Hello and Welcome,
It was so nice to meet all of you and discuss your child's progress at Parent-Teachers conferences. I hope it was helpful for everyone.
I had several parents ask about a website for spelling. www.spellingconnectionsonline.com is a great tool to practice spelling at home on the computer. Play online activities for extra sorting and online games to practice skills. You will know what unit your child is on by looking at the unit number on homework assignments. It is always a good idea to review words. Hope you have fun!
To help improve comprehension, we have been predicting and summarizing . Ask your child questions before reading and have them tell you what they think will happen next. In fictional stories (made-up), have them tell you the plot after reading and what happened at the beginning, middle and end. After reading have them tell you the short version of the book, in one or two sentences. Have them identify the main idea and then details that support it. That helps them focus on the main idea and good readers summarize what they read.If it is a nonfiction book, have them look for text features (maps, graphs, pictures, headings, captions) and then predict the author's purpose for writing the book (inform, persuade, entertain). The kiddos are reading their assessments independently, so please remind them to do careful work. Nobody gets a prize for finishing first. Here also are great online resources for reading activities http://plew.okaloosaschools.wikispaces.net/Gr2ReadingUnit2 and http://treasures.macmillanmh.com/illinois/students/grade2/book1/unit2/farfallina-and-marcel
For Math, we have another internet connection for extra practice at home. http://www-k6.thinkcentral.com/ePC/start.do Your child has been given an username and password. Please let me know if they are unable to provide that information. It is usually their first initial and last name.
The kids are really stepping up to the reading challenge of weekly book reports. So far, the highest reader has completed 32 books already. Remember their book reports count as Raging Rivers, Six Flags, and Book-it rewards. Keep up the good work kids!
Our all school semester theme is Dinosaurs and I can't wait to see their home projects. Thanks for your support.
Also, here is a website that has fun Reader's Theater scripts and directions to create your own scripts, http://www.aaronshep.com/rt/RTE.html . Again, have fun!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Rebecca Sedabres
www.rsedbre@madison.k12.il.us
