11/14/2015 0 Comments First to Second TrimesterIt was great to touch base with everyone for November conferences. As I explained in our meetings, the main focus of Term 1 was building the habit of speaking Spanish, reading fluency and math strategies for solving addition and subtraction problems. The math strategies we have discussed in class are using cubes (or other manipulatives), tally marks, number lines, using known math facts and the 100 chart. Once students have good visual representations in their heads (i.e. can visualize the number line, count up and down without using their fingers, break numbers into chunks that are easier to work with), then students can show their thinking with equations that represent those mental strategies.
A good way to help with reading fluency at home is to have your child listen to stories on RAZ kids in Spanish and record his/her voice reading those stories. I have shown the students how to do this in the computer lab and we practice recording every Thursday and listening every Friday. They can send this recording to me, but they can also replay it for themselves and listen: am I reading at a good pace? Am I pausing at periods? Am I using the correct expression for questions and exclamatory sentences? Modeling good expression when reading to your child in English will also help with reading fluency. In whole group discussions the students are expected to look and listen carefully to aid in their understanding of the L2 (second language) and respond to class discussions speaking only in Spanish. Students are encouraged not to define words in English. If they are excited about making a connection with a Spanish word we are discussing and an English word, we practice a nonverbal cue (linking the pointer fingers). Students are also rewarded for Speaking Spanish in small group or partner work. In word work time students are expected to look for definitions of new words in Spanish. I would encourage this at home as well, by purchasing an all Spanish dictionary or using the online dictionary under the Resources tab on this website. At this age remaining in the target language when possible and avoiding the thought that ‘understanding means translating word for word’ can promote second language acquisition. Instead of asking your child: What does that word mean in English?, ask: What part of the instructions do you understand? or What is the main idea here? Instead of saying, How do you want to say that in English and then we can translate it to Spanish, say: Let’s brainstorm some words you know in Spanish and then we can try to make a sentence out of them. Term 2 As we prepare for Term 2, we are beginning new units in our language arts curriculum, Maravillas, and our math program Investigations. The big idea in this new reading unit is: How do animals play a part in the world round us? All of the texts we read in this unit address this concept. The students are already very engaged, as this topic is of high interest to them. A good way to reinforce this concept at home is to begin or continue reading books and articles on animals, discussing animals you see outside, on trips, and on TV. In this term will focus on writing in Spanish. We will use the writing process to improve our sentences by adding descriptive, transitional and sequence words. Students will learn to write informational paragraphs on animals from interesting points of view. Our Investigations unit explores the second grade common core standard on geometry: reason with shapes and their attributes. Students will identify triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons, hexagons, and cubes. They will lay the foundation for multiplication and fractions by diving rectangles into arrays and 2D shapes into halves, thirds and fourths. In addition to our Investigations units we will continue to reinforce core math skills through flexible groups. We are currently finishing up telling time and can target this skill in small groups by working with Sra. Grau’s class and our Spanish language assistant, Srta. Silvia. Our next skill will be place value. Below are the IXL standards your child can practice at home to reinforce these skills and concepts:
Other exciting things in the classroom….
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AuthorSra. Cardamone Archives
February 2019
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