We had an awesome day today, celebrating with our class!
THANK YOU to all of the volunteers who came and were such a big help with the craft, games, food and fun!
Here are a few pictures from the party!
Friday, December 21, 2018
December 21- Happy Holidays!
Hello families!
We had an awesome day today, celebrating with our class!
THANK YOU to all of the volunteers who came and were such a big help with the craft, games, food and fun!
Here are a few pictures from the party!
We had an awesome day today, celebrating with our class!
THANK YOU to all of the volunteers who came and were such a big help with the craft, games, food and fun!
Here are a few pictures from the party!
Friday, December 14, 2018
December 17-21
Hello families,
This week is going to be a busy and fun week of school. We are at our last week before Winter Break!
In reading next week we will be working on reading non-fiction books and sounding like an expert when we read. We will discuss strategies for solving tricky words using more than one way to solve the word. For example, when a child is stuck and they try to "sound it out" it does not always work. A better way to unlock a tricky word is breaking it into parts or "chunking" the word from left to right. Another strategy is trying the vowel both ways "flipping the sound" trying out long and short sounds the vowel can make. Lastly, the child should go back and re-read the entire sentence to make sure after he or she fixes a word that it sounds right, then go on with reading the rest of the page.
For phonics this week will be working on vowel teams that make the long o (oa, o_e) and short o. I will introduce the new vowel team, we will read a poem, make a sort with words containing the long o and we will check the words on Friday writing them within a sentence. Here are some words to help your child practice: clock, knock, chose, note, boat, float.
In writing, we will wrap up our lab report writing. After we return from break, we will write non-fiction "teaching books." These books will be about an activity that involves force and motion. We will plan out writing the books. The books will include a table of contents, chapter titles, glossary, pictures with captions and bold words.
In math, we will continue on in Unit 4. We will be focusing next week on numeration, place value, comparing three digit numbers and we will work for two days to use base 10 blocks to show a number.
In Science, we have learned about the many types of instruments that meteorologist use to predict the weather. We will observe and use a rain gauge, continue charting the weather, try out flying our kites and make a weather vane.
Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Scheck
This week is going to be a busy and fun week of school. We are at our last week before Winter Break!
In reading next week we will be working on reading non-fiction books and sounding like an expert when we read. We will discuss strategies for solving tricky words using more than one way to solve the word. For example, when a child is stuck and they try to "sound it out" it does not always work. A better way to unlock a tricky word is breaking it into parts or "chunking" the word from left to right. Another strategy is trying the vowel both ways "flipping the sound" trying out long and short sounds the vowel can make. Lastly, the child should go back and re-read the entire sentence to make sure after he or she fixes a word that it sounds right, then go on with reading the rest of the page.
For phonics this week will be working on vowel teams that make the long o (oa, o_e) and short o. I will introduce the new vowel team, we will read a poem, make a sort with words containing the long o and we will check the words on Friday writing them within a sentence. Here are some words to help your child practice: clock, knock, chose, note, boat, float.
In writing, we will wrap up our lab report writing. After we return from break, we will write non-fiction "teaching books." These books will be about an activity that involves force and motion. We will plan out writing the books. The books will include a table of contents, chapter titles, glossary, pictures with captions and bold words.
In math, we will continue on in Unit 4. We will be focusing next week on numeration, place value, comparing three digit numbers and we will work for two days to use base 10 blocks to show a number.
In Science, we have learned about the many types of instruments that meteorologist use to predict the weather. We will observe and use a rain gauge, continue charting the weather, try out flying our kites and make a weather vane.
Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Scheck
Sunday, December 9, 2018
Week of December 10-15
Dear families,
This week we will be continuing to work on Non-Fiction reading and writing. In reader's workshop we will read non-fiction texts and look for text features. We will read books that discuss force and motion to help us plan for our own non-fiction teaching books. The features we are learning include: a table of contents, detailed pictures with labels, vocabulary words with definition, text boxes, index and a glossary.
In writing, we will spend this week writing our last lab reports. We will spend time writing about how kites work. We will try out making kites in class, according to a template. We fly them in the cafeteria and possibly outside (weather permitting)! Then students will plan and make their own kites, writing their lab report independently. We will wrap up lab reports this week and move on to non-fiction teaching books next week!
This week we will begin Unit 4 in math. A family letter detailing the new unit went home last week. The unit 3 math tests will be handed out at Parent-Teacher conferences on Thursday. The new unit will focus on measurement and telling time. Last year in first grade, students learned how to tell time to the hour and half hour on an analog clock. This year they will be expected to learn to tell time to the five minute mark. In this unit we also practice using non-standard units of measurement and standard units (centimeter and inches).
In science, we have begun the weather section of our Air and Weather unit. Last week we learned about 4 types of clouds: Stratus, Cumulus, Cirrus and Nimbus. We learned that different types of clouds produce weather. We made clouds out of cotton balls to match the 4 types. We also built an anemometer to measure wind speed, testing it out in class with a fan. We read about different tools that meteorologist used to predict weather. This week we will use a rain gauge to measure precipitation. We will make pin wheels to show how the wind moves them much like a weather vane. We will continue to record and monitor the changes in our weather in our weather journals.
Our holiday party will be on December 21st at 10:30 - 12:00. We will have pizza, play games and make a fun craft! If you have any questions, please email me!
Reminder: Thursday, December 13th is a half day. Students will be dismissed at 11:09. Please let me know of any changes in your child's normal dismissal routine. I will be meeting with parents from 12:00 - 8:00 p.m. If you are not able to make your conference time, please let me know as soon as possible so that we can reschedule your time. Many slots are still available for the evening.
Thank you!
Mrs. Scheck
This week we will be continuing to work on Non-Fiction reading and writing. In reader's workshop we will read non-fiction texts and look for text features. We will read books that discuss force and motion to help us plan for our own non-fiction teaching books. The features we are learning include: a table of contents, detailed pictures with labels, vocabulary words with definition, text boxes, index and a glossary.
In writing, we will spend this week writing our last lab reports. We will spend time writing about how kites work. We will try out making kites in class, according to a template. We fly them in the cafeteria and possibly outside (weather permitting)! Then students will plan and make their own kites, writing their lab report independently. We will wrap up lab reports this week and move on to non-fiction teaching books next week!
This week we will begin Unit 4 in math. A family letter detailing the new unit went home last week. The unit 3 math tests will be handed out at Parent-Teacher conferences on Thursday. The new unit will focus on measurement and telling time. Last year in first grade, students learned how to tell time to the hour and half hour on an analog clock. This year they will be expected to learn to tell time to the five minute mark. In this unit we also practice using non-standard units of measurement and standard units (centimeter and inches).
In science, we have begun the weather section of our Air and Weather unit. Last week we learned about 4 types of clouds: Stratus, Cumulus, Cirrus and Nimbus. We learned that different types of clouds produce weather. We made clouds out of cotton balls to match the 4 types. We also built an anemometer to measure wind speed, testing it out in class with a fan. We read about different tools that meteorologist used to predict weather. This week we will use a rain gauge to measure precipitation. We will make pin wheels to show how the wind moves them much like a weather vane. We will continue to record and monitor the changes in our weather in our weather journals.
Our holiday party will be on December 21st at 10:30 - 12:00. We will have pizza, play games and make a fun craft! If you have any questions, please email me!
Reminder: Thursday, December 13th is a half day. Students will be dismissed at 11:09. Please let me know of any changes in your child's normal dismissal routine. I will be meeting with parents from 12:00 - 8:00 p.m. If you are not able to make your conference time, please let me know as soon as possible so that we can reschedule your time. Many slots are still available for the evening.
Thank you!
Mrs. Scheck
Sunday, December 2, 2018
Week of December 3-7
Dear families,
As I begin this blog I can't believe that we are already into the month of December! Wow, time flies when you are having fun!
In reading this week we will continue to work on non-fiction. I will teach readers how to anticipate and use the language of a nonfiction topic. Non-fiction texts use vocabulary specific to the topic. We will talk about how readers preview a text with this in mind. We will practice using text features to notice and understand key words. We will build knowledge of unknown words through using context clues. Students have already picked up on how non-fiction books teach us about a new topic and use a variety of ways to teach with: photographs, captions, bold words, maps and diagrams.
Our phonics goal for last week was learning how to write words with final k sound. After checking students understanding, I have decided to spend two more days working on final k. There are three ways we have worked on -ck, ke and just k.
In writing and science, we are working on writing lab reports and including definitions using dashes this week. We will also begin a new experiment from our air and weather kit. We will be designing kits and observe blowing bubbles. We will begin the weather section of this unit. We will preview the unit by brain storming all we know about weather. We will begin charting the changes in the weather and recording the temperature.
We are nearing the end of unit 3 in math. We have been using strategies for subtraction and reinforcing concepts with math games. In the last few lessons students will learn a strategy called going up through 10 and we will explore geometric shapes and coins. A unit study guide will be coming home for unit 3 on Tuesday. We will do an in class review on Wednesday ("math scoot") where students move around the room and solve math problems from unit 3. The test will be on Thursday, December 6.
Please send outdoor clothing daily! Label all of your child's belongings. Many students have a hard time keeping track of their mittens, boots and snow pants. We do our best to remind them!
Upcoming dates:
December 6 - Holiday sale after school
December 13 - Half day for students - dismissal time is 11:09 a.m.
December 13 - Parent teacher conferences (please login to Skyward and sign up!)
December 21 - Last day before winter break and Holiday party at 10:30 a.m.-12:00.
Have a great week!
Mrs. Scheck
As I begin this blog I can't believe that we are already into the month of December! Wow, time flies when you are having fun!
In reading this week we will continue to work on non-fiction. I will teach readers how to anticipate and use the language of a nonfiction topic. Non-fiction texts use vocabulary specific to the topic. We will talk about how readers preview a text with this in mind. We will practice using text features to notice and understand key words. We will build knowledge of unknown words through using context clues. Students have already picked up on how non-fiction books teach us about a new topic and use a variety of ways to teach with: photographs, captions, bold words, maps and diagrams.
Our phonics goal for last week was learning how to write words with final k sound. After checking students understanding, I have decided to spend two more days working on final k. There are three ways we have worked on -ck, ke and just k.
In writing and science, we are working on writing lab reports and including definitions using dashes this week. We will also begin a new experiment from our air and weather kit. We will be designing kits and observe blowing bubbles. We will begin the weather section of this unit. We will preview the unit by brain storming all we know about weather. We will begin charting the changes in the weather and recording the temperature.
We are nearing the end of unit 3 in math. We have been using strategies for subtraction and reinforcing concepts with math games. In the last few lessons students will learn a strategy called going up through 10 and we will explore geometric shapes and coins. A unit study guide will be coming home for unit 3 on Tuesday. We will do an in class review on Wednesday ("math scoot") where students move around the room and solve math problems from unit 3. The test will be on Thursday, December 6.
Please send outdoor clothing daily! Label all of your child's belongings. Many students have a hard time keeping track of their mittens, boots and snow pants. We do our best to remind them!
