What is 2nd Grade All About?
General Curriculum Overview
Reading/Language Arts
We will read several stories based on social studies and science themes listed below and participate in activities to enhance the students’ reading and comprehension skills. We will also be working with graphic organizers, such as story and character maps, Venn diagrams, sequencing charts, etc. During reading time we will also spend time developing our phonetic, vocabulary and spelling skills. Most importantly, we will work to develop your child’s writing.
Science and Socials Studies
This year in science we will be learning about the human body, light and sound, ecology, classification of animals and insects. In social studies we will focus on Early Asia, Greece, Rome, the War of 1812, westward expansion, the Civil War and immigration. We will incorporate various activities and projects to enhance the children’s learning.
Math
We will focus on place value, rounding numbers, two-digit addition and subtraction, multiplication, division, graphing, geometry, measurement, time and money. Students will be expected to become actively involved in learning through hands-on activities and games.
Homework Policy
Students will bring home a composition book with their homework each week. It is very important that you do not tear pages out of the book. The homework directions will be glued into the book and all homework assignments will be completed in the book. Homework will be given on Monday and collected on Thursday of each week.
Part of the homework will include a fluency reading passage. This passage will be sent home weekly to practice reading. Your child should read the selection aloud each night to help him/her become increasingly fluent and able to read without hesitation. You or another family member should read the selection aloud first to model reading with fluency and expression. At the end of each week, your child may be called upon to practice reading the selection aloud in class.
Repeated readings of text help build reading fluency, which includes automatic word recognition, expression, accuracy, and speed. The goal of using these short text selections is to help your child continue to strengthen his/her reading skills.
Classwork Policy
Students will be given ample time in class to complete their assignments without rushing. I encourage students to take their time and really think about focusing on doing their very best. In the rare case that a student doesn’t complete their work in time they may take it home to complete.
Behavior
In class we will be using the clip system and Class Dojo to monitor classroom behavior and expectations. We are Class Dojo to record, monitor, and report student behavior. It is a free website where teachers can set up the behaviors they would like to monitor and award negative and positive points to each student. Class Dojo is also available as an app that you can download to your device.
Students will earn or lose points throughout the day for the behavior listed in our Class Dojo. Students’ behavior will be tracked on the website. You can log on to the website with your code at any time, and monitor your child’s behavior at school. You will see specific behaviors they are earning points for, as well as behaviors that have caused them to lose points. In addition to that, it will give a percentage to each child. This percentage is for the ratio of times they have earned positive points vs. negative for the time period selected. For example, if James earned 8 points for positive behaviors in a day and 2 for negative, he would have an 80%. If you have a smartphone, you can also access the website through a free app called Class Dojo. The students will be able to see their points at times during the day as well.
Points will be awarded and deducted in a variety of ways:
- Whole Class or Small Group Work: points can be given to or taken from an entire group or class at once for a behavior or participation
- Individual: points can be given to or taken from an individual student for their personal behavior or participation
- Randomized Checks: a random student can be selected by the computer, then the teacher will award points or deduct points based on their behavior at the current moment
At the end of the day, each student will have an individual total number of points. Throughout the day their number will increase, decrease, or return to zero. For example, if a child has 4 positive points at 1:30 in the afternoon it would show up as a 4 in green beside their name. If they blurt out during the next lesson, one negative point would be put in, taking their total down to 3. The severity of the behavior determines how points will be given or taken accordingly. For example, if the same child had 4 positive points at 1:30, then started an argument with a classmate and did not listen to the teacher, more than one negative point would be given because the behavior is more severe. If the student is in the negative, the total will show up as (-4) in red. This doesn’t mean that they haven’t earned any positive points in the day; it just means that is their running total. You will be able to see the specifics for every point they earn or lose in your child’s report. If a comment is necessary to explain their behavior in further detail, information will be entered in the comment section and will appear under that day’s points. Please keep in mind, comments may not be added until after school.
Classroom Volunteers
Parent volunteers are the key to a happy and successful classroom. I welcome parents to help out in any way they are able. I will have a “Honey Do” bucket in the classroom. With the “Honey Do” bucket you just sign in at the front office, come down to the classroom, grab the bucket and find a table to work at in the classroom. The directions for “Honey Dos” are in the bucket so that you don’t feel like you are interrupting classroom instruction. I can also send home “parent homework” for anyone that would like to help out but is unable to come to school.