Mrs.Parker

My name is Linda Parker and I teach second grade!

I grew up in the Cincinnati area (on the east side and if you grew up in Cincy, it matters which side!) I earned my undergraduate degree in English at the University of Cincinnati and met my husband Jeff there. He's an engineer with Bridgestone and grew up in Cuyahoga Falls.  We lived in the Falls and had three wonderful children, Jennifer, Lisa, and Kevin. We took a temporary exodus to Oak Ridge, Tennessee. (about 8 years).  While we don't glow in the dark, I did get my teaching certificate and a MAT (Master in the Art of Teaching).  My daughter Lisa was fortunate enough as a middle schooler to get to visit the University of Tennessee and met some of the football team. She met a freshman quarterback named Peyton something. As a junior in high school, Jennifer got a chance to play an extra in October Skies.  Needless to say, her scene ended up on the cutting room floor. After all of that excitment (Ha, Ha!) We returned to the Akron area. This is where Kevin came into his own as the Suburban League high hurdle champion for Copley in 2003. When we were house hunting, we shopped school districts first before we looked at houses.  We could have chosen other districts but Copley was our first choice.  So I not only teach here, I sent my children here. Did I mention I love teaching?
 

Parker’s Pointers

 

Dear Parents,

 

We will be reading a nonfiction selection called “From Seed To Plant”.

Vocabulary:

Beautiful-very pretty

Nutrition-food part that is needed for life

Protects-keeps safe from harm

Ripens-matures and becomes ready to eat

Streams-small rivers; brooks

In grammar, we will learn to capitalize the months of the year.  Our phonic sounds are blends using spr, str, and thr.   The Spelling test will be on Monday, Dec. 10 because of the late night on Thursday.   Spelling words:  sprout, streams, through, strong, strap, springtime, spray, throat, three, ostrich, pioneers, clearing, air, different, and light.

 

 

Mathematics:

 

We will have the Chapter 14 test on Thursday.  We will continue subtraction with regrouping and mental math using Chapter 15. 

 

Social Studies/Science

After we finish looking at plant structures, we will begin our Space Unit.

 

FYI

 Thank you,

Mrs. Parker

                   Study Guide for Plants

 

Parts of a plant:

 

The roots hold the plant in the soil.

The stem carries water to the leaves.

The flower is the part of the plant that makes seeds.

The leaves make sugars that the plant needs to grow.

Fruits covers and protects the seeds.  It provides food until the leaves grow.

 

All plants have different kinds of seeds

 

Seeds travel in many different ways.

 

Plants can be used for many things including food and clothing.  Cotton for clothing, fruits and vegetables for food.

 

Plants need sunlight, soil, water and air to grow.

 

Only some plants have bright flowers.

 

New plants grow from seeds.

 

Student needs to be able to label the parts of a plant.  (roots, stem, leaves, and flower)

 

December 2, 2008

 

Dear Parents,

 

Our story will be “Johnny Appleseed”

The spelling words are:

Pioneers, cheers, clearing, hear, nearby, year, beard, reindeer, steer, peer, remark, alarm, sleep, country, rain.  The vocabulary words are: 

Frontier-the part of the country at the edge of a settled area

Nearby-not far away

Orchards-areas of land where fruit trees are grown

Survive-stay alive

Tame-to bring under control or make gentle

Wild-in a natural state; not controlled by humans

 

The spelling test will be postponed until Monday because of the late night on Thursday.

 

Our grammar focus is on capitalizing the days of the week.  We will finish writing our how –to paragraph on corncakes.  If time, we will practice writing thank you notes.

 

 

Mathematics-

We will be moving on to Chapter 14 which introduces two digit subtraction with regrouping. 

 

Social Studies/Science- We will be working with plants for the next two weeks with the assessment on Friday, Dec 12th.

 

FYI

Don’t Forget!!!!!!  There is the Winter Program on Thursday night!  Our trip to the Holiday shop will be on Friday.

  

Sincerely,

Mrs. Linda Parker

November 7, 2008

Dear Parents,

 

This week’s story is Lemonade for Sale!  The spelling emphasis is on the phonograms –ar, -arm, and ark. 

