Literacy

Hello Grade 2,

Have you been admiring the apple blossoms? I'm still enjoying watching the hummingbirds. It seems this spring there are so many birds enjoying the trees and blossoms. I'm also wondering about your doodles. Have you created some characters? Have you written some stories about them? I hope so, it takes a lot of practice and revising, but I know you are up for it.

I have included the remainder of the Mo Willems lunch doodles, maybe over the summer you will watch a few videos. I think it is neat to learn the behind the scenes information about writing and publishing books. I have also included a book called Birds, by Kevin Henkes. I like the colors in the illustrations. It might give you some ideas for your own illustrations.

This summer you could also keep a journal, try to do a little writing each day. Maybe your journal will be your doodles and some stories about them! It is also important to read over the summer. You could visit the library, it is opening on June 8th!

Have a great summer grade 2,

Ms. Leslie

Parents,

Please look for library books that your child may have taken home and remember to return them. This is the last post for home learning. Have a great summer!

Hello Grade 2,

I hope you enjoyed writing letters last week! I know that your friends or family enjoyed receiving them. This week I have been doing lots of reading and gardening. My seeds finally sprouted! I think they needed the nice warm weather we have been having lately. Soon I will be enjoying fresh spinach, arugula, kale and lettuce, these are some of my favorite veggies.

This week I have also been reading books from one of my favorite genres. They are wordless picture books. I remember when I was your age I loved to look at pictures and paintings and then make stories up to go with them. Since those days I have discovered the author David Weisner. He writes mainly books without words! He is an artist and the story is in the pictures. I wish I could show you some of his books in person. Maybe when the library opens up you will find some of his books. I have included a video of his famous story, that was awarded the Caldecott Medal, Tuesday.

This week see if you can write the words to this story. It is a mystery, look for clues and use interesting words. Make the story sound exciting to capture the readers attention. If you have a brother or sister at home with you, they could help write the story. It is fun to write with others and share ideas.

In the Mo Willems lunch doodles I liked learning about the illustration process. It is very interesting to see how books are created and the details and drafts that happen for each picture and page in the book. Authors spend a lot of time reading and revising their work. It is exciting to see behind the scenes to some of the books we enjoyed reading together this year.

Grade 2, enjoy reading, writing and doodling!

Have a great week,

Ms. Leslie

Hello Grade 2,

I have enjoyed writing to you each week. This week I have also been writing letters to some of my friends. I have had the same pen pal for many years, actually for over twenty years! I still enjoy going to the post office and receiving letters, as I'm sure most people do. With technology and phones, email and all kinds of ways to communicate (even this web page) we sometimes might forget that getting a hand written letter is a great surprise.

I hope this week you can write a letter to a friend or relative and put it in the mail. You could even include one of your doodles with your letter. Maybe you will continue to write letters to that person and then you will also have a pen pal!

In Episode 6 of Lunch Doodles you will meet Mo Willems dog. I have included a couple of stories this week about dogs, one about the Pigeon, and another story about a dog that includes letter writing titled, Can I Be Your Dog? I wonder how many of you have a dog? My dog's name is Pal, and he is definitely a great pal!

Enjoy doodling, listening to stories and writing letters this week. Remember to read each day, have fun with your family and play outside.

I miss you all,

Ms. Leslie

Hello Grade 2,

This week I have been doing lots of reading and some story telling! I have been enjoying looking at some family photo albums. I wonder if you ever do that? It is fun to look at pictures of your family and have someone tell you about that time. This brings back many memories for me. You could take some pictures now and write about this time and all of the things that you enjoy doing with your family at home. It will be fun to look back and have those memories in the future! I encourage you to make a photo album and add a paragraph to each picture. If you want you could draw a picture instead, then write about it!

Did you enjoy the Mo Willems stories? I know you must have enjoyed his Lunch Doodles. You can work away at your own pace, I hope you have watched and doodled along with him! I have added a few more videos for you to watch. I know you will enjoy drawing Elephant and Piggie. Episode 4 reminds me of th

Grade 2, have fun doodling, journal writing, creating and story writing this week. Remember to read each day, look for interesting words and talk about the story with someone at home. Go outside and look for signs of spring and enjoy the sounds in nature.

I miss you all,

Ms. Leslie

Parents,

I hope things are going well, and that you are able to try some literacy activities at home. That might mean having a conversation about the things you are doing together, reading a book, finding interesting words, or playing games. Literacy is all around us, with your child you could look for word patterns, rhyming words, or print in our environment (example road signs). Recipes are great for understanding procedures, after following directions you could ask, what did you do first, next, etc...

These are just some ideas of things to look for and do, many of which I'm sure you already do on a daily basis. I hope that you find these suggestions helpful, if you would like to offer some feedback as to how things are going and what your child is enjoying for literacy activities, please email me. As well if you need the login and password for your child to use raz kids please email me: rosalind.leslie@nbed.nb.ca

This program checks for understanding with comprehension questions for students to answer after they read the story. Please do not feel that you have to use this program, it is optional, but it will give you access to some different reading material if needed.

Take care,

Ms. Leslie