Welcome to Mrs. Bley’sSecond Grade Class

Arcade Elementary

2000-2010

What’s new in second grade?

MORE RESPONSIBILITY!Higher expectationsNightly homeworkStudyingWeekly testsPercentage gradesLate lunchResponsible for own snack every day

Our district adopted the Scott Foresman Reading Street Series in 2009.

We utilize this reading series and supplement with trade books (non-fiction and chapter books) throughout the year.

We are focusing on learning to read and learning to understand what we read.

By the end of the school year, students need to read chapter books in preparation for third grade!

Second Grade Reading

Second Grade Spelling

A new unit of words is assigned every week. The list correlates with our weekly target skills. Children will spend the whole week using the words in

varied assignments and centers. Words should be studied on a nightly basis. Students will be tested on their words every Friday.

Individual words will be tested and one sentence will be dictated for the students to write correctly.

Please SAVE all spelling lists!

Second Grade Writing Second graders will engage in demand and creative writing. Our class will be using a writing program based on the research of well

known author Lucy Calkins this year. Second graders wills learn many different types of writing (personal

narrative, persuasive, how-to, sequence, friendly letter, journal entry, etc…). Second graders will learn how to write complete sentences using correct

capitalization, punctuation and spelling. Second graders will be encouraged to read over their work to revise and

edit their writing, as needed. By the end of the year, second graders should be able to write a complete

paragraph with an indented topic sentence, details and a conclusion. Some weeks, second graders will complete a demand writing piece called a

“Test Prep” based on our target skills. This “Test Prep” will be graded using a scoring rubric. The students will be introduced to all of these new concepts.

Second Grade MathSecond Grade students will learn:

Graphing Money Measurement Multiple digit addition and subtraction with and without regrouping Fractions Introduction to multiplication and division Estimating Problem Solving Reasoning Place Value Addition and subtraction strategies Time

Important Math Reminder!All

Addition and Subtraction facts to

18 should be memorized this

year!Please practice your facts

OFTEN at home!

We will be busy learning other math lessons at school!

Second GradeScience and Social Studies

CurriculumSocial Studies

• Mapping Skills• Landforms• The Community (Urban, Suburban ,Rural Communities)

• Traditions• Holidays/Symbols• Basic Economics• Cultural Focus

Science

•Bulbs

•A Healthy Me!•(Nutrition, Health, and Safety)

•States of Matter(Solids, Liquids, and Gases)

•Animal Life Cycle-Spiders

Handwriting

Second grade students will review the

lowercase and uppercase manuscript alphabet. Students will

be expected to form letters properly and

write neatly and legibly on all assignments. We are preparing for

learning cursive in third grade!

Our Schedule

• Our specials are scheduled from 10:55-11:35 every day.

Monday: Library

Tuesday: Art

Wednesdays and Fridays: Physical Education

Thursday: Music

Second Grade Lunch and Snack

• Second grade has the late lunch (12:55-1:25), so that the students will only have the late lunch once at Arcade Elementary!

• Students will use their ID cards to purchase lunch. Please send lunch money to school in an envelope with your child’s name and my name. You can prepay lunches in advance.

• We will have snack every day after specials.• Students are responsible for bringing their own

HEALTHY snack to school every day! Candy, gum and pop will be returned home if they are brought for a snack.

Second Grade Homework• Homework is given on a nightly basis,

but usually not on Fridays.• Homework will come home in an

agenda that all students will carry back and forth from home every day.

• Students should complete homework. However, parents may give guidance and should correct the homework to allow the student to make corrections.

• Homework is not graded, but if it is not completed, students lose privileges, such as free time.

• A “pink slip” will come home as a reminder of forgotten homework.

Second Grade Agenda To help with organization, to facilitate communication between

home and school and to better prepare your child for third and fourth grade, second grade teachers have created a homework “agenda” that the students will use.

• Students will bring home agendas on a nightly basis.• Homework and important information/notes will be sent home in the

agenda. Your child’s book log and spelling lists will be kept in the agenda.

• On the back of each week’s agenda page is a place for parent/teacher comments. Please have your child tell me if you wrote a note in the agenda!

• Please return homework, excuses or notes in the front pocket of your child’s agenda.

• PLEASE SIGN (OR INITIAL) YOUR CHILD’S AGENDA EVERY NIGHT after you check it.

THANK YOU!

Weekly Mailbox

• All school mail and notices from me will be sent home daily, as necessary, in your child’s agenda. PLEASE check your child’s agenda every day.

• Every Friday, your child will come home with a “Weekly Mailbox” filled with your child’s school work from the week.

• Please enjoy reviewing the work with your child over the weekend.

• Sign the parent log and return the mailbox on Monday.• The comments section is for comments for you to write

to your child, not me. If you have a comment or question for me, please write it in your child’s agenda.

Classroom Parties

• We love to celebrate holidays in Room 206!• We will have Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day and

Easter parties.• Our class will need parents to help with snacks, games,

organization and clean-up. We would love it if we had a parent volunteer to organize a party! See sign up sheets for more information!

• Birthday parties are very important, too! You are welcome to send in a treat for your child’s birthday. All of the supplies that are needed to serve the treat (cups, can opener, plates, forks, spoons, bowls, serving utensils, etc…) need to be brought in form home too!

Book Orders

• Classroom book orders are a wonderful way to build your child’s at-home library in an inexpensive way.

• Book orders will be sent home about once a month. The due date of the order will be on the back of the order from.

• Please send orders to school in an envelope marked with your child’s name with a check made out to the book company. Please be timely in sending in your order.

• If you would like to give the books as gifts, just let me know and I will be happy to keep your order a secret!

• Books take approximately 2-3 weeks to arrive after I place the orders.