Newsletter

October 11, 2012:  Week 7

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Students have begun Word Study!  Last week we dedicated our word study time to learning ways to practice our words.  Some of the ways we have discussed are Sailors Spelling,  where students write their word adding one letter at a time (see example below), Build, Mix, Fix, where students write the word, cut the word and mix it up, and then fix the order and glue it, Dough and Foam Writing, where students write their words in rolled out play dough or a smoothed out pile of shaving cream (IT’S SO MUCH FUN), Rainbow Writing, where students practice writing their words using a different color for each time they write it, and Sorting, where students look closely at the spelling patterns in their words and divide them in to groups accordingly. Wow, that sounds like a lot, but really there are even more ways that we will practice our word study words.  In second grade word study is all about choosing the way you want to study your words and attending mini-lessons with other students studying the same word sorts. 

New in the last two weeks is that the second graders have begun to discuss the human body.  Specifically, we have talked about the physical characteristics human have.  We have even been able to play the game Guess Who? as well as I Spy using physical characteristics.  More recently we have been talking about our 5 senses and how our lives would be different without those very important senses. 
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SAILORS SPELLING

Things to Note:

·         Parent Teacher Conferences will be held on Friday, November 9, 2012.  Mark your calendars in advance!

·         Please make sure to return your reservation form and money for Bring a Neighbor to Lunch Day by Friday, October 12^th so Chef Carolyn can be sure to order enough food for everyone.

·         Bring a Neighbor to Lunch Friday, October 26, 2012.

·         Picture Retake Day Wednesday, November 7, 2012.

Reading Tip

One more time with feeling

When your child has sounded out an unfamiliar word, have him or her re-read that sentence. Often kids are so busy figuring out a word they lose the meaning of what they've just read.