Welcome back to school! I hope you are ready for an exciting and productive
year! The first day of school is August 24th. Miss Trainer is very excited
to welcome a new class of second graders and our returning mature third
graders! This year students will be doing some exciting new projects and
learning lots of new things.
BCS has adopted a new Language Arts series called Literacy By Design. We are
very excited about this program particularly because it encompasses not only
Reading,Writing, and Spelling but also Science and Social Studies! Second
graders will start off the year with a unit titled Stories From Our Past.
They will read many nonfiction and fiction stories related to this theme.
During large group and small group reading instruction we will be focusing on
making connections-text to self, text to text, and text to world. We will
review the elements of a story and complete many response activities. We will
also launch our Reading Workshop where students will learn different reading
strategies and apply them during their independentreading. In Writing,
students will begin writing workshop where they
will write stories of their choice and apply the strategies that they learn
during our writing mini lessons. They will learn skills to make them better
writers. Students will also begin Spelling and word study. Students will be
given a list of ten words each week focusing on a word pattern. The students
will learn other words with these patterns and study a different pattern each
week. Tests will be given on Fridays. In Social Studies, the second graders
will learn about maps and landforms. Students will learn to label the seven
continents of the world and the oceans. They will also learn about different
types of landforms and will make maps out of play doh. We will also make an
edible map!
The third graders will start off the year with a unit on Community Spirit.
They will also be reading many nonfiction and fiction stories in this unit.
We will be working on making connections as well as listening for a purpose.
The third graders will also be starting reading workshop. Each day, we will
have a ten-fifteen minute reading workshop focusing on a certain reading
strategy. Students will then spend time reading independently and apply the
reading strategy taught. Students will also meet with guided reading groups.
In Language Arts, students will begin writing workshop where they will write
stories of their choice. They will pick one piece several times a month to
"publish" and turn into a final writing. Students will also begin spelling
where they will focus on a certain pattern each week. Tests will be given on
Fridays. In Social Studies, the third graders will focus on maps and
landforms. Students will learn to label the northern and southern
hemispheres, equator, prime meridian, tropics, etc. Students will also study
various types of maps and make some of their own. They will also learn about
the various types of landforms.
As you can see will be very busy the first nine weeks so it is very important
that your child has regular attendance and is well rested. Hopefully we will
have lots of fun along the way!