Week of 10/2

Parent Teacher Conferences are October 16th-18th 

 2A Homeroom Parents please sign up here: 
http://signup.com/go/EKEeDLY

 If there is not a time that will work for you, please let me know-I am happy to accommodate schedules. Conferences are for parents only.

 Thank you so much for your continued partnership! 

Grades
I know many of you are new to Great Hearts, so I wanted to take a minute to outline a few things about the grading system, specifically for 2nd grade. 
  
In Kinder-2nd grade we do not assign numeric or alphabetic grades. Instead, you will see a scale like the one below:

1  Below Grade Level Expectations

2  Inconsistently shows Grade Level Expectations

3  Meets Grade Level Expectations    

4  Exceeds Grade Level Expectations

You will then see a long list of various learning standards that will be assigned one of these numbers.  
Quick note:
Some of our children have a natural tendency to be dissatisfied with a 3 "meeting grade level expectations" because it is not considered the best. Please help them understand that their mastery, at any level and any pace, is one to be celebrated. Help them find the positive and excitement in learning- if their natural bent is toward perfectionism. 

  

Your child has been leveled for reading. You will receive your child's level within their grade checklist. Please see below for defined reading stages (EE, UE, EF, F) and what books are available at your child's level for a-z reading (also will be noted for you at conferences).

A-Z Levels (Reading) 

Titles and Author / Books available at each level: 
http://www.archwaychandler.org/academics/reading-stages

Reading Stages Defined (Guided Reading Level)

Early Emergent (EE):
 Reader understands concepts of print and basic punctuation, can identify and name letters, is able to match sounds with letters, recognizes some high frequency words, uses illustrations for meaning and uses finger or marker to point to text.

Upper Emergent (UE):
Reader sub-vocalizes or often reads aloud, reads word by word pausing at unfamiliar words, recognizes many words immediately, is beginning to use a few decoding strategies to problem solve new words and uses one or more strategies to gain meaning.

Early Fluent (EF):
Reader is beginning to read silently with independence, uses a variety of strategies to gain meaning, is able to recognize many familiar words, uses story and text structure with guidance to establish meaning and is beginning to read a variety of materials for different purposes.

Fluent (F):
Reads silently with independence and aloud with expression and fluency, selects a variety of texts and more difficult materials, uses a variety of strategies to read unfamiliar words, comprehends and self-corrects to gain meaning, summarizes and makes meaningful predictions and self-selects and enjoys books of interest and variety.

10/2 - 10/6

Upcoming dates to note: 

• Quarter 1 Parent-Teacher Conferences- Oct. 16-18

Please see Monday's Fall Conference blog post for the day/time slot sign up link and report card (checklist) clarification guide 

• SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR! 
  http://www.scholastic.com/bf/archwayclassicalacadlincoln

• Picture Retake- Friday (Please see previous post for information link)  
• SPELLING BEE 

What can you do to prepare?We encourage every student to prepare for participation in the Classroom Spelling Bee. 

Visit http://spellingbee.com/parents-and-students to find additional materials and helpful strategies.

Once students have mastered the 100 grade-specific words provided, move on to grade-level lists for 1^st-8^th grade.       

Lists are on the home page of www.archwaylincoln.org in the side bar, under Spelling Bee Study Guide.

Get a head start preparing for the Great Hearts District Bee and Phoenix Regional Bees through Merriam-Webster’s 
        Spell It at http://spellit.com.   

A glance at our coming week...



(Please email me if your child is going to miss class.)
  
Math: Measurement Unit
Measuring length in meters, centimeters, yards, feet, curved lines. 
Mini assessment Friday 


Science: Simple Machine Unit 
Tuesday- Simple Machine Assessment (Mon. Review)
Wednesday we introduce the Simple Machine Project Assignment. Be on the look out for directions and more information regarding this project Wednesday 

History: India Unit 
Students will understand who King Asoka was and what impact he had on the spread of Buddhism in Asia 
Students will compare and contrast what they know about Buddhism and Hinduism   
Thursday a study guide will be sent home 
Friday- India Unit Assessment  

Literature: The Boxcar Children (Celebration Friday see bottom of post for information about this activity)
Idiom of the week: Keep your fingers crossed 
Grammar: Classifying a sentence for the subject noun, verb, adverb, and adjective 
Writing: Paragraph overview  


At home focus skill
Narration / Summarize / Retell / Essential Details:

Narration is a skill to be learned through practice. In narration, the student simply tells back a story in his/her own words. There are two common difficulties in learning to narrate.
1. The student gives every detail of the story, making the narration too long to write down :(
2. The student doesn't know how to start or what to say :(

To help your student summarize, ask knowledge based questions/ summary questions after a text or story is read by your student. If he or she answers with a phrase or single word, repeat the answer back to him/her in a complete sentence. Then ask him/her to repeat the sentence back to you.
This begins to train your student to formulate grammatical sentences.

Then ask the student, "what is one thing you remember about the story?" Help him/her phrase their answer as a complete sentence. Write the sentence down as he/she watches. Point out the capitalization/punctuation as you write.

If the student uses verbal "fillers" such as "uh," "like", or "you know," encourage her/him to stop and think in silence until he/she is ready to speak the sentence. When these "fillers" slip back into the narration, simply repeat what the student has said, omitting the useless word; then have them repeat after you.

There is no rush! This is a skill to be learned. You are training your student in thinking skills, so that he /she can grasp and retain more knowledge in their later stages of education. Narration exercises train the mind to grasp what is central - an essential skill for note taking later on.

BOOK BUZZ
The Boxcar Children
Students celebrate the completion of their book by participating in a class Socratic discussion called a Book Buzz or Coffee Talk. The students enjoy book-themed food. The celebration is a Socratic discussion - a question is asked and the students discuss it without raising hands. Students often invite their more timid peers into the conversation by asking "What do you think ____?" if they notice a child has not spoken. Children are also practicing their conversation skills - you will hear them using phrases like, "Can you tell me more about your thought?" and "I respectfully disagree because..." etc. 
I facilitate the discussion and manage their off-track conversations. Students are not permitted to have side conversations or interrupt one another. All words are spoken to the circle as a whole. Students thank each other for their question and everyone has a chance to share. 
It is a beautiful celebration of the book's completion. The students greatly look forward to these celebrations and I so appreciate your support and help with the supplies! 

If you would like to sign up to bring supplies or volunteer sign up here:

http://signup.com/go/aeVrBFV