Week of August 21

Dear Parents –

I hope you had a relaxing weekend.  We had a great start to the year with students learning the routines of our classroom and meeting new friends.  We have been talking about The Melawati Way and used that to generate our class rules and a promise on how to treat others.  Be sure to check them out when you visit our classroom. 

Here’s a peek at our week ahead:

Monday (Day 4) – Art and PE

Tuesday (Day 5) – Library and World Language

Wednesday (Day 6) – Music and PE

Thursday (Day 1) – Art and World Language

Friday (Day 2) – Music and PE

Reader’s Workshop

This week we launch our Reader’s Workshop with students working on fluency, stamina and strategies to strengthen reading comprehension.  We’ll look at different ways to read a book in both independent and partner settings.  Throughout the week, students will have a chance to self-monitor their reading and reflect on opportunities for growth. 

Writer’s Workshop

We launch our Writer’s Workshop this week with students thinking about the stories in their lives that they want to share.  We’ll look at the process of generating ideas and zooming into the small moments of our lives.  Once students select their ideas, they will practice going through the writing process by planning, drafting, revising and editing their stories. 

Math Workshop

Our first math unit begins this week and focuses on extending our base ten understanding.  Students will begin working with base ten pieces to model different numbers and recognize the relationship between the place and value of a digit.  We will also begin our weekly practice of our basic addition and subtraction facts within 20. 

Social Studies

Our unit on Communities begins this week with students exploring the characteristics of communities, why people live together, and how they resolve problems.  We have been talking about these elements within the context of a school community, but now we begin to broaden our understanding of community to include the cities and towns. 

Important Notes:

• Please visit our Parent Learning Connection page to learn more about our units of study and how you can support your child at home. 
• Grade 2 Open House is scheduled for Tuesday, August 22 from 6:30pm – 8:30pm.
• Please subscribe to our class blog to receive emails when it is updated.

Dinner Questions

These questions are meant to stimulate a meaningful conversation at home about your child’s experiences at school and to avoid the scenarios like the cartoon below. 

• Who do you think will be a good friend for you this year and why?
• What is the proudest moment you had in your class?
• Tell me about a book you read?
• What story are you working on now? 

Please let me know if you have any questions.