The education program
for Grade 2
Teacher’s information
Name: Hancen Zou
E-mail: hancen.zou@ryerson.ca
Phone number: 437-684-8026
Newsletter available in many languages!
Hello! Ciao! Bonjour! こ ん に ち は !
你好！ Hola！ 여보세요！
Received an education diploma from Suzhou
Early Childhood Education College in 2019.
Also received an education diploma from George
Brown College in 2020.
Welcome!
Hello parents and guardians, I would
like to welcome you and your children to
grade 2! Second grade is a new
beginning for children. In this year, their
literacy skills will be greatly improved.
Furthermore, instead of only textbooks,
they will also be learning from various
forms of media. This year is an exciting
stage for children's growth. I am so
happy to be a part of this stage in your
child’s life!
What is literacy？
Literacy can be developed in four ways:
oral, writing, reading, and media.
Mastering thsese abilities set a strong
foundation for children later in life. Having
good literacy skills will enable children to
learn new knowledge more quickly and
improve their language skills and social
skills.
 Reading

We have created a library with books in a wide variety of languages, and we take into
account the different cultural backgrounds and the reading needs of children who possess
different reading capabilities. We also have a special library with professional teachers who use
customized books to help children with disabilities with their book reading. Each week the
children go to the library to check out books to bring home to read.
We have a book sharing platform where children can share the books they have recently
enjoyed reading. Parents can also write their feelings about reading with their children on the
book sharing platform.
Our goal is to help children understand the theme of the story, the connection between
characters, and the style of the story after they have read a new book. Children are encouraged
to read the books on their own. If they encounter words they do not know how to read, they are
first encouraged to guess the meaning based on the pictures or the storyline; if that fails, then
they can ask their parents or the teacher.
We ask children questions such as, "Who do you think the main character is in this book?
What did he do?" "Do you like the style of the story? Why?" "What lesson did you learn from
this story?" "What other words or sentences did you not understand?" to further deepen their
understanding about the book.

 Read books to children both in English and

their mother tongue.  Lost in the Snow
 Read books in exaggerated and vividlanguage  In My Heart: A Book of Feelings
and try to let your child retell the story.
 Provide books at home that your child  Destination: Moon
might be interested in  The Invisible Boy
 Sharing you and your child’s reading
experience on a book sharing platform  Real Friends

2
 Our Oral Program
Our oral program focuses on improving children's listening and speaking skills. We
organized listening training through media such as TV, computer, and radio. During
each holiday we organize a speech contest where parents and their child are invited to
tell what happens during the holiday and what are the traditional customs in their
hometown. We encourage children to bring pictures, artifacts, and family photos related
to the speech to enrich it. We will share these presentations as stories on the school's
social media platforms so that more children can learn about different cultures, customs
and festivals. During the speech contest the children can express themselves orally in a
familiar way and there will be a special teacher to translate some of the children's sign
language or native language.

Media
At school we prepare the children for half an hour a day to watch videos using
electronics. We inspire children to think about what it takes to make a successful
commercial. We also have children work on their oral expression skills by having them
create a commercial based on something they like. We will select movies that are
suitable for children to study and children will be free to write down the most
interesting images of the movie (e.g. the opening music, the dialogue of the main
character, the plot of the movie). We will find movies that are available in different
languages so that some students who are not very good at English can understand the
movie again through their native language. We also provide help in watching videos for
other special groups of children.
We recommend that parents get involved in the creation of their children's
commercials and give them some help and advice.

3
 Writing

We brainstorm with your child before each writing session to refresh your child's memory
about a topic that interests him or her in life. When the child has decided on a topic, we inspire
the child to think independently and ask, "Do you need more knowledge through books, videos,
and interviews to help you write this essay?" We will develop a "writing assistance plan" to help
your child with writing difficulties based on your child's needs. We will have the child add some
subjective meaning to the middle of his or her essay and express it through a variety of sentence
types. Envelopes are provided in the classroom and children are encouraged to write letters to
their classmates to express their feelings. When some children whose first language is not
English encounter difficulties with writing we first encourage the child to write in a language he
or she is familiar with, focusing on improving that child's English during the semester. Because
writing is often one of the most difficult tasks for children with special needs and ELS, we offer
our best assistance, while encouraging parents to help their children practice writing at home.

 At this stage we encourage parents and children to read more books,

because reading is crucial to becoming a good writer.

 Parents can practice with their children to look up the dictionary if

there is a word they do not understand.

 Parents can read articles written by their children and give them
postive feedback. This will give them more inspiration to enrich their
writing.