Dear Parents,
Welcome to a new school year! I have been teaching in the Illini Bluffs school district for the past sixteen years. I have taught first, second, and fifth grade at IB. I am very excited to be working with your child in second grade this year. This newsletter will help to answer some of the questions you might have about second grade.
Morning Snack Time
We will be having a short snack time every morning because second graders have a late lunch. Please send a healthy snack for your child to enjoy. Your child may also bring in a water bottle to use at school. Students will only be allowed to have water and not other beverages in the classroom.
Weekly Spelling Tests
The first unit in spelling will consist of 12 words and one dictation sentence. Units two through six will consist of 15 words and two dictation sentences. If your child does not miss anything on the pretest (words or dictation sentences), he/she does not have to take the final test on the next day and receives a 100. If he/she misses part of the dictation but not words and vice-versa, the whole test is taken again on the final test day. Pretests are usually on Thursday and final tests are on Friday. Changes are sometimes made for weeks less than five days. Please go over the words with your child throughout the week by having him/her write them, spell orally, etc. The dictation sentences are not given out to practice ahead of time. They are not given until the pretest and then they are repeated for the final test. Please keep the copy of spelling words at home so you can practice with your child. He/she will also have a list that stays at school.
Math
In order to memorize addition and subtraction facts, I use a program called “Spaceship Math” with the class. It starts with simple facts and then gets increasingly more difficult and repeats facts many times to help with memorization. I find many resources on the website and even print practice and test papers from it. The website is http://www.dadsworksheets.com/. You will see many practice papers come home and then we will begin taking one and a half minute timed tests with 40 problems. I do take a grade on these tests and they count for half of a regular school assignment. It is very important for your child to memorize these facts so when we move on in math he/she is not struggling with basic facts. In the classroom we use computer games, flashcards, and worksheets to practice our addition and subtraction facts.
Classroom Management
I use colored clothespins to track student behavior: green, yellow, and red. When students choose not to follow rules, a colored clothespin (order: green, yellow, and red) is placed on his/her own pocket chart. Green and yellow clothespins are warnings and red means he/she misses recess. If your child begins to get red clothespins a note will be sent home. If a student has a red clothespin for the day and rules are still not followed then a “Discipline Notice” will be sent home. I also keep track of clothespins (no clothespin, green, yellow, red), and I use the information for your child’s conduct grade which is on the report card. If a student does not have a clothespin at dismissal time, then they will be given a ticket to put in a basket for a weekly drawing. If your child’s name is drawn from the basket then they will get to pick a prize from the treasure box.
Grades
Second Grade students will receive letter grades in the subjects of Spelling, Reading, and Math. The S+, S-, and N scale will be assigned to the subjects of Conduct, Grammar, Handwriting, Science, Social Studies, Study Habits, PE, and Music.
Birthday Treats
If your child would like to bring treats for our class on his/her birthday, we would be happy to celebrate. You may send them in the morning with your child. If your child has a summer birthday, he/she may bring treats at any time throughout the school year.
Accelerated Reader/Independent Reading
Your child will have the opportunity to check out books from both the elementary library and my classroom library and then take accelerated reader tests on the computer over the books they have read. I will be assessing your child during the first week of school to obtain their reading level and their quarterly reading point goal. As soon as I get that information I will send a sheet home with your child so you are aware of what level of books your child should be choosing. If you have books at home that your child is interested in reading you can check those books by going to www.arbookfind.com. Once you get to the site, just type in the name of the book and if it is an AR book it will provide you with the reading level and point value of the book. We will have around 20 minutes a day during school for the students to read their AR books and take tests on the computer. The books that are checked out from my classroom library will be in a Ziploc bag with your child’s name on the front. Students will be encouraged to choose books for independent reading from our classroom library that are within their reading level. Accelerated Reader does not count as a grade in second grade, but it is very important for reading growth. Fifteen to twenty minutes of AR reading a night is a good goal to shoot for in second grade. The following is a list of AR incentives in our classroom:
Tamarin Club -25% of AR Goal met = a pencil
Spider Monkey -50% of AR Goal met = a bookmark
Baboon Club-75% of AR Goal met = a freezer pop
Chimpanzee Club-100% of AR Goal met = a treat
I hope to have answered some of your questions. More information will be sent home as needed. Your child is VERY IMPORTANT to me. Like you, I have a sincere interest in your child’s personal and educational growth. This can best be accomplished if we, parents and teachers, work together as partners. If something happens away from school which you think may affect your child’s school behavior, please let me know so that I can help. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me. Thank you for your cooperation and support. I am looking forward to an exciting year in second grade.
