Saturday, August 24, 2013

First Week in Second Grade

We had a great first week in second grade! Here are the literacy skills we will be practicing for this coming week. As always, if you have any questions or concerns please don't hesitate to contact me.


 You can support your child’s literacy skills by reviewing, discussing, and practicing the skills and concepts below:

Big Idea/Big Question
(This is the theme of our unit in class.)
Question of the Week
(This is the theme/question for this week’s instruction in class.)

Exploration:  What can we learn from exploring new places and things?


What can we learn by exploring space?
Phonics Skills
(These are the letters and sounds we are learning in class.)
Spelling Patterns and associated Words
(These patterns connect to our phonics skills we are learning this week.)

Long vowels:  vowel_e   (VCe)



Long vowels:  vowel_e
blaze   fine   huge   late   mice   nose   page   race   rice   size   space   vote

High Frequency Words
(These reading words should be practiced and memorized.)
Story Words
(These reading words are words from this week’s main selection.)

everywhere   live (/liv/)   machines   move   woman   work   world

astronaut   experiment   gravity   shuttle   telescope
Oral Vocabulary
(Try using these words in your conversations at home.)
Handwriting Practice
(Students can practice the writing of these letters in manuscript this week.)
ascend   descend   enormous   journey   launch   meteorite   orbit   universe

Gg, Cc

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Welcome to 2nd Grade!

We had a great first day of school yesterday, I am so excited for this upcoming year! Below you will find what we are working on in language arts this week. Please review this with your child at home, as well as practice spelling words for our spelling test on Friday.


Below are the skills and vocabulary we will be working on for the next 5 days.  (*Please note: our literacy lessons are based on 5-day plans that may or may not align with a M-F schedule. In an effort to teach the entire grade level core, we will send home the “weekly study skills” on the day that we begin a new 5-day instructional sequence.)  You can support your child’s literacy skills by reviewing, discussing, and practicing the skills and concepts below:

Big Idea/Big Question
(This is the theme of our unit in class.)
Question of the Week
(This is the theme/question for this week’s instruction in class.)

Exploration:  What can we learn from exploring new places and things?


What can we learn by exploring different communities?
Phonics Skills
(These are the letters and sounds we are learning in class.)
Spelling Patterns and associated Words
(These patterns connect to our phonics skills we are learning this week.)

Short vowels and consonants


Short vowels and consonants:
rock   list   desk   job   sad   chop  sack  tag  rib   mess   dust   drum

High Frequency Words
(These reading words should be practiced and memorized.)
Story Words
(These reading words are words from this week’s main selection.)
beautiful   country   friend   front   someone   somewhere
cousins   meadow   parents   promise
Oral Vocabulary
(Try using these words in your conversations at home.)
Handwriting Practice
(Students can practice the writing of these letters in manuscript this week.)
downy  founders  investigate  muttered  perch  rural  unanimous  urban

Aa, Dd, Oo,

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

This Coming Week


Just a reminder that this Thursday is our first grade program at 1:00pm and on Tuesday (5/28) is our field trip to Discovery Gateway Museum. Below you will find our last set of weekly study skills! Please continue to read daily and practice math facts. Have a great week!

First Grade Weekly Study Skills
Unit 5, Week 6, “The Stone Garden”

Below are the skills and vocabulary we will be working on for the next 5 days. You can support your child’s literacy skills by reviewing, discussing, and practicing the skills and concepts below:

Big Idea/Big Question
(This is the theme of our unit in class.)
Question of the Week
(This is the theme/question for this week’s instruction in class.)

Great Ideas:  What difference can a great idea make?


What can happen when someone has anew idea?

Phonics Skills
(These are the letters and sounds we are learning in class.)
Spelling Patterns and associated Words
(These patterns connect to our phonics skills we are learning this week.)
Prefixes un-, re-

Long o: o; Long i: i
Words with prefixes un-, re-
refill, reopen, repay, retell, rewind, undo, undress, unhappy, unkind, untie
High Frequency Words
(These reading words should be practiced and memorized.)
Story Words
(These reading words are words from this week’s main selection.)
carry, answered, poor, different
buried, bush, curious, miracle, neighbors, woman, young

Oral Vocabulary
(Try using these words in your conversations at home.)
Handwriting Practice
(Students can practice the writing of these letters in manuscript this week.)
accomplish, doubt, original, (un)manned, glider, soar, exclaim

Word Spacing

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Time Flies!

