Welcome to Second Grade! I am very excited to be teaching Second Grade this year. Each month I will be sending home a newsletter to let you know what we will be learning about in each of our subject areas. I will also list different supplies we are in need of, as well as volunteer opportunities.
To begin the year we will be administering start of school assessments. This will give me an idea of what the children have retained from their previous years, and what I will need to focus more on in the coming year. Some of the tests are longer than others, but each test is untimed providing your child with as much time to complete them as they need.
The easiest way to contact me is through e-mail at , but you can also leave me a voice mail by calling the school at 978-838-2417.
I’m looking forward to a great year with your child!
Mrs. Amy Donahoe
Here is a look at what we will be learning this month!
Monday: Music 11-11:50
Tuesday: Technology 11-11:50
Wednesday: Art 1:25-2:10
Thursday: Library 10:15-11
Friday: Physical Education 1:25-2:10
Reading: We will begin the year by talking about how to work during our mini-lessons, and how to work during independent reading times. Currently we are working on building stamina, and talking about Read-to-Self strategies. It is important to build the
reading community and safety net at the start of the year to help the children know their responses are all important to the discussion. Once our routine is established, I will begin our reading assessments. This will give me a chance to meet, read, and learn about your child as a reader. As the testing is completed, I will begin to have the children work in small groups for guided reading lessons on skills they will need to improve on to be better readers. This year we will again be using the Reading Wonders Core Reading Program. It will incorporate our reading skills into our daily learning.
A few years ago, I attended a conference about using the CAFÉ system. This system was created by two teachers from Washington State. It is based on Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency, and Expanding Vocabulary. Each student will be working independently and sometimes in small strategy groups based on their personal reading goals, in these areas.
Writing: Writing complete sentences is important to be able to effectively communicate. We will be working together through interactive lessons and in their Writer’s Notebook to become beautiful writers. We will begin working on the first Empowering Writers unit, School Days. We will use the program for teaching writing techniques all year. In the first month’s lessons the children will learn about narrative and expository writing using the school theme. We will be tieing their writing in with some stories using the school topic. Most of month one is working with the children to teach them how to identify different types of writing.
Math: We are starting the year learning to fluently add and subtract within 20. The children will be completing many lessons on paper, and the Smart Board. We begin the lessons with the topic opener video, introducing the children to our day’s lesson. Then we work through problems together as a class. The children will be working on differentiated assignments in small groups in the classroom. When I am working with a small group the students will be working at math stations and on the computer independently.
Science: This year we are going to be teaching the new Massachusetts Science Standards. Our first unit of study will be learning about the states of matter. The children will be watching short video clips, participating in interactive lessons, and performing different experiments about matter. I am very excited to begin this new endeavor with your children!
Social Studies: This year the major focus of our learning will be on the continents and landforms found on Earth. We will begin learning about where we are on Earth using the story Me On The Map. The children will be talking a lot about where they live and how Berlin is a part of the world.
Word Study: We first start our spelling instruction by assessing the students to see what they already understand and where they may need help. Each week the students will be assigned certain words that are included in the Wonders Reading Program. The lists the children receive will be differentiated. The idea is that some students may need
more challenging words based on the principle, while others may need words just focusing on the basic spelling principle. On Monday, you will receive a spelling list that stays at home for daily practice and each child will also have a list at school. During the week the children will be practicing the spelling of the words using magnetic letters, games and SmartBoard activities. Students will be assessed on their weekly words as well as words that fit the principle for the week to see if they are able to apply the principle. The spelling test will be on Friday.
PBIS: We are beginning the school year reviewing the SOAR expectations throughout our building. Students will continue learning about how to be Safe, Organized, Achieve, and show Respect. In our class we will do weekly lessons to talk about and show what each piece of SOAR should look like. The students will also be participating in All School Meetings to talk about different parts of SOAR. As the program gets underway, I will share with you what the students are learning. So far we have participated in one All School Meeting and talked about how we should behave and organize ourselves during an assembly.
This year we are also be incorporating the Caring School Community program into our PBIS work. The program provides a home-school component that ties in with the work we are doing at school. Once we have done some work with the in school lessons you will start to see home-school connection lessons coming home. This is a great way for you to be able to reinforce the work we are doing at school, at home.
Class Dojo: I am trying out the Dojo behavior management system this year. Each child will have an avatar. As your child shows positive behaviors that I want to reinforce, he or she will earn points. My goal is to reinforce positive behaviors that will benefit your child like working hard or helping another student. Instead of waiting for a weekly report at the end of the week, you have a unique log in that will show your child’s most up-to-date progress. I sent home the codes for you to set-up your parent/guardian account in the Red Friday Folder on Wednesday. If you have trouble setting it up, please send me an email and I will add you. The students are already responding to the positive chime of the Dojo while they have been working in the classroom.
Dates To Know
Sept. 13: Open House
Sept. 30: Schattner Farm
Sept. 28: School Pictures
Book Orders
I will be sending home book orders at the beginning of each month with our monthly newsletter. The order is generally placed the following Friday. You are now able to place your order online through our class website. By placing your order online you earn free books for our class. You may also send the order in for me to process. Please DO NOT send in cash, but instead a check written out to Scholastic Book Clubs. Thank you for supporting our classroom reading. The children always get very excited about the new books we add to our library.
Thank You!!!
I also wanted to take a moment to thank you for all of the donated supplies to begin the school year. It truly touches my heart to receive so much support at the start of the school year. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Contact Information:
Throughout the year I will be in constant contact with you through e-mails and Weekly Reports. I wanted to give you some of the necessary contact information for your records. This newsletter will also be posted on the website for you to be able to refer to at any point during the year.
Berlin Webpage: When you access the webpage for the school, you then will click on the classrooms link on the left, 2nd grade, and then Mrs. Donahoe.
My e-mail:
School phone:978-838-2417