Room 106
CLASSROOM INFORMATION
(In alphabetical order, not order of importance)
BIRTHDAYS: We would love to help your child celebrate their birthday!
If it is during the school year just let me know what day you would like to
celebrate it. If your child has a summer birthday, you may want to
celebrate their half birthday. Please contact me to schedule this special
time. Food treats are no longer allowed in school. Students are not allowed
to bring party invitations to school to pass out unless they are inviting the
entire class.
BOOK ORDERS: Through the various Scholastic book clubs your family
will have the opportunity to purchase books at great prices. I will be sending
order forms home in September, October, February and/or March and May.
This is a wonderful way to help your child build their own library and
practice important reading skills as well. You only need to write one check,
even if ordering from more than one club, to SCHOLASTIC Books. Please
enclose the check and order forms in a sealed envelope with your child’s
name, my name and BOOK ORDER written on the envelope. Make sure that
you write your child’s name on the individual order forms as well. Books are
usually delivered within two weeks.
DISCIPLINE: Discipline is handled in a positive way as much as possible. I
will work with the student to take ownership of their behaviors and decide
on logical consequences. I will try to talk privately with students if there is
a problem. If discussions with the student are not helping certain situations
I will give you a call. When necessary I will talk with Mrs. Rothermel/Mrs.
Kallaus or have Mrs. Rothermel/Mrs. Kallaus talk with a student. We will be
using the “clip” system this year.
HANDWRITING: District 95 uses the “Handwriting Without Tears”
program. Students no longer learn cursive in second grade.
HOMEWORK: Homework assignment sheets are rather difficult for
second graders to manage so we don’t use them. Please check in your child’s
home folder each day for work to be completed. I will make every effort to
either write HOMEWORK and Due Date on the top of student’s papers or
have them write it themselves. We also have a stamp in the classroom for
that purpose. Other than home reading, math log and spelling practice
homework is based on the student’s individual needs. Students may or may
not have the same homework. I will also notify you of upcoming projects or
assignments in my weekly newsletters which you can find on my webpage.
MATH: Second graders will experience math concepts through direct
instruction, manipulatives, games, literature and written expression. We
follow the 2nd grade common core math standards and use Origo Math
Stepping Stones program throughout the district.
NEWSLETTERS: I will send home a newsletter through eSchool almost
every Friday. This will give you a brief description of what we did during the
week. It will include upcoming events and needs. If you prefer a hard copy
of my newsletter please let me know. The newsletter will also be available to
you through my web page.
READING/LITERACY: We provide a “balanced literacy program”, which
means that your children will receive instruction in reading, writing, listening
and speaking. Direct instruction in phonics is an integral part of the program.
We use the Guided Reading model of reading instruction which matches
books to the individual reader. Students will meet in small groups for that
instruction. Our whole group instruction incorporates quality children’s
literature in the form of trade books, poetry and plays. We instruct in many
literature genres, and creative projects are often used as extensions to
enhance comprehension. I manage the literacy block by using The Daily Five
model-a student driven management structure designed to engage students
in authentic literacy activities. Our district uses Schoolwide Reading
Fundmentals.
RECESS: Your child will be going out for lunch recess everyday that it is
not raining during their lunch period. Please make sure that your child is
dressed appropriately for the weather. During wet or snowy days, you may
want to send an extra pair of socks and pants for your child. The students
tend to get their feet wet as they are changing out of boots, and sometimes
the bottoms of their pants get wet. Also, it’s not a bad idea to have them
keep a sweater or sweatshirt in their locker most of the year for changes in
the weather during the day, and temperature changes in the room.
SCHOOL SUPPLIES: Please check periodically with your child to see how
they are doing with their school supplies. I highly recommend keeping a
little box of supplies at home as well-pencils, crayons, scissors and glue stick
should be fine. Keep them in the same location so that your child knows
where to find them when they are needed. Work is not allowed to be done
in pen! I do have extra supplies for students to borrow should they run out.
SCIENCE: Our science program combines many hands-on science
experiences with expository reading provided by a science textbook. We
cover the topics of Pushes and Pulls, Air and Weather, and Plant and Animal
Life Cycles and Interactions.
SOCIAL STUDIES: We will be covering the following topics in social
studies: Culture, Geography, History, Economics and Citizenship. There are
some fun activities that go along with these units.
SPELLING: We use a program called Words Their Way. Students will be
working at different levels based on their needs. It is a word sort program
that incorporates phonics instruction as well. Time will be spent in school
working with the words, but your child will also have weekly spelling
homework. All 2nd grade students are put into leveled groups and will have
the opportunity to work with all of the 2nd grade teachers throughout the
year.
STAR OF THE WEEK: We will start having a “Star of the Week” after
Labor Day. When your child is the star they will display their information on
a bulletin board for the week. Your child is given the opportunity to share
what they brought. On another day they may bring in their favorite book to
either read to the class themselves, or have read to the class. If you as a
parent would like to come in and read to the students during your child’s
special week just let me know. Students will also receive a booklet of letters
written to them from their classmates.
STUDENT WORK: I make every effort that I can to return student
work as quickly as possible. However, if I’ve gotten behind I often get
caught up over the weekend. Therefore, you may find that your child brings
home quite a few papers on Mondays. The home folder is the tool we use to
send work, and notes, back and forth so please help your child establish a
routine for taking out work and notes when he/she gets home, and making
sure that the folder is put back in their backpack before returning to school
the next day. Second grade tests may take a little longer to be sent home
because we wait for all 2nd grade students to be finished testing before
sending results home.
TECHNOLOGY: Students receive formal computer instruction in the
Library Media Center. We have four classroom computers that support the
reading, writing, math, social studies and science curriculum. We also have
two iPads for classroom use. They are used for skill practice and research
as needed.
VOLUNTEERING: There may be some opportunities for parents to assist
in the classroom throughout the year. An important part of second grade is
the Teddy Bear Factory and Celebration. The factory is sometime between
February and April. The Celebration is in the evening to accommodate more
parents. This year it is in April. More information will be coming home
about that.
WATER: Your child is welcome to bring a water bottle to school to keep in
the classroom each and every day. They will be allowed to keep it on their
desks as long as it does not become a problem. Please mark their bottle
clearly, as there are times when students have the same ones, particularly if
it is store bought water. You might want to send in a small washcloth for
your child to keep under their bottles to absorb extra moisture and drips.
WRITING: Through a writing program called Write Source second grade
students will continue to write using the 6 + 1 Writing Traits method that
they started to learn in first grade, and which continues through the grade
levels. Expository, narrative, and persuasive writing will be practiced in
second grade. English and grammar skills are addressed within the context
of real writing pieces. Second graders participate in the Young Authors
competition in January.
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