Homework

Culture Box 

The culture box is a collection of items that reflect the student's identity and can be related to their culture, religion, heritage, family, experiences, favorite foods, hobbies, or interests. The student will show these items to their classmates and explain how the items connect to their identity. The culture box is a wonderful way to celebrate the diversity of our class. I will model this assignment with my own culture box. 

Passion Project

Each child will be given a day where they will present a "Passion Project." The child decides what they want to learn about and how they will go about learning it. This is an excellent opportunity for students to share their passions with the class or to explore a new interest. 

The presentation will last about 5-10 minutes and classmates will ask questions and give comments about the project. I will spend the first weeks of school modeling examples of Passion Projects. 

Procedure:

1. Choose something that interests you.

2. Make a plan. How will you go about it?

3. How will you represent it? A drawing? A photo? A paragraph?

4. Complete your plan.

5. Share it on your assigned day.

A few suggestions:

• The Arts-a painting, a sculpture, write a song, make a drawing, do a craft. . .

• Mathematics-experiment with shapes, create a graph, make a game. . .

• Engineering-build or design a model bridge, a house of cards, a snow fort, a support structure. . .

• Technology-create a circuit, a slideshow, a short film. . .

• Science-do research, observe and make field notes, conduct an experiment. . .

• Social Studies-create a timeline, conduct an interview, make a diorama. . .

• Reading-write a book review, a book recommendation, a letter to an author. . .

Grade 2 does not formally assign daily homework. We encourage providing students with opportunities to build their success in other ways such as playing outside, socializing with peers, spending time with family, and fostering their imagination. 

If you're interested in a more structured homework routine, we suggest the following:

• reading independently or with someone for 20 minutes everyday

• listening to books on CD or through apps such as Raz Kids and Epic

• math flashcards to build fluency up to 10 + 10

• incorporate math conversations about cooking, baking, or even driving!

• math workbooks from stores such as Dollar Tree and Barnes & Noble

Additional Ideas for Homework by Subject:

drive.google.com/file/d/1cU-oEpfM4cihDYYPDHS-hQbwVao1H5N0/view?usp=sharing

Websites for Learning at Home:

READING

• •  Epic - class code: dvx5782

  • Literacy Footprints 

  • Listen to celebrities read aloud a picture book on Storyline Online

  • Astronauts in space read aloud picture books on Story Time From Space

  • Unite for Literacy is dedicated to providing engaging multilingual online books for children. Enjoy listening to a great story narrated in multiple languages!

WRITING

• Check out the writing apps and websites under “Growing Reader” through this link: Writing Apps and Websites

• Write a book report on a book read at home.

• Write a letter to a favorite author. 

• Write an informational book on a topic that your Second Grader knows a lot about

PHONICS

• https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/ 

• https://www.starfall.com/h/ 

• https://readingeggs.com/ 

• https://www.learninggamesforkids.com/vocabulary-games/homophones-games.html 

MATH

• https://www.abcya.com/

• https://pbskids.org/

• https://www.mathplayground.com/

• Mathical Books has a wonderful list of books with mathematical themes for ages 3-18.

SOCIAL STUDIES

• https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/

• https://pebblego.com/

• The Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library is home to a wide array of maps.  These are so fun to explore, and you can have great conversations about what maps tell us about a place, a time, and the people who made the maps. The Tools for Teachers section is a great place to filter what you are looking for in a map.

• Massachusetts Historical Society  (MHS) has a great Teaching & Learning Center.  There are Social Studies lesson plans with primary source documents from their collection. "Classroom Resources" and "Online Collections" are great to explore.  The MHS has incredible documents from history including all of John, Abigail, and John Quincy Adams's papers and half of Thomas Jefferson's papers.

• Google Arts & Culture teamed up with over 500 museums to create digital tours.  Though our local museums are physically closed, they are open online for a free digital tour!  The MFA, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Harvard Art Museums, and the Peabody Essex Museum all have tours to take.  But why limit yourself to Massachusetts? Take a trip to Paris to tour the Louvre or the Orsay! See the Dutch Masters at the Rijksmuseum and the perennial favorite VanGogh at the VanGogh Museum in Amsterdam.  Travel + Leisure compiled a list of their 12 favorite museums from the collection. 

SCIENCE

• https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/

• https://www.nasa.gov/kidsclub/index.html

• https://pebblego.com/

• World Wildlife Fund Wild Classroom Daily Activities Plan 

SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING

• Check out these mindfulness-themed apps and websites Headspace and Blissful Kids

• 50 Children's Books for Teaching Social Skills 

• PBS's Arthur Interactive SEL Lessons 

The district also made its own website of ways to learn from home which can be found here: NPS Learning From Home: PreK-5