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School Issues Articles
At the age of seven or eight, when a child is a second grader, she is more than capable of performing a variety of household tasks and chores. However, when a child is a second grader, she is also not very likely to want to do chores for their own sake. While having a clean house is a reward in itself for doing chores to adults, second graders typically need a little bit more motivation than that to complete their chores. For this reason, many families with a second grader have used a chore reward system.
The main thing about a chore reward system for your second grader is that it helps to turn chores into a positive thing. While a second grader might grumble about having to pick up his socks, hang up his coat, or help dry the dinner dishes, implementing a chore reward system can motivate that second grader to associate his chores with his reward. A chore reward system is one way to get your second grader to help out around the house using a positive means, as opposed to using punishment as a negative way to get your second grader to do chores.
Making a chore reward system for your second grader can be a little challenging at first. To make an effective chore reward system for your second grader, you have to know what exactly it is that motivates your second grader. While older children are often more able to be motivated by money for doing chores, such as in the form of a regular weekly allowance, many second graders just don’t have that much interest in money. It might be that your second grader feels more rewarded for doing her chores if she is allowed to watch some extra television time, for example. If your second-grader is a collector, whether it is collectible cards, rocks, dolls, or anything else, it may be that your chore reward system will simply be a chart that, once the chart has been completed, she can turn in for a new doll or whatever it is that she is into.
Posted in School Issues |
Learning to tell time can be somewhat difficult for students. While some students may learn to tell time as early as first grade or even kindergarten, the fact of the matter is that most children won’t even start learning to tell time until they are in second grade. Having said that, the fact of the matter is that it is becoming less and less important to learn how to tell time using an analog clock (that is, a clock with a traditional round face and two hands), which is much more difficult by it’s nature than telling time with a digital clock.
There are some things that you can do to help your second grade child while he is learning to tell time. For example, you can show the child a number line that has just the numbers from 1 to 12. You can then bend the number line so that it goes around, just like the face of a clock does. Then, draw a large circle. Place the number 1, and ask the child to put the rest of the numbers on the round number line.
Another important part about being able to learn to tell time in second grade is the ability to count by fives. If your child is unsure about counting by fives up to 60, you should review this with him. You can then, using another number line, write the numbers from 0 to 55. Bend that one to show the five minute increments from a clock face. Then, draw a large circle as you did before with the hourly number line, and have the child number it.
Students can help one another when learning to tell time in second grade. YOu can, for example, make flash cards that show a clock face at various times. On the back of the card, you can write the digital time, and on the front of the card you can draw a clock face. Students can then take turns quizzing one another about what time it is.
Making a plate clock is a fun activity that helps when learning to tell time in second grade. You can use a brass fastener, and use construction paper hands. Have the students number their clock face. You can then use these paper plate clocks for more quizzing.
Posted in School Issues |
Research has shown that it is much easier for a child to learn a second language than it is for an adult to learn a second language. In fact, it has been suggested that a child who is able to learn a second language, such as Spanish, before the age of 10 will be much more likely to master the language like a native than someone who learns a second language after the age of ten. Learning Spanish in first grade is a way to expose children to another language, and to help master the skills needed to learn another language.
The fact of the matter is that it could just as readily be French that children are being taught in the first grade. However it is Spanish, in particular, seems to be the language that is most often taught in elementary school, as early as first grade. There are a variety of reasons for this. First, Spanish is a relatively easy language to learn when coming from English. Second, there is a sizeable Hispanic population in the United States, and many areas that have programs for learning Spanish in first grade do so in order for people within a community to be able to communicate with one another.
Learning Spanish in first grade can be somewhat controversial. There are some people who don’t believe that it is worthwhile for students in first grade to learn a foreign language, or that learning Spanish in first grade will somehow detract from learning other things, such as the basics of education. On the other side of things, there are people that argue that learning Spanish provides a way for first grade students to be exposed to another culture, and to promote diversity. However, in many areas learning Spanish in first grade is supported by most folks, and in other areas it isn’t really considered much at all.
Because learning a new language in the early years is so much easier than learning a new language in later years, you might consider helping your child to learn a new language in first grade, even if the school doesn’t provide Spanish or another foreign language as a part of its curriculum.
Posted in School Issues |
There are any number of ways that parents can use for the purpose of keeping track of your first grader’s progress in school. Some of these ways have to do with resources within your child’s school, and others have to do with things that you can do outside of school to keep track of your first grader’s progress.
The first and most obvious way to keep track of your first grader’s progress is through a report card or a progress report. While not every school will use report cards, especially in first grade, most schools do. In the report cards, you will have one particular picture of how your first grader is progressing. Still, a report card is somewhat limited in terms of its ability to help you keeping track of your first grader’s progress. A report card really only measures how your first grader is doing in that classroom with that teacher. It is entirely possible that she would be getting very different grades, either higher or lower, in another classroom with another first grade teacher.
Another useful tool to use when keeping track of your first grader’s progress is the standardized testing that schools sometimes administer. These sorts of tests compare what your first grader knows and is able to do against other first graders. Having said that, the fact of the matter remains that these tests are also limited in that they aren’t necessarily offered in every school, or to every grade for that matter.
Perhaps the best way to keep track of your first grader’s progress is by regular contact with your first grader’s teacher. Your first grader’s teach should be able to give you more than just grades; she should be able to explain any difficulties that your first grader seems to be having in class, as well as describe your first grader’s progress to you. Keeping the lines of communication open with your child’s first grade teacher is an extremely important component of keeping track of your first grader’s progress.
Posted in School Issues |
Generally speaking, there is indeed a set curriculum in second grade. However, that curriculum can certainly vary widely from one school district to the next. The way that a set curriculum is implemented can also vary from one school in a district to the next, and even from one second grade teacher in the same school to the next. The fact of the matter is that your child’s teacher is, ultimately, responsible for how much of the curriculum makes it to your child, which parts of the curriculum are emphasized, and which parts of the set curriculum are neglected.
One component to every second grade curriculum is going to be language arts and literacy. In the second grade, students will be involved with things like reading out loud, reading in groups, and being read to. Almost every set curriculum for the second grade will also have a great deal of independent writing and reading, as well. Second graders will be exposed, through the set curriculum, to a variety of styles of writing, from instructions to textbooks to reading for fun. In this context, grammar will probably be taught as well, learning what nouns, pronouns, adjectives and adverbs are.
In the area of mathematics, second graders will be exposed to a variety of mathematical concepts, depending on the particular curriculum. They will most certainly, regardless of which curriculum is being used, work with addition, subtraction, comparing numbers, using the number line, and probably even be introduced to fractions. The particular math curriculum that is being used will determine what areas are emphasized, and what other areas of mathematics are taught during the second grade.
Most schools have a set curriculum in other areas, as well, although these tend to be less uniform. The approach that any given school or district takes to a music curriculum will probably be different from just about every other school or district. The same holds true for art, as well as physical education, and even history. In some cases with history and civics, for example, a state may have certain curriculum standards that they require a school to implement.
To find out more about the set curriculum for your child’s second grade class, contact your child’s second grade teacher.
Posted in School Issues |
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