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Notes from Mrs. Cafferty |
September, 2007: Another school year is about to begin and, as I
anticipate meeting new students and parents, once again I possess a sense of
excitement and optimism. The excitement comes in thinking about the discoveries
that the students will make as the year progresses, and the optimism springs
from my belief that we will have a wonderful year.
Every year, a new
group comes together. This year, my classroom has moved once again, so the
students and I will get to know another new setting together. Each child in the
class has his or her own learning style, which I will address with a variety of
teaching methods. My goal is to instill in each child a love for learning along
with a desire to gain knowledge and an ability to think critically when seeking
answers in and out of school. I expect students to progress throughout the year
and to be responsible and courteous. Part of their responsibility is to do
their best and strive for quality in their work.
In all areas of the
curriculum, I encourage thinking skills. The students learn to rely on their
own thinking to find solutions to problems, predict possible outcomes, compare
and contrast, and make sense of their learning and experiences. That is
important not only in reading, writing, math, science, and social studies, but
also in their everyday encounters and experiences.
As in all Providence
Schools, I use a balanced literacy approach. Balanced literacy places emphasis
on reading and writing, and students spend a large portion of their day
participating in activities that focus on literacy. During each school day,
students will work on phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency and accuracy,
vocabulary, and comprehension in reading. (Please see Second-Grade Reading
Standards.)
Those components
will be addressed in various ways. Our mornings begin with students working
with me on the rug. We begin the Balanced Literacy part of our day immediately
upon entering the classroom. Because we begin immediately, it is very important
that students are on time for school. This initial gathering sets the tone for
our day and helps the students to begin working on their reading skills with me
by doing various word work activities as well as phonemic awareness, phonics,
and shared reading. Each day, students will work in their guided reading groups
for instructional reading using books that are most often new to them. Students
will also practice their reading using familiar books during independent
reading. They will talk about what they've read, and they will listen to others
do the same. Students will listen to and participate in discussions about books
that I read aloud to them.
The other large part
of balanced literacy is writing. (Please see Second-Grade Writing
Standards.) Students will write every
day. Each quarter, they will be expected to take some pieces that they have
begun writing and polish them for publication. In doing that,
they will be applying writing skills that they started learning in Kindergarten
and have built upon in Grade One. As Grade Two progresses, they will
continue learning more and more about writing, and they will be expected to
apply those new skills to their writing as well. As we read books together, we
will be looking closely at what authors do. Since students will see many
aspects of the craft of writing, their writing should show some of the writers'
craft we have been observing. By the end of the year, students will be expected
to know and follow the steps in the writing process. Though I will conference
with students on a regular basis about their writing, students must show an
understanding of how to make sense and be clear in their writing. It's
important for them to make decisions about their writing, and revise and edit
to make their writing the best it can be.
For math, we are
using the Investigations in Number, Data and Space curriculum in which students
do a great deal of hands-on work. When they put effort into the various units
of the Investigations curriculum, children will improve their number sense as
they use numbers in a variety of ways. Students will count objects, combine and
compare amounts, and work with coins. They will write equations for a given
number, sort and describe 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional objects, and
categorize objects. In addition they will collect, record, and represent data,
and talk and write about problem-solving strategies. The homework and games
played in Investigations are very important and must be considered an integral
part of students' math learning. A letter is sent home to parents at the
beginning of each math unit. The letter has information about which math concepts
will be covered during the unit.
Along with
Investigations, students work on 2PAs, also known as the Daily 2. With the 2PA
(Two Problem Approach) students solve two standards-based math problems in one
session. Once the problem solving is completed, students gather with me as we
debrief. In debriefing, students share their various strategies for solving the
problems. Through the debriefing process, students learn that there is often
more than one correct way to solve a problem, and they gain insight into
various problem-solving strategies as they share their thinking and subsequent
solutions. The students usually have about ten to fifteen minutes to solve the
two problems and show their thinking in writing, using words,
numbers/equations, and/or pictures. The debriefing period takes additional time
and provides immediate critical thinking reinforcement.
Homework often
relates directly to our math lesson for that day, and it is always thoroughly
explained before our regular dismissal time, so it is important that students
listen carefully and participate in and attend to lessons and directions.
Students' addition and subtraction facts, as well as concepts such as coin
values, are strengthened through games in most units and should be played
regularly as part of homework as concepts and skills are introduced. Once the
games have been introduced in the classroom, each child will bring home game
directions so that they are readily available during homework time. Students
will also be given card sheets so that they may have those game materials at
home. It's important that those games are kept in a safe place and that parents, other adults, or older children play the games
often with students to help them understand and learn their math facts.
The academic areas
covered in my classroom are not taught in isolation, but rather in an
interdisciplinary way. For example, though science and social studies are not
presently taught formally in the primary grades, I support them through
literature and writing. I also integrate technology into the curriculum. In
1999, I designed and launched an Internet project called "Tunia's
Travels". The project involves most areas of the curriculum, and
classrooms from around the
The students and I
will work together to create criteria for behavior, work, and activities. Since
those criteria are developed together, they should be very clear to the
children. The criteria are posted and will be reviewed and modified as
necessary throughout the year, so expectations will be clear to everyone in the
classroom. A great deal of modeling goes on in the class so that students may
see how tasks should be approached. During and at the end of each lesson or
activity, students are encouraged to ask a question when something is not clear
to them. Students have folders for math, writing, and reading. Parents may call
the school to make an appointment with me to look through their child's folders
and talk about their child’s progress. The school telephone is 456-9406.
Students will
actively work with other students and me throughout most of their school day.
Because what we do in class involves student participation in activities,
listening and discussing, and hands-on use of classroom manipulatives,
it is important that students are in class. A large portion of classroom
learning in all areas comes from verbal interaction among students and with me.
Therefore it is important that students are present, punctual, and well rested
from a good night's sleep each day. Students should be in line at
DISMISSAL: Students in
M5 who walk home or are picked up are dismissed promptly at 3:05PM from the
BACKPACKS: It is important that each
child have a backpack for carrying notices home or for carrying homework home
and then back to school. If students learn to carry such items in their
backpack rather than in their pockets, they will be better organized. In
addition, backpacks help teachers and parents with communication since letters
and notes may be safely transported between home and school inside the
backpack. For that reason, it is important that parents check inside their
child's backpack each day after school to look for notices, letters, homework,
etc. At the beginning of each day, I ask students to hand in their homework and
to give me any letters, etc. from their parents. Second-graders are on their
way to independence, but they need our help to get there. It is important that
we help them in this communication between home and school. Please check your
child's backpack each school day. I do my best to remind the children to pack
their assigned homework into their backpacks. It will also be helpful if you
remind and check to see that your child has put completed homework into his or
her backpack. Together we can work to help students assume some of the
responsibility for their school work.
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