Second Grade:

Reading and writing are a big part of second grade.

Reader's workshop includes students reading independently from books that are at their reading level, practicing and mastering comprehension skills, working in small groups with their teacher as well as working on word and spelling skills.

Writer's workshop is a time for students to practice and become proficient at writing different genres. Types of writing include narrative, opinion, non fiction, poetry and fictional stories. Listening to books read aloud and discussing them is also an important part of students literacy development. 

Third Grade:

Reading is a very important skill to become comfortable with in third grade.  Each day we will spend time reading books on our own, in small groups, with partners, and listening to stories read aloud.  Find time in your day to make reading important at home too!  

The following article gives some great tips for promoting literacy at home: Reading Tips for Parents of Third Graders - Reading Rockets

Writing is another very important component of literacy.  We will spend time writing in class each day.  Some of the genres we will study this year are: memoirs, informational research reports, poetry, book reviews, and realistic fiction.  

The following ideas from Scholastic.com can be done at home to improve your child's writing skills!

Write About Your Lives: When your family experiences an enjoyable or important moment, you and your child can write about it together in a narrative piece. Describe the events that occurred using details and emotion, then send the piece to family members or friends to share the event and the writing.

Get Technical: Help your child use a computer to research a topic or communicate with friends and family. Your third grader can also use the computer to write her own pieces or pieces you write together.

Learn How to Do Something New: Pick something fun you and your child want to learn how to do, like drawing cartoons (How to Make Awesome Comics is a great 3rd grade resource for that!). Research the topic online or in a book together and create an informative piece, explaining the subject. You can then do the project yourselves or teach another family member or friend using the piece you and your child wrote.  

Make Your Own Magazine: Read magazines for children, such as Scholastic News, to familiarize your child with the format of magazines. Then work together to create your own magazine about your family, topics of interest, or anything you’d like!

Second Grade:

Mathematics in second grade involves several different components.  Math review is a short series of lessons which review concepts already taught.  Mental math encourages students to think and solve mathematical problems without paper and pencil.  During the major part of the lesson the focus is on grade level standards.  Big focus areas in second grade include adding and subtracting single digits with rapid fluency, addition and subtraction of double digit numbers with regrouping and entry level multiplication.

Third Grade:

This year in math, third graders will cover many different topics and skills.  We will spend time in all four of the math strands, Numbers and Operations, Algebra, Data Analysis, and Geometry and Measurement.  There are several different components to our math learning each day:

1. Math Review - Partner and group work on math skills with error analysis and math talks
2. Task Board - Differentiated instruction and time for students to work with partners on games to practice skills
3. Lesson - Introduction and practice of new math skills

We will share which concepts will be focused on each month in the newsletters that is sent home with students.  

The following articles can give you some ideas for working on math at home:

14 Tips to Boost your Third Grader's Math Skills

Third Grade Math Tips