August 22, 2016

What do you know?

We had a great first week of school in 2nd grade!  These students are ready to learn!  Now we need to find out what they know so we can best teach them.  This week students will begin taking placement tests on most of the systems we use.  Approximately 2 hours each day in 2nd grade is individualized for each student.  These assessments will help us know exactly where they are right now and guide instruction.  We will also be sending home testing data in about two weeks so you can see how they are performing.
Lexia - Everyone will retake the Lexia placement test.  Students may end up placing lower and needing to redo levels they did before.  That's ok!   Repetition is key to mastery.  Seeing it once may not be enough.  Likewise, students may test higher and skip levels.  Either is fine.  Just celebrate levels passed during the school year.  
ReadLive - Students will be placed according to fluency level.  Students will read leveled passages and complete quizzes to improve fluency and comprehension.
iReady - We will begin with everyone use iReady Math, giving all students an opportunity to work at their own level.  This will also give us some data that can guide other instruction.  We will add iReady Reading as the school year progresses.
Fluency - Students will also be tested by an actual human on reading fluency.  The score will be presented in Words Per Minute (WPM).  Just what it sounds like - how many words in 1 minute on 2nd grade level text.

​Back To School Night

You won't want to miss out! Last year we implimented some cutting edge strategies for using Blended Learning to individualize your child's educational experience.  This means we are using technology in new, researched based and efficient ways.  It also means if you had a 2nd grader before 2015 our schedule, class routines and parent help times have drastically changed.  Also, this year we are launching a new homework plan with even more individualization and student choice.  Please mark Thursday on your calendar.

Math - Topic 1

In our first math chapter we will begin exploring strategies for adding fluently.  Students will learn many ways to work with numbers so they can begin memorizing math facts and working quicker.  We are laying the foundation for future math topics.

GrandParent Unit

Our first unit this year will be our Grandparent Unit.  The highlight of this unit is students interviewing, then writing a report about one of their grandparents.  The unit culminates with a Grandparents Day celebration including students singing for thier grandparents.