Readers workshop-60 minutes
daily
·
.Mini Lesson
During this 10-15
minutes of our reading block, we will share a story or part of a story to
highlight a comprehension skill we are working on. Mini lessons happen daily and are a regular
part of our reading block time.
·
Core Instruction time
This time lasts
anywhere from 30-40 minutes. Generally
the class is given a task based on the focus of the mini lesson. At this time the kids will also be
independently reading books at their appropriate level. It is also during this time that reading
groups will meet with me. There will
also be times when I will conference with students during this time (1-on-1
time where I am able to get a much more specific picture of who each child is a
reader) or I may also assess students to determine if reading levels need to
change.
·
Share time
At the conclusion of
readers workshop, we will devote 5-10 minutes so a small selection of kids who
would like to share anything that happened to them during independent reading
time may do so. They may have read a
really neat book and want to tell their classmates about it or how they were
able to apply the comprehension skill we worked on to their reading for the
day. While students are strongly
encouraged to share, they are not required to do so.
·
Read Alouds/Grandma Murray
Reading aloud is one
of my most favorite things to do. Read alouds are incorporated into the mini lesson portion of our reading time. There will also be 1 day a week when my
grandma, who we affectionately call Grandma Murray, will come to share her love
of children’s literature with the kids.
It’s been our favorite time of the week for the past few years and
Grandma Murray will tell you it’s the time of week she looks forward to most!
Writing workshop-60 minutes
daily
·
Mini Lesson
Just like readers
workshop, writer’s workshop will follow the same format which will begin with a
10-15 minute mini lesson. During this
time a new writing skill will be taught/reviewed or the task for the day will
be given.
·
Independent time
This
time will be shorter at the beginning of the year and we will work on their
writing stamina as the year progresses.
At our best this is also generally 30-40 minutes where students will be
able to work on their pieces which really make them take ownership of their
work! As the teacher I will also
independently conference with the kids and possibly pull small groups of
students to focus or reinforce a skill with which they may be struggling.
·
Sharing
Just
like reading, students will have the opportunity to share anything about the
independent writing time. Again,
students do not have to share, but are strongly encouraged to do so. It is about 5-10 minutes of our time.
Word Work-20/25 minutes 3-4 times a week
·
We are
using Words Their Way for our “spelling”
curriculum. Depending on the placement
of your child, he/she may get a new word sort every other
week. When new sorts are given, they
will be given on Friday
and these will be used for the following week(s). I will be sending the same set of words home
on Monday for them
to practice/to homework. At home, you
will need to cut them apart and do different activities to learn the skill
being focused on. Please be sure to keep
them for the 1 or 2 weeks they have them.
·
Assessments
do not HAVE to be given each week (or for some students, every other week)
although I do like to check to see how well they have learned the skill. Generally assessments will be given on a Friday. I will start the year by not taking these for
a grade, but as the year progresses I will take them into account for that
portion of their report card. I will let
you know when I will make that change.
·
If you
have any questions about this program or are unsure of where a particular word
belongs in a sort, please do not hesitate to let me know!
Math-60
minutes daily
This is a spiral curriculum so many of
the skills your child learned last year will continue to be focused and
expanded on. There is a lot of
cooperative learning through partner activities and games in this series.
We will be doing workshop for math as
well, but the format of this time is not as concrete as reading and writing. We will generally begin with a focus lesson which lasts approximately 15-20 minutes. The remainder of the time is spent in small groups traveling to different stations. One station will be work done with me, one will be work on the computer, and one will generally be a math game where the kids will practice skills we have been working on or they will be playing games to develop their strategic thinking. There may be times where a focus lesson is not needed and we will go straight into group activities.
I
cannot stress enough the importance of memorizing the basic arithmetic facts.
The instant recall of these facts will impact how easily your child will be
able to manipulate numbers, see patterns, and do higher level mathematics in the
future.
Science
· We will be in the second year of using our science curriculum and it proved to be quite fun last year! This will be one that will focus on inquiry and requires a lot of hands on involvement from the kids. We'll look at various concepts as we study Earth science, physical science, and life science. Should be a fun year of learning 2nd grade science!
Social Studies
Social Studies covers so much content and is lots of fun to learn! We begin our year by studying the formation of our government--the 3 branches of government is a highlight of the chapter. Studying different cultures around the world is another topic along with learning the basics of economics! The discussions we have are exciting and enjoyable, but we're also able to do various projects that allow for discovery and self learning as well!
