Frog Clan-  Grades 2-3
Lisa DeBurle

lideburle@seattleschools.org

Frog Clan Syllabus

Reading

Students are involved daily in learning various strategies for reading, such as using context, phonics and sentence clues. They also work on developing strategies for comprehending both fiction and non-fiction texts.

Reading Workshop occurs four mornings a week in our classroom. It begins with a mini-lesson that teaches concepts, techniques and strategies. These lessons are often taught in conjunction with a read-aloud. Students then move into an independent reading time. During this time you will see children tucked into nooks around the classroom, reading intently or chatting quietly about their books, as music plays softly in the background. Students pick books from our classroom library to master. Our books are sorted by difficulty and labeled with colored dots, beginning with orange (simple pattern books with pictures) and ending with black star (advanced chapter books at a 6^th grade reading level or higher). I encourage the kids to choose books that are manageable but challenging. Each student progresses through the dot levels at his/her own pace and moves up to another level when s/he or I feel they are ready. I try to read with each child approximately once every two weeks, which allows me to individualize instruction to meet the needs of the students. Children work on mastering books (being able to read a book perfectly and with understanding) before adding them to their in-class reading logs. I also sometimes meet with small groups during this quiet reading time. The workshop ends with a time to respond and reflect on what they’ve read that day. Sometimes these are done verbally, sometimes written in reading journals.

I also read to the children daily. This is a combination of fiction picture books, chapter books, and non-fiction texts that align with our science units or expeditions. We work on understanding all the elements of a story, including plot, characters, setting, problem and solution. When reading non-fiction we focus on vocabulary development and using indexes and glossaries.

Another part of my reading program is Literature Circles. Literature Circles are discussion groups in which children meet regularly to talk about the books they are reading. Groups are determined by book choices – four or five children will be in a group, all reading the same book. Before the group meets, each child does a "reading response," in which they answer comprehension questions that I give them as well as come up with "juicy questions" (questions for the group to discuss when they meet). When a book is finished the group completes a project and presents it to the rest of the class.

In addition to all of this, we will also be reading and responding to "Scholastic News," a non-fiction magazines written for kids. The kids will also learn to read charts, graphs and time-lines as we read one of these informative magazine.

Sept/Oct/Nov/Dec: Decoding Skills (long vowels, vowel combinations), Story Elements, Retelling a Story, Text-to-Text

Comparisons, Text-to-Self Comparisons, Text Features, Similes, Prediction/Inference, Using an Index

Jan/Feb/Mar: Decoding Skills, Main Idea, Comparing and Contrasting, Text Features, Review of Previous Taught Skills

Apr/May/Jun: Decoding Skills, Summarizing, Author’s Purpose, Point of View, Review of Previous Taught Skills

Students write daily, and in many subject areas. Writing is integrated with reading, math, science and expeditions. The focus of our writing program is Writing Workshop, a time of every day when students write their own stories by going through five stages: 1) Rehearsal (getting an idea for a story and planning the story out), 2) Draft writing, 3) Revising, 4) Editing and 5) Publishing/Celebrating. Students are encouraged to use "best-guess spelling" for words they don’t know, find word spellings around the room, and also use their personal "word books." Words that have been practiced for spelling challenges are expected to be spelled correctly. Writing Workshop always begins with a mini-lesson about the writing craft, and is often about developing skills in one or more of the six writing traits. These are: ideas, organization, word choice, voice, sentence fluency and conventions (grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization).

Sept/Oct: Writing Process

Personal Narratives ("small moment" stories)

Printing Practice

Conventions: ending punctuation, capital letters

November: Informational/All-About Books

Conventions: commas, grammar

December: Realistic Fiction

Conventions: quotation marks, ‘s

January: Realistic Fiction/Authors as Mentors

Conventions: adding ing/ed, contractions

February: Animal Research Report

Conventions: paragraphing

March: Origin Stories (fiction)

Conventions: TBD

April: Poetry

Conventions: TBD

May/June: Independent Writing Projects

Conventions: TBD

Pathfinder 2^nd-5^th grade teachers use the "Terc Investigations" curriculum for math. This is a curriculum that matches our belief about how children best learn math concepts and skills. It is very "hands-on," meaning that students use manipulatives ("stuff") and games to discover and internalize important mathematical concepts. We also work on developing "mental math" strategies for solving number problems. At least once a week students also work on solving story problems and explaining the strategies they use to find the answer.

Math is organized into strands. These strands are: Number sense and numeration (adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, fractions…), Geometry and Spatial Reasoning, Algebraic Sense/Patterns, Probability and Statistics, and Measurement. We will be covering all these strands this school year, but will focus on some areas more than others. Problem solving skills, developing mathematical reasoning, and making connections to the "real world" will all be part of our math program.

Sept/Oct: Number (addition and subtraction, place value)/Algebra

Nov/Dec: Graphing-Data Collection/Time Telling

Jan/Feb: Number (multiplication and division)/Measurement

Mar: 3-dimensional Geometry

Apr: Fractions/WASL practice

May: Probability

June: Money

Our science units this year are Balancing and Weighing, and Rocks and Minerals. In January we will begin our Earth Hall expedition, Storytelling Around the World. This fall we are also working with a Native American artist-in-resident to help us learn about Coast Salish art and drumming. In the spring students will once again work with an artist-in-resident to learn more about Native American culture and to prepare for a year-end celebration similar to a Potlatch.

Science and expeditions are integrated as much as possible with other parts of the curriculum. The units not only provide content information, but also develop critical thinking skills. Students do a great deal of expository writing (writing to explain) during these units.

Sep: Frogs/Salmon Homecoming

Oct/Nov/Dec: Balancing and Weighing

Jan/Feb/Mar: Storytelling Expedition

Apr/May/Jun: Rocks and Minerals

On Friday we begin the morning with a Talking Circle. The kids pass around our "talking stick" as they share their thoughts and stories with their classmates. The child is allowed to "pass," and does not have to speak if s/he does not wish to do so. This is a Native American traditional way of communicating and problem-solving. While throughout the day we work on problem-solving and conflict resolution skills, students also often put problems or concerns on the "class agenda" to be dealt with by the whole group during our weekly Class Meetings. Students can also go to our class "Peace Pond" to resolve problems. I encourage students to find solutions to their problems without adult assistance whenever possible.

For half a day each week (on Thursday afternoons this year), students go to Music, P.E., and Library. Music will have a focus on singing, but will also include some instruction in playing instruments, as well as some drama. P.E. gives students the opportunity to learn new skills and develop coordination. Library is an opportunity to listen to stories, learn research skills, and check out books. Students have an additional P.E. time during the week. Students will also go to Art for 45 minutes each week during the second half of the school year.

Students academic understanding of reading, writing, and math are assessed using a variety of assessment tools, including checklists, performance-based assessments, final projects, and teacher observations. Students are also assessed using a variety of District and State assessments. Second graders are given the Developmental Reading Assessment in October and May. Third graders will be taking the WASL (Washington Assessment of Student Learning) in late April.

Report cards are sent home at the end of each trimester (December, April and June). A narrative written by me accompanies December and April report cards. June report cards are accompanied by a report written by your child.