Second Grade - Karen During

Welcome to a busy and exciting year of learning in second grade. I am looking forward to working with you and your child during the 2008-2009 school year! In second grade students will be working in small groups, independently, and as a class, depending on the activity. Project based activities and manipulatives are used as much as possible. Topics in the different curriculum areas are often integrated, making learning more meaningful.

Listed below are SOME of the topics/skills we will be covering in each curriculum area: Math: place value, fractions, money, estimation, regrouping (addition and subtraction), graphing, probability, fact families, geometry, measurement, area, perimeter, and problem solving. Science: Major units include plants, earth, and mechanics. Students will learn how to conduct scientific investigations, record and analyze data, and make scientific drawings. A lot of math skills are integrated into our science studies. Social Studies: map skills, physical features, calendar skills (days, months, seasons, important dates), famous Americans, important events, primary sources for history, artifacts as links to the past, current events Reading: comprehension skills, main idea, cause/effect, sight words, decoding/encoding skills, predicting, genres of literature, reading for information, compare/contrast Writing: writing a paragraph, editing skills (capitalization, punctuation, organization, spelling), using organizational webs, writing to explain, writing to inform, letters, stories, reports, journals Tentative monthly themes we will be working with this year are: pirates, the pumpkin patch, Thanksgiving, gingerbread, snow, fairy tales and fables, baseball, mysteries, safari, and at the beach. Many skills in literacy, science, math, and social studies will be taught within these themes. To assist students in developing responsibility and good organizational skills, we will be using MOOSE binders this year. MOOSE is an acronym for Makes Organizing Our Schoolwork Easy. It is a 3-ring, 1-inch binder that contains valuable information that is always easily accessible. Binders will be passed out on the first day of school and we will review their use. An information sheet will also be sent home. This binder should be brought back to school every day. Communication is the key factor to a successful parent-teacher relationship. I will be sending newsletters home to inform you of our current themes, curriculum studies, upcoming events, and other important information. I encourage you to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have throughout the school year. You can e-mail me at kdurling@sau29.org, call the school (399-4421), or send me a note, and I will get back to you as soon as possible.