Upcoming dates:
December 6 - Holiday sale after school
December 13 - Half day for students - dismissal time is 11:09 a.m.
December 13 - Parent teacher conferences (please login to Skyward and sign up!)
December 21 - Last day before winter break and Holiday party at 10:30 a.m.-12:00.
Have a great week!
Mrs. Scheck
Wednesday, November 28, 2018
Week of November 26-30
Hello families,
Here is what is happening in Room 105 this week!
In reading we are continuing to work on non-fiction. We learned that readers of non-fiction look closely at details and ask questions before and during reading. We looked closely at a globe, Lego directions and non fiction books. We learned that we don't just look at a piece of non-fiction (like the globe) and think, "Oh yes, that is a globe I know all about it"." We found after looking closely and having a discussion there were many details we did not notice at first! Then we looked closely at the penny. We found we learned many new details we never noticed before! We will continue to work with non-fiction to find out how each part of non-fiction teaches something new and ask "how does this book go?" before and during reading. Please encourage non-fiction reading at home, your child will love learning about topics and finding out details. Today we read about the Moon! Many questions came up. So we will be looking on Friday for books on the Solar System to learn more!
In writing we are continuing with Lab Report writing. In the classroom this week we will explore how air pushes a "balloon rocket" and propels the balloon forward. We wrote out hypothesis and steps today and will work on the reflections and revising the report the rest of the week. We will be addition definitions to our reports and researching to add more information for another source after our experiments. This week we have discussed air pressure, compressed air and how air propels the rocket forward.
In math, we are continuing on with unit 3, focusing on subtraction strategies. We have learned how to subtract 0 and 1. We worked on "what's my rule?" yesterday. Today we will work on using double facts to subtract. For example, we know 4+4=8. We can use that fact to help us know 8-4=4. We will also play subtraction top it and a fun spinner game for subtraction. Now is the time if you child does not solidly know the doubles facts, to practice, practice, practice at home!
In Science we had a blast shooting off our balloons rockets. We worked on following the procedure, making a prediction about how far it would travel and testing our hypothesis. We will race our balloon rockets on Friday and try changing a variable too!
In phonics, we are working on the final k sound in words. We sorted final k by the -ke, ck and just k.
We learned that when we have the -ke the vowel before the end is long (cake). When we see -ck, the vowel just before it is short (duck), words that end in k by itself usually have a double vowel (look).
We will be going outside on most days. It has been cold for this time of year! You may want to send an extra pair of gloves/mittens to school just in case. Please label all items your child brings!! Most of our snow pants are black - this means we cannot tell them apart! Put names inside to help your child keep track of his or her things!
Here is what is happening in Room 105 this week!
In reading we are continuing to work on non-fiction. We learned that readers of non-fiction look closely at details and ask questions before and during reading. We looked closely at a globe, Lego directions and non fiction books. We learned that we don't just look at a piece of non-fiction (like the globe) and think, "Oh yes, that is a globe I know all about it"." We found after looking closely and having a discussion there were many details we did not notice at first! Then we looked closely at the penny. We found we learned many new details we never noticed before! We will continue to work with non-fiction to find out how each part of non-fiction teaches something new and ask "how does this book go?" before and during reading. Please encourage non-fiction reading at home, your child will love learning about topics and finding out details. Today we read about the Moon! Many questions came up. So we will be looking on Friday for books on the Solar System to learn more!
In writing we are continuing with Lab Report writing. In the classroom this week we will explore how air pushes a "balloon rocket" and propels the balloon forward. We wrote out hypothesis and steps today and will work on the reflections and revising the report the rest of the week. We will be addition definitions to our reports and researching to add more information for another source after our experiments. This week we have discussed air pressure, compressed air and how air propels the rocket forward.
In math, we are continuing on with unit 3, focusing on subtraction strategies. We have learned how to subtract 0 and 1. We worked on "what's my rule?" yesterday. Today we will work on using double facts to subtract. For example, we know 4+4=8. We can use that fact to help us know 8-4=4. We will also play subtraction top it and a fun spinner game for subtraction. Now is the time if you child does not solidly know the doubles facts, to practice, practice, practice at home!
In Science we had a blast shooting off our balloons rockets. We worked on following the procedure, making a prediction about how far it would travel and testing our hypothesis. We will race our balloon rockets on Friday and try changing a variable too!
In phonics, we are working on the final k sound in words. We sorted final k by the -ke, ck and just k.
We learned that when we have the -ke the vowel before the end is long (cake). When we see -ck, the vowel just before it is short (duck), words that end in k by itself usually have a double vowel (look).
We will be going outside on most days. It has been cold for this time of year! You may want to send an extra pair of gloves/mittens to school just in case. Please label all items your child brings!! Most of our snow pants are black - this means we cannot tell them apart! Put names inside to help your child keep track of his or her things!
Tuesday, November 20, 2018
Week of Nov. 19-23
Dear families,
This is a short week of school due to the Thanksgiving holiday.
In reading this week we will read The Story of the Pilgrims and learn a little about the first thanksgiving! We will also read the book A Turkey for Thanksgiving by Eve Bunting. We will read the story and write a prediction about what will happen to the turkey in the story. We will write about the setting, characters and tell the beginning, middle and ending.
In writing this week we will continue to write Lab Reports to go with our science experiments on compressed air. We have learned about air resistance and how air moves things. We will observe how air moves water inside of a syringe today! We will write our question, hypothesis, procedure and results today and tomorrow.
We will write about what we are grateful for on a cornucopia!
In math, we learned how to play the game Salute! We used our number cards to place two cards on our heads, the partners see the number of the other child but not their own. The dealer calls out the sum, then the players try to find the missing addend. Practice is needed on fact recall. If your child does not know their addition facts, please do some extra practice at home either with flash cards or on the i-ready.com site.
For phonics this week we will be continuing to work on contractions. Many students need more practice and support on making contractions.
On Wednesday, Mrs. Nishio will be teaching the students how to make shapes out of paper using the Japanese paper folding technique called Origami! The students are looking forward to it!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Mrs. Scheck
This is a short week of school due to the Thanksgiving holiday.
In reading this week we will read The Story of the Pilgrims and learn a little about the first thanksgiving! We will also read the book A Turkey for Thanksgiving by Eve Bunting. We will read the story and write a prediction about what will happen to the turkey in the story. We will write about the setting, characters and tell the beginning, middle and ending.
In writing this week we will continue to write Lab Reports to go with our science experiments on compressed air. We have learned about air resistance and how air moves things. We will observe how air moves water inside of a syringe today! We will write our question, hypothesis, procedure and results today and tomorrow.
We will write about what we are grateful for on a cornucopia!
In math, we learned how to play the game Salute! We used our number cards to place two cards on our heads, the partners see the number of the other child but not their own. The dealer calls out the sum, then the players try to find the missing addend. Practice is needed on fact recall. If your child does not know their addition facts, please do some extra practice at home either with flash cards or on the i-ready.com site.
For phonics this week we will be continuing to work on contractions. Many students need more practice and support on making contractions.
On Wednesday, Mrs. Nishio will be teaching the students how to make shapes out of paper using the Japanese paper folding technique called Origami! The students are looking forward to it!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Mrs. Scheck
Friday, November 9, 2018
Week of November 12-16
Hello families!
We were surprised to see snow already falling outside today! It is exciting and fun! We talked today about our number one rule when we are playing in the snow... No throwing snowballs! Most students were ready to go outside with boots, snow pants, mittens, hats and warm coats.
Please take some time this weekend and make sure your child has the necessary snow clothes if the snow stays around for next week.
We read the book Knights in Shining Armor by Gail Gibbons to kick off our new unit of reading for non-fiction. We learned that in each section of the book the author organized the information into the main ideas such as; armor, weapons, how to become a knight, legendary knights, etc.Today we wrote on summarizing the main ideas in each section of the book, students chose one section to write about. Next week, we will read the book we will read the book Tigers by Laura Marsh. We will learn how this author uses features of non-fiction text to organize her topic such as: maps, labels, glossary, headings, table of contents, etc.
In writing, we have begun the new unit called "Lab Reports." We are learning to organize our experiments from science into a lab reports including these important pieces: Question (a real world question that we will investigate), materials, hypothesis, steps for our experiment, results and conclusion. This week students were writing with me as we worked through all the pieces of our reports after our science experiments.
We have started a new unit in science called Air and Weather. We began with week with two experiments, using these two questions: How does air move things? We used a group of everyday objects and used straws to move them, we also blew up balloons. We learned that air is a mixture of invisible gases with no particular shape. We learned air is a matter, that it is all around us! Our second experiment was "How do parachutes work?" We made parachutes and dropped them from our chairs. Most students observed that without weight on their end of the parachutes stings the parachute did not float well. Monday we'll revise the experiment to include a new step, adding weight to the bottom of our parachute!
In math, we have completed Unit 2. The students took the unit 2 test, and a cumulative review. The test will be sent home early next week! Most students did such a great job learning different strategies for addition! Our next unit in math will focus on subtraction. We will focus on how to use addition to help with solving subtraction number stories, fact families, subtraction top it, counting up and counting back on the number line, playing Salute! and minus 0 and minus 1 fact strategies. I will send home the family letter early next week.
For word study this last week we reviewed long vowel teams with silent e. Most students are ready to move on. Continue to remind students when they are reading to use the silent e to help the vowel say it's name (long). We will work on contractions starting next week!
Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Scheck
We were surprised to see snow already falling outside today! It is exciting and fun! We talked today about our number one rule when we are playing in the snow... No throwing snowballs! Most students were ready to go outside with boots, snow pants, mittens, hats and warm coats.
Please take some time this weekend and make sure your child has the necessary snow clothes if the snow stays around for next week.
We read the book Knights in Shining Armor by Gail Gibbons to kick off our new unit of reading for non-fiction. We learned that in each section of the book the author organized the information into the main ideas such as; armor, weapons, how to become a knight, legendary knights, etc.Today we wrote on summarizing the main ideas in each section of the book, students chose one section to write about. Next week, we will read the book we will read the book Tigers by Laura Marsh. We will learn how this author uses features of non-fiction text to organize her topic such as: maps, labels, glossary, headings, table of contents, etc.
In writing, we have begun the new unit called "Lab Reports." We are learning to organize our experiments from science into a lab reports including these important pieces: Question (a real world question that we will investigate), materials, hypothesis, steps for our experiment, results and conclusion. This week students were writing with me as we worked through all the pieces of our reports after our science experiments.
We have started a new unit in science called Air and Weather. We began with week with two experiments, using these two questions: How does air move things? We used a group of everyday objects and used straws to move them, we also blew up balloons. We learned that air is a mixture of invisible gases with no particular shape. We learned air is a matter, that it is all around us! Our second experiment was "How do parachutes work?" We made parachutes and dropped them from our chairs. Most students observed that without weight on their end of the parachutes stings the parachute did not float well. Monday we'll revise the experiment to include a new step, adding weight to the bottom of our parachute!
