Dear families,
We all know that we have been given orders from the state to close all public schools beginning Monday, March 16th.....
That being said today is not a easy day to be a teacher, telling students that we will be out of school for a month!
The district is in the process of making packets to send home with students today. The packets will be used for at home instruction. Parents are being reminded to use your child's i-ready account to continue working on math and reading. Everyday math games are also accessible from home using your child's everyday math account that was given to you in September.
In reading workshop today we continued to read from our book club books and we have been working on noticing things about the main characters in our books.
I am allowing students to pick books to take home for use over the long period at home. I am writing down the titles of books your child is bringing home. Please help your child take care of the books and return them when we are back to our regular school schedule.
I will truly miss being here in room 105! I will miss each child and am sad that we have to say good-bye... but it is just for now.
I will be here, ready to begin again when we return. Please be in touch, your child is welcome to write me letters and email me!
Take care of your families!
Mrs. Scheck
Friday, March 13, 2020
Friday, March 6, 2020
Writing Celebration
We wrote opinion on our favorite books! Then we shared our papers and posters with fellow second graders!
Week of March 9-13
Hello families!
We are starting many new units this week!
In social studies we are beginning our unit about how things are made. We will begin by reading the book The Hat seller and the Monkeys. We will learn about producers, Consumers and resources. We will sort producers and consumers to reinforce the idea of what each means.
In writing we will begin a new unit on Poetry. We will begin by examining objects using our "poet's eyes" to see them in a whole new way. We will hear poetry from authors and notice their techniques. We will try out writing down our observations.
In reading, we will begin book clubs. Students will sample books and choose three books that they are interested in reading. I will put each student into a book club based on their top three book choices. Your child will be given time in class to read. Students may need to bring their book home to complete their reading. Please help your child by asking questions about what they need to do to prepare for their book club discussions! We will begin meeting and discussing books using the same ideas we learned in our strategy groups.
We completed unit 6 in math, the test will come home on Monday. Please review with your child any problems they missed. Students can also practice more on i-ready to help them firm up their math concepts. Use flash cards to solidify facts 0-10 for addition and subtraction. Next week we will begin unit 7, Whole number operations, Measurement and Data. A family letter will come home today that will explain more about the new unit.
In spelling/phonics we will further our study of soft c and g. We will learn how soft c and g with silent e at the end works! Students will work with a partner to read a book about camouflage, remembering to try the soft sound first when they find a word ending in ce or ge.
A few upcoming dates:
3/6 - PTA stake night at Bonaventure
3/18 - half day for students
3/26 - Second grade musical Stone Soup
Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Scheck
We are starting many new units this week!
In social studies we are beginning our unit about how things are made. We will begin by reading the book The Hat seller and the Monkeys. We will learn about producers, Consumers and resources. We will sort producers and consumers to reinforce the idea of what each means.
In writing we will begin a new unit on Poetry. We will begin by examining objects using our "poet's eyes" to see them in a whole new way. We will hear poetry from authors and notice their techniques. We will try out writing down our observations.
In reading, we will begin book clubs. Students will sample books and choose three books that they are interested in reading. I will put each student into a book club based on their top three book choices. Your child will be given time in class to read. Students may need to bring their book home to complete their reading. Please help your child by asking questions about what they need to do to prepare for their book club discussions! We will begin meeting and discussing books using the same ideas we learned in our strategy groups.
We completed unit 6 in math, the test will come home on Monday. Please review with your child any problems they missed. Students can also practice more on i-ready to help them firm up their math concepts. Use flash cards to solidify facts 0-10 for addition and subtraction. Next week we will begin unit 7, Whole number operations, Measurement and Data. A family letter will come home today that will explain more about the new unit.
In spelling/phonics we will further our study of soft c and g. We will learn how soft c and g with silent e at the end works! Students will work with a partner to read a book about camouflage, remembering to try the soft sound first when they find a word ending in ce or ge.
