September Writing 2015

September Writing 2015

This month, we will be focusing on Summer Stories. The Summer Stories unit will focus on a moment over the summer that the students felt a strong emotion, such as excitement, pride, anger, etc.  In their Summer Story, the children will describe the event, their thoughts and 
feelings during the event, and why the student felt that it was an 
important event in their life.  The skills we will be focusing on during this writing unit include dialogue, three-step action, and inner thinking to make the writing more interesting and descriptive to an audience.

One way you can support your 2^nd grade writer at home during this unit is by talking to them about strong emotions.  Children can describe times that they have felt a strong emotion, such as a time when they felt excited, angry, or proud. You can ask questions, such as “How did you feel when that happened?” or “What was it like when you felt proud, excited, etc.?”  Another way to support writers at home is by having students maintain a personal journal or diary at home to write about experiences in their life.  It can be a place for them to write down their ideas and thoughts, as well as a place to write creatively.

September Math Workshop

In September the second grade will be working on two units. The first unit focuses on adding and subtracting within 20. They will be using number bonds (fact families) to represent facts within 10.
For example:

   11 – 8 = 3

   /\

10  1

      10 – 8 = 2

      2 + 1 = 3

      11 – 8 = 3

The children will begin to use mental strategies for adding and subtraction within 20. They will use place value understanding to add and subtract within 20 by adding and subtraction from the ones. They will also learn strategies that will help them with adding and subtracting within 100. In addition to number sentences the children will be using addition and subtraction to solve one and two step word problems.
For example:

    2 + 4 = ____          6 – 4 = ____

        

  12 + 4 = ____         36 – 4 = ____

   /\                         /\

10  2                   30  6

  22 + 4 = ____         56 – 4 =           

   /\                         /\

20  2                   50  6

The second unit focuses on measurement and how it is related to addition and subtraction. They will be using centimeter rulers and meter sticks to find the length of various objects. By measuring a variety of objects, the children will build a bank of known measurements or benchmark lengths (example: a doorknob is one meter from the floor or the width of a finger is a centimeter). They will measure and compare to figure out how much longer one object is than another using standard (centimeter ruler) and nonstandard (paper clips) units.

September 2015 Word Study

Unit 1 reviews some of the concepts and sounds that were taught in 1st grade. 
Your child will review the definition of a digraph and the difference between a digraph and a blend. 

A digraph contains 2 consonants but makes 1 sound. 

A blend contains 2 or 3 consonants and each letter makes its own sound. 

Your child will learn the spelling of /k/ sound. 
The letter C is used in the beginning of most words
The letter K is ONLY used in the beginning of the word when the next letter is E or I. 

Ck is used after short vowels like sick. 


Lastly, your child will review the closed syllable type. 
- The syllable has one vowel. 
- The vowel sound is short and marked with a breve. 
- The syllable can be combined with multisyllabic words. 

Examples: 

September Read Aloud

This month in Read Aloud, we will be reading Ready Freddy Tooth Trouble by Abby Klein. The students will track the important parts of the story in order to accumulate the text. We will also get to know the characters in the book and understand their relationships with one another. During read aloud, the students will be able to formulate their own ideas, have conversations with each other and build on other student's ideas. The students will learn to keep their eyes on the speaker, talk in loud clear voices and listen to others.

Key Vocabulary:

Types of Relationships

- Love-Hate

- Hot - Cold

- Helpful

- Supportive

- "In your corner"

- Understanding

- Compassionate

- Competitive

- Jealous 

- Envious