Welcome to 2nd Grade 2011-2012

Dear Students and Parents,
Welcome to 2nd Grade at Elk Meadows Elementary. My name is Mrs. Liz Taylor and I am looking forward to getting to know my new students, and their parents. I hope you students have enjoyed a nice break from school and are now ready to get started learning again. I am excited to get to know all of you.

I am hoping we can use our class blog as a means of communication to help us all be aware of what is going on at school, what homework assignments are due and so we can also share some of the fine work of the students through this technology. I am hoping you will check this blog at least once or twice a week to stay current on what is going on.

You can contact me through my school email which is
elizabeth.taylor@jordan.k12.ut.us
or by phone at the school 801-446-3200,
or just send a note to school on the back of your child's tracking sheet and I will return a note the same way.

My philosophy is to try to make school a place your child will enjoy coming to and then to help them learn those things that will help them build a strong foundation in math, literacy, writing, science and the other areas of whole child education.

Our three class rules are:
1 - Be Honest - no lying, cheating or stealing
2 - Be Respectful - of self, of others, of your environment (inside and outside)
3 - Do Your Best Work - this means to really work hard

I try to encourage the children through positive talk such as, "Your handwriting is much improved." , "I love how you are following the directions that I gave you." , "I appreciate how Joe is walking so quietly in the hall today," etc. I use a system of class points and individual tokens that the children earn by doing their work and following the rules. The tokens are used to buy things at the Token Store which is held about six to eight times during the year. The store is parent supported with donations of inexpensive items the children will enjoy buying. I usually need one volunteer to help run the store on those Token Store days. I would greatly appreciate your support for this activity as it truly is a wonderfully successful incentive program to encourage responsibility in the children both in their work and in their behavior.

It would be helpful if your child had the following items:
A pencil box - about 6" by 9" - with child’s name on it
A personal pencil sharpener with catch container for the sharpenings - with child’s name on it
A water bottle - with child’s name on it
A set of Twistable colored pencils for finer coloring
24 crayons
Elmers School Glue

We would also greatly appreciate donations of the following:
1 ream of white copy paper
1 package of sharpened #2 pencils
Ziplock type bags Snack, Quart or Gallon sizes
Boxes of tissues as needed throughout the year
Items for the token store throughout the year



The classroom temperature varies greatly - as fall approaches I would encourage you to send a jacket to school to stay here for the times when the room is too cool for your child.

Often I have students who brag about how they stay up until 11:00 at night. All of the research as well as common sense tells us that children of this age need nearly 10 hours of sleep a night or more. If they do not get this sleep their ability to learn and their behavior in the classroom is impaired. I can see it in individuals and in the class when they have not had enough sleep. I would encourage you to set up a family routine concerning homework and bedtime that will be the best for your child's health and education.

I see education as a three legged stool; the teacher, the student and the parents are the legs on the stool. Without any one of them the education is unbalanced and less than the strong foundation that each child deserves. Please be involved by helping your child with homework on a nightly basis. Then if you can please volunteer your time to help in our classroom either as a room mother, party helper, field trip volunteer, spelling volunteer, in the classroom on a regular basis or by doing things at home to help prepare materials.

Mrs. Liz Taylor’s Class Schedule

8:30 -9:00 Weather/Starter activity/ Spiral Math Review/
Morning Message – Grammar and Conventions/
Business/Calendar
9:00-10:15 Math
10:15-11:30 Language Arts – (Guided Reading, Spelling and Centers)
11:30-12:15 Lunch
12:15-1:30 Language Arts – (Writing) or (Guided Reading, Spelling and Centers)
1:30-2:15 Rotations (Mon. – Science/Social Studies, Tue. – Art, Wed. - music, Thur.-P.E.)
Please make sure your child wears tennis shoes on Thursday for P.E..
2:15-2:30 Recess
2:30-3:00 Vocabulary
Thurs. – 5th grade Buddies
3:00-3:05 Clean up and home


Curriculum

Reading: Students will keep a reading response journal. They will read at least 15 - 20 minutes every school night and write at least 1-2 sentences telling how they connected with the book. The due date is on the cover of the journal.
Students will learn how to select a book that is just right for their reading ability.
We will focus on developing good strategies for accuracy, fluency, and comprehension in reading.

They will read in many different genres and do a good deal of reading about non-fiction subjects which are in the Science and Social Studies core.
Spelling: We will begin spelling on Friday, September 2nd. The spelling lists will be comprised of frequently used words in the English language, word chunks, and sight words that are individually chosen for your child. Each week we will focus on a phonics principle and learn to spell words using that principle.
The list will come home on Friday so you have the weekend as well as Monday-Thursday morning to study the words.

Spelling tests will be given on Thursdays.

Math: We will continue working on basic math facts of addition and subtraction. I have a goal for each child to be fluent in these facts by the end of December. It is important that you work with your child to learn these. Basic facts are one digit plus one digit numbers and the subtraction fact that goes with it, for example: 9+9=18, 18-9=9. The students will be learning strategies to help them learn and memorize these math facts.

Students will learn problem solving strategies as well as create some strategies of their own.

We will learn about fractions, addition and subtraction with regrouping (some of us remember 'carrying' and 'borrowing'), measurement skills, time to the quarter hour, and geometry. A lot of work will be done in firming up the children’s’ number sense understanding.

Social Studies/Science: We will be studying rocks, plants, weather, life cycles, movement in the night sky including phases of the moon, season, map skills, some American history concerning the American West and the Long Journey to Freedom (Civil Rights), communities, cultures, and citizenship.

Library: We will have library on Tuesday. Please make sure that your child has his/her book to turn in each Tuesday. I will allow the children to take home the library books, however if the books do not come back each week I will have them keep them at school. If they are not finished with the book they may renew it. Since more children are at school all at one time it is important to return the books promptly.

P.E. We will usually have PE on Thursdays. Please make sure that your child has sturdy and comfortable shoes suitable for activities and that they wear them on Thursdays.

Character Education - Our school will be using the book "The Leader in Me" by Steven Covey to help us learn to implement and teach to the children the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. This is involved in a program aimed specifically at school age children. There is a companion parent/adult - and child book that we will also be using to help teach the students. This book is "7 Habits for Happy Kids" by Sean Covey. It would be a great resource for each family to have in their homes to help the school and home to work together to teach our children great character habits.

Book Orders: From time to time we will send home a book order form. If you are interested, please return the form to school with your money. Please send checks only made out to Scholastic Books. The orders will be due on the Friday following the day they are sent home. I am sending information that will allow you to order the books and pay for them online. Each time an online order is placed we receive $3.00 in an account for me to purchase books for the classroom. If you have questions please email me.

The Blog- Instead of a weekly newsletter I put important information on the class blog. You can access it at: http://www.ltaylor2.blogspot.com/ I also provide links to important and helpful information on the blog. It can also be accessed through the grade pages on the school web page.


Volunteers: We love volunteers in our classroom. If you are interested in helping out in our class please sign up on the ½ sheet paper on your child’s desk with the dates and times you are available. We need volunteers to help with spelling tests, reading, math games, and home projects. The PTA has been telling us about 'Gold Medal Schools' and one of the goals of these schools is to have every parent donate at least 3 hours of volunteer work for the school.

The keyword or phrase is "Be a Leader" - please write it on your child's yellow tracking sheet and they will be rewarded for your efforts to keep current with what is going on in class.


Please feel free to email me with any questions, or something I need to know about your child. I am here to be a help to you, educationally, as you raise your child.

elizabeth.taylor@jordan.k12.ut.us (the official school email)