Second Grade Curriculum Night

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Presented by: Mrs. Raycraft

Our goal this year is to…

Work together to ensure your child has a successful and rewarding Second Grade year that shows growth in all curriculum areas.

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We are a team!

Mrs. Raycraft

Mrs. Mitchell

● I attended ISU.

● This is my 6th year in Unit 5. I taught in Champaign 4 years prior to joining the Unit 5 team. This is my 2nd year at Towanda and I teach Special Education both inside the classroom and outside of the classroom. I am excited to be apart of the 2nd grade team this year!

● My husband and I have 3 kids (2 girls and 1 boy). My oldest daughter is in 1st grade at Oakdale; my 2nd oldest daughter is in Pre-K and my son is 2 ½ years old.

Our Schedule for the Year

Tuesday:

• 12:00-12:50 Library

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Wednesday:

• 12:15-12:40 Music

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Thursday:

• 12:00-12:50 Art

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Friday

• 12:15-12:40 Music

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Everyday:

• 8:00-8:25 PE
• 11:10-12:00 Lunch/Recess

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Helpful Hints for the Year

• Check child’s book-bag, take home folder each evening. Be sure to sign behavior calendar every night.

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• Read classroom Seesaw to keep informed of class content and activities.

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• Set aside a time and place for homework

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• Encourage your child to read at least 15 minutes each night.

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• Remind your child to keep his/her toys at home.

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• Keep the teacher informed of important information that affects your child

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• Keep books inside reading pouch and return to school daily

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• Best way to contact me is email or seesaw: raycrae@unit5.org

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Behavior Expectations

• Be a listener
• Use kind words
• Think of others
• Hands to self
• Move in a safe and careful way
• Do your best work

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Bulldog Behavior

• Pink —Role Model Behavior- 4 or more rewards for following expectations
• Purple —Outstanding Behavior- 3 rewards for following expectations
• Blue—Showing Pride– 2 rewards for following expectations
• Green — Ready to Learn– 1 reward for no reminders for following expectations
• Yellow — Think About It– 1st reminder/warning
• Orange— Teacher’s Choice– 2nd reminder teacher chooses consequence (ex. Loss of 5 minutes of recess or free time in room)
• Red— Parent Contact– 3rd reminder or more teacher contacts parent / office referral if needed

Please sign and return calendar everyday!

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Homework

• Homework choice board will be sent home every Monday and should be returned by Friday

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• Choose 5 boxes to complete by Friday. Make sure to at least pick one in each row.

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• Choose something you and your child feel they need extra practice with

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• Try to make homework a routine each week

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• Help your child be responsible

Technology

• IXL
• Prodigy
• Epic
• Clever
• Seesaw

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Reading

• Mini Lesson 10-15 minutes- The mini lesson will focus on a strategy or skill children need to learn in order to grow as readers. There is often a read aloud to teach and model the strategy or skill we are focused on.

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•  Independent Practice Read/Response 20-30 minutes-
• students apply what was focused on during the mini-lesson by practicing the skill while reading
• Students will also respond to their reading in their notebooks
• Student will be working in small guided reading groups or one on one conferences

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• Sharing Community 5-10 minutes- During the sharing circle children have the opportunity to share their learning, their successes, questions or any problems they encountered during their work time.

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Reading

Units covered in Reading

• Readers Apply Print and Comprehension Strategies in Order to Read Well
• Readers Get to Know Characters
• Readers Efficiently Navigate and Comprehend Non-fiction Text
• Building Comprehension, stamina, and fluency in harder books Fiction and Non-fiction
• Readers Investigate Topics of Interest in Fiction and Non-fiction
• Readers Critique Big ideas and themes in their reading
• Genre Studies
• Fairy Tales, Folktales, Fables, Myths, Dramas/Plays, Poems

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Writing

• Mini Lesson 10-15 minutes-Mini lessons will focus on one of the 6 traits of writing (ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence  fluency, conventions, and presentation) within a genre. 

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• Independent Practice Writing/Response 30-35 minutes-
• writing process and practice building writing skills
• conferencing with them individually and in small groups
• Your child will be encouraged and praised for all attempts and accomplishments in writing.

• Sharing Community 5-10 minutes-Students will share their writing experiences and reflect on the mini lesson as a whole class or in groups.

Writing

• Personal Narrative
• Adaptations of Fairy Tales
• Nonfiction Writing
• Autobiography
• Letter Writing: Opinion/Argument
• Book Review

Math

• Mini Lesson 10-15 minutes
• Independent Practice 35-40 minutes- Children will rotate through the following stations:
• M (Math Fact Practice)
• A (At your seat- journal page, independent activity)
• T (Teacher- small group instruction)
• H (Hands on- math game or activity)
• Each station will have different hands on activities using Ipads, computers, or math manipulatives
• Sharing Community 5-10 minutes-Students will share their math experiences and reflect on the mini lesson as a whole class or in groups.

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Math

Units of Study covered

• Number Sense
• Telling Time
• Money
• Addition and Subtraction Facts problems
• Graphing
• 2D and 3D shapes
• Whole number operations and Number stories
• Fractions
• Measurement
• Decimals and Place Value
• Telling Time to the nearest 5 minutes

Words Their Way

• Words Their Way has replaced our traditional spelling lists
• Words Their Way is a developmental spelling, phonics, and vocabulary program
• This word study approach allows students to examine, manipulate, compare and categorize words in order to make their own discoveries about spelling patterns
• Based on information about a child’s spelling errors and developmental stage, teachers guide students in their study of sounds, patterns and meanings of words

Words Their Way

• Open sort
• Closed sort
• Blind sort
• Speed sort
• Write sort
• Word hunts
• Games (Memory, Go-Fish, Slap Jack)
• Test (biweekly or weekly depending on your child’s sort)

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Whole class Word Study

• Weekly “BANG” words (Sight Word Game)
• The directions went home in students homework folder
• Phonics sounds/ skills
• Long/ short vowels
• Consonant clusters (st, cl, fr, src, etc.)
• Endings (ing, ed, s, es, etc.)
• Silent e
• Vowel patterns (ee, ea, ou, ow, oa, oo, etc.)

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Standards Based Grading

• TeacherEase
• 4 point scale but 3 is meeting the standard
• Continuous throughout the year
• No Report cards
• Priority Standards

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Parent Teacher Conferences

• Monday, November 7th

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Volunteering

• Weekly volunteering opportunities
• Volunteers will start mid September

*please make sure if you signed up to volunteer that you get the background check done

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