Visualization

The next few weeks we will be talking a lot about "Visualizing". When readers visualize, they are using the words they hear or read in a text to create visual images or movies in their mind. They are training their brains for when they read books that don't include pictures with the texts. We will discuss how every person's mental images will be different since they combine their own background knowledge with the words of the author. The more descriptive the author is, the clearer the visualization can be.  These mental images enhance their understanding and to bring what they read to life.

Letter Writing continued

We are continuing our letter writing activities this week. After reading the book "Dear Tooth Fairy", students have written their own letters to the Tooth Fairy. Some other students also chose to write friendly letters to a class friend, "Gus the Goose", who migrated to Florida and has been sending us letters and pictures of his travels. After writing a rough copy of their friendly letter, students highlighted the key components of a letter from a posted checklist to proofread their work. For example, they checked that they included a comma after the greeting and then highlighted it. Once their proofreading was complete, they started their good copies which they are finishing up now. 

There is no new shared reading or word wall words this week. I encourage students to keep up their practice of word wall words at home. We will also be using some class time this week to review them. 

Friendly Letters

The next couple of weeks we will be working on the components of a friendly letter. These include the heading (at this point this includes only the date and a few different ways of how to write it), the greeting, the body of the letter, the closing and the signature. At this point, I am focusing on having the students understand what these key components are and where they are written in a friendly letter layout. Our shared reading this week reviews many of these concepts. I expect the date to be written at the top and over on the right side of the page. The greeting should end with a comma, and the body should include at least one question. The closing is also written on the right side of the paper ending with a comma, and the signature is written directly below that. I am hoping that with lots of reinforcement activities, games and review in class, that this layout will be second nature to them when they move on to actually writing and editing their own friendly letters in a few days time. I know that the French teachers are also planning a letter writing unit in December which will build on and support their learning with me.

This week in English

My apologies for not posting earlier in the week as I usually do. I was away from school on Monday to attend a fantastic workshop and then a sick baby at home has kept me from my regular school routine more than I would like! As a result of my absences, the memory box oral presentations have been taking longer to get through than I had planned. There are just a few more for Monday and then we will move on to a new unit: Personal Letter Writing.

I hope to be able to see at least a few of you tonight and tomorrow at parent-teacher interviews. Unfortunately, my own kindergarten homeroom interviews will keep me from attending most of the scheduled interviews with Mme. Domingue and M. Lachapelle.

Memory Box Presentation

As you are well aware, Remembrance Day is this week. As a poppy is a symbol of remembrance, our learning this week will also reflect on their personal memories. I would like each student to choose a small item from home that will fit in a 3 inch by 3 inch box for this Wednesday November 12. This item will serve as a symbol of a personal memory that your child will recount in writing and then present  to the class. 

For example, perhaps they have memories of going on a holiday with their family. They could bring in a shell from the beach and describe the trip using the 5 W’s (what the item is, who they went with, where they went, when they went, and why it is a special memory/how it makes them feel) . Or perhaps they have won a medal for some athletic endeavor. They could again describe the event and how it made them feel.

Below is the marking rubric that I will be using for their oral presentation. They will be given ample time in class to write and then practice their presentation. All they need to do at home is find an appropriate item to bring in on Wednesday. 

If you have any further questions about this activity, please do not hesitate to email me. 

	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4
Description of Memory	Identifies and describes a special memory with assistance and multiple prompts	Identifies and describes a special memory with some assistance and a few prompts	Identifies and describes a special memory with limited or no assistance	Identifies and describes a special memory in detail
Speaking and Language	Speaks using incomplete sentences. Uses simple and basic vocabulary	Speaks using simple sentences Uses expanding vocabulary	Uses simple and complex sentences Uses a range of descriptive vocabulary	Speaks fluently and effectively, demonstrating command of the language Effectively uses a wide range of descriptive vocabulary
Clarity	Rarely speaks with clarity Needs assistance	Speaks with some clarity Needs some assistance	Speaks clearly and precisely, using eye contact	Speaks clearly and confidently, using eye contact
Audience Skills and Interaction	Demonstrates poor audience skills Asks questions when prompted Answers no questions	At times, demonstrates good audience skills Asks some questions Answers some questions	Demonstrates when to speak, when to listen and when to respond Asks relevant questions Answers most questions	Demonstrates when to speak, when to listen and when to respond Asks relevant questions Answers all questions

