Poetry…
Second graders have been studying poetry in our class. One of my favorite aspects of teaching poetry is the vocabulary. It is a fun way to introduce new words. We have studied alliteration; using the same consonant sound for several words. For example, Bart was blowing big bubbles. We have identified rhyming words and common themes of poems. At the end of each class session, students are to share one poem with the group. After sharing the poem, he or she must share the main idea of the poem along with why the author may have wanted to write the poem.
All about the main idea…
Second Graders used their knowledge of text features to help them read non-fiction texts in order to learn to write a summary. Students learned how to identify the main idea and to provide supporting details. Once they were able to identify the main idea and supporting details their next task was to write a complete summary. This can be very demanding at this age as many students tend to get off topic. As you read and listen to your child read, ask him or her if she can tell you what the text is mostly about in a sentence or two. This will help develop the skill of recognizing the main idea.
Text Features…
We are integrating the 2nd grade classroom learning topics with our reading group objectives. Our focus is identifying and using text features to help comprehend non-fiction text. Students are learning to name each text feature and to state each feature’s purpose. More importantly students are learning what the feature is actually helping them
understand better as they read.
Monitoring our reading…
Second graders are learning to listen to their inner voice when reading. Sometimes the voice will say… “Huh”, or “I don’t get it” or “I am confused” or “I feel lost”. When we hear this voice, we need to train ourselves to stop reading and fix up our problem. Many students will just keep reading, and just ignore this voice. It is critical in our reading development to understand how to monitor our reading, so we can reach our ultimate reading goal of understanding.
Asking questions while I read…
Second graders are learning to ask questions while they read. Active readers are always asking questions before, during and after reading. The questions we ask may be about a concept, an unknown word or a confusing part. Good readers ask questions naturally while reading. The more we interact with the text the better we will remember the important parts. Encourage your child to ask a few questions while reading.
Second Grade 2011 