Spelling words:

bar, jar, star, farm, harm, charm, dark, remark, sparkle, alarm, fourteen, source, between, enough, idea

 

Vocabulary words:

Announced-made something known to many people

Arrived- came to a place

Glum-gloomy; sad

Members-those who belong to a group

Rebuild-make something again; build again

Our grammar focus is proper nouns for animals and places and the writing prompt is a how-to paragraph.

 

Mathematics:  Chapter 12 continues with double-digit addition.  This chapter includes more of the ‘mental math’ for problem solving.  I have been working through Chapters 11 and 12 but waiting to give the tests until we get more practice under our belts.  Regrouping is a hard concept!  

 

Social Studies:

We are finishing maps (memorizing continents comes later).  From there we will move to the Pilgrims and the Native Americans.  November is a busy month!

 

FYI

The following week will be a testing week.  We will be reviewing and giving the theme tests. 

 

I cannot thank you enough for all of the extra support with TOPS and Parker’s Publishing House.   I wish all of you could have seen how excited the children were about writing!!  Those of you who are volunteering in the library or helping during intervention, you are priceless.     

 Sincerely,

Mrs. Parker

October 31, 2008

 

Dear Parents,

 

This week’s story is “Hedgehog bakes a cake”. The phonics focus is /our/, the spelling pattern is long -our and the grammar emphasis is on proper nouns.

Spelling words: four, poured, your, course, court, fourteen, mourn, source, fourth, resource, Dr., St., smell, thank, and open

The vocabulary words:

Batter- thick liquid mixture used in cooking

Buttery-full of or covered with butter

Perfect-as good as something can be

Recipe-set of instructions or steps used when cooking or baking

Smeared-spread something sticky or greasy

Yellow cake- cake that is yellow because it contains egg yolks

 

 

Mathematics-

We are now entering “The regrouping zone”!  The next two chapters (11 and 12) deal with addition of two digit numbers and introducing regrouping.  (We used to call it borrowing and carrying.)

 

Science and Social Studies

We will be looking at plants and their relationship to animals and the habitat.  We need to know how they fit within the Ohio habitats.

 

 

FYI

Report cards go home next week!  Please sign and return the envelope only.  The white copy is for you to keep!

Thank you for supporting our spirit week for DARE.  We are all against the misuse of drugs!

 

 

Sincerely,

Mrs. Parker

October 24, 2008

 Dear Parents,

 This week’s story is “Mr. Putter and Tabby Fly the Plane”. Instead of a new phonic sound, we will learn to read common abbreviations. These are also the spelling words for this week: Dec. Mr. Mrs. Dr. Jan. Aug. Tues. Wed. Sun. St. rehearse, search ,before, blue, room Capitals count!

The noun grammar quiz is being put off until Monday. The short week did not allow enough time to finish the lessons. Our new grammar focus will continue in plural nouns. This week it will be irregular nouns such as men, women, mice, feet, geese, teeth, and children.

 Vocabulary words: Cranes-machines with long movable arms used to lift things.

Directions-instructions on how to do something Promise-statement made by a person telling that he or she will do something Twitch-to move with a sharp quick movement Worry-to think that bad things may happen Mathematics-We will continue in chapter 6 with data analysis (charts and graphs). The hardest concept is the pictograph in which each symbol represents more than one. Approximate test day would be Wednesday. We will move to Chapter 11 with double digit addition. Social Studies/Science We will be finishing the rest of the map unit. FYI Next Friday is the Halloween party. The students are to bring their costumes (do not have them wear them to school). Please remember no weapons and no blood. Sincerely, Mrs. Parker

October 3, 2008

 

Dear Parents,

 Language Arts,

The week of October 6th, we will begin the theme tests for Language arts.  I am giving the first holistic test as a practice test for the other themes.  This test is three different reading passages that your child will read and then answer questions to assess comprehension.  This shows what the student can do when using reading skills in context.  It is also excellent practice for the kind of assessments in third and fourth grade.  I teach test-taking strategies with it as well.  The reading skills test measures the different skills in isolation.  That way I can address a skill that might need a little extra work.  The grammar skills test will require the student to identify a complete sentence, find the subject and join two subjects, and find the predicate. The student will also need to recognize the 4 types of sentences.