In math, we have completed Unit 2. The students took the unit 2 test, and a cumulative review. The test will be sent home early next week! Most students did such a great job learning different strategies for addition! Our next unit in math will focus on subtraction. We will focus on how to use addition to help with solving subtraction number stories, fact families, subtraction top it, counting up and counting back on the number line, playing Salute! and minus 0 and minus 1 fact strategies. I will send home the family letter early next week.
For word study this last week we reviewed long vowel teams with silent e. Most students are ready to move on. Continue to remind students when they are reading to use the silent e to help the vowel say it's name (long). We will work on contractions starting next week!
Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Scheck
Thursday, November 8, 2018
Sharing small moments stories!
Hello families,
Last week Second Graders ended their first unit of writing called "Small Moments" (personal narratives). We shared our stories with the students from Mrs. Megyesi's class to celebrate. In return, the kindergarten students shared their stories with us too!
Here are a few pictures from our visit to Mrs. Megyesi's room!
Last week Second Graders ended their first unit of writing called "Small Moments" (personal narratives). We shared our stories with the students from Mrs. Megyesi's class to celebrate. In return, the kindergarten students shared their stories with us too!
Here are a few pictures from our visit to Mrs. Megyesi's room!
Monday, November 5, 2018
Week of Nov. 5-9
Dear families,
This week we will be moving on to many of new units for each subject this week!
In reading, we have wrapped up our first unit on Reader's Grow like Beanstalks!
We have started a non-fiction reading unit. Today we began reading Knights in Shining Armor by Gail Gibbons. We read the first part of the book, pausing to talk about what we learned. We learned many new things about knights such as: the weapons knights used, how to become a knight and how knights used armor to protect themselves. Wednesday we will continue to read and add on to the information we have learned so far.
In writing, we have begun writing Science Lab Reports. This works well with our new science unit that also began today! We did an experiment on how air moves things. We used straws to move objects such as: a cotton ball, styrofoam ball, feather, paper and a plastic bag. We learned that air is matter, it is all around you, and it is an invisible gas! Before the experiment we wrote a hypothesis, then we wrote out the materials we needed, the steps to our experiment and pictures labeling the items we used. On Wednesday we will write a conclusion to our first experiment.
We took an i-ready growth monitoring assessment in class today for reading. Parents are welcome to have their child log into their i-ready account at home. You can download a free app for i-ready on your tablet. If you use a laptop or desktop compute, use the website, www.i-ready.com. You will find a login screen. Use your child's login information from his or her assignment notebook. You can have your child work on reading or math. The lesson are used to help your child build skills. Please do not help your child. If a test becomes too difficult, i-ready will adapt to the child. If you're "helping" it appears that the child knows more than he or she does. I recommend not more than 20 minutes a few times a week. I-ready is another way to practice reading and math. Continue to have your child read at home each day for 20 minutes.
We are at the end of unit 2 in math. We wrapped up today with a game called Name That Number. A study guide came home tonight. The study guide is due on Wednesday. The test will also be on Wednesday, November 7th.
We will begin Unit 3 after the test. Look for a family letter detailing Unit 3 later this week!
There is no school tomorrow, November 6th.
Have a good night!
Mrs. Scheck
This week we will be moving on to many of new units for each subject this week!
In reading, we have wrapped up our first unit on Reader's Grow like Beanstalks!
We have started a non-fiction reading unit. Today we began reading Knights in Shining Armor by Gail Gibbons. We read the first part of the book, pausing to talk about what we learned. We learned many new things about knights such as: the weapons knights used, how to become a knight and how knights used armor to protect themselves. Wednesday we will continue to read and add on to the information we have learned so far.
In writing, we have begun writing Science Lab Reports. This works well with our new science unit that also began today! We did an experiment on how air moves things. We used straws to move objects such as: a cotton ball, styrofoam ball, feather, paper and a plastic bag. We learned that air is matter, it is all around you, and it is an invisible gas! Before the experiment we wrote a hypothesis, then we wrote out the materials we needed, the steps to our experiment and pictures labeling the items we used. On Wednesday we will write a conclusion to our first experiment.
We took an i-ready growth monitoring assessment in class today for reading. Parents are welcome to have their child log into their i-ready account at home. You can download a free app for i-ready on your tablet. If you use a laptop or desktop compute, use the website, www.i-ready.com. You will find a login screen. Use your child's login information from his or her assignment notebook. You can have your child work on reading or math. The lesson are used to help your child build skills. Please do not help your child. If a test becomes too difficult, i-ready will adapt to the child. If you're "helping" it appears that the child knows more than he or she does. I recommend not more than 20 minutes a few times a week. I-ready is another way to practice reading and math. Continue to have your child read at home each day for 20 minutes.
We are at the end of unit 2 in math. We wrapped up today with a game called Name That Number. A study guide came home tonight. The study guide is due on Wednesday. The test will also be on Wednesday, November 7th.
We will begin Unit 3 after the test. Look for a family letter detailing Unit 3 later this week!
There is no school tomorrow, November 6th.
Have a good night!
Mrs. Scheck
Thursday, November 1, 2018
Halloween party and parade
Hello families!
We had a great time yesterday at our parade and party!
I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!
We had a great time yesterday at our parade and party!
I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!
Sunday, October 28, 2018
Week of October 29-November 2
Hello families!
We have an exciting week coming up in Room 105!
In reading this week we will read the book I Need My Monster! We will read this story throughout the week and focus on retelling the events of the story in order including beginning, middle, ending with details. We will focus on new vocabulary words and character traits. We will use the book for a thinking routine on Friday.
In writing, we have completed our first unit of writing, "small moments" or personal narratives. We have been working on publishing by first revising and adding juicy words, details, etc. Next we worked on editing with an editing checklists. We focused on using ending punctuation, using a capital letter for I and to start a sentence, for names and places. We are planning a date with Kindergarten buddies to share our writing soon!
Word study this week will be on long u with the CVCE pattern. We will continue to discuss how silent e helps the vowel say it's name.
In math this week we are working on learning strategies for addition and subtraction. We practiced using the turn around rule and discussed why it does not work for subtraction. We will learn how to make a "name collection box" and play a game called "Name that Number." We will use a number line to solve story problems for addition and subtraction.
In social studies, we have reached the end of the unit 1 on Communities. We will have a unit test on Tuesday, Oct. 29th. We will be starting Science on Thursday, Nov. 1st. Our first unit of Science will cover Air and Weather. We will begin by doing a thinking routine called "See, Think and Wonder" when observing pictures of the wind. Our first science lessons this week will be about noticing air all around us, reviewing the states of matter (solid, liquid, gas) and noticing how air moves things.
We have the Halloween party and parade on Wednesday, October 31st. We will begin getting into costumes around 10:15 a.m. Your child should not wear their costume to school. He or she should have his or her costume in a bag or in their backpack. We will go outside for the parade at 10:30. After the parade we will return to the room to have cookies and juice. We will play Halloween "Jingo" with prizes!
Students will need to change out of costumes to ride the bus home. If you have signed up to help on October 31st, please be sure to send in any items you have agreed to bring by 10:30.
As a reminder it is the school districts policy that there are no fake weapons allowed in school, so please leave them at home if your child's costume includes a fake weapon (ie, sword, dart gun, knife, etc.).
Have a wonderfully spooky week!
Mrs. Scheck
We have an exciting week coming up in Room 105!
In reading this week we will read the book I Need My Monster! We will read this story throughout the week and focus on retelling the events of the story in order including beginning, middle, ending with details. We will focus on new vocabulary words and character traits. We will use the book for a thinking routine on Friday.
In writing, we have completed our first unit of writing, "small moments" or personal narratives. We have been working on publishing by first revising and adding juicy words, details, etc. Next we worked on editing with an editing checklists. We focused on using ending punctuation, using a capital letter for I and to start a sentence, for names and places. We are planning a date with Kindergarten buddies to share our writing soon!
Word study this week will be on long u with the CVCE pattern. We will continue to discuss how silent e helps the vowel say it's name.
In math this week we are working on learning strategies for addition and subtraction. We practiced using the turn around rule and discussed why it does not work for subtraction. We will learn how to make a "name collection box" and play a game called "Name that Number." We will use a number line to solve story problems for addition and subtraction.
In social studies, we have reached the end of the unit 1 on Communities. We will have a unit test on Tuesday, Oct. 29th. We will be starting Science on Thursday, Nov. 1st. Our first unit of Science will cover Air and Weather. We will begin by doing a thinking routine called "See, Think and Wonder" when observing pictures of the wind. Our first science lessons this week will be about noticing air all around us, reviewing the states of matter (solid, liquid, gas) and noticing how air moves things.
We have the Halloween party and parade on Wednesday, October 31st. We will begin getting into costumes around 10:15 a.m. Your child should not wear their costume to school. He or she should have his or her costume in a bag or in their backpack. We will go outside for the parade at 10:30. After the parade we will return to the room to have cookies and juice. We will play Halloween "Jingo" with prizes!
Students will need to change out of costumes to ride the bus home. If you have signed up to help on October 31st, please be sure to send in any items you have agreed to bring by 10:30.
As a reminder it is the school districts policy that there are no fake weapons allowed in school, so please leave them at home if your child's costume includes a fake weapon (ie, sword, dart gun, knife, etc.).
Have a wonderfully spooky week!
Mrs. Scheck
Friday, October 19, 2018
Week of October 22-26
Hello families,
What a fun week we had with our field trip to visit and learn more about community helpers! Many students told me they went back to the library right after we visited to check out the awesome STEAM kits the Miss Sarah showed us! The kits are checked out for three weeks at a time and have different math/science activities to do at home.
In reading this week we will read a book called Enemy Pie. Enemy Pie is good story for teaching kids about friendship. We will learn some new vocabulary words and do some writing about the book during the week.
In writing, we are getting our writing ready to be shared using an editing check list. We will fancy up one of our favorite pieces to get ready to share stories with other second graders. Students worked with week on adding juicy words and making revisions to stories.
Unit 2 in math is all about addition strategies. We will work on the doubles facts, the turn around rule, how the turn around rules works (or doesn't work!) for subtraction and we will practice even numbers with equal addends.
In social studies we will focus on getting ready for our first social studies test. We will discuss Urban, Suburban and Rural communities. We will make community circles to think about ourselves on the map - our city, state, country, continent and the world! Have your child practice their address and phone number to ready for the assessment. Students will be getting a study guide to use at home to help prepare for the test. The study guide will come home on Thursday, Oct. 25th. Test will be on Tuesday, Oct. 30th.
In word study we will continue working with long vowels, working on the CVCE pattern (silent e). I will introduce the rule for long o and read a poem containing long o words, we will stretch and write words in sound boxes, we will sort long o words, then we will check the words on Friday.
Upcoming dates to remember:
Oct. 26 - book orders due!
Oct. 26 - Trunk or Treat (after school on the walking path)
Oct. 31 - Halloween parade at 10:30 with party to follow
Oct. 31 - Half day of school, 12:09 dismissal
What a fun week we had with our field trip to visit and learn more about community helpers! Many students told me they went back to the library right after we visited to check out the awesome STEAM kits the Miss Sarah showed us! The kits are checked out for three weeks at a time and have different math/science activities to do at home.