A few upcoming dates:
3/6 - PTA stake night at Bonaventure
3/18 - half day for students
3/26 - Second grade musical Stone Soup
Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Scheck
Sunday, March 1, 2020
Week of March 1-6 and Valentine party pictures!
Hello wonderful families!
We are officially into the month of March!! Spring cannot be far away now!
This week in room 105, we will be wrapping up our unit on Opinion writing. Students have selected one book to write a paper about and present to fellow second graders on Friday, March 6th. We will send home details tomorrow... students are allowed to dress as a character from their chosen book! This is optional. Please discuss at home what your child would like to do!
In reading workshop last week we formed "goal groups". Students selected a reading goal in the area of: fluency, comprehension or literary language. Groups formed a plan for meeting and discussing progress. We will discuss this week how to give a compliment or a suggestion and how to help your group hold a discussion.I am excited to see how the students take this on!
In math, we have reached the end of Unit 6. On Monday we will have the last unit 6 lesson. Students will bring home study guides. The study guide is due on Wednesday, March 4th. We will have the test on Thursday, March 5th. Sorry for the change, due to the snow day and a half day Tuesday I had to push back the unit 6 test!
I will send home the unit 7 family letter which outlines the next unit of math.
In phonics we will learn about hard and soft G and C. We will learn a song to help us remember when the C and G makes a soft sound (before E, I and Y). We will do some sorting in our rug groups and learn about the words that sometimes can be tricky with soft C and G.
In Social Studies, we hope to begin the unit on the history of Walled Lake!
Remember, Tuesday, March 3rd is a half day. Students are dismissed at 12:25 pm.
Also, keep the date for March 26th - the Second grade musical: Stone Soup! Ben is getting his "villager outfit" together, we can't wait!
Have a great week!
Mrs. Scheck
We are officially into the month of March!! Spring cannot be far away now!
This week in room 105, we will be wrapping up our unit on Opinion writing. Students have selected one book to write a paper about and present to fellow second graders on Friday, March 6th. We will send home details tomorrow... students are allowed to dress as a character from their chosen book! This is optional. Please discuss at home what your child would like to do!
In reading workshop last week we formed "goal groups". Students selected a reading goal in the area of: fluency, comprehension or literary language. Groups formed a plan for meeting and discussing progress. We will discuss this week how to give a compliment or a suggestion and how to help your group hold a discussion.I am excited to see how the students take this on!
In math, we have reached the end of Unit 6. On Monday we will have the last unit 6 lesson. Students will bring home study guides. The study guide is due on Wednesday, March 4th. We will have the test on Thursday, March 5th. Sorry for the change, due to the snow day and a half day Tuesday I had to push back the unit 6 test!
I will send home the unit 7 family letter which outlines the next unit of math.
In phonics we will learn about hard and soft G and C. We will learn a song to help us remember when the C and G makes a soft sound (before E, I and Y). We will do some sorting in our rug groups and learn about the words that sometimes can be tricky with soft C and G.
In Social Studies, we hope to begin the unit on the history of Walled Lake!
Remember, Tuesday, March 3rd is a half day. Students are dismissed at 12:25 pm.
Also, keep the date for March 26th - the Second grade musical: Stone Soup! Ben is getting his "villager outfit" together, we can't wait!
Have a great week!
Mrs. Scheck
Sunday, February 23, 2020
Week of February 24-28
Hello families!
I hope you had a wonderful mid-winter break with your family! I enjoyed spending time with my sons and had fun taking Ben to a few special places (his older brothers were in school!). Brad and I got some projects done at home and even had a night out! Overall, a successful break!
In reading workshop this week we will be continuing to amp up our reading power! This week we will learn how to pick a goal based on the fluency, comprehension or literary language. Students will decide a goal on which they feel they need to work. Then I will form "Goal Groups." The groups will decide on a club plan together. They will determine tools they need for the group and steps to work toward their goal. I am excited to see how this comes together!
In writing, we have been working hard on our opinion writing letters. We have selected books that we feel are so good they deserve an award. We will work this week on creating an outline for an opinion writing paper. We will begin writing our papers and preparing a poster to go with the paper. Our final opinion writing unit will wrap up in the next two weeks!
