| Dear Second-Grade Parents, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to Mrs. Donohue's Language Arts class for the 2009-2010 school year. I will be teaching Reading, Phonics, Grammar, and Spelling in a daily one and one-half hour language arts block. It is my very great pleasure to teach this group of second graders who are such hard workers and are so eager to learn! The purpose of this communication is to inform you of some of the policies which will be implemented in my class this school year. MATERIALS: Each student must have with them at all times two sharpened pencils, a red pencil, a yellow highlighter, and a six-inch ruler. They must have a reading copybook and a spelling copybook with them every day as well as their take-home folder. They must, also, come to class with a library book in hand in the event that they finish their work before others in the class. READING: The students will write vocabulary words for each story in their copybook as stories are introduced. They will also be given lists of vocabulary words to be cut into flashcards. The same format will be followed for each story. The children must study their vocabulary words. They will participate in various games and activities in which the vocabulary words, as well as other words which will be introduced in phonics lessons, will be reviewed. Homework will occasionally be assigned to be completed in the copybook. Also be on the lookout for various "strategy" papers to which the children will be introduced in order to help them with thinking and direction-following skills. COMPREHENSION CHECK: At the end of each story in the Reader, the students are required to answer comprehension questions. The answers MUST be written in complete sentences with proper capitalization and punctuation. They must follow the Completing Story Questions Strategy which can be found pasted in their copybook. This strategy is also useful for other subject areas in which they are required to answer questions. As a matter of fact, I have stressed to the students that whatever they learn in Reading class SHOULD be carried over to all of their other subjects. Please note that this is a process which will be introduced to the children gradually. THINK TIME: Both oral and written expression will be emphasized in Reading class. The students will learn to respond to story questions in an oral as well as a written mode. They must learn to think before they speak--to formulate their answer in their minds, first. In order to achieve this skill, I allow the students "Think Time," a period of about 30 seconds or so, to think about what they want to say. SKILLS PRACTICE SHEETS: These papers serve the purpose of acclimating the students to important test-taking skills including skills required for standardized testing. Skills Practice papers cover topics such as main idea/details, cause and effect, and making inferences, as well as phonics and grammar skills. SPELLING: The spelling copybook will be used for spelling pretests as well as for homework assignments. The students will be required to write spelling words in ABC order and to use the words in sentences. Unit tests will be given weekly. HOMEWORK: Habitual missed homework will result in a lower effort grade. Four homework slips in a marking period warrant an N in effort on the report card. BOOK REPORTS: My second-grade students will follow the same book-report procedure as the rest of their class in conjunction with the Book-It Program. Be on the lookout for some creative and fun book projects! LANGUAGE ARTS PACKETS: Once a week, usually on Wednesday, I will send home a packet of papers of the previous week's work. There will be a Parent Signature slip to be sent back to me the next day. Should you have any comments, please feel free to use the back of the paper. You might also check to see the work that the children have done in their workbooks. Occasionally, a paper may be stamped "Parent Signature--Please Sign and Return." These papers will be placed in the student's portfolio which will contain teacher-chosen as well as student-chosen work. ASSESSMENT OF SKILLS: Language Arts assessments are based on daily Skills Practice papers, workbook pages, written answers to comprehension questions after each story in the reader, Reading unit tests, creative-writing assignments, and Spelling tests which will be given every week on the words from their Spelling workbook. Students will also be assessed through informal, anecdotal means. PORTFOLIOS: I will be implementing a portfolio system. A portfolio is an organized and purposefully selected collection of work that shows achievement, effort, and growth in writing. The use of this system will allow the children to watch their progress and chart their growth in the area of writing. Classwork and some homework assignments will also be kept in the portfolios. TUTORS: If your child is working with a tutor, please let me know. I believe that it is very important for a teacher and tutor to have open communication in an effort to meet the child's needs. I'M HERE TO HELP: I am available at lunch/recess time every day and in the mornings between 8:10 and 8:30 should my students need me. I am aware of the fact that the children need exercise, so recess-time meetings will not occur often. I hope that this communication has made my policies clear. Please visit my website (accessed through the school website) for further information. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at any time either by note or e-mail at [email protected]. Sincerely, Mrs. Marilyn Donohue ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Please sign and return. I have read Mrs. Donohue's policies for Language Arts class. ____________ |