In reading this week we will read a book called Enemy Pie. Enemy Pie is good story for teaching kids about friendship. We will learn some new vocabulary words and do some writing about the book during the week.
In writing, we are getting our writing ready to be shared using an editing check list. We will fancy up one of our favorite pieces to get ready to share stories with other second graders. Students worked with week on adding juicy words and making revisions to stories.
Unit 2 in math is all about addition strategies. We will work on the doubles facts, the turn around rule, how the turn around rules works (or doesn't work!) for subtraction and we will practice even numbers with equal addends.
In social studies we will focus on getting ready for our first social studies test. We will discuss Urban, Suburban and Rural communities. We will make community circles to think about ourselves on the map - our city, state, country, continent and the world! Have your child practice their address and phone number to ready for the assessment. Students will be getting a study guide to use at home to help prepare for the test. The study guide will come home on Thursday, Oct. 25th. Test will be on Tuesday, Oct. 30th.
In word study we will continue working with long vowels, working on the CVCE pattern (silent e). I will introduce the rule for long o and read a poem containing long o words, we will stretch and write words in sound boxes, we will sort long o words, then we will check the words on Friday.
Upcoming dates to remember:
Oct. 26 - book orders due!
Oct. 26 - Trunk or Treat (after school on the walking path)
Oct. 31 - Halloween parade at 10:30 with party to follow
Oct. 31 - Half day of school, 12:09 dismissal
Tuesday, October 16, 2018
Field trip
Hello everyone,
We had a great time walking to the Library, Dairy Queen and the Police Station!
Thank you to all the chaperones who helped make the day great! We also wore our green field day t-shirts. Please keep the t-shirt at home in a safe place, we will wear them again on the next field trip and for field day!
We had a great time walking to the Library, Dairy Queen and the Police Station!
Thank you to all the chaperones who helped make the day great! We also wore our green field day t-shirts. Please keep the t-shirt at home in a safe place, we will wear them again on the next field trip and for field day!
Sunday, October 14, 2018
October 15-19
Hello families,
Monday is our field trip to the Dairy Queen, Library and Police Station.
We will depart from school at 1:15. Chaperones will walk with us to the Library, Dairy Queen and to the Police station. Students need to wear comfortable walking shoes and dress for the weather. We hope to have a dry day to walk, but a light weight sweatshirt or jacket is a good idea!
This week in reading, we are looking closely at books to find out how the author used craft moves to make the whole story "click." We will notice how the author used repeating phrases, dialogue and strong picture support. We have been discussing the author's purpose. Sometimes the purpose is to inform, entertain or to persuade us think about something in a new way. We will read the book Little House to help us notice these things!
In writing, we are continuing to work on making our small moments stories better. We will revise with a partner, asking questions and suggesting ideas to help. We will read the book The Leaving Morning to help us notice craft moves. We will work on re-reading our writing to fix up spelling, add punctuation and add "juicy words" to help the reader visual our stories.
In math, we have begun Unit 2. We will focus on addition in this unit. We began with working on adding and counting money by $1, $10 and $100. We played the exchange game. Expect to see a homelink and Tuesday and Thursday this week. I have checked the Unit one assessments. Please go over the test with your child, sign the first page and return the test. The last page did not count toward the final score.
In Social Studies, have just begun looking at maps. We talked about symbols on a map key/legend. We will learn how to make a compass rose. We will work on making a map of the classroom together. We will also use the book Little House to learn Urban, Suburban and Rural communities. Have your child practice their address and phone number.
We will begin making community circles to see how we are part of a home, city/town, state, country and the world!
In spelling this week, we are continuing to work on using silent e to make the long vowel sound. We will work on long i. We will practice stretching and writing words with long i (cvce pattern).
We will sort pictures to hear long i.
Looking ahead -
October 26 - Trunk or treat - after school event
Oct. 31 - Halloween Parade 10:30 a.m. with Halloween party to follow.
Thank you,
Mrs. Scheck
Monday is our field trip to the Dairy Queen, Library and Police Station.
We will depart from school at 1:15. Chaperones will walk with us to the Library, Dairy Queen and to the Police station. Students need to wear comfortable walking shoes and dress for the weather. We hope to have a dry day to walk, but a light weight sweatshirt or jacket is a good idea!
This week in reading, we are looking closely at books to find out how the author used craft moves to make the whole story "click." We will notice how the author used repeating phrases, dialogue and strong picture support. We have been discussing the author's purpose. Sometimes the purpose is to inform, entertain or to persuade us think about something in a new way. We will read the book Little House to help us notice these things!
In writing, we are continuing to work on making our small moments stories better. We will revise with a partner, asking questions and suggesting ideas to help. We will read the book The Leaving Morning to help us notice craft moves. We will work on re-reading our writing to fix up spelling, add punctuation and add "juicy words" to help the reader visual our stories.
In math, we have begun Unit 2. We will focus on addition in this unit. We began with working on adding and counting money by $1, $10 and $100. We played the exchange game. Expect to see a homelink and Tuesday and Thursday this week. I have checked the Unit one assessments. Please go over the test with your child, sign the first page and return the test. The last page did not count toward the final score.
In Social Studies, have just begun looking at maps. We talked about symbols on a map key/legend. We will learn how to make a compass rose. We will work on making a map of the classroom together. We will also use the book Little House to learn Urban, Suburban and Rural communities. Have your child practice their address and phone number.
We will begin making community circles to see how we are part of a home, city/town, state, country and the world!
In spelling this week, we are continuing to work on using silent e to make the long vowel sound. We will work on long i. We will practice stretching and writing words with long i (cvce pattern).
We will sort pictures to hear long i.
Looking ahead -
October 26 - Trunk or treat - after school event
Oct. 31 - Halloween Parade 10:30 a.m. with Halloween party to follow.
Thank you,
Mrs. Scheck
Thursday, October 4, 2018
October 8-12
Dear families,
Wow! What a week we had in room 105! Of course the biggest highlight was the Funky Fall Fund Walk! Students raised a lot of money and got to walk on the walking path. We had so much fun getting sprayed with the colors!
Reading groups began last week. Students have begun bringing home books in zip-loc bags for at home reading. If your child brings home a book, have him or her read the book to an adult at home and then return it the next day. Reading groups this week were mostly about learning how to come to the table, warm up with a letter chart, blends chart or vowel team chart. Then we worked on various strategies for reading appropriate for different reading levels.
In writing this week we are working on learning craft moves from real authors. We will learn how to add sound words, set the mood for a story, choose strong words, and stretch out a small moment to build some excitement into the story.
In spelling we worked last week learning the four ways to make long e sounds in words. We learned ee, ea, ey and y all make the long e sound. This week we will be learning more long vowel teams. Words are practiced in class each day. I work with students all week on the pattern and then do a "check" on those words on Friday. We are not testing the words for a grade. But we do check to see that the pattern that was taught gets learned. If students show that we are not ready to move on to a new vowel, we will continue to work on long e. Here are a sample of the long e words we practiced in class this week: cheese, sheep, seal, leaf, tree, jeep, queen, sleep, key, mommy, daddy, key, monkey. This week we will work on ai and ay, and using silent e. Here are this weeks words: brain, drain, grain, mail, play, clay, stay, tray, shade, brave, wade, shape.
We are ready for our first math assessment on Unit 1. Math study guides are due on Monday. We will go over the study guide in class and make corrections on Monday. Please go over any parts of the study guide that were tricky for your child. Tuesday, October 9th we will have our first assessment.
Wednesday we will begin Unit 2 in math. We will be focusing on the following: grouping by 10s, addition number stories, doubles facts, making 10, turn around rule, even numbers and equal addends, name collection boxes and frames and arrows. A family letter detailing Unit 2 will be sent home next week!
In Social Studies, we worked on identifying different groups that we belong to. We will work this week on constructing a map of our local community including symbols, labels, legends and the human and natural characteristics of the area around us.
Coming up ...
Oct. 9 - Buster Bus comes to visit and teach bus safety
Oct. 15 - walking field trip to the dairy queen, library and police station
Oct. 31 - Halloween Party and half day of school
Wow! What a week we had in room 105! Of course the biggest highlight was the Funky Fall Fund Walk! Students raised a lot of money and got to walk on the walking path. We had so much fun getting sprayed with the colors!
Reading groups began last week. Students have begun bringing home books in zip-loc bags for at home reading. If your child brings home a book, have him or her read the book to an adult at home and then return it the next day. Reading groups this week were mostly about learning how to come to the table, warm up with a letter chart, blends chart or vowel team chart. Then we worked on various strategies for reading appropriate for different reading levels.
In writing this week we are working on learning craft moves from real authors. We will learn how to add sound words, set the mood for a story, choose strong words, and stretch out a small moment to build some excitement into the story.
In spelling we worked last week learning the four ways to make long e sounds in words. We learned ee, ea, ey and y all make the long e sound. This week we will be learning more long vowel teams. Words are practiced in class each day. I work with students all week on the pattern and then do a "check" on those words on Friday. We are not testing the words for a grade. But we do check to see that the pattern that was taught gets learned. If students show that we are not ready to move on to a new vowel, we will continue to work on long e. Here are a sample of the long e words we practiced in class this week: cheese, sheep, seal, leaf, tree, jeep, queen, sleep, key, mommy, daddy, key, monkey. This week we will work on ai and ay, and using silent e. Here are this weeks words: brain, drain, grain, mail, play, clay, stay, tray, shade, brave, wade, shape.
We are ready for our first math assessment on Unit 1. Math study guides are due on Monday. We will go over the study guide in class and make corrections on Monday. Please go over any parts of the study guide that were tricky for your child. Tuesday, October 9th we will have our first assessment.
Wednesday we will begin Unit 2 in math. We will be focusing on the following: grouping by 10s, addition number stories, doubles facts, making 10, turn around rule, even numbers and equal addends, name collection boxes and frames and arrows. A family letter detailing Unit 2 will be sent home next week!
In Social Studies, we worked on identifying different groups that we belong to. We will work this week on constructing a map of our local community including symbols, labels, legends and the human and natural characteristics of the area around us.
Coming up ...
Oct. 9 - Buster Bus comes to visit and teach bus safety
Oct. 15 - walking field trip to the dairy queen, library and police station
Oct. 31 - Halloween Party and half day of school
Thursday, June 14, 2018
Last day of school
Thank you for a fabulous year! I could not have asked for a more wonderful group of students to teach. We grew so much and learned a ton!
I will miss you!
Mrs. Scheck
I will miss you!
Mrs. Scheck
Funny Faces
Good bye second graders, hello third graders! See you next year!
Wednesday, June 13, 2018
Last week of school!
Dear families,
It has been an honor and a pleasure to work with this group of Second Graders all year!
We had an awesome time at our first ever Popcorn and Poetry event. We will hopefully continue this new tradition next year.
Students are bringing home a lot of stuff! Folders, pencil boxes, papers and anything they kept at school should be left at home tomorrow. Students will not need anything except a snack. If they would like to bring a backpack, please send one.
