Mrs. Majowicz's 2nd Grade

In Science, we are learning about our Earth and the solar system.  The students are currently learning about what causes day and night.  We have also learned about what causes seasons.  We will be learning about the moon, its phases, and the planets in the solar system.  

In reading, your child has been learning how to summarize a story.  A good strategy is to stop after reading a few pages and think or talk about what has been read.  This helps the children to 'cement' events from the story within their minds. After your child has completed a book, ask them to tell you about it.  Try breaking up the book by asking what happened in the beginning, middle, and end.
We are also looking at drawing conclusions from things that we read.  The students are reminded that authors don't always include every piece of information in a story, but we have to use the clues they give us to understand what is happening in the story and to search for a deeper meaning within the story. 

A great way for you to practice these reading skills at home is to have your child use sticky notes while they are reading.  Your child can summarize, react, find a cause/effect, or make a connection to things they have read in their books.  We use the sticky notes on a daily basis in the classroom, so they should know how to use them.  Have your child place a sticky note every 3-5 pages, so you can see that they are thinking about what they are reading.

**When your child reads at home, please guide them in using these strategies to enable them to have deeper comprehension of the texts in which they are reading**