End of Year Fun
We had a great end of the year together-- while it is exciting to grow up it is always bittersweet to say goodbye to a great year. I am so lucky to have had such a great bunch of kids-- they will be missed! Thank you so much for sharing them with me this year!
We enjoyed our 10 day countdown to end our year- we participated in spending some time outside to enjoy the beautiful weather, I gave in to a PJ day, and almost all of us participated in the talent show--what a brave group of kids. We enjoyed fact fluency boot camp (keep practicing those facts this summer) and spending some time with our 2-O friends through ocean and poetry book partnerships. We couldn't wait to open our time capsule and were so surprised to see how far we have come since our first week together as 2nd graders. We have made huge gains in our learning both academically and socially this year-- I am so proud of this group. We are ready for 3rd grade! Hope you all have a great summer. Don't forget about the summer reading program at the EK library-- reading everyday is one of the most important things you can do with your child this summer to maintain all they have learned. Also, below are some activities I have mentioned to help your child avoid the "summer slide." Thank you for your support in your child's learning!
Start a family book club. Read the same book and then meet
to discuss what you/your child liked and did not like. Because your reading
level is probably more advanced than your child's, you will be able to breeze
through the books, while creating family bonding time that enhances your
child's critical thinking skills.
Make visiting the
library part of your summer plan. EKES
has activities throughout the summer that will keep your child's mind engaged
during vacation time.
Recruit a little planner. Are you
going away this summer? If so, put your children in charge of planning at least
one aspect of the trip. Give them maps, brochures and guides, and see how they
use their skills to figure out a plan.
Ways
to maintain what we have learned this year
Comprehension- Asking your child questions throughout their reading is
essential to their understanding of text. This is also a great opportunity for
you to read higher level texts to your child so they can work on story
comprehension.
Questions to help build comprehension-
Story plot- Characters, setting,
problem, solution- Beginning., middle & end.
Main idea- What are the important
facts or events
Predictions- What do you think will
happen?
Ask questions- What do you wonder?
Talk about characters- How do they
act, how do they change throughout the text?
Authors’ purpose- What is the author
trying to teach us? What can we learn from this story?
Accuracy- Encourage your child to use
strategies when the come to a difficult word- Picture clues, chunking words,
looking at the beginning sound and stretching out words are all ways readers
can tackle tricky words.
Fluency- Reading aloud benefits students and
improves their rate and expression. Encourage them to rehearse small sections
of texts and fun poems. Listen to
reading on tumblebooks.com (You can access free link on our school website-
eks.sau16.org)
Expand Vocabulary-Help your child find and use interesting
words in their text. Help them understand the meaning and context of the word.
Writing- Write poems, keep a summer journal,
blog, or try our digital storytelling!
Practice 2nd
Grade sight words and incorporate them within writing to prepare for 3rd
grade!
Little
Bird Tales- Digital Storytelling
Math- Practicing fact fluency
is one of the most important things you can do to prepare for next year and
maintain and build on skills from this year.
3rd
graders will need to be fluent in multiplication facts, which means they need a
strong base of addition facts 1-20!
Practice
xtramath everyday to see improvement!
www.xtramath.com
Unfortunately,
you will need to start a new account for the summer as the accounts become
inactive the next year. Once your child masters addition and subtraction they
will be moved onto multiplication. .
Other online sites:
www.ixl.com-
General math practice of skills learned
www.splashmath.com App & online website
www.frontrowed.com App & Website to practice 2nd
grade concepts. Gives problems based on your child’s level.
To sign in use child’s first name, last name and our
class code: 6auy5d
Thank you so much for a great year! I hope you enjoy some well deserved downtime this summer. Couldn't ask for a better teacher for our kid.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sarah! That is so kind of you to say. Missing this class already. Hope Malcolm is having a great summer! Tell him I hope to see some blogging about all his adventures. :)
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