What is the Spelling Pretest?
The spelling pretest occurs every Monday. The purpose of the spelling pretest is to see what words the children already know how to spell. The words that they get incorrect on the pretest are words they should study harder for the spelling test on Friday.
What are some ways my child can study their Spelling words?
1. The prestest corrections are a great way to reinforce the spelling of words.
2. You can make up a practice test at home.
3. Scrabble pieces or magnetic letters can be used to write the words.
4. Play "Snowman" (played like hangman except you use a snowman) guessing the letters of the word.
5. Children can clap out each letter of the spelling word as they say it aloud.
6. It is fun to write the words in crayon, chalk, or markers.
7. Stairsteps: Write the words as if they were stairs writing one letter at a time.
8. Children say the word, spell it, and say it again.
What are the vocabulary word lists?
The vocabualry words are words from the story of the week in our readers. They are also the high frequency words that appear most often in second grade reading. They are words that your child should be able to read without always using phonics skills. Your child should read them by sight. The word list is always given each Monday and can be found in your child's M copybook. Please have your child practice reading these words each night. You can always make vocabulary flash cards (on index cards) at home to practice reading them aloud.
What is the "Take Home book"?
The "Take Home Book" is a leveled reader given to your child every Monday and collected on Fridays at school. Each week they will recieve a new book to put in their take home folder. The book must stay in the take home folder so that they can read it at home and in school. The take home book relates to our story of the week and it also includes the vocabulary/high frequency words. It is great practice to read the vocabulary/high frequency words in context. Your child can read a few pages a night or read it all at once a few times a week. This is beneficial for your child to practice reading. They can read to you; read to an older or younger sibling; read it silently to themselves and you can ask them questions about what they read; or you can read it aloud together.
How should we study the Religion Key Terms?
The Religion Key terms are important words from each Religion chapter and Archdiocesan Religion guidelines. Your child can read through them each night at least two times; you can provide the definition and they can give you the key term; or you can also create flash cards for the key terms on index cards or sentence strips. If you ever need these materials please do not hesitate to ask.
Is it necessary to sign my child's homework?
In second grade you do not have to sign your child's homework. If you would like to sign your child's homework in their H copybook or workbook pages that would be wonderful to see. A signature is not a necessity but it is a great way for me to know that you have seen and checked your child's homework. I strongly suggest that you encourage your child to complete their homework independently and you can check their work when they are finished.
Where should all the worksheets and papers from my child's take home folder go?
Often the practice worksheets that we do in school are sent home in the take home folder. I would suggest that you have a special folder to place your child's work into. You can possibly obtain an expandable file folder so that the worksheets are divided into subjects. The worksheets we do in school are beneficial to keep to review for a test or exams at the end of the year.