I can't believe how quickly the year is coming to an end. Just a reminder that May 23 is our first grade program at 1:00pm. They have been practicing very hard, you won't want to miss it!


First Grade Weekly Study Skills
Unit 5, Week 5, “Alexander Graham Bell:  A Great Inventor”

Below are the skills and vocabulary we will be working on for the next 5 days. 
You can support your child’s literacy skills by reviewing, discussing, and practicing the skills and concepts below:

Big Idea/Big Question
(This is the theme of our unit in class.)
Question of the Week
(This is the theme/question for this week’s instruction in class.)

Great Ideas:  What difference can a great idea make?


How can a great idea change the way we live?
Phonics Skills
(These are the letters and sounds we are learning in class.)
Spelling Patterns and associated Words
(These patterns connect to our phonics skills we are learning this week.)
Vowel Sound in ball:  aw, au

Syllable Patterns
Words with aw
crawl, draw, hawk, jaw, law, lawn, paw, saw, straw, yawn
High Frequency Words
(These reading words should be practiced and memorized.)
Story Words
(These reading words are words from this week’s main selection.)
early, learn, science, built, through
Alexander, Canada, dehusker, Graham, heard, piano, telephone, Thomas

Oral Vocabulary
(Try using these words in your conversations at home.)
Handwriting Practice
(Students can practice the writing of these letters in manuscript this week.)
determined, inventor, technology, stable, stalled, biplane, sketch, speech

Sentences: Word Spacing



Wednesday, April 17, 2013

This Week...


First Grade Weekly Study Skills
Unit 5, Week 1, “Tippy-Toe Chick, Go!”

Below are the skills and vocabulary we will be working on for the next 5 days. You can support your child’s literacy skills by reviewing, discussing, and practicing the skills and concepts below:

Big Idea/Big Question
(This is the theme of our unit in class.)
Question of the Week
(This is the theme/question for this week’s instruction in class.)

Great Ideas:  What difference can a great idea make?


When does a problem need a clever solution?
Phonics Skills
(These are the letters and sounds we are learning in class.)
Spelling Patterns and associated Words
(These patterns connect to our phonics skills we are learning this week.)
Dipthongs ow, ou

Final Syllable -le

Words with ow:
brown, clown, cow, crowd, down, grown, growl, how, now, town

High Frequency Words
(These reading words should be practiced and memorized.)
Story Words
(These reading words are words from this week’s main selection.)
along, behind, toward, eyes, never, pulling
breath, disagreed, favorite, potato bugs, tippy-toe
Oral Vocabulary
(Try using these words in your conversations at home.)
Handwriting Practice
(Students can practice the writing of these letters in manuscript this week.)

clever, intend, predicament, grumpy, exhausted, furious, batter, griddle
Numbers 11, 12, 13, 14, 15
Word Spacing


Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Weekly Study Skills


Unit 4, Week 6, “Henry and Mudge and Mrs. Hopper’s House”

Below are the skills and vocabulary we will be working on for the next 5 days.  (*Please note: our literacy lessons are based on 5-day plans that may or may not align with a M-F schedule. You can support your child’s literacy skills by reviewing, discussing, and practicing the skills and concepts below:

Big Idea/Big Question
(This is the theme of our unit in class.)
Question of the Week
(This is the theme/question for this week’s instruction in class.)

Treasures: What do we treasure?


What treasures can we share with neighbors?

Phonics Skills
(These are the letters and sounds we are learning in class.)
Spelling Patterns and associated Words
(These patterns connect to our phonics skills we are learning this week.)

Suffixes: -ly, -ful
Words with Suffixes: -ly, -ful

careful, gladly, nicely, painful, playful, quickly, sadly, slowly, useful, wonderful

High Frequency Words
(These reading words should be practiced and memorized.)
Story Words
(These reading words are words from this week’s main selection.)
told, only, across, because, dance, opened, shoes

gargoyle, heart, shiny, tuxedo, waltz
Oral Vocabulary
(Try using these words in your conversations at home.)
Handwriting Practice
(Students can practice the writing of these letters in manuscript this week.)
discover, dwell, resident, welcome, admire, sadness, tremendous, substantial
Numbers 6-10
Spacing