In phonics, this week we will work on letter combinations in which the first letter is silent - kn, gn, wr and mb (climb). We will practicing sort words with those letter combinations and reading the words with a partner.
In math, we are working on partial sums addition and how to add two digit numbers. We will spend a lesson doing "explorations" to prepare for the next unit. At the end of the week I will send home the Unit 6 study guide. Students will take unit 6 math test next week on Tuesday, March 3rd.
Soon we will begin our next unit of Social Studies. We will be learning about the history of Walled Lake. We will take a look at the past and create a time line of events for the area. We will begin learning about the amusement park that was once in downtown Walled Lake.
Continue to send the necessary snow clothes this week... I see some snow in the forecast (boo!!).
Have a great week!
Mrs. Scheck
I hope you had a wonderful mid-winter break with your family! I enjoyed spending time with my sons and had fun taking Ben to a few special places (his older brothers were in school!). Brad and I got some projects done at home and even had a night out! Overall, a successful break!
In reading workshop this week we will be continuing to amp up our reading power! This week we will learn how to pick a goal based on the fluency, comprehension or literary language. Students will decide a goal on which they feel they need to work. Then I will form "Goal Groups." The groups will decide on a club plan together. They will determine tools they need for the group and steps to work toward their goal. I am excited to see how this comes together!
In writing, we have been working hard on our opinion writing letters. We have selected books that we feel are so good they deserve an award. We will work this week on creating an outline for an opinion writing paper. We will begin writing our papers and preparing a poster to go with the paper. Our final opinion writing unit will wrap up in the next two weeks!
In phonics, this week we will work on letter combinations in which the first letter is silent - kn, gn, wr and mb (climb). We will practicing sort words with those letter combinations and reading the words with a partner.
In math, we are working on partial sums addition and how to add two digit numbers. We will spend a lesson doing "explorations" to prepare for the next unit. At the end of the week I will send home the Unit 6 study guide. Students will take unit 6 math test next week on Tuesday, March 3rd.
Soon we will begin our next unit of Social Studies. We will be learning about the history of Walled Lake. We will take a look at the past and create a time line of events for the area. We will begin learning about the amusement park that was once in downtown Walled Lake.
Continue to send the necessary snow clothes this week... I see some snow in the forecast (boo!!).
Have a great week!
Mrs. Scheck
Wednesday, February 5, 2020
February 3-7
Dear families,
We began reading workshop this week working on learning to read longer, more complex stories and to use strategies to hold on to the meaning of the story. Students each have a same book partner. Partners are reading the same books and helping each other by asking these questions:
What is happening so far?
What is it mostly about?
How is the character changing or not?
What is the character learning? What's the lesson?
This will prepare the class to begin book clubs next.
We worked today on determining the most important part of a chapter. Instead of focusing on small details we discussed and practiced writing down the most important part at the end of a chapter. This will also help students when they have to do a written retelling of a story!
In writing, we are working on making our opinion letters longer and stronger. We are using direct quotes from the book to back up our evidence. We are writing more than on section of a letter and trying to find at least three examples or reasons why someone should read that book!
Our phonics focus this week is on breaking words with -le at the end (cable, title, scramble). We learned to break them before the consonant le. We worked on writing words and we played red light, green light. Students enjoyed this fun game!
In math, we had our unit 5 math test on Tuesday. Wednesday we started Unit 6. We began today with making a picture graph and a bar graph. We will continue to work on two digit addition. We practice measuring in centimeters
In social studies this week we read The Wartville Wizard. This story teaches students about caring for the environment. We worked on learning these 4 types: desert, forest. plains and ocean. We discussed the word ecology. We will read the book Letting Swift River Go this week and learn how mankind can have a positive or negative effect on the ecology of an area.
Wixom Elementary participated in Global Play Day! Today from 3:00-3:30 we got out board games, puzzles, stuffed animals, legos, lincoln logs and operation! We played with classmates and enjoyed some free time!