Tomorrow I will be gone for my son's fifth grade graduation. I will return to school at 11:30 to say good-bye and see the off for the last time.
Please email me any changes in pick up. Let your child know as well what their plan is so we are not scrambling at end of the day!
Thank you!
Mrs. Scheck
It has been an honor and a pleasure to work with this group of Second Graders all year!
We had an awesome time at our first ever Popcorn and Poetry event. We will hopefully continue this new tradition next year.
Students are bringing home a lot of stuff! Folders, pencil boxes, papers and anything they kept at school should be left at home tomorrow. Students will not need anything except a snack. If they would like to bring a backpack, please send one.
Tomorrow I will be gone for my son's fifth grade graduation. I will return to school at 11:30 to say good-bye and see the off for the last time.
Please email me any changes in pick up. Let your child know as well what their plan is so we are not scrambling at end of the day!
Thank you!
Mrs. Scheck
Friday, June 1, 2018
Week of May 29-June 1
Dear families,
This week we had a busy and exciting week! Field day was on Friday, June 1!
We read the book Me First, a story of a pushy pig named Pinkerton. Pinkerton learns a lesson about always wanting to be first. We learned the vocabulary word pricked, as in the dog pricked up his ears at the sound of a doorbell.
We worked on publishing our poems for our Popcorn and Poetry celebration on June 12th.We worked on our shape poems and on our bio-poems.
We will be wrapping up our Poetry unit and getting ready for our celebration all next week.
We finished our unit on plants. Thursday we took a short test on what we have learned. The students were able to take home their Brassica plants if they wished to do so.
In math, we are in the middle of Unit 9. This unit is a review of everything we have learned this year.
Students will wrap up Unit 9 next week and have one last Unit test the last week of school.
In Social Studies, we have learned about US symbols such as the Flag, the Statue of Liberty and the White House. We have been working on a booklet to review the facts.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Mrs. Scheck
This week we had a busy and exciting week! Field day was on Friday, June 1!
We read the book Me First, a story of a pushy pig named Pinkerton. Pinkerton learns a lesson about always wanting to be first. We learned the vocabulary word pricked, as in the dog pricked up his ears at the sound of a doorbell.
We worked on publishing our poems for our Popcorn and Poetry celebration on June 12th.We worked on our shape poems and on our bio-poems.
We will be wrapping up our Poetry unit and getting ready for our celebration all next week.
We finished our unit on plants. Thursday we took a short test on what we have learned. The students were able to take home their Brassica plants if they wished to do so.
In math, we are in the middle of Unit 9. This unit is a review of everything we have learned this year.
Students will wrap up Unit 9 next week and have one last Unit test the last week of school.
In Social Studies, we have learned about US symbols such as the Flag, the Statue of Liberty and the White House. We have been working on a booklet to review the facts.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Mrs. Scheck
Thursday, May 24, 2018
Week of May 21-25
Wow, another week has flown by! I can't believe we are almost at the end of May!
This week in Room 105 we read the book Koala Lou by Mem Fox.
In the story Koala Lou feels left out when her baby brothers and sisters are born. She enters a contest in hopes she will win both a race and her mother's love! We learned the vocabulary word spectator and we discussed the lesson Koala Lou learns throughout the book - it is okay to be in 2nd place, your family will love you no matter what!
In writing this week we have been working on writing shape poems and on using structure in our poems to convey feelings to the reader. Coming soon is our Popcorn and Poetry day (date to be announced)! We will be sharing our poems and having a popcorn treat outside. Parents will be invited to attend this event. Look for an invitation coming home soon!
In math, we have moved on to our last unit of math, Unit 9. A family letter was sent home detailing the new unit. We have started working on dividing shapes into equal parts. We have learned new vocabulary words: one half, one of two, one whole, three-thirds, fourths, etc. We will continue with Unit 9 next week.
A home link will be coming home today with more practice on partitioning shapes!
In Science, we have observed our wheat seeds growing. We have measured and recorded their growth. We will be opening up the seed pods of our Brassica plants tomorrow. A Science test will be coming up next week. We will review in class plant life cycles, what all things need to survive and labeling plant parts.
In Social Studies we have begun a new unit on American Symbols. This week we read the book I Pledge Allegiance. The book details each part of the pledge and the meaning behind the words. We also read about the Statue of Liberty. We learned some facts about lady liberty in a Time for Kids article.
Field day is also coming up! June 1, we will have field day on our playground. Mrs. Bellino has planned an awesome day fun filled activities. If you would like to volunteer, please email her at LeeAnnbellino@wlcsd.org.
The warmer weather is here! Please consider sending covered toe sandals to school or gym shoes for use on the playground. Flip flops can be very slippery on the pea pebbles and rocks get stuck inside of sandals, which can be uncomfortable!
There is no school on Monday, May 28th, in observance of Memorial day!
Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!
Mrs. Scheck
This week in Room 105 we read the book Koala Lou by Mem Fox.
In the story Koala Lou feels left out when her baby brothers and sisters are born. She enters a contest in hopes she will win both a race and her mother's love! We learned the vocabulary word spectator and we discussed the lesson Koala Lou learns throughout the book - it is okay to be in 2nd place, your family will love you no matter what!
In writing this week we have been working on writing shape poems and on using structure in our poems to convey feelings to the reader. Coming soon is our Popcorn and Poetry day (date to be announced)! We will be sharing our poems and having a popcorn treat outside. Parents will be invited to attend this event. Look for an invitation coming home soon!
In math, we have moved on to our last unit of math, Unit 9. A family letter was sent home detailing the new unit. We have started working on dividing shapes into equal parts. We have learned new vocabulary words: one half, one of two, one whole, three-thirds, fourths, etc. We will continue with Unit 9 next week.
A home link will be coming home today with more practice on partitioning shapes!
In Science, we have observed our wheat seeds growing. We have measured and recorded their growth. We will be opening up the seed pods of our Brassica plants tomorrow. A Science test will be coming up next week. We will review in class plant life cycles, what all things need to survive and labeling plant parts.
In Social Studies we have begun a new unit on American Symbols. This week we read the book I Pledge Allegiance. The book details each part of the pledge and the meaning behind the words. We also read about the Statue of Liberty. We learned some facts about lady liberty in a Time for Kids article.
Field day is also coming up! June 1, we will have field day on our playground. Mrs. Bellino has planned an awesome day fun filled activities. If you would like to volunteer, please email her at LeeAnnbellino@wlcsd.org.
The warmer weather is here! Please consider sending covered toe sandals to school or gym shoes for use on the playground. Flip flops can be very slippery on the pea pebbles and rocks get stuck inside of sandals, which can be uncomfortable!
There is no school on Monday, May 28th, in observance of Memorial day!
Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!
Mrs. Scheck
Thursday, May 17, 2018
Week of May 14-18
Dear families,
What a fun week we have had in our classroom!
The most exciting part of our week was the Second Grade field trip to Millrace Village!
We loved stepping back in time to 1873 and seeing all the interesting buildings and artifacts. I think the students agree our most favorite part was the Wash Oak one-room school house! We sat in the desks, used real slates with chalk, read from real McGuffy readers and everyone tried on the dunce cap for fun.
Outside we played games such as: duck, duck, goose, jump rope, London bridge is falling down and marbles. We had a great time and hope the students learned a lot!
What a fun week we have had in our classroom!
The most exciting part of our week was the Second Grade field trip to Millrace Village!
We loved stepping back in time to 1873 and seeing all the interesting buildings and artifacts. I think the students agree our most favorite part was the Wash Oak one-room school house! We sat in the desks, used real slates with chalk, read from real McGuffy readers and everyone tried on the dunce cap for fun.
Outside we played games such as: duck, duck, goose, jump rope, London bridge is falling down and marbles. We had a great time and hope the students learned a lot!
Mrs. Scheck's class in front of the Wash Oak one-room school house!
We have been continuing to write poetry in our room. This week we learned that poets select certain structures for their poems such as a conversation or a "list" poem. We have also been working on color poems!
In reading this week we read a book that compared schools from the past to today. We read the book Mr. Peabody's Apples by Madonna. The story has a great message about using your words wisely!
In math, this week we have finished unit 8. A study guide came home on Wednesday. We will review the study guide on Friday, May 18 and take the unit 8 math test. Look for a family letter to come home early next week!
Spring reading assessments have begun. I have been working one on one with students to test students.
We will not be having reading groups until I have been able to assessment every child. Please continue to have your child read daily at home.
In science we planted wheat seeds this week inside of straws. We will observe the seeds sprouting and the roots growing down into the "soil". We have cut our grass and it quickly grew back. We will observe the Brassica plants and how they grew seed pods containing what will be new Brassica plants. The new seeds the plants produce start a new life cycle for another plant.
In Social Studies, we shared our Venn Diagrams that compared Schools in the Past to Schools in the present.
Reminders for the next few weeks...
Monday, May 28th is Memorial Day, we will not have school in observance of the holiday.
June 1st is Field Day! If you would like to volunteer, please email myself or Mrs. Bellino. Lots of volunteers are needed to make Field Day a success!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Mrs. ScheckFriday, May 11, 2018
Week of May 7-11
Hello families,
This week in Second Grade we read the book Otis and the Kittens by Loren Long. This was another book in our Otis series. In this story Otis continues to show the same character traits: caring, kind, sympathetic, and playful. We read how Otis goes inside a burning barn to save 6 kittens. He then gets stuck in the barn, crashing through the wooden floor. The animals pull together to rescue him this time! Students were finding the author's message and one said, "Don't leave anyone behind!" We also made a Venn Diagram comparing this Otis book to another Otis stories finding similarities and differences.
We continue to work on poetry in writing. We worked this week to make comparisons in our poems. We tried using similes and metaphors. We tried to stretch out a comparison through our whole poem!
Today we will have fun trying out an acrostic poem.
In math we continued to learn more about 3-D shapes. Many students brought in shapes to share with the class. We learned vocabulary words: side, face and edge. We also worked on making arrays and equal groups to begin learning how multiplication works! We will wrap up Unit 8 next week and be getting ready for a Unit test again near the end of the week.
In science we observed our growing grass and we "mowed" our lawns. We continue to see how our Brassica plants develop. We have seen pollen and now are waiting for the plants to grow seed pods as they come to the end of their life cycle. Today we will plant another seed.
In Social Studies we will continue to decide whether Walled Lake should have an amusement park. We will share our at home Venn Diagrams for schools today compared to schools in the past next week. Students diagrams are due on May 14th.
We will be going on our field trip to Mill Race Village on Wednesday, May 16th!
If you have not returned the slip notifying Wixom Elementary if your child will be returning next year, please send it in as soon as possible.
Have a great weekend,
Mrs. Scheck
This week in Second Grade we read the book Otis and the Kittens by Loren Long. This was another book in our Otis series. In this story Otis continues to show the same character traits: caring, kind, sympathetic, and playful. We read how Otis goes inside a burning barn to save 6 kittens. He then gets stuck in the barn, crashing through the wooden floor. The animals pull together to rescue him this time! Students were finding the author's message and one said, "Don't leave anyone behind!" We also made a Venn Diagram comparing this Otis book to another Otis stories finding similarities and differences.
