Welcome to Mrs. Sisock’s Second Grade Class in Room B105

Welcome Parents: On the index card on your child’s desk please write –Your child’s name –Your name –Your home phone number and cell phone number –Your address if you have one –Anything else you would like me to know about your child. Students fill out the blue paper Parents fill out the yellow paper

Curriculum Math –Everyday Math Topics we will be learning about include: single and double digit addition and subtraction, fractions, temperature, money, time, graphs, measurement, multiplication and division There is now a reference book, this will be sent home to help with some homework assignments. Report Cards will show math grades as a checklist (similar to first grade)

Curriculum English –Some topics of study will be kinds of sentences, punctuation, nouns, verbs, adjectives, proper capitalization, abbreviations, synonyms, antonyms, suffixes, prefixes, root words, and pronouns. Writing –6 + 1 Traits and Publishing Center Ideas, Sentence Fluency, Organization, Word Choice, Voice, Conventions, and Presentation Science Rocks – 3 different kinds and how fossils are formed Sound – how sound is made and travels Habitats – what a habitat is and how it works

Curriculum Social Studies –Areas of study include: communities, government, Pennsylvania, our country, history, map skills, and cultures around the world. Spelling –Words from the reading series Reading –Work on the reading skills of summarizing, monitoring and clarifying, decoding, evaluating, self questioning, and predicting and inferring. –Work on individual reading skills through the Daily 5 Handwriting –slant print and cursive

Daily 5 New program that is being implemented this year by many teachers. Daily children should be working on –Writing –Word Work –Reading Read to self Read to a buddy Listening to reading

Daily 5 The children will learn to work at their own levels to improve their reading an other areas. Together we will set goals that they will work on while participating in the Daily 5 The Daily 5 will take place during the literature block.

Homework Reading: Read the story of the week –Read assigned story and get sheet signed (usually assigned on a Tuesday and must be completed by Friday). Tests are usually on Friday Math: Homelink (almost every night) –Refer to the Parent Letter given at the beginning of the unit if your child is struggling. Spelling: List usually given on a Friday. –Tests will usually be on a Thursday.

Homework Science: There is no book but review sheets and vocabulary lists will be sent home. Social Studies: Study for tests, vocabulary lists and page numbers to study will be written in homework folders

Monday Day Math Spelling Reading Tuesday Day Math Spelling Reading Wednesday Day Math Spelling Reading Sample homework sheet

Projects Science: Identify a rock, create a musical instrument, create a new animal. English: Do a research project on an animal and create a replica of the animal in its habitat. Do research and write a biography on a famous person. Writing: Write a Publishing Center Story about animals.

Project Examples

Field Trips and Fun Activities At this point we will take two field trips. –Rock Quarry – deals with science unit on rocks –Zoo America – this trip ties in with our habitats unit in science.

Field Trips

Other Fun Activities Fall Festival Read Across America

Track and Field

Jungle Theme This year we have a Jungle/Safari Theme –A tiger was adopted in the name of this class. –Goal: to help students understand the reality of endangered species –At the end of the year we have a Jungle Party!

Student of the Week TOP CAT OF THE WEEK Every student will get one turn. They will fill out the poster. It is a way for kids to get to know each other. The TOP CAT will also get to be in charge of the stuffed tiger for the week.

Discipline System Cards: –Green – Good where everyone starts –Yellow – Needed a warning –Orange – Lose 5 minutes of recess –Red – Lose a whole recess and get a note home If a child is on orange or red it is marked on the prize chart as well as if a child forgets to do their homework. –If a child has more than 4 marks on the chart he/she does not get to participate in the a class prize or pick a prize from the box.

Newsletters Class newsletters will be sent home weekly as well as posted on the website. –Called the Sisock Cirrcular You will also receive a parent letter with the math program at the start of each unit with the answers to the math homework.

Dear Parents, I hope that you and your family had a very happy and safe holiday. In reading this week, we will be starting the story Big Bushy Mustache. The students will need to read the story by Friday January 7 th. Please be sure to sign your child’s signature sheets. A spelling list will be sent home Monday and the test will be Friday January 7th. The spelling list will have attached words, so please make sure that your child studies all of the words. In math this week, we will be starting Unit 6. This unit includes addition and subtraction of 3 or more numbers. Please continue to practice double digit addition at home, especially using the partial sums method. Our new data day is counting money, please try to practice this skill at home as well as telling time. In writing we will be beginning to practice working on conventions. This will allow students to take what they have learned from the sentence writing unit in English and apply that to their writing. The students will work on making sure they have capital letters and end marks. We will also be starting our publishing center books very soon. The publishing center stories will need to be written about animals. The stories will not be sent home until the very end of the school year. In science, we are beginning a new unit on Sound. In this unit students will learn how sound is made, how it travels, how it is transmitted, etc. They will also be learning about pitch, volume and the ear. The students will have an end of unit project where they will need to create their own instruments. More information will follow on this project, and most of it will be done in class. Have a great week! Mrs. Sisock

Class Website Sisock.wikispaces.com –Here you can find each night’s homework, upcoming events, newsletters, resources and more. –I also include pictures of the students in different activities. A permission slip will be sent home asking permission to put your child’s picture on the website.

Lunch Money Send in an envelope with students name and completed yellow slip or add money online This is for money for lunch. Snacks can no longer be purchased due to schedule changes and no morning recess. I do allow for a snack time in class, but I do not provide the snacks they need to be sent in.

Book Orders 2 book orders Checks only please payable to Scholastic Book Clubs

Parent Volunteers Parent volunteers are welcome. –Volunteers: check papers, read with students, do learning centers, staple, paper cutting, etc. Please indicate your interest and availability on the back of your index card. Please indicate your interest even if you can only volunteer sporadically.

Important Information and Forms For the first week bring in the following: – 4 quarters –10 dimesin a marked bag or –10 nickelsenvelope –15 pennies –An old clean sock to clean white boards –One binder Internet Papers Designated Homework Person Other items to consider: –Pencil box, pencils, dry erase markers

Contact Info for Mrs. Sisock Or contact me at the school’s number or , at prompt choose option 4

Thank you for coming. I am looking forward to a fun and exciting year. Have a great night!