I hope you are having an awesome week!
Mrs. Scheck
We began reading workshop this week working on learning to read longer, more complex stories and to use strategies to hold on to the meaning of the story. Students each have a same book partner. Partners are reading the same books and helping each other by asking these questions:
What is happening so far?
What is it mostly about?
How is the character changing or not?
What is the character learning? What's the lesson?
This will prepare the class to begin book clubs next.
We worked today on determining the most important part of a chapter. Instead of focusing on small details we discussed and practiced writing down the most important part at the end of a chapter. This will also help students when they have to do a written retelling of a story!
In writing, we are working on making our opinion letters longer and stronger. We are using direct quotes from the book to back up our evidence. We are writing more than on section of a letter and trying to find at least three examples or reasons why someone should read that book!
Our phonics focus this week is on breaking words with -le at the end (cable, title, scramble). We learned to break them before the consonant le. We worked on writing words and we played red light, green light. Students enjoyed this fun game!
In math, we had our unit 5 math test on Tuesday. Wednesday we started Unit 6. We began today with making a picture graph and a bar graph. We will continue to work on two digit addition. We practice measuring in centimeters
In social studies this week we read The Wartville Wizard. This story teaches students about caring for the environment. We worked on learning these 4 types: desert, forest. plains and ocean. We discussed the word ecology. We will read the book Letting Swift River Go this week and learn how mankind can have a positive or negative effect on the ecology of an area.
Wixom Elementary participated in Global Play Day! Today from 3:00-3:30 we got out board games, puzzles, stuffed animals, legos, lincoln logs and operation! We played with classmates and enjoyed some free time!
I hope you are having an awesome week!
Mrs. Scheck
Monday, January 27, 2020
week of January 27-31
Hello families,
Wow, we are at the last week of January!
Second graders this week are working on learning more about how to read longer words. Last week we practiced breaking words at the consonant to solve them. We also learned to break off endings (s, es, ing, ed, er). This week we will continue to learn strategies for reading longer words. We will discuss keeping digraphs together (ch, sh, th, ph, gh). We will learn a song about keeping gh together!
In reading we are continuing to notice ways that authors play with words. Last week we read the book When Sophie Gets Angry. In the story the author compares Sophie to a volcano. We looked for and noticed comparisons and talked about how to know what is being compared. This week we will discuss these ways authors play with words using: comparison, alliteration, time-passing words, and repetition.
In writing, students are having so much fun writing letters to friends, teachers and other classes about their favorite books! We have been receiving letters from other second grade friends too. This week we will use a check list to set goals for ourselves as writers. I will introduce paragraphing, modeling how to skip a line and indent the first line of a new paragraph. When we write about a book we want to recommend we refer to the book for these reasons: to spell the title and author, to remember the story, to retell a favorite part, to uncover new details and to develop new ideas and opinions.
In math we will work this week on change to more number stories. We will use a diagram to help us organize word problems. We will use a part, part, total diagram to solve both addition and subtraction problems. We will be at the end of unit 5 this week. I will send a study guide home on Thursday, it is due on Monday, February 3rd. Test will be Tuesday, February 4th.
In Social Studies we are wrapping up our mapping unit making our pirate maps. We hope to have them completely finished this week!
Reminder - Wednesday, January 29th is a half day. Please share any changes in your child's normal dismissal routine.
Have a wonderful last week of January!
Mrs. Scheck
Wow, we are at the last week of January!
Second graders this week are working on learning more about how to read longer words. Last week we practiced breaking words at the consonant to solve them. We also learned to break off endings (s, es, ing, ed, er). This week we will continue to learn strategies for reading longer words. We will discuss keeping digraphs together (ch, sh, th, ph, gh). We will learn a song about keeping gh together!
In reading we are continuing to notice ways that authors play with words. Last week we read the book When Sophie Gets Angry. In the story the author compares Sophie to a volcano. We looked for and noticed comparisons and talked about how to know what is being compared. This week we will discuss these ways authors play with words using: comparison, alliteration, time-passing words, and repetition.