Reading Activity for at Home

When they are working with me in small groups during Literacy Stations this week, each child will be given a leveled book to keep. In our group, students are reading the book and practicing using decoding strategies while I listen in. When they are successful decoding a difficult word, they are instructed to circle the word with a highlighter. If they are unable to decode it, they highlight the word completely. Afterwards, we discuss these circled or highlighted words as a group. Students have a chance to explain how they decoded words, or if they were unsuccessful, we work together as a group to  figure it out. This activity has been extremely successful in helping students to think about their learning and how to apply the decoding strategies. I have asked the students to read the book at home with someone and to discuss the decoding strategies with them. I have only worked with two or three groups from each class so far, so if the book does not arrive home tonight, you can expect it over the next day or two. The children are very proud of their learning and I hope that you are able to take the time to discuss it with them (:

Weekly Update

Today I am sending home a package of work that your child has done with me over the last couple of weeks. I invite you to take some time with your child to go through it and discuss it with them. One of the sheets is a review of many of the high frequency words that we have studied so far this year. It was not a test per se, but allowed the children to see which words they would benefit from having extra practice with.

The remainder of the week will be spent at Literacy Stations- a favourite of my classes! The children will be working in small groups to complete activities including list writing, word wall word practice, independent reading, and working with me on targeted reading skills. If your child has a book that they are reading at home that they would like to use during their independent reading station, they are welcome to bring it in. Otherwise, I will have books available to them.

Posters Continued and Contractions

We continue this week working on our text to world posters. After reading The Lorax, we discussed the importance of taking care of our environment (similar to how the Lorax warned the Onceler in the story). We brainstormed some suggestions and students have been making posters of ways to conserve trees, keep our air clean and conserve water. This ties in to the grade 2 Science unit that they are currently working on with their homeroom teachers.

You will notice that this week's shared reading has a number of contractions in it. I have used this poem as a springboard for talking about contractions: what they are, how they are formed, and why they are used. Students will play a few games in which they are asked to make and deconstruct contractions. They will continue their practice of them next week during literacy centres. There will not be a shared reading next week.

More Connections

We are continuing to make connections in our reading this week. We have now completed text to self, and text to text connections, and are working on text to world and text to media connections. We will finish the unit by making posters related to our text to world readings.

Today I distributed the Decoding Strategies information sheet that I mentioned in a prior post. You can find it in your child's agenda pocket. They are encouraged to use a variety of these decoding strategies when they come to unknown words in their reading.

Connections

For the next couple of weeks, we will be discussing making connections while we read. There are three main kinds of connections that readers can make: text to self where readers find similarities between what happens in the story and their own life; text to text where they find similarities between two different books; and text to world where similarities are found between the book and the world (or community). This week we will be making text to self and text to text connections using the books "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day", "The Difficult Day", "Oliver Button" and "Amazing Grace". I invite you to encourage your children to make connections in the books that they read at home too, referencing specific examples in the books to support their answers.

We have also started using our shared reading poems and songs as a way to reinforce and practice different reading strategies such as chunking a longer word into smaller, more manageable parts, or finding smaller words inside longer ones. I will be sending home a more comprehensive list of reading strategies for your reference shortly. The more strategies students have to use when they come to unknown words in their reading, the more successful they can be deciphering it.

Apples

At the end of last week, we started to talk more about using descriptive words in our writing to make our sentences better. Using our five senses (taste, touch, sight, hearing and smell) we brainstormed five lists of different sensory descriptive words about apples while eating apples. This week students will be using these descriptive word lists to produce five complete sentences about their apples. Later we will be doing some sentence writing about things that we are thankful for, and practicing our ever-growing list of word wall words in a new game called Word Battleship. You may want to ask your child how to play this game- it is a popular one and they might enjoy playing it at home with you!

Schema

This week we are talking about schema. Schema is everything that someone knows or has experienced. Everyone has different schema since everyone has had very different experiences. I did a demonstration with a variety of shoes to demonstrate this idea. I brought in five different kinds of shoes:  a rain boot, a slipper, a fancy shoe, a running shoe and a sandal. We discussed how each shoe had experienced very different things and while the boot may have a lot of schema about mud and puddles, the sandal would have more schema about the beach, and the running shoe more schema about soccer and races. As we read, we learn new things and our schema grows. We will be comparing our schema before and after reading a variety of books this week to demonstrate that fact.

A quick note...

