Reading

* In Houghton-Mifflin's Adventures and Delights, second grade students strengthen their basic reading skills. Students are grouped according to reading level between Mrs. Duerr's and Mrs. Talley's classes. Students are encouraged to read independently, and teachers and students read aloud to the class. Every day after recess, I read a book or a chapter from a book to the children. Reading incentive programs are built into the curriculum to promote leisure reading at home. Children are expected to read about at least an hour per week.

The Reading/Language Arts block includes phonics, reading, expository and creative writing,, spelling, grammar, handwriting, listening and speaking, and study skills.

Phonics - Students learn how to decode words according to sound/spelling patterns. They also learn sight words, or red words. Red words are words that do not follow phonics rules and cannot be entirely sounded out. Topics in phonics include: consonants, vowels, compound words, le words, hard and soft c and g, blends (ex: br, bl), consonant digraphs (ex: sh, th), r-controlled vowels (ex: ar, er), contractions (ex: can't) endings, suffixes, vowel pairs (ex: ee, ea), vowel digraphs (ex: oo, au), vowel diphthongs (ex: oi, oy), synonyms, antonyms and homonyms (ex: son, sun). Back to top

Reading - In Reading/Language Arts, students study vocabulary, comprehension, (ex: literal comprehension, cause and effect, main idea, drawing conclusions) critical thinking skills, literature and literary techniques (ex: poetry, plays, setting, characterization), and study skills (ex: alphabetical order, book parts) Some chapter books arestudied in depth.

Titles include:100 Dresses and Frog and ToadBack to top

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Expository and creative writing- Examples of expository writing include descriptive writing, the friendly letter and narrative writing. Creative writing includes both fiction and non-fiction writing. An ongoing creative writing project that involves the creation and publication of the children's work begins in January. Parents are asked to become writing partners in this exciting endeavor. The writing process is used for both expository and creative writing. Back to top

Spelling - There are about 12-20 spelling words per week which emphasize basic phonics rules. In addition, the list includes a few challenge words. Spelling lists are handed out on Mondays and tests are on Thursdays. Back to top

Grammar - Grammar is an effective tool for learning how to write complex sentences. Topics include: sentence types, parts of the sentence, nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and verb and pronoun usage Mechanics - capitalization, punctuation Back to top

Handwriting - The Zaner - Bloser method is used in second grade, which is also practiced in both kindergarten and first grade. Emphasis is put on correct pencil hold, correct letter formation, and neatness. Back to top

Listening and Speaking - Listening and speaking skills include listening for detail, having a discussion, holding a conversation, participating in a drama, conducting an interview, and telephone etiquette.

Study Skills - Study Skills promote independent learning. Some study skills learned are alphabetizing to the second and third letter, use of resources for research, dictionary use, and reading a daily schedule.

Government - The Government unit covers rules and laws, some famous presidents, and the function of the three branches of the government. Students also learn about symbols of the United States, and our country's historical landmarks.