In writing, students are having so much fun writing letters to friends, teachers and other classes about their favorite books! We have been receiving letters from other second grade friends too. This week we will use a check list to set goals for ourselves as writers. I will introduce paragraphing, modeling how to skip a line and indent the first line of a new paragraph. When we write about a book we want to recommend we refer to the book for these reasons: to spell the title and author, to remember the story, to retell a favorite part, to uncover new details and to develop new ideas and opinions.
In math we will work this week on change to more number stories. We will use a diagram to help us organize word problems. We will use a part, part, total diagram to solve both addition and subtraction problems. We will be at the end of unit 5 this week. I will send a study guide home on Thursday, it is due on Monday, February 3rd. Test will be Tuesday, February 4th.
In Social Studies we are wrapping up our mapping unit making our pirate maps. We hope to have them completely finished this week!
Reminder - Wednesday, January 29th is a half day. Please share any changes in your child's normal dismissal routine.
Have a wonderful last week of January!
Mrs. Scheck
Friday, January 17, 2020
January 20-24
Hello wonderful families!
This has been a great week in Second grade! We are moving right along and back into the swing of things after the Winter Break!
In reading, we have been working on making reading sound more fluent. We read the book Mercy Watson Princess in Disguise and used the book to change our voices to sound like the characters. We also noticed how the book changes moods.
In phonics we worked on breaking and blending longer words by working methodically from beginning to end. We will work next week on breaking words into parts between two consonants in the middle of a word. For example, breaking the word problem into two parts: prob/lem then putting the parts together to read the word as a whole. We will work on breaking off endings. We will start with common endings: ed, ing, s, es, er.
In writing, we are working on writing opinion letters to a friend or another class. We are using some on our favorite books and characters to help us. This week we learned to write a letter that focused on the character such as Mercy Watson. We retold a favorite part to help the reader become more interested. We discussed favorite pictures, and we wrote with an audience in mind.
For a fun project we read the book The Day the Crayons Quit and we wrote about our favorite colors!
In math, we have begun unit 5. This week we worked on counting coins, making change and we played beat the calculator. Students are working on counting the coins in various combinations. We will continue to practice. Work at home on helping your child count coins and make change for extra support.
We have been in working on mapping skills in Social Studies. This week we used a map of the U.S.and practiced finding things using the compass rose for directions. Students will begin making pirate treasure maps for a fun culminating projects this week!
We read the book Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King! and discussed the life of this famous civil rights leader. We wrote about the dreams we have for our own future.
Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Scheck
This has been a great week in Second grade! We are moving right along and back into the swing of things after the Winter Break!
In reading, we have been working on making reading sound more fluent. We read the book Mercy Watson Princess in Disguise and used the book to change our voices to sound like the characters. We also noticed how the book changes moods.
In phonics we worked on breaking and blending longer words by working methodically from beginning to end. We will work next week on breaking words into parts between two consonants in the middle of a word. For example, breaking the word problem into two parts: prob/lem then putting the parts together to read the word as a whole. We will work on breaking off endings. We will start with common endings: ed, ing, s, es, er.
In writing, we are working on writing opinion letters to a friend or another class. We are using some on our favorite books and characters to help us. This week we learned to write a letter that focused on the character such as Mercy Watson. We retold a favorite part to help the reader become more interested. We discussed favorite pictures, and we wrote with an audience in mind.
For a fun project we read the book The Day the Crayons Quit and we wrote about our favorite colors!
In math, we have begun unit 5. This week we worked on counting coins, making change and we played beat the calculator. Students are working on counting the coins in various combinations. We will continue to practice. Work at home on helping your child count coins and make change for extra support.
We have been in working on mapping skills in Social Studies. This week we used a map of the U.S.and practiced finding things using the compass rose for directions. Students will begin making pirate treasure maps for a fun culminating projects this week!
