Unit 1 Overview
This first reading unit, Second Grade Reading Growth Spurt, bridges the gap between the end of first grade and the beginning of second grade for your children. Much of the reading work in first grade was centered around learning how to read, whereas now their increasing automaticity with words allows them to move onto the more grownup work of thinking about their books. It’s an exciting time for readers as they make this transition. This unit aims to facilitate this process by reminding kids of all they know to do as readers and helping them assume responsibility for not only what they read but how.
Your child will continue practicing word-solving skills using his/her “just-right” book. A just-right book is one that your child can read independently with comprehension and fluency. As your child progresses through the reading levels (determined by running records), the running records also identify a specific goal for your child which we will work on during our conferences!
This unit has 3 main goals! In the classroom we will be:
Setting goals and focusing on fluency and comprehension.
Learning a variety of word solving strategies.
Making reading and writing connections, noticing special things authors do to bring about a reaction in readers.
How we will be using assessment to allow us to differentiate instruction for your child:
Teachers will use running records to assess students foundational skills and comprehension and to determine a “just right” reading level for each child. A “just-right” book is one that a child can read and understand independently. We assess the skills of decoding, fluency, comprehension, summarizing, and inferencing when determining your child’s just right level!
Our goal as a district is to create lifelong learners. This unit assists your child in not only learning the technical skills listed above but also by helping them establish skills that will be helpful in life. This unit specifically works to help our children to not only read longer, harder books, but to also decide how they will read.
As always, we thank you for your ongoing partnership and look forward to learning from and with you and your child during this unit! If you have any questions please feel free to contact us!
Warmest regards,
Ms. Allison Conroy Dr. Christy O'Connor
Classroom Teacher Director of English Language Arts & Intervention
Adapted from: What to Look For in Units of Study, 2017-18, TCRWP