Welcome to Second Grade! Mrs. Buck

Second Grade Typical Class Schedule Chapel Mrs. Rioni (reading specialist) Language Arts- Imagine It! Recess PE Math Lunch Math Spanish/Music Recess Science/Social Studies Reading Workshop Dismissal

Specialty Classes  Art- Ms. Sommerdorf  Library/Computers-Mr. Buzzard and Ms. Rowland  Spanish-Mrs. Kearns  Music- Mrs. Shelton  PE & Religion/Mr. Buzzard  Science- Ms. Graffis

Reading~ Imagine It! Reading Program The Five Key Areas of Reading Instruction  Phonemic Awareness  Systematic, Explicit Phonics  Fluency  Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics  Spelling  Vocabulary  Comprehension

Reading Instruction continued…  Imagine It! is a phonetically based reading program. Students participate in reading authentic, high quality literature in student anthologies. The student anthologies contain time-honored and contemporary literature including fiction and non-fiction, poetry, folk tales, fables and fantasies. These selections encourage students to think and raise questions.  Reading and vocabulary tests are given after the completion of these stories.  Units of study:  Kindness  Let’s Explore  Around the Town  Look Again  Courage  America’s People

Concepts Taught:  Recognize and use knowledge of spelling patterns  Apply knowledge of basic syllabication rules when reading  Decode two-syllable nonsense words and regular multi-syllable words  Recognize common abbreviations  Identify and correctly use regular plurals

Continued …  Read aloud fluently and accurately and with appropriate intonation and expression  Understand and explain common antonyms and synonyms  Know the meaning of simple prefixes and suffixes  Identify simple multiple meaning words  Use titles, table of contents, and chapter headings to locate information in expository text  State the purpose in reading

Continued…  Ask clarifying questions about essential textual elements of exposition (why, what if, how)  Restate facts and details in the text  Recognize cause-and-effect relationships  Interpret information from diagrams, charts, and graphs

Continued…  Compare and contrast different stories, plots, settings, and characters  Identify the use of rhyme, rhythm, and alliteration in poetry  Revise original drafts  Write brief narratives  Describe setting, characters and plot

Continued..  Write a friendly letter  Distinguish between complete and incomplete sentences  Identify and correctly use parts of speech: nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs  Use commas and quotation marks effectively  Spell frequently used and irregular words correctly  Spell basic short-vowel, long-vowel, r-controlled, and consonant blend words correctly

Spelling Spelling words for each week correlate with the words in our second grade spelling book. Spelling words are introduced on Mondays and tests are on Fridays. The weekly spelling list is included in the homework folder on Mondays. Challenge lists are given to students who receive a 100% or miss one on the spelling pretest given on Mondays.

Writing  Write Away Handbook is the writing program we are using this year. Students will learn the process of writing, forms of writing and the tools of learning. Writer’s Workshop  Students will take select pieces of writing through the complete writing process to a final published form. Writer’s Workshop places the teacher as the facilitator with the students conferencing to edit and revise their work. The teacher conferences with each child and then checks the final draft. Published work will either be made into books, displayed in the classroom or sent home in a “class book.”

Handwriting Without Tears  Students have their own handwriting books. Focus will be on continued learning of proper handwriting habits and to apply those habits naturally and automatically to all writing experiences.

Life Books Students write in their “Life Books” about memories in their lives. The students focus on writing about one event in vivid detail. Questions like Who? What? Where? When? Why? and How? are explored. The children have the opportunity to share their journal entries with the class if they wish. The children will take certain Life Book entries through the writing process and publish these pieces into small books. The class will have “writing celebrations” to proudly share their published work with parents and friends.

Mathematics Our math program is Envision Math. This is a new math program that St. Michael’s has adopted this year in grades K-5 grades. Envision math aligns itself with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) which will be in place in all California public schools in The CCSS focuses on a more focused and coherent math curriculum. Thus, Envision math provides in depth instruction on a limited number of important categories of mathematics content.

Mathematics Topics of Study  Understanding Addition and Subtraction  Addition strategies  Subtraction strategies  Working with equal groups  Place value to 100  Mental addition  Mental subtraction  Adding two-digit numbers  Subtracting two-digit numbers  Place value to 1,000  Three digit addition and subtraction

Continued:  Counting Money  Money  Measuring Length  Time, graphs, Data  Geometry

Science Energy and Motion Students begin the school year with Energy and Motion. In the unit students will learn about different forms of energy such as light, motion, sound and heat. We will be doing a lot of hands on experiments as a class.

Science  Earth’s Materials  Students will observe and investigate characteristics of solid materials from the earth’s rocks and minerals. The focus is on taking materials apart to find what they are made of and putting materials together to better understand their properties.

Science Insects  Students will end the year with a hands-on study of Insects (life science).  The life cycle of mealworms and butterflies will be examined.

Social Studies  The social studies program is based on the Mc Graw Hill book People Together. Geography skills, thinking skills, study skills and citizenship skills are all addressed in this comprehensive curriculum. The six units of study are:  Family Ties  Earth, Our Home  A Working World  We the People  Discovering Our Past  People, Places and Holidays  Students will read literature, watch videos, listen to audiocassettes and complete class projects all related to the unit of study. In addition, a test will be given after the completion of each unit.

Homework  Daily homework will be given out Monday- Thursday nights.  Vocabulary cards come home on Tuesday nights. Tests are every Friday.  Reading books come home Wednesday nights. Please have your child read the story of the week to you and parents sign the back of the book. Reading tests are every Friday.  Spelling tests are every Friday.

Class Rules  We always raise a quiet hand  We always walk  We always wait patiently  We always take care of classroom materials  We are always kind

Consequences for not following rules  Verbal warning, proximity, eye contact  Green card pulled- no Buck’s Buck for the day  Yellow card pulled- student talks to teacher at recess and a note is sent home  Red card pulled- student sees Mrs. Heise

Incentives (:  Buck’s Buck  Group points  Store  Praise  treats

Parent Communication  Daily behavior cards  Wednesday folders  Notes homes/phone call if needed  School  November conferencing  Website- blog  Monthly Newsletter and Calendar