Homework & Academics

Homework:

·        Starting the second week of school, your child will have reading homework each evening.  We ask that he/she spend 15 – 20 minutes reading at least 5 days a week. Your child will bring home a reading calendar at the beginning of each month.  Please help your child record the minutes he or she reads each night and return the completed calendar at the end of the month. 

·        Please practice spelling words with your child daily.  New lists come home on Monday; tests are on Fridays.

·        There will be one short writing and math assignment each week.  These are opportunities for you to see what your child is learning and for your child to practice new skills.  Please do not expect the work to be perfect.  Writing and math are due by the Thursday of that week.  

.   Practice math facts using XtraMath website at least 2 times per week

·        Occasionally, there may be other assignments.

Class Work:

·        In the first months of school, much of the work is done as a group, but the students will gradually be doing more independent work.  We look over this work to gather information about your child.  A stamp, star, or comment on the paper means that it was looked at, but does not necessarily mean that the paper is perfect.

·        Most class work is collected and sent home on a weekly basis.  Your student’s writing will be kept at school, however.  We will be using past papers to practice new skills and to show progress. The weekly homework should give you a feel for what we are learning and how your child is performing in writing.  Writing folders will be sent home at the end of the year.

 

Academics

Reading:  Mrs. Boberg and Mrs. Jewell

Our instruction will include guided reading, phonics, vocabulary development, fluency, and comprehension. 

Writing:  Mrs. Jewell

The emphasis will be on personal narratives, informational articles, descriptive writing, letters, and opinion pieces.  We will be learning many “tricks” that good authors use.  Cursive writing instruction of the lower case letters will begin after the winter break.

Math: Mrs. Boberg

Our goal is to get the students comfortable with manipulating numbers.  We work with addition and subtraction and will introduce regrouping (carrying and borrowing).  We cover money and telling time.  Gathering, graphing, and analyzing data and problem solving is part of our daily routine.

Science:  Mrs. Jewell

The students will be exposed to three science kits this year.  We will begin with “Measurement Matters”.  “Earth’s Land and Water” and “Plants” and will follow this unit.

Social Studies:  Mrs. Boberg

The focus of 2nd grade Social Studies is Community.   The students will explore these 6 units:  1.  What is a community?  2. Where is my community?  3.  How do citizens live together in a community?  4. How do people work together in a community?  5. How do communities change?  6.  How can citizens affect a community?

Computer:  Mrs. Boberg and Mrs. Jewell

We begin some basic keyboarding.  We learn to understand some of the basic functions necessary for writing stories and reports.  The students continue to use the programs they learned in first grade.

Spelling:  Mrs. Boberg and Mrs. Jewell

The students will be learning common spelling patterns/word families and memorizing “red words” (words that can’t be sounded out).   Tests will normally be given on Fridays and new lists will come home on Mondays.