Mrs. Chapman’s Class Handbook

2014 - 2015

Dear Parents and Guardians, Welcome to second grade! I am so excited to be your child’s teacher this year. I have many exciting activities and lessons planned to make learning fun and memorable for your child. Communication is a vital part of your child’s success at school. Our district is making an effort to go green, so most of the necessary communications will be sent via email or posted on the district website. Please check your messages often, and feel free to send questions, comments, or concerns if you have them. It is important to me that each child feels a sense of family and belonging in my classroom. I believe that a child must feel comfortable and happy to be able to focus on learning. I look forward to working with you to make this an exciting and productive year for your child. Sincerely, Mrs. Leslie Chapman lchapman@highlandcusd5.org Second Grade Website: https://sites.google.com/a/highlandcusd5.org/highland-primary-school/home/second-grade

The Star Polisher by Leah Becks

I have a great job in the universe of occupations. What do I do? I'm a "star polisher."

It's a very important job. If you want to know how important, just go out at night and look at the stars twinkling and sparkling.

You see, I'm a teacher. The stars are the children in my class. My job is to take them in - in whatever shape they come - and shine and buff them and then send them out to take their places as bright little twinkling beacons in the sky.

They come into my room in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes they're bent, tarnished, dirty, crinkly and broken. Some stars are cuddly, soft and sweet. Some stars are prickly and thorny.

As I buff, polish, train and teach my little stars, I tell them that the world cannot do without them. I tell them they can do anything they set their minds to do. I tell them they can be the brightest, shiniest stars in the sky and the world will be a better place because of them.

Each night as I look at the sky, I'm reminded of my very important job and awesome responsibility. I go and get my soft buffing cloth and my bottle of polish in preparation for tomorrow and for my class of little stars.

Rules and Discipline: In order to create and maintain a classroom community in which all children feel comfortable and safe, classroom rules must be in place and followed at all times. We will discuss these rules frequently to ensure each child has a comprehensive understanding of the expectations in our classroom. Our rules are as follows: 1. Listen when others are talking. 2. Follow directions the first time they are given. 3. Keep hands, feet, and objects to yourself. 4. Work quietly and do not disturb others. 5. Show respect for school and personal property. 6. Work and play in a safe manner. We will use a clip chart in our classroom to manage behavior. Each child will have a clothespin with his or her number buddy written on it. All clothespins will be placed on the green section of the clip chart each morning, which indicates the children are “ready to learn”. Children can move up (going above and beyond in the classroom) or down (not following the rules or making good choices) on the chart. At the end of the day, your child will indicate the color their clip was on by coloring the box with the day of the week listed on their homework sheet. The clip chart categories are: Pink – Outstanding! This level is reserved for outstanding behavior. Students on this level will bring a “Good News” note home.

Blue – Great Choices! Students are making good choices and trying their best.

Green – Ready to Learn! Students are meeting classroom expectations.

Yellow – Think About It! Students who are not meeting classroom expectations clip to this level. This level is a reminder to make good choices.

Orange – Teacher Choice! Teacher will choose an appropriate consequence for students clipping to this level.

Red – Parent Contact! Students who choose to make poor decisions will miss a recess. A note will be sent home to explain the behavior. Using this behavior plan, students are able to monitor and modify their behavior. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. (lchapman@highlandcusd5.org)

Curriculum:

Reading is the key to success in any subject. In second grade, your child will be reading for much of the day. Our reading program includes whole group instruction, Guided Reading (small group instruction), and Accelerated Reading (individual reading). Our reading series, which was first adopted in 2013, is the WONDERS series by McGraw-Hill. This series has an at home technology component that your child will be able to utilize. More information will be sent home as we begin to use this component. Each night, students are asked to read for 15 minutes at home. Reading may be from a reading book, guided reading book, AR book, or for fun book. Please sign the homework sheet each night when your child has completed their reading. Accelerated Reader (AR) is a program that our school uses to monitor students’ comprehension, or what they remember about what they have read. Your child will take an assessment to determine their “just right” level for independent reading. They will choose AR books within that level. Your child will also be given a point goal to reach for AR. It is really important that your child reaches his or her goal and does their best on each test. AR is 10% of the reading grade each quarter.

Reading  

There are many important concepts taught in mathematics in second grade. Our school uses the EnVision Math series. In second grade, your child will learn:

1. Addition and subtraction strategies 2. Counting by 2’s, 5’s, and 10’s 3. Telling time to the hour, half-hour, and 5-minute 4. Identifying and counting money

In addition to the EnVision series, our class will use the Mastering Math Facts program, also known as Rocket Math. Rocket Math is a great way for your child to practice addition and subtraction facts at his or her own pace. Each child will begin on the addition rocket at level A. In order to move on to the next letter, your child will have to correctly answer 20 facts in one minute. Children who pass the level will move on to the next letter. Children who do not pass the level will complete that sheet as practice for homework and continue that level until they are able to answer 20 facts correctly in one minute. A sheet with math facts is attached to the end of this packet.

