2M Language Arts

Grade 2 Language Arts Key Understandings:

The ability to use language effectively enhances student opportunities to experience personal satisfaction and to become responsible, contributing citizens and lifelong learners.

Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to:

• explore thoughts, ideas, feelings and experiences
• comprehend and respond personally and critically to oral, print and other media texts
• manage ideas and information
• enhance the clarity and artistry of communication
• respect, support and collaborate with others.

The fundamental principals of our Language Arts program are as follows:

• Language is the basis of all communication and the primary instrument, language learning is an active process that begins at birth and continues throughout life.
• Language learning is a continuum.  Students, parents, teachers and the community share responsibility for language learning.
• The Aim of the English Language Arts is to enable each student to understand and appreciate language, and to use it confidently and competently in a variety of situations for communication, personal satisfaction, and learning.

Areas of Inquiry

• The grade two students will work independently, in pairs, in larger groups, as a whole class.
• The grade two students will engage in a variety of writing activities:
• Author’s notebook/ Reflection Log/Journal
• Creative writing
• Structured writing
• Guided writing
• Self-assessment using "I Can" statements
• The grade 2 students will learn sight words from the Fry 3000 sight word list.
• Students will practice printing to continue to reinforce good printing posture, letter size and consistency (house printing)

Assessment

• Informal observations/Daily Work/Anecdotal Records/Rubrics
• Fountas and Pinnell benchmark, updated throughout the year
• Fry 3000 sight words
• “Chunks” assessment for phonic evaluation and development
• Frequent discussions during class read-alouds to engage learners and increase comprehension.

Programs that Support Language Arts in Grade 2:

Reading at home

Students are encouraged to read with a family member for about 15 minutes everyday. While reading, talking about the books is equally important. Please help make home reading an important part of your family's routine.

Sight Words

Having an increased number of sight words helps to improve fluency and accuracy while reading. This in turn helps to improve comprehension of what is being read. Your child will be practicing sight words on an on-going basis throughout the year. We will be working through the Fry Sight Word List which includes 3000 of the most common words printed in English.