Monday, January 9th the students will begin to formally answer comprehension questions that go along with one of the photocopied paper books that come home in their book baggies. The questions will be due on Fridays but I will put the sheet in their book baggie on Mondays so you can decide when it would be best to work on it during the week as I know schedules are very busy for both you and your child. If a particular week is extra busy, please send me an email to let me know that you need to keep the book and paper to work on over the weekend.
Please encourage your child to use their BEST handwriting and answer in complete sentences (when applicable) using words from the question in their answer (TTQA). For example, "How can a map help you?" "A map can help me by ________." Remember, the night they read the paper book - CAN count as their nightly reading; they do NOT have to read an additional book. Please return all the photocopied paper books to me so that I can use them again next year. Many students have not been returning them!
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We have completed 2 units of our reading program. Starting in January, the format of the reading tests change slightly. There will now be only one reading passage and the children will read the passage on their own. There will also be two written response questions added to the test. These questions require the students to use the Turn The Question Around technique, which we refer to as TTQA. The questions will be very straightforward and the answers can easily be found if the students go back to the story to find the answer. Each written response question will be 3 points. Students will get one point if they use TTQA to write a complete sentence, one point if they use correct details from the story in their answer, and one point if they write the page where they found their answer.
Here are some examples of TTQA... What color is Ben's shirt? Ben's shirt is red. When did the girl find the ball? The girl found the ball on Monday. We have been practicing this technique since the beginning of year through discussions, math application problems, and in writing. We will continue to practice this throughout the year as we start to apply the skill to tests. You can practice this at home by having your child answer you in complete sentences rather than just a word one answer...it is a little awkward to do and does not happen naturally but you can make it a family game at dinner or in the car - see who can answer every question in a complete sentence for the duration of the meal or car ride. Tonight's math homework involves a lot of steps. The children are mostly able to do the steps in isolation and when I walk them through it slowly. Below is an example of a way to help your child.
Today we read the book Albert's Thanksgiving about a duck that helps out his friends to create a beautiful feast with his famous Pumpkin Pizza Pie. This is the recipe that came with the book in case you have an interest of making it with your child. Let me know how it turns out!
Today your child will be coming home with their Human Body portfolio. It will contain all the various paperwork we completed during our study. Much of this unit consisted of discussion and real life examples and required the children to be active, focused participants in the lessons.
In your child's portfolio you will see a KWL Chart. On the first day of the unit, I had the children complete the first column (KNOW) of the chart - many students did not know the answers to the questions. Yesterday, about a month later, I gave the children back the same sheet of paper and asked the same questions again - it is amazing to see the growth of the children. Here are two examples of this chart completed by students in our class (I hid the names!) PS- Spelling does not count :) The second grade class is collecting food to support families in our area. Please consider making a food donation to this cause. The second graders are really excited to make this project a success and we still have many empty boxes around the school. See the attached file for more information. Thank you in advance!
Help Us Earn Valuable Materials for Our Classroom
And encourage reading with Highlights and High Five magazines at home! Click Here to Respond Dear Parent, To succeed, every child should read beyond required classroom work. Now, our class has the exciting opportunity to participate in the Highlights Classroom Rewards Program. It offers you a discount on magazines at home and allows our class to earn valuable materials! To earn our classroom gifts, we need your help. Simply CLICK HERE and select YES or NO. It's that easy! High Five™ magazine, for ages 2 to 6:
Highlights and High Five magazines benefit your child at home with skill-building fun, and in school with valuable materials for our classroom. Please be sure to respond right away! Sincerely, Melissa Wagner Click Here to Respond Below is how your child's math homework should look tonight. We completed this in class today. I gave the children the same exact sheet for homework to see how they handle this type of problem on their own.
Please use the picture below to help guide your child tonight. |
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May 2017
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