Story Elements: Character, Setting, Summarizing, Problem/Solution

Room #17 October Newsletter Reading We continue to practice our Daily 5 activities and CAFE reading strategies. These are some of the skills we are working on this month:  Story Elements: character, setting, summarizing, problem/solution  Grammar: nouns/verbs, subject/ predicate, complete/incomplete sentences, and types of sentences (command, statement, question, exclamation) Ways to help your child with these skills: 1. Make sure your child is reading a variety of genres 2. Each week your child should read aloud, read silently, and be read to 3. Help your child describe the story elements ( character, setting, plot, problem, solution) 4. Ask who, what, when, why, where, and how questions. The discussions should sound more like a book club, rather than a test. Have your child refer to the text/pictures to back up his/her answer (text evidence).

Challenge Questions for Reading Comprehension “How would the story change if…” “How is this story different/similar to ______.”! “How would you change the story..?” “How would you continue the story where it left off?” “What if the character was in a different setting?” “How would she/he change?” “What if you were the character, how would you react when..?”

Fluency and Prosody You can help your child with fluency by having him/her read aloud each night. When your child is reading to you at home, it is important to have him/her practice reading with expression, NOT just SPEED READING!!! Remember different characters have different voices. Model this when reading to your child.

Weekly Assessments Your child will be given weekly comprehension, grammar, and vocabulary tests. For the questions, I am requiring the students to highlight their answers in the text, as text evidence, proving their answers. If your child is missing more than one question in the comprehension section, then that is a red flag that your child needs help. All of these weekly comprehension tests will be sent home each week after we correct them together in class. Please go over them with your child.

Math We are and/or will be focusing on the following math concepts: • Addition/Subtraction Strategies: make a ten, doubles, doubles plus one, math mountains • Equation Chains • Odd & Even Numbers • Adding 3 and 4 addends • Story problems including: put together, take apart, comparison, and mixed word problems. • When completing word problems, children should retell the problem in their own words and use the “CUBES” steps (Circle the numbers, Underline the question, Box key words, Evaluate the kind of problem/Draw a Picture, Solve/Check). They have to prove their answers through drawings (i.e. Math Mountains, drawings, etc.). Students must label their drawings to show representation, and explain it to others. Word problems can be very difficult for children at this age. Please remember to practice this at home!

How to help your child in Math:

How to help your child in Math: • Give your child small objects (noodles, beans, etc.) to practice estimating and counting by 2’s, 5s, 10s up to 1,000. • Discussing & Identifying Odd/Even Numbers (use small objects and numbers) • Having your child count change and make sure he/she properly names and knows the values of all coins • Practice comparing double and triple digit numbers using <, >, = • Practice math facts - flash cards went home in the Homework Folder • Discuss the value of digits in numbers like 243 (2 hundreds represents 200, 4-tens represents 40, etc.) • Ask your child to explain in detail how he/she solved various math problems.

Progress Reports The week of October 12th, I will send home progress reports for children that are struggling with reading fluency and comprehension, math concepts, and behavior. If your child did not receive a progress report then that means that he/she is meeting the 2nd grade standards at this point in the school year. Continue to go over your child’s assessments in the Leitch Folder.

Homework All homework will be assigned, discussed, and sent home on Mondays. Students do NOT need to return their cover sheet daily. Completed homework is to be turned in each Friday. Please look over the homework carefully to make sure that your child is completing it accurately. Make sure each page is checked for accuracy and the pages are stapled before turning it in. If you find that the homework is too difficult for your child, let me know and we can discuss ways of modifying it. Also, if you have an emergency and your child is unable to complete the homework by Friday, send a note with your child and he/she will be excused until Monday. Thank you for teaching your child to be responsible for his/her homework!

Writing In writing, we are practicing what makes a sentence. We are looking at complete versus incomplete sentences, the subject and predicate in a sentence, and different kinds of sentences (question, command, exclamation, and statement sentences). We will be practicing expanding sentences using sensory descriptive words and will gradually work up to the more complex 2nd grade paragraph. Later on, we will be doing several activities in which the students add detail to their sentences (i.e. adjectives, where, when, why, how phrases). Have your child use the following as a guide for sentences when practicing writing:

1.Article-The/A 2.adjective-what kind/describes noun 3.noun-person, place, thing 4.verb- action/word of being 5.adverb-describes verb (more advanced) 6. where 7.when i.e. The hairy dog raced quickly through the park on a sunny afternoon.

2nd Grade Must Do’s: Please teach your child how to tie his/her shoes. Your child should be responsible for putting their library books and homework in their backpack. Give your child chores to do around the house: make his/her bed, help set the table, organize his/her room, fold the laundry, etc. This encourages responsibility. 8 Great Traits: September: Caring October: Respect for Others

Please discuss these traits with your child and work on them at home!

Fundraising/Classroom Donations Thank you to all families who have donated to our classroom fundraiser. We are almost there! Currently, we have raised approximately $3,200. We still need to raise $400 in order to fund our activities. The most expensive event that we still need to raise money for is our field trip to The Academy of Sciences. Remember, once we raise $3,600, we will have enough donations to cover ALL of the activities for the year! If you have not yet donated and would like to, or if you would like to make an additional donation to help us reach our goal, please notify me. Once I receive the amount needed, I can begin to plan/ book our field trips and activities. Remember to fill out the paperwork required through your company when doing matching donations!

Leitch Folders: Please look over papers and tests in the Leitch Folder. Please take out the papers before you return the folder to school.

Reminders: October 4th Walk and Roll October 12th Progress Reports sent home to struggling students October 30th 5th Grade Pumpkin Buddy Activity- Parents Needed 8:45-10:45! October 31st 2nd Grade Parade -TBD 1:15 Dismissal Library books are due Wednesdays! PE Days: Tuesdays, Fridays, and every other Monday (10/2, 10/16, 10/30)