Next week I plan to do an writing activity with the English classes that will help them to practice using more descriptive words in their writing. It will involve each student eating an apple in class. If there are any concerns with this, please email me directly. Thank you.

A Reminder

As I previously posted, we will be starting literacy stations tomorrow. They will run until Friday. One of the stations is independent reading. While I will have a variety of books available for students to read, if they would like to bring one from home, they are welcome to.

This week: Journal Writing and Literacy Centres!

This week I will be introducing my two ETFI classes to the steps I would like them to use when writing a journal entry. They include: choosing a topic; writing the date at the top right hand side; writing three detailed sentences about their topic; drawing a coloured picture that corresponds with their topic; and reviewing their entry with a checklist to ensure captial letters and punctuation are used correctly. 

During journal writing, and most other writing activities taking place, I encourage the use of inventive, or phonetic spelling. For those of you who were not able to attend Meet the Teacher, I want to explain a bit about inventive spelling here. Inventive spelling is a phonetic way of spelling words that is completely appropriate for students at this level of learning. It allows them to independently write their creative ideas and not be hindered by the “correct” way to spell every word they want to write. It also is very good practice for letter sounds and blends. As your child becomes more familiar with writing, he or she will make the transition to standard spelling. Please see the image below for an example of inventive, or phonetic spelling. 

That being said, this does not apply to word wall words! I will insist that those are spelled correctly since they are words we have practiced and are posted in the classroom. I also give my students access to dictionaries, and will have word lists related to the topics they are writing about posted in the room for them to refer to. 

Later in the week, we will begin our first round of Literacy Centres. Literacy Centres are stations set up around the room that the students visit in groups to complete the activities found there. The stations will always include a writing activity, independent reading, and a couple of word work or word games. Additionally, one station will have a group work with me on either a specific reading or writing skill that I would like them to focus on. Each group will have a turn to visit each station.

While there is no shared reading this week, there are five new word wall words. Please check the word wall page of the blog to see what they are!

BINGO!

Bingo is a motivational tool that I use with my students. Each grade 2 classroom has a bingo grid hanging on the wall. When a student is caught working diligently, helping a friend, listening attentively, etc., they are rewarded with their name being written in a square on the grid. Not only does the student get rewarded, but it serves as a reminder to those who are not following expectations to get back on track. At the end of the English period on Fridays, I hold a bingo raffle. A letter and number are pulled from a bag and if that square is occupied by a name, that student wins the prize of the week. Some prizes include wearing their slippers to school, choosing to sit at the teacher's desk for a period, choosing a prize from the treasure box, or having me write a note home about all of their positive accomplishments. Congratulations to this week's winners: India from M. Lachapelle's room, and Benjamin from Mme. Domingue's room!

The Hungry Monster and More!

Although I sent home a paper newsletter this week, I do want to get in the habit of posting regularly, so here I am! I hope that it also helps you to get in the habit of reading the blog regularly! This week we starting thinking about fluency when reading- that is using an appropriate rate/speed, expression, punctuation cues and accuracy. The students have been having fun rating my fluency while I read books to them. Soon they will be using self-reflection checklists during their own reading time in class. We have also talked a lot about ending punctuation or sentence stoppers and determining what makes a sentence. To this end, we have fixed a story missing it's punctuation and capital letters using bandaids, fed my Hungry Monster sentences (you'll have to ask your child about this one!), and soon they will be making punctuation people and putting all of their practice to work when writing their sentences.More on that as it happens!

I will also be starting my individual reading assessments shortly. These will help me to pinpoint areas of need, and to track progress over the year.

Meet the Teacher night has been set for Wednesday, September 17th. I will be dividing my time between room 20 (my SK classroom) and my two grade 2 classrooms in the third floor tower. I hope to meet many of you then!

Thank you to everyone who has shown such enthusiasm for this blog and for ETFI in general! Tomorrow will be my first day with the grade 2 students, and the supply teacher who was in for me tells me that I am in for a real treat this year! Starting tomorrow and for the rest of the year, six of the grade 2 students from Mme. Frey's 1/2 class will be joining myself and M.Lachapelle's class for their English period. Welcome everyone!

Welcome to my blog!

Thank you for stopping by to check out the grade 2 ETFI blog! I hope that you will find this blog to be a helpful school-home link over the course of the year. Please remember to fill out and return the blog survey that your child will bring home after the first day of school. I look forward to being your child's English teacher this year!