What Your Child Will Learn In Second Grade Student Expectations 2 2011-2012 A Resource Book for Parents 414 Fourth Avenue West • Hendersonville, NC 28739 • 828-697-4733 • www.henderson.k12.nc.us • Hendersonville, NC 28739 828-697-4733 www.henderson.k12.nc.us West Avenue 414 Fourth What Your Child Will Learn In Second Grade Student Expectations 2 2011-2012 A Resource Book for Parents To Second Grade I want to assure you that the teachers and staff of Henderson County Public Schools are committed to the needs of all the children we serve. We take very seriously the responsibility of providing instructional services to your son/ daughter. As a parent you are the primary teacher in your child’s life, and as such, possess valuable insights into his/her unique needs. As your son/daughter progresses through the grades, he/she will face many challenges and demands. Our objective is to prepare your child for an increasingly complex, changing world. Upon graduation, we hope that we have helped equip him/her with the tools necessary to be successful. We must work together to provide the best education possible for your child. Communication is essential. You can help your child more effectively if you know what will be expected of him/her. This publication features our expectations for students in the second grade. It is the third in the “What Your Child Will Learn” series, beginning with kindergarten and continuing through fifth grade. It is our belief that parents should have a resource book that tells them what we expect their child to learn and know at each elementary grade level. We hope this book proves to be a worthwhile publication for both you and your child. As in the Kindergarten and First Grade resource books, we begin the publication with two pages of “Ideas For Parents” which identify ways that you can help your child learn. One of the most important things you can do for your son or daughter is spend time with him/her. These ideas illustrate that you can teach and have fun at the same time. In second grade, reading skills become more essential to academic success. Encourage your son or daughter to read. Help him/her discover the many doors reading will open. Please set aside time every day to read to your child or have him/her read to you. Second grade teachers have provided you with a list of read-together books, “Books To Read With Your Child,” on page six. Please don’t hesitate to contact the teacher. It is our privilege to work with you and your child. We are here for the children we serve. David L. Jones Superintendent TABLE OF CONTENTS Ideas for Parents ......................................................................................................................... 2, 3 Reading ........................................................................................................................................... 4, 5 Books To Read With Your Child ......................................................................................................6 Writing ..................................................................................................................................................7 Mathematics .............................................................................................................................8, 9, 10 Social Studies .....................................................................................................................................11 Science .........................................................................................................................................12, 13 Programs For Children With Special Needs .............................................................................. 13 Arts - Music ....................................................................................................................................... 14 Arts - Visual Art .............................................................................................................................. 15 Healthful Living ................................................................................................................................. 16 Computer and Technology Skills ................................................................................................... 17 Information Skills ............................................................................................................................ 17 School Counseling.............................................................................................................................. 18 Character Education ....................................................................................................................... 19 Family Resources .......................................................................................................................20, 21 Core Values ........................................................................................................................................ 22 Promotion Standards ...................................................................................................................... 23 Our Schools ....................................................................................................................................... 24 When Will I Have Parent and Teacher Conferences? ............................................................ 25 How Much Homework Will My Child Have in the Second Grade? ........................................ 25 What Teachers Have To Say About Second Grade ................................................................ 26 1 IDEAS FOR PARENTS ● Keep plenty of reading materials in the home. ● Let your child see you reading. ● Go to the library and spend time together selecting books to take home. ● Have your child read at least 20 minutes each evening. ● Listen to your child read and talk with him about what he reads. ● Read aloud to your child a difficult chapter book (possibly reading one chapter a night). ● Encourage your child to read chapter books as well as picture books. ● Give books as presents. ● Put books in a special space. ● Have your child help read recipes and measure ingredients. 2 IDEAS FOR PARENTS ● Discuss road maps, places of interest, and mileage when traveling with your child. ● Use brochures to find places on maps. ● Take walks and discuss what you see. ● Practice addition and subtraction facts while riding in the car. ● Play board games and card games and work puzzles. ● Work on writing skills by having your child write letters to friends or family members. Have your child write stories using complete sentences. ● Allow your child to help make a family scrapbook; let your child write captions for the pictures. ● Have a digital and analog (face) clock in your home and have your child practice telling time. 3 READING Students will use listening, speaking, and reading skills they have developed to broaden their understanding of written language and their skills in using written language to express many ideas about a topic. Students will learn to ● Use phonics to read regular multi-syllable words when reading text. ● Read most high frequency words and many irregularly spelled words accurately. ● Apply reading skills to read a new book silently and independently. ● Read self-selected books independently for 20 minutes daily. Self-selected text should be consistent with the student’s independent reading level. ● Use texts for literary, informational, and practical purposes. ● Ask possible how, why, and what if questions to understand and/or interpret text. ● Recall main idea, facts, and details from a book. ● Discuss similarities and differences in events, characters, and concepts within and across the text. 4 ● Interpret information from diagrams, charts, and maps. ● Use personal experiences and knowledge to interpret written and oral messages. ● Explain and describe new concepts and information in their own words. ● Increase oral and written vocabulary by listening, discussing, and writing texts when responding to literature that is read and heard. ● Locate and discuss examples of an author’s use of kinds of sentences, capitalization, punctuation, use of paragraphs in texts and their effects on the reader, and genres and specific word choice(s). ● Discuss the effect of an author’s choice of words to help the reader understand fiction or nonfiction text. ● Begin to use literary language. ● Expand their vocabulary by using synonyms for commonly overused words. ● Read books with fluency and expression. ● Use oral communication to identify, organize, and analyze information. 5 BOOKS TO READ WITH YOUR CHILD As you read to your child, point to the words with xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx your finger. Stop and ask questions about the xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx story. Read every day to your child and let your xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx child read to you as words are learned. Listed xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx below are some suggested books that can be easily xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx found. Also listed are a few suggested series of xxxxxx books and authors. Your child’s teacher will be glad to provide you with other book titles. Suggested books to read Cam Jansen, by David Adler Freckle Juice, by Judy Blume Suggested authors Hank the Cowdog, by John R. Erickson Jan and Stan Berenstain