Grade 2: Literacy Learners

Second graders were busy at literacy stations this week to learn about letter sounds and to practice their reading fluency.

 

First, they studied the different sounds of the letter C, which can be pronounced two ways: hard or soft. Students worked together on SMART Boards to sort words like "cart," "candy," "ice" and "face" before breaking into smaller groups for a word hunt. On their own, they each read a book and looked for words to list on a worksheet under hard C or soft C headings. 

 

Other students practiced their Reader’s Theater scripts and are developing their reading fluency by rehearsing their parts every day. The scripts are based on Helen Lester’s books Me First; Listen, Buddy; The Wizard, The Fairy and the Magic Chicken; and Princess Penelope’s Parrot. Students worked all week to say their lines with expression so they can perform for the class. Oliver Nelson says the hardest part is having lines with “big and challenging words.” 

His classmate Jordan Fisk has a narrator’s role: “The narrators just have to mostly read out loud, but the characters have to act a little bit."

 

Teachers say Readers Theater is one way for them to assess fluency while getting students excited about reading and speaking in front of a group.

 

“I think it’s fun to put on a play,” says second grader Kendall Anderson. “It helps me get better at reading.”