Reading
Fluency is the ability to read a text quickly, accurately, and with expression. When fluent readers read silently, they recognize words automatically. They group words quickly to help them gain meaning from what they read. Fluent readers read aloud effortlessly and with expression. Their reading sounds natural, as if they are speaking. Readers who have not yet developed fluency read slowly, word by word. Their oral reading is choppy and plodding.
Fluency is important because it provides a bridge between word recognition and comprehension. Because fluent readers do not have to concentrate on decoding the words, they can focus their attention on what the text means. They can make connections among the ideas in the text and between the text and their background knowledge. In other words, fluent readers recognize words and comprehend them at the same time. Less fluent readers, however, must focus their attention on figuring out the words, leaving them little attention for understanding the text.
Even though many of the students in our class are already meeting the current fluency goal, most students have room for improvement in one of the APE elements. We want to avoid focusing only on speed and pay attention to accuracy and expression as well. We do work on all 3 elements in class, however, I have noticed that students that practice APE at home as well as school make much more progress.
During a fluency test (DIBELS), the students will be asked to read a passage that he/she has never seen before. The student will have one minute to read as many words as possible correctly. At the end of the test, the teacher tallies the number of words read correctly for the fluency score. The student will also be asked to retell the passage with as much detail as possible. The DIBELS testing is given at the beginning, middle, and end of the year.
Fluency is important because it provides a bridge between word recognition and comprehension. Because fluent readers do not have to concentrate on decoding the words, they can focus their attention on what the text means. They can make connections among the ideas in the text and between the text and their background knowledge. In other words, fluent readers recognize words and comprehend them at the same time. Less fluent readers, however, must focus their attention on figuring out the words, leaving them little attention for understanding the text.
Even though many of the students in our class are already meeting the current fluency goal, most students have room for improvement in one of the APE elements. We want to avoid focusing only on speed and pay attention to accuracy and expression as well. We do work on all 3 elements in class, however, I have noticed that students that practice APE at home as well as school make much more progress.
During a fluency test (DIBELS), the students will be asked to read a passage that he/she has never seen before. The student will have one minute to read as many words as possible correctly. At the end of the test, the teacher tallies the number of words read correctly for the fluency score. The student will also be asked to retell the passage with as much detail as possible. The DIBELS testing is given at the beginning, middle, and end of the year.
Writing
In second grade we use the writing process for each writing assignment.
Writing Process:
1. Prewrite - Get your ideas on paper (using a thinking map)
2. Draft - Use the ideas in your thinking map to write your story.
3. Revise - Make your draft better
4. Edit - Make your draft correct (punctuation, capitalization, sentence structure, etc.)
5. Publish - Recopy your draft with your neatest printing to share with others.
Writing Process:
1. Prewrite - Get your ideas on paper (using a thinking map)
2. Draft - Use the ideas in your thinking map to write your story.
3. Revise - Make your draft better
4. Edit - Make your draft correct (punctuation, capitalization, sentence structure, etc.)
5. Publish - Recopy your draft with your neatest printing to share with others.
Math
In second grade the students need to master memorizing the addition and subtraction facts to 20. I have posted printable flash cards for both addition and subtraction. You may want to go ahead and print them and begin practicing them with your child (if you don't already have flash cards at home). It is a first grade standard that students memorize their math facts (addition and subtraction) up to the 10s. I have found that most incoming second grade students are able to count in their heads or on their fingers relatively quickly, however, most do not have the facts memorized. It is vital that students are able to do math computation with automaticity. They will soon be introduced to multiplication, division, and increasingly difficult problems involving multiple operations. Students lacking automaticity quickly begin to struggle in upper grade math.
We will begin taking timed tests in October. We will begin with addition facts and work up to subtraction. Once students pass a timed test, they will go on to the next level. We will be practicing the facts in class, however, that will most likely not be enough. Most students will not be able to pass the timed tests without practicing at home.
Math Links
http://www.mathplayground.com/index_addition_subtraction.html
http://www.abcya.com/math_facts_game.htm
http://www.mathplayground.com/addition_blocks/index.html
http://k-2mathapps.blogspot.com/p/fact-fluency-practice.html (list of math fact apps)
Social Studies
Our first social studies unit will be about governement.
