S'MORE News from Second Grade
March 23, 2020
Dear Parents,
Today we begin our online instruction for our Second graders. We would rather be in the classroom with your child than working from home. We definitely miss their smiles and comments. This is a new frontier for us. We have been working via virtual meetings in order to prepare the following curriculum for our students. We ask that you please be patient with us as we work through the kinks. We know that there will be questions. We will try to answer them in a timely manner. We will be giving feedback on the work that the children are required to turn in to us via each teacher's Google Classroom. Please give us at least 48 hours to review their work and make constructive comments. Each teacher will have a new Google Classroom code. The codes will be provided in the next section along with a lesson plan for you and your child to follow each day. Please make sure your child logs into their teacher's Google Classroom each day. New assignments will be posted in certain subjects daily. Thank you and enjoy this new adventure we are ALL on TOGETHER!
Sincerely,
Second Grade Team
Teacher Codes
Once you and your child log into Google Classroom, please enter the code for your child's teacher and ONLY your child's teacher.
The title of the Clasrooms are:
"Second Grade Cyber Kids"
Mrs. Hall: vdrcnc7
Mrs. Mosbarger: kch5pdx
Mrs. Woodard: 6b4absb
Mr. Steele: iv3oinu
Dreambox Login
Second grade teachers assign Dream box math for homework. We have been informed that some students are having difficulty logging into Dreambox.. Students must log in through Webdesk. They must type in Webdesk.pisd.edu in the browser. They then enter their username and password:
Username: firstname.lastname.1
Password: Second2!
Students then click on the Dreambox app to practice their math skills.
Dreambox
What is DreamBox Learning Math?
● DreamBox Learning Math, the next generation of web-based learning,
provides personalized math learning in an engaging, fun, game-like
framework.
● DreamBox automatically adapts to each student, optimizing his or her
learning experience. The engine does this by customizing the lessons,
difficulty, hints, pace, and sequence to match a student’s knowledge and
learning style -- just as a great tutor would!
Tips for Parents
● Encourage students to FINISH lessons. Explain to students that
DreamBox is constantly taking into consideration their keystrokes,
strategies, speed and answers to build the best “next step”. However, the
platform won’t register all of that data if a lesson is incomplete. The best
way for a learner to show what he or she knows or doesn’t know is to
finish the lesson. Ask them to not out of a lesson because they want to try
another. Encourage them to finish. If they must close a lesson, have them
start with that lesson when they play DreamBox again. It is okay to get
wrong answers and to try their own strategies.
● Encourage them to use the “Help” (K-8) and “Hint” (3-8) buttons .
● Use only the program. No pencil, paper or calculator. DreamBox will
provide any workspaces needed and break the problem down into
manageable parts. Students should use the tools and virtual manipulatives
to guide them.
● Don’t help students answer problems. The program engine wants to
“learn the learner.” If a student gets help, the software adjusts as if the
student understands the lesson. DreamBox will eventually adapt back to
the “right” level for the student, but if a parent helps, it can take longer and
impede progress.
● Encourage a growth mindset. It is okay for students to make
mistakes and try their own ideas! Let students know that it is okay to
get the “Oops, try again!” notification. When students worry about getting
wrong answers, they are often hesitant to try new ideas. Mistakes are
okay! We learn from mistakes every day. Students should be encouraged
to test their own strategies. This leads to true mathematical discoveries
and thus understandings, and lifetime confidence in mathematics learning.
Curriculum Information
Listed below are topics currently being taught in the Second grade. We encourage you to support what we are teaching in the classroom by asking your child what they have learned each day and discussing these topics with your child.
Math
Fact Fluency
Fractions
Geometry
Science
Membranes
Language Arts
Reading with fluency
Comprehension skills - text features
Writing complete sentences
Capital letters at the beginning of a sentence
Punctuation at the end of a sentence
Prepositions
Writing
Procedural Text
Social Studies
Government
Math Fact Quizzes
Below are a couple of websites for your children to practice their Math Facts online. Please have them practice daily. One of our second grade objectives on our Portfolio Conference sheet is to “Recall basic facts to add and subtract within 20 with automaticity.” Practicing their facts in some way each day will help increase their automaticity.
http://www.factmonster.com/math/flashcards.html
Websites for Home Use
http://www.aplusmath.com/Worksheets/index.html
http://www.superkids.com/aweb/tools/math/
http://www.mrmyers.org/Math_Mania/Math_Games/Jude_e-Clock/clock.htm
http://www.sanchezclass.com/reading-graphic-organizers.htm
www.jamit.com.au/htmlFolder/app1001.html
www.harcourtschool.com/activity/telling_time_gr2
https://www.spellingcity.com/gselec/
www.teacher.scholastic.com/tools/spelling.htm
http://www.readwritethink.org/search/?resource_type=16&grade=9
http://www.worksheetworks.com/
www.playkidsgames.com/games/mathfact/mathFact.htm
www.ws.hmhpub.com (write source)
www.scholastic.com/ups/files/campaigns/src-2013/SCBookList2013_FULL.pdf
2nd Grade Team
Website: http://k12.pisd.edu/mathews-elementary-school
Location: 7500 Marchman Way, Plano, TX, United States
Phone: 469-752-2300
Twitter: @2ndMavs