We continue to work on poetry in writing. We worked this week to make comparisons in our poems. We tried using similes and metaphors. We tried to stretch out a comparison through our whole poem!
Today we will have fun trying out an acrostic poem.
In math we continued to learn more about 3-D shapes. Many students brought in shapes to share with the class. We learned vocabulary words: side, face and edge. We also worked on making arrays and equal groups to begin learning how multiplication works! We will wrap up Unit 8 next week and be getting ready for a Unit test again near the end of the week.
In science we observed our growing grass and we "mowed" our lawns. We continue to see how our Brassica plants develop. We have seen pollen and now are waiting for the plants to grow seed pods as they come to the end of their life cycle. Today we will plant another seed.
In Social Studies we will continue to decide whether Walled Lake should have an amusement park. We will share our at home Venn Diagrams for schools today compared to schools in the past next week. Students diagrams are due on May 14th.
We will be going on our field trip to Mill Race Village on Wednesday, May 16th!
If you have not returned the slip notifying Wixom Elementary if your child will be returning next year, please send it in as soon as possible.
Have a great weekend,
Mrs. Scheck
Monday, April 30, 2018
Week of April 30-May 4
Hello families!
Here are some thing we will be doing this week in Second grade...
We are reading the another story in our Otis series! Today we read the book Otis and the Scarecrow. In this story Otis shows compassion and caring for the scarecrow left alone in the rain. We are building on our knowledge of Otis character. We will learn two new vocabulary words and work on making text to text connections with the book later this week.
Today we worked on writing poems with repeating phrases, words and images. We listened to poems where authors used sound words, rhyming and repeating phrases. We continue to use our poet's eyes and write down ideas that give us a big feeling. We will learn some new techniques to try out as well.
In math, we are continuing to work with polygons and 2-D shapes. Today students made 5 sided and 6 sided shapes with straws and twist ties. I will introduce the attributes of quadrilateral shapes. We compared the shapes we made. We will continue to work with 2-D shapes tomorrow and we will begin learning attributes of 3-D shapes later this week!
In social studies, we will continue learning the history of Walled Lake. We will learn about the amusement park that was once in Walled lake. We will discuss the pros and cons and then pick sides on the issue: Should we have an amusement park in Walled Lake?
In Science we have observed our Brassica plants as they are growing. We noticed the new leaves that appeared over the weekend. We will see this plant flower and go to seed quickly. We planted potatoes and will watch them grow stems. Tomorrow we are planting grass which we will observe over the next several weeks!
We have about two weeks until our field trip on Wednesday, May 16th. If you have not yet sent in your child's permission slip and fees, please send it in soon! The cost is $11.00.
Thanks and have a great week!
Mrs. Scheck
Here are some thing we will be doing this week in Second grade...
We are reading the another story in our Otis series! Today we read the book Otis and the Scarecrow. In this story Otis shows compassion and caring for the scarecrow left alone in the rain. We are building on our knowledge of Otis character. We will learn two new vocabulary words and work on making text to text connections with the book later this week.
Today we worked on writing poems with repeating phrases, words and images. We listened to poems where authors used sound words, rhyming and repeating phrases. We continue to use our poet's eyes and write down ideas that give us a big feeling. We will learn some new techniques to try out as well.
In math, we are continuing to work with polygons and 2-D shapes. Today students made 5 sided and 6 sided shapes with straws and twist ties. I will introduce the attributes of quadrilateral shapes. We compared the shapes we made. We will continue to work with 2-D shapes tomorrow and we will begin learning attributes of 3-D shapes later this week!
In social studies, we will continue learning the history of Walled Lake. We will learn about the amusement park that was once in Walled lake. We will discuss the pros and cons and then pick sides on the issue: Should we have an amusement park in Walled Lake?
In Science we have observed our Brassica plants as they are growing. We noticed the new leaves that appeared over the weekend. We will see this plant flower and go to seed quickly. We planted potatoes and will watch them grow stems. Tomorrow we are planting grass which we will observe over the next several weeks!
We have about two weeks until our field trip on Wednesday, May 16th. If you have not yet sent in your child's permission slip and fees, please send it in soon! The cost is $11.00.
Thanks and have a great week!
Mrs. Scheck
Friday, April 20, 2018
Week of April 16-20
Dear families,
It finally feels like spring! The students were so happy to see the sunshine and warmer temperatures yesterday.
I have sent home the snow pants that were left in the our room with students on Wednesday. If your child is missing any of their winter snow gear, check the lost and found as many items piled up there over the winter!
We read the story Otis and the Tornado this week. We continued to discuss character traits of the bull and Otis. The bull was arrogant and mean. Otis showed compassion for the bull when he saved him during a tornado.We wrote about the story and worked on these vocabulary words: teetering and chorus.
We discussed the viewpoints of the bull and Otis and the other farm animals and did a thinking routine called circle of viewpoints.
We are continuing to work on poetry in writing. Students experimented with line breaks this week and adding details to their poems!
We have completed unit 7 in math. Today we take the unit 7 test. We will begin unit 8 on Monday. Look for a family letter to come home soon detailing the unit.
We began a new science unit this week on Plants and Life cycles. We have planted Brassica plants and will observe the next few weeks. We have several more plants to plant/observe over the next month and a half.
Next week we have a half day on Friday, April 27th!
Please send in field trip permission slips and $11.00 for your child. If you are a chaperone, we also need your $11.00.
Thank you and enjoy the sunshine today!
Mrs. Scheck
It finally feels like spring! The students were so happy to see the sunshine and warmer temperatures yesterday.
I have sent home the snow pants that were left in the our room with students on Wednesday. If your child is missing any of their winter snow gear, check the lost and found as many items piled up there over the winter!
We read the story Otis and the Tornado this week. We continued to discuss character traits of the bull and Otis. The bull was arrogant and mean. Otis showed compassion for the bull when he saved him during a tornado.We wrote about the story and worked on these vocabulary words: teetering and chorus.
We discussed the viewpoints of the bull and Otis and the other farm animals and did a thinking routine called circle of viewpoints.
We are continuing to work on poetry in writing. Students experimented with line breaks this week and adding details to their poems!
We have completed unit 7 in math. Today we take the unit 7 test. We will begin unit 8 on Monday. Look for a family letter to come home soon detailing the unit.
We began a new science unit this week on Plants and Life cycles. We have planted Brassica plants and will observe the next few weeks. We have several more plants to plant/observe over the next month and a half.
Next week we have a half day on Friday, April 27th!
Please send in field trip permission slips and $11.00 for your child. If you are a chaperone, we also need your $11.00.
Thank you and enjoy the sunshine today!
Mrs. Scheck
Friday, April 13, 2018
April 9-13
Hello families!
This week in second grade we have been getting back into the swing of things in Room 105!
We read the book Otis by Loren Long. The story is about a little tractor who finds his purpose in helping a young calf. We read the book and discussed character traits such as kind and compassionate. We also discussed the authors message of helping others. This book is the first in a series of picture books we will be reading over the next few weeks.
We began a new unit of writing on Monday. We will be writing poetry for the next several weeks. Students learned to look at the world with their "Poet's Eyes" to see everyday objects in a fresh new way. We wrote about seashells. We listened for line breaks and to hear the music a poem. We wrote down seed ideas to help us get started on our own poems. The students are enjoying this new unit!
We are continuing on in Unit 7 for math. This week we worked on making line plots, measuring to the nearest inch and centimeter. We worked with yardsticks and meter sticks to estimate the length of objects in our classroom. We will be ending Unit 7 next week. A study guide for Unit 8 will come home either Wednesday or Thursday.
We have begun a new Social Studies unit called "Past and Present: the History of Walled Lake." We began by discussing history and what it is. We read the book The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Pollaco. We discussed how history can be events from long ago or 5 minutes ago! Next week look for a homework assignment in which students will make a personal time line. Your child will put pictures and write words that go with the pictures to show events from each year of her or his life... Details to follow!
We have a field trip coming up on May 16th! We will be going to the Mill Race Village to see Wash Oak School house. It is a historic one room school house. Permission slips went home on Tuesday.
Lastly, we will begin a new Science unit on plant life cycles next week!
Have a great weekend,
Mrs. Scheck
This week in second grade we have been getting back into the swing of things in Room 105!
We read the book Otis by Loren Long. The story is about a little tractor who finds his purpose in helping a young calf. We read the book and discussed character traits such as kind and compassionate. We also discussed the authors message of helping others. This book is the first in a series of picture books we will be reading over the next few weeks.
We began a new unit of writing on Monday. We will be writing poetry for the next several weeks. Students learned to look at the world with their "Poet's Eyes" to see everyday objects in a fresh new way. We wrote about seashells. We listened for line breaks and to hear the music a poem. We wrote down seed ideas to help us get started on our own poems. The students are enjoying this new unit!
We are continuing on in Unit 7 for math. This week we worked on making line plots, measuring to the nearest inch and centimeter. We worked with yardsticks and meter sticks to estimate the length of objects in our classroom. We will be ending Unit 7 next week. A study guide for Unit 8 will come home either Wednesday or Thursday.
We have begun a new Social Studies unit called "Past and Present: the History of Walled Lake." We began by discussing history and what it is. We read the book The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Pollaco. We discussed how history can be events from long ago or 5 minutes ago! Next week look for a homework assignment in which students will make a personal time line. Your child will put pictures and write words that go with the pictures to show events from each year of her or his life... Details to follow!
We have a field trip coming up on May 16th! We will be going to the Mill Race Village to see Wash Oak School house. It is a historic one room school house. Permission slips went home on Tuesday.
Lastly, we will begin a new Science unit on plant life cycles next week!
Have a great weekend,
Mrs. Scheck
Thursday, March 22, 2018
Week of March 19-23
Hello families!
We have had a busy week in room 105!
This week in reading workshop we read the book The Perfect Pet by Margie Palatini. This book is a persuasive piece in which a little girl tries several approaches to convince her parents to let her have a pet.
The students discussed how she kept trying different strategies and was persistent in her efforts. At the end she solves her own problem by finding a pet bug!
We also read a chapter book called Where are you going, Baby Lincoln? This book is a short chapter book in which the main character sets off on a "necessary journey." We will use the book to discuss differing points of view in the story. We also learned two new character traits: judgmental and optimistic. Students wrote about the author's message. It is okay to have a different opinion but remember to respect that others may think differently than you think.
This week we reviewed contractions and practiced taking letters out to make contractions. We will work on syllables and double consonant patterns next week! We played a word game called My Pile/Your Pile to practice reading high frequency words quickly.
We are continuing our opinion writing unit. We worked this week to add evidence from the book to our letters and include the page numbers. We are making longer letters into booklets and creating a poster to share with the other second grade classes next week to wrap up this unit of writing!
In math we have begun unit 7. The family letter was sent home. We will continue to work on adding and subtracting 2 and 3 digit numbers. We practiced today adding without regrouping. We will also work on measurement, making a line plot and graphing information. The unit 6 math test was sent home on Thursday.
