Homework

Added March 2:

  • Dreambox is up and running for us! Students have their username and password written on the front page of their agenda Dreambox Login Encourage your child to finish each game without turning it off part way through so the profile will reflect what they can and cannot do. It is a good idea to keep trying new things as well. Repeating the same game over and over will not result in the game adjusting your child's level (i.e., making the games appropriately challenging).

Added December 15:

  • I have the understanding that most families are happy to work on reading every night with their child and recognize the benefits of doing so. There are times when your child may wish to do other homework. This may involve building a simple machine. I was so excited to see a catapult made by one of our classmates at home. This time together was so special for the student and his grandpa and was a great way to act on enthusiasm about science! Another student has been working on different ways to build pulleys and has shared her successes with me too. I am impressed while other students are becoming inspired.
  • Number sense skills are always something to help your child develop in day to day situations. Counting large sets of objects (and knowing that counting by 10s is far more efficient than merely counting by 1s), figuring out how many ____ you will have if you already have ____ and you get ____ more. (Example. We have 2 rolls of TP and packages of 12 are on sale. We are going to get 2 packages. How many rolls will we have altogher?).

Remember, it is okay for students to struggle - let them work on it before rescuing them. Let them make mistakes and even celebrate them! In class, students are becoming eager to have a mistake recognized as "My Favourite Mistake" of the day. Often someone will do something that ends up being wrong, but the thinking was really good. We puzzle this out together until we can understand where the thinking came from and what to do next. Often the one who made the error is the one to work out the solution.

Open Problems in math are a great way to get kids thinking more deeply about numbers while further developing their ability to apply their growing skills. Here is one example that can be returned to more than once.

http://www.otffeo.on.ca/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/06/5_Grades-1-and-2-sample.pdf


  • Writing (pokemon cards, stories, etc.) is something many of the students in the class wish they had more time to do. Provide paper, pencil crayons, a stapler and a pencil and watch out!!! You will find determination and imagination will grow (and your ability to spell on the spot may too). If your child would like an individual word wall for at home, just let me know. I am in the process of making more.


Added November 14:

Here is a great book from the Ontario Ministry of Education that highlights ways parents and family members can work together to foster greater literacy skills in their children. You may find something useful in it.

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/parentGuideLitEn.pdf


September:

Parents play a vital role in the development and education of their children. One of the best means of nurturing student growth is to bring the family and the school closer together and create a genuine partnership between the two. (from http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/meRead_andHow.pdf, page 72).

The most important homework for the students in Ms. McGarvey's Grade 2 is daily reading. Please record what is read in the red duotang (Read Every Day = RED). I am depending upon parents to make time to listen to their child read and to talk to them about what they are reading. There are discussion prompts in the RED folder. Your child will benefit from reading for about 15-20 minutes each day, (At least 5 minutes of this could be as your child reads aloud to you). Books that seem easy are the most likely to promote a feeling of success and an interest in reading for pleasure. Your child has the opportunity to select a new book from the classroom for him/herself each day. If you, as the parent, find you are doing more of the reading than your child, continue sharing those harder texts (and enjoying the wonderful time spent together). In such situations, when you let me know this is happening, I will suggest your child takes home some quick/easy books as well. All books read at home can be recorded in the RED folder.

At the links below you can find further information about reading development and some suggestions should you want to be doing more with your child at home.

(Please be sure to scroll through down the rest of this page)

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/parentGuideLitEn.pdf

http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/milestones-expectations/reading-development-6-7-year-olds

Students are able to be using Raz-kids now and many are already moving through their level(s). Here is where to find out more about being able to use Raz-kids on different devices you may have at home: https://www.raz-kids.com/main/ViewPage/name/tc-mobile/

Student login information has been given out in the agenda. If you are not able to find your child's password information, please let me know. The teacher code is jmcgarveyb.

Other online reading / listening opportunities can be found at:

We will be able to make use of Bookflix and other great online resources found in the Halton Elementary Internet Tools soon. More information about this will be shared by Mrs. Marchant (our school teacher librarian) soon. Library Barcodes are now in the front cover of the agenda (along with hdsb account information). Your child's account is typcially 1lastnamefirstthreelettersoffirstname@hdsb.ca

just as mine is mcgarveyj@hdsb.ca ...all student accounts have 1 at the beginning.

If you know of any other great free resources (sites or apps) please let us know.