Spelling words:

There are extra words because this is a review.

tried

painted

married

finished

acrobat

flat

thanked

opened        state

replied         carried

appreciate    games

mistake        inside

create          pride

became        worried

remarked     checked

Mathematics-We took the Chapter 4 test on Friday, Oct 3 are moving into Chapter 5 involving ordinal numbers, charts, as well as comparing numbers (greater than, less than, or equal to)  It is a longer chapter and there will not be a math test on Friday (probably the next Wednesday, depending on how the students do).   I make adjustments according to the students’ needs.  We will continue with math facts as well

 Science:  Identifying animals in the Ohio habitat and looking at the adaptations they are making for the coming change of season.  Look for that animals assessment on Oct 9 or 10th. 

 

FYI

We are beginning to get our routine down and have already filled one cupful of marbles!  Now we are working on filling a water bottle.

 Sincerely

Mrs. Parker

September 26, 2008

 

Dear Parents

Our story this week is “Wilson Sat Alone”.   The spelling and phonic focus is /at/ as in cat, and ate as in /ate/ .  Spelling tests are going back to Friday mornings. 

Spelling words-sat, ate, acrobat, flat, that, fat, gate, appreciate, create, state, worried, studied, children, each, and girl 

Vocabulary words-

Amazing-surprising

Clustered-formed a group

Gathered-came together

Raced-ran quickly

Wandered-went from place to place

Our grammar focus is now on the predicate part of the sentence.  We are developing our letter writing skills.

Mathematics,

We will finish Chapter 4 and have the test on Wednesday, Oct 3.  We go on to Chapter 5 which covers ordinal numbers, charts, as well as comparing numbers (greater than, less than, or equal to)  It is a longer chapter and there will not be a math test on Friday (probably the next Wednesday).  We will continue with math facts as well. 

Science-We will continue with our look at Ohio’s habitat.  There is no test in science this week. 

  FYI,

 Don’t Forget the field trip on Thursday October 2.  Dress for the weather and bring a totally disposable lunch.

 The Terra Nova scores will not be back until about November.  As I get information, I will pass it along. 

 

We just had our first conference night.  The next one is in October.  If you have questions or concerns, please let me know.   You don’t have to wait until conference night.

 

Thank you Mrs. Geiser and Mrs. Frase.  I loved my birthday!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Linda Parker

September 19, 2008

 Dear Parents,

Language Arts:

 We will move on to “The Days of Frog and Toad”  Spelling words:(test on Friday) cried, hurried, replied, fried, tried, worried, carried, copied, married, studied, remarked, finished, alone, river, think

Vocabulary-

Alone-not with anyone

Cheer-make glad

Fine-very good

Meadow-grassy land

Reason-cause

Spoiled-ruined. 

The grammar concept is identifying the subject of a sentence.  We will be writing friendly letters this week.

 

Mathematics:

We will finish Chapter 2 (test on Monday) and move to Chapter 3 this week.  Chapter 3 has to do with using addition and subtraction. There will be a chapter test on the following Monday if everything seems to be going well. 

 

Social Studies:

We will finish communities this week and a study guide will go home on Monday.  The test will be on Friday.  We have covered urban (city), rural (farm), and suburban.  Over this week, I am sending home a “Family Tree”.  Directions for completion will come with the Tree Paper.  We are looking at how each child fits within their family and their community.  Your child will also need to learn his or her address as a part of this project.  This theme in Language arts teaches how to write a letter of invitation and addresses are a part of writing letters.  Thank you for your support!  

FYI

Conferences start on Thursday.  There will be more conferences over the next two months. Not everyone will meet on this Thursday.

 

Sincerely,

Mrs. Parker

September 12, 2008

 

Dear Parents

With all the testing, we will not work on a story this week.  We will read Arthur books if there is time and I will introduce using a graphic organizer for book reports.