In social studies we worked on producers and consumers and created a flow chart for the process of making milk into ice cream. Next week we will work on learning about opportunity cost!
We are headed toward spring break which begins next week. There will be no school from March 30 - April 9.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Mrs. Scheck
We have had a busy week in room 105!
This week in reading workshop we read the book The Perfect Pet by Margie Palatini. This book is a persuasive piece in which a little girl tries several approaches to convince her parents to let her have a pet.
The students discussed how she kept trying different strategies and was persistent in her efforts. At the end she solves her own problem by finding a pet bug!
We also read a chapter book called Where are you going, Baby Lincoln? This book is a short chapter book in which the main character sets off on a "necessary journey." We will use the book to discuss differing points of view in the story. We also learned two new character traits: judgmental and optimistic. Students wrote about the author's message. It is okay to have a different opinion but remember to respect that others may think differently than you think.
This week we reviewed contractions and practiced taking letters out to make contractions. We will work on syllables and double consonant patterns next week! We played a word game called My Pile/Your Pile to practice reading high frequency words quickly.
We are continuing our opinion writing unit. We worked this week to add evidence from the book to our letters and include the page numbers. We are making longer letters into booklets and creating a poster to share with the other second grade classes next week to wrap up this unit of writing!
In math we have begun unit 7. The family letter was sent home. We will continue to work on adding and subtracting 2 and 3 digit numbers. We practiced today adding without regrouping. We will also work on measurement, making a line plot and graphing information. The unit 6 math test was sent home on Thursday.
In social studies we worked on producers and consumers and created a flow chart for the process of making milk into ice cream. Next week we will work on learning about opportunity cost!
We are headed toward spring break which begins next week. There will be no school from March 30 - April 9.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Mrs. Scheck
Friday, March 16, 2018
Week of March 12-16
Dear families,
This week in Second Grade we read the book My Brother Dan's Delicious. This story is a persuasive story in which the main character, Joey, tries to trick an imaginary monster into eating his brother instead of him!
The students read this story and looked for character traits. We learned the vocabulary word: succulent. We also made connections to the book about a time we were afraid.
In writing, we have been working hard on our letters about a favorite book and giving books our own made up awards for being the best book! We are continuing to work on stating an opinion, giving evidence, retelling part but not all the story and putting quotations from the book into the letter.
In word study this week we practiced writing compound words. We will spend more time next week on Synonyms and Antonyms.
In math, we have completed Unit 6. We have been working on using strategies to solve a number story with two digits and two steps. We have a test on Monday for Unit 6. The study guide went home on Thursday and is due Monday, March 19. A family letter for Unit 7 will come home next week.
In social studies we worked on producers and consumers. We read the book From Cows to Ice Cream. We sorted ways people are producers and consumers.
On Wednesday, we had a guest speaker, Mr. Thorsell, come to speak to the second graders! He explained and showed how he takes drawings and makes them into 3-D objects such as a cup holder for a car. He shared how engineers work and gave a great presentation! Thank you, Mr. Thorsell for sharing your skills and time with us!
Have a great weekend,
Mrs. Scheck
This week in Second Grade we read the book My Brother Dan's Delicious. This story is a persuasive story in which the main character, Joey, tries to trick an imaginary monster into eating his brother instead of him!
The students read this story and looked for character traits. We learned the vocabulary word: succulent. We also made connections to the book about a time we were afraid.
In writing, we have been working hard on our letters about a favorite book and giving books our own made up awards for being the best book! We are continuing to work on stating an opinion, giving evidence, retelling part but not all the story and putting quotations from the book into the letter.
In word study this week we practiced writing compound words. We will spend more time next week on Synonyms and Antonyms.
In math, we have completed Unit 6. We have been working on using strategies to solve a number story with two digits and two steps. We have a test on Monday for Unit 6. The study guide went home on Thursday and is due Monday, March 19. A family letter for Unit 7 will come home next week.
In social studies we worked on producers and consumers. We read the book From Cows to Ice Cream. We sorted ways people are producers and consumers.
On Wednesday, we had a guest speaker, Mr. Thorsell, come to speak to the second graders! He explained and showed how he takes drawings and makes them into 3-D objects such as a cup holder for a car. He shared how engineers work and gave a great presentation! Thank you, Mr. Thorsell for sharing your skills and time with us!
Have a great weekend,
Mrs. Scheck
Friday, March 9, 2018
March 5-9
Dear Families,
This week we read the story, One Word From Sophia. This book fit perfectly with our opinion writing unit. In the story Sophia is trying to convince her family members to get her a giraffe for her birthday. We learned that characters change the way they present their argument based on who they are talking to. Sophia is told her arguments are loquacious, effusive and verbose - too wordy. We learned these new vocabulary words this week. We also did a Visual Thinking Routine with the book called a "step inside" to view the story through the eyes of the main character. Students write and respond to questions about the character telling what does she think, what does she care and what does she know or believe. Students provide evidence from the text to back up their answers!
In writing, we are continuing on with our opinion writing unit. We have worked on added more to our letters. Using capitals in the right place has been something we noticed is lacking. Reviewing capitals was part of our lessons this week! Students each chose a book that he or she wants to nominate for an award (that is made up by the student). We added a map of a setting in the story to our letters. Today we will work on adding quotes from the book to help support our opinions. We hope to have students share their letters with other students at the end of the unit.
In math we have been learning several strategies for adding two digit numbers. We practiced these strategies: counting on, partial sums, adding with base 10 and using an open number line. We have been working on two step problems with both addition and subtraction. Yesterday students worked independently on two digit subtraction.
In social studies we have begun a new unit on Our Local Economy. We read the book The Hatseller and the Monkeys. We discussed and sorted Wants versus Needs. Students sorted objects into two columns. We will continue next week learning about producers and consumers. We will read the book From Cows to Ice Cream. Students will learn the process that happens to produce a good. We will also be learning about real life production of a car from Mr. Thorsell!
Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Scheck
This week we read the story, One Word From Sophia. This book fit perfectly with our opinion writing unit. In the story Sophia is trying to convince her family members to get her a giraffe for her birthday. We learned that characters change the way they present their argument based on who they are talking to. Sophia is told her arguments are loquacious, effusive and verbose - too wordy. We learned these new vocabulary words this week. We also did a Visual Thinking Routine with the book called a "step inside" to view the story through the eyes of the main character. Students write and respond to questions about the character telling what does she think, what does she care and what does she know or believe. Students provide evidence from the text to back up their answers!
In writing, we are continuing on with our opinion writing unit. We have worked on added more to our letters. Using capitals in the right place has been something we noticed is lacking. Reviewing capitals was part of our lessons this week! Students each chose a book that he or she wants to nominate for an award (that is made up by the student). We added a map of a setting in the story to our letters. Today we will work on adding quotes from the book to help support our opinions. We hope to have students share their letters with other students at the end of the unit.
In math we have been learning several strategies for adding two digit numbers. We practiced these strategies: counting on, partial sums, adding with base 10 and using an open number line. We have been working on two step problems with both addition and subtraction. Yesterday students worked independently on two digit subtraction.
In social studies we have begun a new unit on Our Local Economy. We read the book The Hatseller and the Monkeys. We discussed and sorted Wants versus Needs. Students sorted objects into two columns. We will continue next week learning about producers and consumers. We will read the book From Cows to Ice Cream. Students will learn the process that happens to produce a good. We will also be learning about real life production of a car from Mr. Thorsell!
Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Scheck
Friday, March 2, 2018
Week of February 28-March 2
Dear families,
Here are some things we have been working on this week in Second grade!
In reading we read the chapter book Francine Poulet and the Ghost Raccoon by Katie Dicamillo.
We read a few chapters each day and discussed how author used comparisons to make her writing more vivid. In the story Francine describes herself as "solid as a refrigerator." We practiced in reading work shop looking for comparisons in our books. We learned a new vocabulary word: gallivanting. We practiced using the word gallivanting in conversations and added it to our reader's and writer's notebook.
Many of our reading groups have begun Reader's Theaters this week to practice reading fluently.
Reading should sound like talking. Changing your voice to sound the character, practicing pacing and reading the punctuation are all skills needed to sound fluent!
Each group will practice reading their story next week and then try reading it in front of the class.
In writing this week we are continuing our unit on opinion writing. This week our goal was to make our letters longer and the persuasion in the letter stronger. We have been sending letters and convincing other classes to read some of our favorite books! this has been fun for most students. They enjoy sharing books and writing about the characters, pictures, retelling parts (not all!) of the story and telling the lessons learned or taught in the book!
In Social Studies this week we have been working on maps. We practiced being map detectives this week. We looked at an area map of the boundaries for elementary schools in Walled Lake. Students worked in small groups to find symbols, directions, and answer questions through reading the maps.
In math we have been practicing more than one way to solve an addition or subtraction problem in a number story (or word problem). We have practiced writing number stories and solving them with a partner. New diagrams to use for solving were introduced and remembered from last year!
If your child is needing extra practice spend some time this weekend making up and writing number stories to solve for fun! It is okay to use number grids and number lines or counters as tools to help solve!
I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Mrs. Scheck
Here are some things we have been working on this week in Second grade!
In reading we read the chapter book Francine Poulet and the Ghost Raccoon by Katie Dicamillo.
We read a few chapters each day and discussed how author used comparisons to make her writing more vivid. In the story Francine describes herself as "solid as a refrigerator." We practiced in reading work shop looking for comparisons in our books. We learned a new vocabulary word: gallivanting. We practiced using the word gallivanting in conversations and added it to our reader's and writer's notebook.
Many of our reading groups have begun Reader's Theaters this week to practice reading fluently.
Reading should sound like talking. Changing your voice to sound the character, practicing pacing and reading the punctuation are all skills needed to sound fluent!
Each group will practice reading their story next week and then try reading it in front of the class.
In writing this week we are continuing our unit on opinion writing. This week our goal was to make our letters longer and the persuasion in the letter stronger. We have been sending letters and convincing other classes to read some of our favorite books! this has been fun for most students. They enjoy sharing books and writing about the characters, pictures, retelling parts (not all!) of the story and telling the lessons learned or taught in the book!
In Social Studies this week we have been working on maps. We practiced being map detectives this week. We looked at an area map of the boundaries for elementary schools in Walled Lake. Students worked in small groups to find symbols, directions, and answer questions through reading the maps.
In math we have been practicing more than one way to solve an addition or subtraction problem in a number story (or word problem). We have practiced writing number stories and solving them with a partner. New diagrams to use for solving were introduced and remembered from last year!
If your child is needing extra practice spend some time this weekend making up and writing number stories to solve for fun! It is okay to use number grids and number lines or counters as tools to help solve!
I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Mrs. Scheck
Friday, February 16, 2018
Week of February 12-16
Dear families,
We have had a fun and busy week in Room 105!
Our Valentine's day party was so much fun! We played bingo and make fruit kabobs. The students passed out cards and opened. It was a great day! Thank you for donating food and helping to make the party a success!
This week we read the book Mercy Watson Thinks Like a Pig by Katie DiCamillo.
