-of-Quarter Assessments Quarterly Writing Benchmarks – The Writing Process Weekly timed math facts test Science and Social Studies Journals Assessments

Background: Common Core & Essential Standards  For the past 25 years, WSFC/S curriculum has been The North Carolina Standard Course of Study.  Starting this school year ( ) the curriculum will be The Common Core Standards, which will cover English Language Arts, Math and Literacy. North Carolina has chosen to examine curriculum in all other subjects so there are Essential Standards in Social Studies, Science, etc.  A major step was taken in setting clear, consistent academic expectations for our students by adopting the Common Core State Standards.  Common Core Standards are a first step to leveling the playing field to allow equal access to an excellent education for all children.

Why Common Core? To provide a more rigorous curriculum (fewer goals & objectives in ELA) Aligned with college and work expectations The standards provide clear, consistent expectations for what students should be learning at each grade in order to be prepared for college and career. To provide a deeper understanding of content -Students will be expected to apply and use the knowledge they acquire. Each year builds on the next so that by high school, young people are prepared for college or to enter the workplace. To standardize curriculum across the country.

What’s Different About The Common Core Standards New standards are fewer and clearer allowing teachers to move students to a much higher level of understanding of the material being taught. Provides more emphasis on the use of knowledge Less worksheets and more showing Greater focus on real-world application More open-ended questions Problem solving that requires students to evaluate and determine best answers & solutions.

English Language Arts or ELA The study of Language Arts includes reading, writing, speaking and listening. 6 Shifts in ELA/Literacy Read as much non fiction as fiction Learn about the world by reading Read more challenging material closely Discuss reading using evidence Write non-fiction using evidence Increase academic vocabulary

Daily Five Read to Self Buddy Read Word Work Writing Listening Center

Math The Math Standards emphasize that every student can be good in math. They standards set good math habits and strategies as top priorities for all students. Students should be able to: -Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. -Reason abstractly and quantitatively. -Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others. -Model with mathematics. -Use appropriate tools strategically. -Attend to precision. -Look for and make use of structure. -Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

Math Operations & Algebraic Thinking: Memorize Addition and Subtraction facts to 20 Double and Triple Digit Addition and Subtraction Word Problems with Addition and Subtraction Solve for unknown numbers in any position Number and Operations in Base Ten: Place Value to 1,000, related word problems Use a number line Skip count by 5, 10, 100 from any number Compare and order numbers Read and write numbers in standard and expanded form Measurement and Data: Time to the 5 minutes, related word problems Coins to $1.00, dollar bills and related word problems Measure length with standard (inches, feet, centimeters and meters) and non-standard units, compare lengths. Collect, Represent & Interpret Data on picture graphs and bar graphs. Geometry: 2D & 3D shapes. Identify and describe their attributes Partition shapes into rows and columns and find the total of them and partition shapes into equal parts: halves, thirds, fourths

Science Life Cycles: Butterfly Life cycle. Compare life cycles of other animals Weather: tools and patterns Matter: Solids & liquids, their properties and how they change Sound: Creation, travel, reception

Social Studies Citizenship and Government: Roles & responsibilities of individuals and their governments. Community leaders. Economics: Goods, services, supply, demand Historical events and people over time: important changes and contributions in US History. Landforms and Bodies of Water: mountains, lakes etc. Natural Resources: Where do they come from and how do we use them wisely? Cultural Influences: How have different cultures influenced our lives today? Operation Christmas Child

Technology How we integrate technology in your classroom? Raz-kids.com Xtramath.com Tutpup.com Spellingcity.com

Proposed Field Trips On September 28th, we will have the Mayor of Kernersville, a police officer, a fireman, and a representative from the recycling program visit our classrooms to let the students meet real life community helpers. October 26 th Natural Science Center in Greensboro -Part of the Life Cycle Unit Weather – visit from Laney Pope Heritage Theater

Staying Informed Wednesday packet Parent/Teacher Conferences Contact your child’s teacher via School webpage School telephone:

Ways You Can Help at Home 1. Talk with your child's teacher. The standards define how students should progress in their knowledge and skills as they move through each grade level. Read the standards and use them to guide conversations with your child’s teacher about their mastery of content and critical skills. Get started today by downloading the Common Core Standards ( and The NC Essential Standards ( standards/) for your child's grade. standards/ 2. Prepare to see more complex reading assignments. Parents will notice that reading assignments under the new standards will become more challenging. Students will be expected to read and learn from more complex text. When reading, ask your child "why" and "how" questions to spark their critical thinking and comprehension. For reading ideas, download Appendix B ( at the Common Core website.

Ways You Can Help at Home Continued 3. Watch for testing changes throughout the year. To make sure every child is on track to meet the new requirements, teachers will begin to use more formative assessments and benchmark tests. Feedback will be immediate from these assessments and will help teachers know when they need to change instruction to suit your child's growth and needs. Parents will continue to see end-of-grade and end-of-course tests. However the way these tests are delivered and how they are constructed will change over time as the state moves towards online testing and incorporates the new standards. 4. Encourage your child to become a better problem solver. The new standards include both content and practice standards. The content standards are focused on what students are responsible for learning at each grade level. The practice standards explain how students engage in the content to solve problems. Some concepts are introduced earlier and some have been eliminated to allow students to explore mathematics at deeper levels. Students should be encouraged to use multiple representations and methods to solve problems. When working with your child, ask him/her to explain and justify the process used to solve problems. The use of short-cuts or tricks should be limited to allow students to reason about the mathematics. To support mathematical understanding, students will be expected to explain concepts they are learning in their own words.

Available Online Resources Common Core Standards PTA Brochure for Parents K-12 Standards in Science North Carolina DPI- “READY”

Extra! Please join PTA Remember our school day is from 8:45-3:10 please be mindful of tardies and early departures Be sure you label your children's belonging, lunchbox, coats, etc Each classroom has a colored t-shirt we keep at school to wear on fieldtrips and special occasions, we will send the t- shirts home at the end of the year.

Questions?