 

Mathematics-

We will finish subtraction in Chapter 2 with the test on Wednesday.  Then we will practice moving from addition to subtraction in Chapter 3 and back again.  It is important to know those math facts.

 

We will be continuing with our study of communities and compare them to habitats.

 

FYI

 

Please do not allow your child to wear perfume or men’s cologne.   This bothers some of us with asthma. 

 

This week we will be doing the Terra Nova assessment.

The DIBELS assessment will be the following week.

 I will send home conference letters on Monday!

 

 

Specials schedule-

Monday-Art

Tuesday-Physical education

Wednesday- Intervention and Music

Thursday-Intervention and Music

Friday-Physical education

 

 

Linda Parker

September 5, 2008

 

Dear Parents,

 Spelling test on –ame, -ake on September 8th.  Spelling test on –ed words will be September 12.  There are no more practice tests.

 

We will take the Terra Nova Test on the week of the 15th.  You cannot study for it!  The best help is to have your child get plenty of rest, make sure they eat breakfast and read each night!

This test is not like the Third grade test.  It actually covers skills that go all the way to the end of second grade just to see what your child can do.  It is not part of his or her grades.  It just gives us more information about the student.

Language Arts,

 

Our story this week is “Henry and Mudge.”  The phonic sounds and spelling pattern are the inflected ending of –ed.  The spelling words are barked, licked, backed, thanked, painted, opened, mailed, remarked, checked, finished, mistake, became, about, few, and same.

The vocabulary words are:

Chipmunks-small, striped members of the squirrel family that live underground

Picked-gathered with the hands or fingers

Sniffing-smelling by taking short breathes through the nose

South-in the direction opposite of north; one of the four compass directions.

Woods-forest

 

 

Mathematics- We will have a test on Chapter 1 on Tuesday.  Chapter 2 is a subtraction chapter. 

Social Studies/ Science

 

 

This week we will begin our study of communities.  The practice test for Unit 3 (rules and laws) is this Monday. 

FYI

This week is supposed to be cooler!  We will remember 9/11.

 

Sincerely,

Mrs. Parker 

September 2, 2008

 

Dear Parents,

 

I am so proud of this class!  They are learning the new routines and working very hard.

 

Language Arts

 

Our next story is “Get Up and Go”.  We read the story three times and then on Wednesday we test comprehension.  It is not the content I am assessing, but what your child can comprehend from his or her own reading.  The phonic quiz is assessed on Friday.  They need to recognize the word families of -ake, and -ame.  You may notice that the spelling words have the same phonic sound as the ones we are studying that week.  This is deliberate.  Writing reinforces reading and reading reinforces writing.   Spelling words are: games, take, make, name, flame, same, became, brake, snake, mistake, eyelid, slide, line, more, and together.  The vocabulary words are :

Always-all the time

Homework- schoolwork that is done at home

Minutes-units of time, sixty minutes make one hour

Snuggle-hug and cuddle

Treat-a special gift. 

The children only need to be able to read the vocabulary words and know the definitions.  They don’t have to spell them. 

In grammar, we are learning statements and questions.  Grammar assessment is usually on Friday as well.  We will be working on a personal story and using the writing process with the emphasis on adding details.

 

Mathematics:

We need to know math facts all the way up to 20 in second grade.  I provide some math fact practice in class but it does require more at home.  Thank you for your support in learning the math facts.

 

 

Social Studies

  This week we will take a quiz on rules and laws.  I will send home a study guide at the beginning of the week to test on Friday. 

 

FYI

Most of the language arts assessment is on Friday.  The end of selection test is midweek.  Math tests vary depending on when we finish a chapter.  I usually send home the Review/Test for practice the night before a test.  Most of the time there will be one a week.  However, I reserve the right to postpone a test if I feel the children need more time.  It would be a rare thing if I moved a test forward.  I will send more information about the skills testing that falls after a theme in the reading book finishes.    Let me know if I am giving you enough information about class!

 

Go Copley Indians! 

 

Sincerely,

 Mrs. Linda Parker