HOMEWORK
Note: At the beginning of the year, we will ease into our nightly homework assignments.
Homework is designed to be a connection between school and home and to provide additional practice with important 2nd grade skills. Please allow your child the opportunity to complete their homework independently. You are welcome and encouraged to review their work with them. Homework should not become a point of frustration for your child. Students reaching feelings of frustration or working longer than 20 minutes (not including nightly reading), should stop and bring their unfinished work to class. Please write me a note, and I will work with them and/or provide them additional time in class to complete the assignment.
Subject to Change:
Please note that planned homework assignments are subject to change. At times throughout the year, students may be assigned a project to complete at home or asked to complete skills practice on a website. Please check our classroom website weekly for any changes that may have occurred to our homework.
Spelling:
Spelling words will be updated on this site weekly. If your child leaves their binder/list at school or elsewhere, please visit this site for their list of words. When your child is practicing their spelling words or completing their spelling assignment, they are to spend the majority of this practice on the words they struggle with. Once they have mastered a word (able to consistently spell it correctly and spell words with similar patterns correctly), they do not need to continue practicing that word.
- Challenge Words: Challenge words are designed to extend your child's spelling pattern knowledge. Students are encouraged to practice these words once they have mastered the words on their primary spelling list. Students are not required to practice or study challenge words and are not penalized for attempting them on an assessment.
- Vocabulary Words: Our vocabulary words accompany the texts we are reading in class. Please discuss the meaning of these words with your child. Ask them to give you examples of the words. Try to connect the meanings to something in your child's life when possible. Students will need to be able to use the vocabulary word correctly in a sentence. They will not be assessed on the correct spelling of vocabulary words.
Timed Fluency:
Timed math and reading fluency homework only takes 1 minute each to complete nightly (facts on Thursday are 5 minutes). Students may be timed by an adult or an older child. If for some reason an adult or an older child is not available to time your child, please have them read the passage all the way through one time and complete all of the math facts for that day independently. This way they continue to receive the important benefits of this nightly practice.
Homework and Excused Absences:
Students who are at home sick have the most important homework of all, to GET WELL. Students do not need to make up their homework when they are ill or out due to a family emergency. They are still responsible for making up missed classwork and preparing for assessments, once they return.
Students who are sick are encouraged to complete the following activities while at home (only when feeling well):
- 15 minutes of XtraMath fluency practice (click here to go to site)
- Work on new reading software program (link to be posted) for 15 - 20 minutes (click here to access through Clever)
- Complete a language arts and math skills lesson in Progress Learning (click here to access through Clever)
- Complete a spelling activity using our current word list daily (list found on Bits and Bytes page of this website)
*Missed classwork due to absence will be sent home with your child upon their return to class.
Nightly Reading:
This is a transitional reading year for your child. Nightly reading is vital to your child's reading success. In second grade we move from reading approximately 20 minutes independently to 30 minutes independently by the end of the year. If your child does not currently have the stamina for 20 minutes of reading each night, start off with smaller increments and build up from there. Reading should be an enjoyable time for them, so read with them or to them if you like. The key to this enjoyment is making it fun!
- You may find titles of books on your child's Lexile level by visiting Lexile.com (click here to go to site).
- Students may work on iRead for 20 - 30 minutes as a part of this homework (click here to access through Clever).
Recommended (Optional) Nightly Skills Practice:
- (Note: Digital reading skills practice will be available as the year progress through our new reading software program. This will be posted as it becomes available.)
- Complete a math module on Zearn 2 - 3 times per week when possible. (click here to go to Zearn).
- Complete XtraMath fact fluency practice 2 - 3 times per week when possible. (click here to go to XtraMath).
**Please note that digital learning lessons and activities are not assigned for absences.**