We have been reading the Mercy Watson series to help us think about characters, setting, how to retell and pictures. We have also read this book to work on making our reading sound fluent. We practiced changing voices to sound like the characters in the book. We practiced pacing. We used the book to help us visualize in our heads what was happening the story. If you have time to visit the Wixom Public Library, your child may want to check out this book series and read more over the break.
In writing, we have begun a new unit on opinion writing. We have started by writing letters to other readers talking about books we love. We wrote a letter to Mrs. Yaldoo's class and suggested they read Harry Potter. We wrote to Mrs. Megyesi's class telling them about A Bad Case of the Stripes by David Shannon. We discussed writing for an audience. Students wrote letters to their Kindergarten buddy. We will send our letters and read with our buddies after break!
We have completed Unit 5 in math. Yesterday we took the Unit 5 test. I will grade and return the tests after break. A family letter outlining Unit 6 went home yesterday. Please read the letter for details about the next Unit in math!
In Social Studies we read the book The Wartville Wizard. The story was about a man who gets tired of seeing and cleaning up all the litter in his town. He received magic powers to send the litter back to the person who threw it and make it stick to the person! We wrote about the different perspectives in the book for the Wizard and the citizens of Wartville using a Visual Thinking Routine called Circle of Viewpoints.
We will be on Mid-Winter break from 12:09 today until February 22nd. Please have your child read each night for 20 minutes.
Enjoy the break!
Mrs. Scheck
We have had a fun and busy week in Room 105!
Our Valentine's day party was so much fun! We played bingo and make fruit kabobs. The students passed out cards and opened. It was a great day! Thank you for donating food and helping to make the party a success!
This week we read the book Mercy Watson Thinks Like a Pig by Katie DiCamillo.
We have been reading the Mercy Watson series to help us think about characters, setting, how to retell and pictures. We have also read this book to work on making our reading sound fluent. We practiced changing voices to sound like the characters in the book. We practiced pacing. We used the book to help us visualize in our heads what was happening the story. If you have time to visit the Wixom Public Library, your child may want to check out this book series and read more over the break.
In writing, we have begun a new unit on opinion writing. We have started by writing letters to other readers talking about books we love. We wrote a letter to Mrs. Yaldoo's class and suggested they read Harry Potter. We wrote to Mrs. Megyesi's class telling them about A Bad Case of the Stripes by David Shannon. We discussed writing for an audience. Students wrote letters to their Kindergarten buddy. We will send our letters and read with our buddies after break!
We have completed Unit 5 in math. Yesterday we took the Unit 5 test. I will grade and return the tests after break. A family letter outlining Unit 6 went home yesterday. Please read the letter for details about the next Unit in math!
In Social Studies we read the book The Wartville Wizard. The story was about a man who gets tired of seeing and cleaning up all the litter in his town. He received magic powers to send the litter back to the person who threw it and make it stick to the person! We wrote about the different perspectives in the book for the Wizard and the citizens of Wartville using a Visual Thinking Routine called Circle of Viewpoints.
We will be on Mid-Winter break from 12:09 today until February 22nd. Please have your child read each night for 20 minutes.
Enjoy the break!
Mrs. Scheck
Wednesday, January 24, 2018
January 22-26
Hello wonderful families,
This week in Second grade we have been working on reading non-fiction books. We read the book The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins. The story is a biography of Waterhouse Hawkins, a man who began sculpting dinosaurs when little information was known about them back in 1853. We read the story to discuss main idea and supporting details.
We will continue reading non-fiction for the next couple of weeks.
In writing, we have begun writing non fiction "teaching books." Our books must be about movement. Many children are writing about sports, dance, gymnastics, etc. We planned our books with the table of contents, then began by sketching a quick picture on each page of what we were going to write. Students are also going to include some scientific information in their writing, which will include force and motion.
We have started a new unit in math. A family letter detailing the objectives of this unit was sent home Tuesday. The students will be delving deeper into money, adding coins and learning the dollar and cents notation. Practice coin counting at home, use real money and remind children to start with the largest coin first.
Our Social Studies mapping unit is underway. Students are making a birds eye view map of the classroom. They need to include a title, a colorful map key, labels and a compass rose. We will also be making pirate treasure maps for fun!
February 14th is Valentines day. We will be having a class party on Wednesday, February 14th. The party will be from 2:50-3:35. We will be making Fruit and Marshmallow Kabobs. I have created a sign up genius. A list of class names will be sent home soon. Students are allowed to send out cards. Your child will need to make his or her own Valentine box at home. Please be sure the box fits inside of the backpack. Send the box to school on February 14th. Please talk to your child about the importance of including everyone when sending out cards, if you child does not want to send cards that is okay. If you child's Valentines include candy, check to be sure it is Gluten-free and Peanut-free. If you are not sure, ask me before sending out the cards.
Continue to send your child with snow clothes: snow boots, snow pants, mittens, hat and a warm coat. The cold weather is not gone just yet!
Have a great day!
Mrs. Scheck
This week in Second grade we have been working on reading non-fiction books. We read the book The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins. The story is a biography of Waterhouse Hawkins, a man who began sculpting dinosaurs when little information was known about them back in 1853. We read the story to discuss main idea and supporting details.
We will continue reading non-fiction for the next couple of weeks.
In writing, we have begun writing non fiction "teaching books." Our books must be about movement. Many children are writing about sports, dance, gymnastics, etc. We planned our books with the table of contents, then began by sketching a quick picture on each page of what we were going to write. Students are also going to include some scientific information in their writing, which will include force and motion.
We have started a new unit in math. A family letter detailing the objectives of this unit was sent home Tuesday. The students will be delving deeper into money, adding coins and learning the dollar and cents notation. Practice coin counting at home, use real money and remind children to start with the largest coin first.
Our Social Studies mapping unit is underway. Students are making a birds eye view map of the classroom. They need to include a title, a colorful map key, labels and a compass rose. We will also be making pirate treasure maps for fun!
February 14th is Valentines day. We will be having a class party on Wednesday, February 14th. The party will be from 2:50-3:35. We will be making Fruit and Marshmallow Kabobs. I have created a sign up genius. A list of class names will be sent home soon. Students are allowed to send out cards. Your child will need to make his or her own Valentine box at home. Please be sure the box fits inside of the backpack. Send the box to school on February 14th. Please talk to your child about the importance of including everyone when sending out cards, if you child does not want to send cards that is okay. If you child's Valentines include candy, check to be sure it is Gluten-free and Peanut-free. If you are not sure, ask me before sending out the cards.
Continue to send your child with snow clothes: snow boots, snow pants, mittens, hat and a warm coat. The cold weather is not gone just yet!
Have a great day!
Mrs. Scheck
Thursday, January 11, 2018
January 8-13
Happy New Year!
Welcome back to school! I hope you had a wonderful holiday with your child.
This week in our classroom we are continuing to work on non-fiction for both reading and writing.
I read the book I Fly by Bridget Heos. We started by thinking about what we already knew about flies. We read the book over the course of two days and recorded new facts we learned. We wrote questions about flies. We focused on two new vocabulary words: halteres - a stick like part of a fly to help a fly balance and setae - hair on the flies body to help it sense objects that are near.
In phonics this week we continued to learn more about silent letters and digraphs kn and ph. We will look at vowel patterns ea, ey, ei and ai today.
I am beginning to re-assess student reading levels with a one on one assessment. The assessment will take some time. I may not see reading groups during this time. Next week we will be taking the iready for reading. Please be sure to read daily with your child even if they do not bring home a reading book!
In writing, we have been working on adding more to our science lab reports. We made catapults and tested them, we recorded how far a cotton ball and a unifix cube traveled. Students learned how to make a data table for their information. We read an article on pushing as a force. We added more information to our science lab reports. We will compare results of our experiment with a partner today.
In math we have begun learning about measurement in Unit 4. We will learn how to use a ruler to measure in feet and in inches. We estimated the length of several objects and measured to check our estimates.
We have begun a new unit of Social Studies on maps. We have learned: how to use the symbols on a map, the directions of a compass rose and about map scales. We made colorful compass roses showing the directions north, south, east, west and northwest, southwest, northeast and southeast.
The weather continues to change! Today we have 50 degrees outside and tomorrow it looks like it may snow. Continue to send the appropriate snow clothes each day to keep your child warm outside.
Many students have been forgetting their gym shoes. We have PE on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Please be sure to send your child's gym shoes on those days.
There will be no school on Monday, January 15th for Martin Luther King day! Your are invited to Walled Lake Northern High School on Martin Luther King day to see Wixom students perform and to hear Caleb White speak at 6:00 p.m.
Next week ...Thursday, January 18th, is a half day in which students are dismissed at 11:10 a.m. I will be meeting with parents for Parent Teacher Conferences. I have re-scheduled all conferences for that day. If you are not able to make your conference, please let me know so we can find a time that will work for you!
Have a wonderful day!
Mrs. Scheck
Welcome back to school! I hope you had a wonderful holiday with your child.
This week in our classroom we are continuing to work on non-fiction for both reading and writing.
I read the book I Fly by Bridget Heos. We started by thinking about what we already knew about flies. We read the book over the course of two days and recorded new facts we learned. We wrote questions about flies. We focused on two new vocabulary words: halteres - a stick like part of a fly to help a fly balance and setae - hair on the flies body to help it sense objects that are near.
In phonics this week we continued to learn more about silent letters and digraphs kn and ph. We will look at vowel patterns ea, ey, ei and ai today.
I am beginning to re-assess student reading levels with a one on one assessment. The assessment will take some time. I may not see reading groups during this time. Next week we will be taking the iready for reading. Please be sure to read daily with your child even if they do not bring home a reading book!
In writing, we have been working on adding more to our science lab reports. We made catapults and tested them, we recorded how far a cotton ball and a unifix cube traveled. Students learned how to make a data table for their information. We read an article on pushing as a force. We added more information to our science lab reports. We will compare results of our experiment with a partner today.
In math we have begun learning about measurement in Unit 4. We will learn how to use a ruler to measure in feet and in inches. We estimated the length of several objects and measured to check our estimates.
We have begun a new unit of Social Studies on maps. We have learned: how to use the symbols on a map, the directions of a compass rose and about map scales. We made colorful compass roses showing the directions north, south, east, west and northwest, southwest, northeast and southeast.
The weather continues to change! Today we have 50 degrees outside and tomorrow it looks like it may snow. Continue to send the appropriate snow clothes each day to keep your child warm outside.
Many students have been forgetting their gym shoes. We have PE on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Please be sure to send your child's gym shoes on those days.
There will be no school on Monday, January 15th for Martin Luther King day! Your are invited to Walled Lake Northern High School on Martin Luther King day to see Wixom students perform and to hear Caleb White speak at 6:00 p.m.
Next week ...Thursday, January 18th, is a half day in which students are dismissed at 11:10 a.m. I will be meeting with parents for Parent Teacher Conferences. I have re-scheduled all conferences for that day. If you are not able to make your conference, please let me know so we can find a time that will work for you!
Have a wonderful day!
Mrs. Scheck
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