Welcome to Second Grade at Fortis Academy!
It's time to make new friends, lean in and learn some cool new things this year! God is with us Mighty Knights and Royal Princesses!
Scripture: " Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cling to that which is good." Roman 12:9 (KJV)
Math-Math facts will be completed Monday-Friday weekly. Students will be given a packet each Tuesday. Mastery is considered 90% so if student gets 90% correct on school Tuesday, they may skip fact practice on Weds at home. The same is true for Thurs: if students achieved mastery of at least 90%, they may skip practice at home Friday and Monday. Completed packets need to be turned in each Tuesday.
Spelling/Grammar- Phonogram Assessment lists can be found in the Spelling section of the binder. In first quarter, we'll be working on lists 1 & 2, but please continue to periodically review past lists even when we've moved on. Once a week, you'll be asked to review phonogram cards which consists of showing student the phonogram and having them verbally tell the sounds. Once a week you'll also be asked to practice "sounds" which consists of co-teacher verbally dictating the sounds and student practices writing. For all dictation sentences, please have students correct any mistakes after they've finished. We'll be using these sentences in Grammar at school. Please also follow the format of Spelling Journals, starting new lessons on the left and skipping a page. The first few lessons are written in for you to familiarize yourself with the format.
Reading-Reading packets are handed out each Tuesday, completed at home on Weds. and Fri and turned in the following Tuesday. Please keep a well organized binder and keep them in the front pocket so students know exactly where to find them when they're turned in. All reading packets will be kept, unless there is feedback for future work. You don't need to turn/correct returned packets-just adjust expectations accordingly for the next packet. Please pull out any returned packets as well so students only have one stored in the front pocket. All reading packets should be completed as copywork. Student dictates their answer, co-teacher writes down, skipping every other line and then student copies. Please number questions and check over to make sure student copied correctly. Students should be using proper grammar, punctuation, spelling and correct letter formation.
Poetry-This is a cumulative, oral program meant to develop linguistic and oratory skills. Students should be listening to the poems and reciting along, rather than reading (it might help to read the first few times, but after that, listening is much more helpful.) You are welcome to come in and listen to the cd's so you have an idea of how poems should be recited and I encourage you to make your own audio file reciting the poems to listen to in the car to make frequent practice more achievable. Once we've mastered the first poem, you will see the second poem listed on the blog and then your practice becomes both poems 1 and 2; we'll then move on to 1-3, etc. Assessments will be of a less formal nature in class throughout the quarter. Remember, the emphasis here is on being enthusiastic and expressive with our recitations. Focus should be on inflection, volume, tone of voice, eye contact, etc. We'll be working on this frequently in class as well :)
Read Aloud/Enrichment- These subjects are only taught at school-there is no home requirement for either.
Bible-We are using The Gospel Project, semesters 3 & 4 in class. Feel free to follow along with that curriculum, just read/discuss the Bible passages or do your own Bible study with your student. They won't have trouble following along with what we're doing in class regardless. Even if you're not using TGP, please recite the prayer assigned for that quarter.
Science-Science readings are assigned once a week at home. Students don't need to bring their Science book to class, but completing the readings at home sets them up for whatever hands on activity we'll be doing in class. We won't cover the entire book, but many students become interested in what they're learning and want to dive in more so that's a great opportunity to foster their curiosity.
History- Students will be assigned one chapter and corresponding journal entry per week to complete. This book can stay at home as well. In class we'll be utilizing living books, short videos, and projects to re-enforce the textbook reading. Our focus of study is on the 16 timeline events/people found in the binder. Please practice these regularly. Students will be assessed on them quarterly and they are cumulative. Students don't need to know the date, but instead should be able to give a short description of the what the event or person was. Examples are given in the student binder in history section. The jingles can also help.
Geography-Students are learning the Continents and Oceans first. Songs can be found on the home page of the homework blog, under curriculum. Students don't have to sing, but do need to be able to point and identify for all geography maps. Practice maps identical to what is used for assessment are found in the geography section of the binder.
I am very excited to partner with all of you this year! I am also a Certified Faith Based Life Coach and Grief Recovery Specialist so for our behavior plan I will be incorporating some of the mindset skills that I have learned in our classroom. Our classroom theme scripture will be " take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ" --2 Corinthians 10:3-5 I had some parents ask about a wishlist so I put one together. Please see the link below. Absolutely no obligation --the most important thing is your smiles, support and prayers as we work together this year. https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/ESC0INCX60H8?ref_=wl_share
