Mystery Reader
On Fridays we invite a parent to our classroom as a guest reader, known as our Mystery Reader. Mystery readers should bring a book to read. Picture books are good choices. Some guest readers also like to entice the children to finish a chapter book by reading a chapter or two to us and then challenging the students to check it out of the library to finish it. The Mystery Reader does not reveal his or her identity to the students prior to arrival in order to build anticipation and add intrigue to our reading time. Mystery readers should arrive on time and plan on reading from 2:55 until 3:10. Parents sign up to be a mystery reader at our September Open House. If you were unable to sign up at this time, please email me and I will let you know about available dates.
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The Home-School Connection
The expectations and routines that you establish in your home greatly affect your child's school success. Some simple things that you can do to support your child’s school learning include the following:
- Make reading a part of every day. Spend time talking about stories, pictures, and words. Practice retelling the story with your child. Enjoy stories, poetry, and informational writing together. Read with expression and discuss the selection. Have your child put the selection in his/her own words. This will build your child's vocabulary, improve his/her comprehension, and motivate him/her to read. Reading is an accrued skill. Like riding a bicycle, driving a car, playing a sport; in order to get better at it, you must do it. The more you read, the better you get. The better you get, the more you like it; the more you like it, the more you read; the more you read, the better you get
- Rereading familiar books. Children need practice in reading fluently and with expression using books they know well.
- Building reading accuracy. As your child is reading aloud, point out words he/she missed and help him/her read words correctly. If you stop to focus on a word, have your child reread the whole sentence to be sure he/she understands the meaning.
- Building reading comprehension. Talk with your child about what he/she is reading. Ask about new words. Talk about what happened in a story. Have your child make predictions and check them by reading. Have your child summarize to make sure he/she understands what they have read. Ask about the characters, places, and events that took place. Ask what new information he/she has learned from the book.
- Share conversations with your child over meal times and other times you are together. Children learn words more easily when they hear them spoken often. Introduce new and interesting words at every opportunity.
- Visit the library often. Story times, computers, homework help, and other exciting activities await the entire family.
- Model being a writer. Children become good writers by writing. Supply your child with paper, pencils, markers, etc. and encourage him/her to write letters, stories, cards, lists, poems, etc. Children are often more motivated to write when they can illustrate what they've written. Writing experiences will help your child improve his/her reading and writing. Children learn habits from the people around them. Write personalized notes and leave them in unexpected places for your child to find and read.
- Establish and maintain a homework routine that supports your child's learning. Use the class routine for assignments and tests to plan a workable homework routine. Provide your child with a homework materials caddy (pencils, markers, ruler, paper, crayons, scissors, etc.) and a quiet place to work. Encourage him/her to check his/her work. Provide your child with a dictionary, thesaurus, atlas, and other references to support his/her completion of homework. Online homework references may also be used with your supervision.
Homework
How much help should be given with homework?
This depends on each child's study habits. At the beginning of the year, children may need extra homework help. First, make sure your child understands the directions. Do a few problems together then watch your child do a few. When your child is finished, check the work for completion. Completed homework is to be written by the child. Please avoid doing/correcting your child's homework. Teachers need to see where children are having trouble. One of the most helpful things you can do is to show your child that you think completing homework is important.
This depends on each child's study habits. At the beginning of the year, children may need extra homework help. First, make sure your child understands the directions. Do a few problems together then watch your child do a few. When your child is finished, check the work for completion. Completed homework is to be written by the child. Please avoid doing/correcting your child's homework. Teachers need to see where children are having trouble. One of the most helpful things you can do is to show your child that you think completing homework is important.
- Math homework is always due the day after it is assigned.
- Children are also encouraged to study their math facts daily.
- Children should read every night. Your child may read silently, read aloud, read to someone else, or have someone read to him/her. Consider having “Family Reading Time.” Modeling reading for your child will help him/her see its importance.
- In addition to our classroom journals, your child may want to keep a diary of his/her life in second grade, thus strengthening his/her writing skills. This also serves as a nice memory of his/her second grade year.
- All homework must be completed in regular pencil, in the student’s handwriting, unless otherwise noted.