English will be taught as a part of Writing, but students will also practice grammar, sentence structure, and paragraph formation skills within our new reading series. These skills will also be taught using the Daily Language Review (D.L.R.) program, mini-lessons, games, and review worksheets. There will be quizzes each week (on Wednesday) over some of the sentences that we have practiced during D.L.R. the previous week. The practice sentences will be on the newsletter each week for practice.

Math  

Language Arts

 

The main focus in second grade regarding sentence structure will be: capitalization (beginning of sentences and proper nouns), punctuation (period, question mark, exclamation mark, commas, quotation marks, apostrophes, and parentheses), verb tenses, and addresses. Practicing these skills with your child will help them in both reading and writing.

Spelling tests are given each Friday and consist of 15 list words from our spelling curriculum and dictation sentences. Spelling words will be sent home in the newsletter and will be on the back of the homework sheet, which is kept in the homework folder at all times. We will practice words a couple of times per week at school, however your child may need extra practice at home. Our class will also have a pre-test on Tuesday. If your child spells all of the words correctly on the pre-test, then they will earn a grade of 100% for the week, and they will not be required to take the final test.

We will be doing a lot of writing this year. The focus of the writing assignments will be in the form of narratives, expository, opinion/persuasive, letters, and journal writing. Most of the writings students complete will be kept in a folder at school (writing portfolio) until the end of the year. When your child receives a grade on the writing (for a specific skill), copies of that writing will be sent home. Words that we have learned already or words that are found in our room must be spelled correctly. Words that we have not learned or are not found in our room may be spelled using “brave” spelling. Your child should do their best, and circle the word to indicate they were brave when spelling it. I want your child to get comfortable with writing their thoughts on paper. Letter formation examples are attached at the end of this packet.

Spelling

Writing

It is very important that your child work on his or her handwriting. They should be able to form all letters and numbers correctly and neatly. At the start of the second semester, we will begin to learn cursive. We must master correctly printing before cursive begins. Cursive writing is exciting for our class. Please do not encourage your child to write in cursive before we learn in at school.

These subjects are not graded in second grade, however your child is still expected to do their best work. All students will receive credit on their report cards for participation and discussion. This year, your child will rotate to another classroom for Social Studies. Technology skills will be incorporated into Science and Social Studies to enhance those lessons and expose children to technology. In Social Studies, your child will learn about maps, communities, government, Native Americans, and many historical people. Science will involve many hands-on science kits including plants, simple engineering, matter, Earth changes, and habitats. Mrs. Wilson, the social worker, will also come into our room to teach the program Growing Up Well. Students will learn about healthy living.

Handwriting

Science, Social Studies,

Technolgy, and Health

Homework: Homework is important because it reinforces what we are learning at school, prepares your child for upcoming lessons, teaches responsibility, and helps children develop good study habits. Your child will have a homework schedule in their homework folder every week. Please leave that sheet in the folder until it is sent home in your child’s Friday Folder and initial each day after your child has completed their assignments. Your child should do their best on each homework assignment. It should always be written neatly and completed in pencil unless otherwise specified. In second grade, there is a no missing homework policy. If your child does not complete their homework before school begins, they will complete it during afternoon recess. Parents are the key to making homework positive for children. Please make homework a priority, provide the necessary supplies, and a quiet environment to work in. Homework is not taken for a grade in second grade, however I am including the grading scale for your information. A+ 100%

A 94-99% A- 92-93% B+ 90-91% B 84-89% B- 82-83% C+ 80-81% C 75-79% C- 73-74% D+ 71-72% D 69-70% D- 67-68% F 66% or below

Parties: Holiday Parties: I will send home a note to inform you of the class party your child is assigned to help with. If you would like to help out with games or crafts, please let me know a few weeks in advance of the party. Our classroom is an allergy safe classroom, so only specific foods and beverages will be allowed in the classroom. This includes candies that may be used for games or activities. If you are unable to help with the party that I have assigned to you, please let me know at your earliest convenience. We’ll try to work something out. Special notes you should be aware of for classroom parties are:

• Siblings are not permitted to attend parties (or field trips) • Any food items must be store bought and brought in their original unopened

container • Party times will be announced in the classroom newsletter near the date of

the party

Birthdays: Our classroom is an allergy aware classroom. In order to ensure each member of our classroom family is safe at school, we will not have food in our classroom, except for scheduled classroom parties. This includes birthday treats. Celebrating birthdays is a very exciting event for second grade children, so we will celebrate by making a book for the birthday child and singing to them. If your child would like to bring something to share with the class, it is important that it be a non-food item such as pencils, stamps, stickers, etc. I really appreciate your help and understanding as we strive to maintain a safe environment for all children in our class.