2nd Grade EAL
English Language Learning with Mrs. Knoflick
Parent Teacher Conferences
Dear Families,
It was so nice to meet so many of you during parent teacher conferences this week. I really appreciate your involvement and continued commitment to your child or children's learning. I want to remind you that my door is always open. If at anytime you have questions or concerns about your child's English language development please stop by. My room is at the end of the second grade hallway in room 1229. You may also email me at any time hknoflick@asd.edu.qa
Writing Celebrations
This past week students celebrated the publishing of their first books in second grade. All students wrote personal narratives and loved sharing them with classmates. Enjoy the photos from the different celebrations around the grade level. I wasn't able to catch all the EAL students sharing but here are many students celebrating with their classmates.
When reading your child's published book talk with them a bit about what they learned from other authors and what they tried in their own writing. Here are some charts they will recognize from their classroom. I have included questions to help students reflect on their writing. Pick one or two questions to help you and your child discuss their book and dig deeper into the choices they've made as an author.
Ideas
- Where do you get your ideas for writing?
- What have we done today/this weekend that you can use as an idea for a book?
Writing Process
- How do you use the writing process?
- What part of the writing process is easiest for you? Why?
- What part of the writing process is challenging? Why?
Transitions
- How do you link events in your story?
- Show me where some transition words are?
- What is another way you could have transitioned to a new idea?
Twin Sentences
- What are twin sentences?
- How do twin sentences make your writing more interesting?
- Show me where you used twin sentences in your writing?
Excellent Endings
- What are some ways authors end their books?
- What are some ways you ended your books?
- What is another way this piece could have ended?
- Why did you choose to end your story this way?
Be a Problem Solver
- When you get stuck as a writer what do you do?
- What problems did you face writing this piece?
- What did you do to move on?
Practicing the Language of Math at home
During many conferences we talked about how much language is used in mathematics to help develop numeracy concepts. Math problems are presented in context within stories. This can be challenging for English Language Learners to understand the problem and how to communicate their thinking. During many conferences I suggested the resource Bedtime Math. Bedtime Math is a series of books and an app that presents a short story and leveled math problems based on the story. Research has shown that students who regularly talk about math in a natural setting with their family, as we do with reading bedtime stories, are more confident and are better communicators of math thinking than those who do not. Here is a link to the website which shares research, resources, and links to the app to use at home if you would like. http://bedtimemath.org/ While discussing the story and solving it please use your home language whenever necessary for your child to make meaning and clearly express their thinking.
Halloween Fun in World Language Class
This week students began to write book reviews in writing class. To support the structure of a review students in EAL World Language block wrote a "review" of their favorite Halloween candy. Stop by the bulletin board outside the EAL classroom to read these tasty reviews.