We read the book Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King! and discussed the life of this famous civil rights leader. We wrote about the dreams we have for our own future.
Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Scheck
Friday, January 10, 2020
January 10, 2020
Happy New Year!
We are back in the swing of things this week in Room 105...
We began a new unit of Reading Workshop this week called Bigger Books Mean Amping Up Reading Power. We kicked off this unit with a realistic fiction story called Happy Like Soccer by Maribeth Boelts. In the story a girl named Sierra plays soccer but is sad because her auntie who cares for her full time can't come to any soccer games because she has to work. We read the book several times and worked on retelling the story. We did a thinking routine with the book and discussed the character trait: optimistic! We wrote a color, symbol and image that represented the main ideas in the story. Next week we will focus on reading with fluency. We will rehearse reading out loud using our best reading voice. We will try to "scoop up words into phrases" and notice dialogue tags.
Our new writing unit is called Writing About Reading. We began this week by writing a letter to another classroom about a book we think that class would enjoy. We focused on including these parts in our letters: stating an opinion, evidence or reasons for our opinion and an ending. Students will spend next week adding more to a letter by retelling a favorite part. We will rehearse out loud what we want to write in our letters. We will get a chance to give a letter to a fellow second grader!
We have just completed Unit 4 in math. Unit 5 will be centered around addition and subtraction. We will review and extend concepts about money. We will learn how to use a change diagram and a parts-total diagram. Look for a family letter to come home next week with more details about Unit 5.
This week we began a new social studies unit all about maps. We made a map of the classroom together. We read the book Mapping Penny's World. We learned how to put symbols and a map key on our maps. Students worked on a map scavenger hunt looking for symbols, places and a map title. We know how to match the symbols and colors in our key to the map. A mapping assignment went home Thursday and is due in one week on January 16th.
In Phonics this week we worked on using everything we know about phonics to read longer words. Some strategies we learned are: start at the beginning of the word and read it part by part. Try the vowel sound another way. Reread and ask "does that make sense?" Students practiced the skills with a partner using animal fact cards. We will continue to work on strategies to read longer words next week.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Mrs. Scheck
We are back in the swing of things this week in Room 105...
We began a new unit of Reading Workshop this week called Bigger Books Mean Amping Up Reading Power. We kicked off this unit with a realistic fiction story called Happy Like Soccer by Maribeth Boelts. In the story a girl named Sierra plays soccer but is sad because her auntie who cares for her full time can't come to any soccer games because she has to work. We read the book several times and worked on retelling the story. We did a thinking routine with the book and discussed the character trait: optimistic! We wrote a color, symbol and image that represented the main ideas in the story. Next week we will focus on reading with fluency. We will rehearse reading out loud using our best reading voice. We will try to "scoop up words into phrases" and notice dialogue tags.
Our new writing unit is called Writing About Reading. We began this week by writing a letter to another classroom about a book we think that class would enjoy. We focused on including these parts in our letters: stating an opinion, evidence or reasons for our opinion and an ending. Students will spend next week adding more to a letter by retelling a favorite part. We will rehearse out loud what we want to write in our letters. We will get a chance to give a letter to a fellow second grader!
We have just completed Unit 4 in math. Unit 5 will be centered around addition and subtraction. We will review and extend concepts about money. We will learn how to use a change diagram and a parts-total diagram. Look for a family letter to come home next week with more details about Unit 5.
This week we began a new social studies unit all about maps. We made a map of the classroom together. We read the book Mapping Penny's World. We learned how to put symbols and a map key on our maps. Students worked on a map scavenger hunt looking for symbols, places and a map title. We know how to match the symbols and colors in our key to the map. A mapping assignment went home Thursday and is due in one week on January 16th.
In Phonics this week we worked on using everything we know about phonics to read longer words. Some strategies we learned are: start at the beginning of the word and read it part by part. Try the vowel sound another way. Reread and ask "does that make sense?" Students practiced the skills with a partner using animal fact cards. We will continue to work on strategies to read longer words next week.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Mrs. Scheck
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