Sincerely,
Shelli Sager
Welcome to a new school year! I have been teaching in the Illini Bluffs school district for the past sixteen years. I have taught first, second, and fifth grade at IB. I am very excited to be working with your child in second grade this year. This newsletter will help to answer some of the questions you might have about second grade.
Morning Snack Time
We will be having a short snack time every morning because second graders have a late lunch. Please send a healthy snack for your child to enjoy. Your child may also bring in a water bottle to use at school. Students will only be allowed to have water and not other beverages in the classroom.
Weekly Spelling Tests
The first unit in spelling will consist of 12 words and one dictation sentence. Units two through six will consist of 15 words and two dictation sentences. If your child does not miss anything on the pretest (words or dictation sentences), he/she does not have to take the final test on the next day and receives a 100. If he/she misses part of the dictation but not words and vice-versa, the whole test is taken again on the final test day. Pretests are usually on Thursday and final tests are on Friday. Changes are sometimes made for weeks less than five days. Please go over the words with your child throughout the week by having him/her write them, spell orally, etc. The dictation sentences are not given out to practice ahead of time. They are not given until the pretest and then they are repeated for the final test. Please keep the copy of spelling words at home so you can practice with your child. He/she will also have a list that stays at school.
Math
In order to memorize addition and subtraction facts, I use a program called “Spaceship Math” with the class. It starts with simple facts and then gets increasingly more difficult and repeats facts many times to help with memorization. I find many resources on the website and even print practice and test papers from it. The website is http://www.dadsworksheets.com/. You will see many practice papers come home and then we will begin taking one and a half minute timed tests with 40 problems. I do take a grade on these tests and they count for half of a regular school assignment. It is very important for your child to memorize these facts so when we move on in math he/she is not struggling with basic facts. In the classroom we use computer games, flashcards, and worksheets to practice our addition and subtraction facts.
Classroom Management
I use colored clothespins to track student behavior: green, yellow, and red. When students choose not to follow rules, a colored clothespin (order: green, yellow, and red) is placed on his/her own pocket chart. Green and yellow clothespins are warnings and red means he/she misses recess. If your child begins to get red clothespins a note will be sent home. If a student has a red clothespin for the day and rules are still not followed then a “Discipline Notice” will be sent home. I also keep track of clothespins (no clothespin, green, yellow, red), and I use the information for your child’s conduct grade which is on the report card. If a student does not have a clothespin at dismissal time, then they will be given a ticket to put in a basket for a weekly drawing. If your child’s name is drawn from the basket then they will get to pick a prize from the treasure box.
Grades
Second Grade students will receive letter grades in the subjects of Spelling, Reading, and Math. The S+, S-, and N scale will be assigned to the subjects of Conduct, Grammar, Handwriting, Science, Social Studies, Study Habits, PE, and Music.
Birthday Treats
If your child would like to bring treats for our class on his/her birthday, we would be happy to celebrate. You may send them in the morning with your child. If your child has a summer birthday, he/she may bring treats at any time throughout the school year.
Accelerated Reader/Independent Reading
Your child will have the opportunity to check out books from both the elementary library and my classroom library and then take accelerated reader tests on the computer over the books they have read. I will be assessing your child during the first week of school to obtain their reading level and their quarterly reading point goal. As soon as I get that information I will send a sheet home with your child so you are aware of what level of books your child should be choosing. If you have books at home that your child is interested in reading you can check those books by going to www.arbookfind.com. Once you get to the site, just type in the name of the book and if it is an AR book it will provide you with the reading level and point value of the book. We will have around 20 minutes a day during school for the students to read their AR books and take tests on the computer. The books that are checked out from my classroom library will be in a Ziploc bag with your child’s name on the front. Students will be encouraged to choose books for independent reading from our classroom library that are within their reading level. Accelerated Reader does not count as a grade in second grade, but it is very important for reading growth. Fifteen to twenty minutes of AR reading a night is a good goal to shoot for in second grade. The following is a list of AR incentives in our classroom:
Tamarin Club -25% of AR Goal met = a pencil
Spider Monkey -50% of AR Goal met = a bookmark
Baboon Club-75% of AR Goal met = a freezer pop
Chimpanzee Club-100% of AR Goal met = a treat
I hope to have answered some of your questions. More information will be sent home as needed. Your child is VERY IMPORTANT to me. Like you, I have a sincere interest in your child’s personal and educational growth. This can best be accomplished if we, parents and teachers, work together as partners. If something happens away from school which you think may affect your child’s school behavior, please let me know so that I can help. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me. Thank you for your cooperation and support. I am looking forward to an exciting year in second grade.
Sincerely,
Shelli Sager