Welcome to Mrs. Bley’s Second Grade Class Arcade Elementary

What’s new in second grade?  MORE RESPONSIBILITY!  Higher expectations  Nightly homework  Studying  Weekly tests  Percentage grades  Late lunch  Responsible for own snack every day

 Our district adopted the Scott Foresman Reading Street Series in  We utilize this reading series and supplement with trade books (non-fiction and chapter books) throughout the year.  We are focusing on learning to read and learning to understand what we read.  By the end of the school year, students need to read chapter books in preparation for third grade! Second Grade Reading

Second Grade Spelling  A new unit of words is assigned every week.  The list correlates with our weekly target skills.  Children will spend the whole week using the words in varied assignments and centers.  Words should be studied on a nightly basis.  Students will be tested on their words every Friday. Individual words will be tested and one sentence will be dictated for the students to write correctly.  Please SAVE all spelling lists!

Second Grade Writing  Second graders will engage in demand and creative writing.  Our class will be using a writing program based on the research of well known author Lucy Calkins this year.  Second graders wills learn many different types of writing (personal narrative, persuasive, how-to, sequence, friendly letter, journal entry, etc…).  Second graders will learn how to write complete sentences using correct capitalization, punctuation and spelling.  Second graders will be encouraged to read over their work to revise and edit their writing, as needed.  By the end of the year, second graders should be able to write a complete paragraph with an indented topic sentence, details and a conclusion.  Some weeks, second graders will complete a demand writing piece called a “Test Prep” based on our target skills. This “Test Prep” will be graded using a scoring rubric. The students will be introduced to all of these new concepts.

Second Grade Math Second Grade students will learn:  Graphing  Money  Measurement  Multiple digit addition and subtraction with and without regrouping  Fractions  Introduction to multiplication and division  Estimating  Problem Solving  Reasoning  Place Value  Addition and subtraction strategies  Time

Important Math Reminder! All Addition and Subtraction facts to 18 should be memorized this year! Please practice your facts OFTEN at home! We will be busy learning other math lessons at school!

Second Grade Science and Social Studies Curriculum Social Studies Mapping Skills Landforms The Community (Urban, Suburban,Rural Communities) Traditions Holidays/Symbols Basic Economics Cultural Focus Science Bulbs A Healthy Me! (Nutrition, Health, and Safety) States of Matter (Solids, Liquids, and Gases) Animal Life Cycle- Spiders

Handwriting Second grade students will review the lowercase and uppercase manuscript alphabet. Students will be expected to form letters properly and write neatly and legibly on all assignments. We are preparing for learning cursive in third grade!

Our Schedule Our specials are scheduled from 10:55- 11:35 every day. Monday: Library Tuesday: Art Wednesdays and Fridays: Physical Education Thursday: Music

Second Grade Lunch and Snack Second grade has the late lunch (12:55-1:25), so that the students will only have the late lunch once at Arcade Elementary! Students will use their ID cards to purchase lunch. Please send lunch money to school in an envelope with your child’s name and my name. You can prepay lunches in advance. We will have snack every day after specials. Students are responsible for bringing their own HEALTHY snack to school every day! Candy, gum and pop will be returned home if they are brought for a snack.

Second Grade Homework Homework is given on a nightly basis, but usually not on Fridays. Homework will come home in an agenda that all students will carry back and forth from home every day. Students should complete homework. However, parents may give guidance and should correct the homework to allow the student to make corrections. Homework is not graded, but if it is not completed, students lose privileges, such as free time. A “pink slip” will come home as a reminder of forgotten homework.

Second Grade Agenda To help with organization, to facilitate communication between home and school and to better prepare your child for third and fourth grade, second grade teachers have created a homework “agenda” that the students will use. Students will bring home agendas on a nightly basis. Homework and important information/notes will be sent home in the agenda. Your child’s book log and spelling lists will be kept in the agenda. On the back of each week’s agenda page is a place for parent/teacher comments. Please have your child tell me if you wrote a note in the agenda! Please return homework, excuses or notes in the front pocket of your child’s agenda. PLEASE SIGN (OR INITIAL) YOUR CHILD’S AGENDA EVERY NIGHT after you check it. THANK YOU!

Weekly Mailbox All school mail and notices from me will be sent home daily, as necessary, in your child’s agenda. PLEASE check your child’s agenda every day. Every Friday, your child will come home with a “Weekly Mailbox” filled with your child’s school work from the week. Please enjoy reviewing the work with your child over the weekend. Sign the parent log and return the mailbox on Monday. The comments section is for comments for you to write to your child, not me. If you have a comment or question for me, please write it in your child’s agenda.

Classroom Parties We love to celebrate holidays in Room 206! We will have Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Easter parties. Our class will need parents to help with snacks, games, organization and clean-up. We would love it if we had a parent volunteer to organize a party! See sign up sheets for more information! Birthday parties are very important, too! You are welcome to send in a treat for your child’s birthday. All of the supplies that are needed to serve the treat (cups, can opener, plates, forks, spoons, bowls, serving utensils, etc…) need to be brought in form home too!

Book Orders Classroom book orders are a wonderful way to build your child’s at-home library in an inexpensive way. Book orders will be sent home about once a month. The due date of the order will be on the back of the order from. Please send orders to school in an envelope marked with your child’s name with a check made out to the book company. Please be timely in sending in your order. If you would like to give the books as gifts, just let me know and I will be happy to keep your order a secret! Books take approximately 2-3 weeks to arrive after I place the orders.