We took our butterflies to the garden outside our classroom!
We observed them one more time!
The butterflies began to fly away!
We enjoyed learning about butterflies and we will miss them being in our classroom!
Monday, June 5, 2017
Friday, June 2, 2017
Field day and butterflies!
Hello families,
Today we released our butterflies. We were both happy to see them go and a little sad that we won't have them to look at in our classroom.
We also had so much fun at our field day! We were able to do every event and one we even did twice!
The students had a great day!
Please remember that Monday, June 5th, is Insect Day! We are excited to have parents and friends visit our classroom to see our insect models and reports.
Have a great weekend,
Mrs. Scheck
Today we released our butterflies. We were both happy to see them go and a little sad that we won't have them to look at in our classroom.
We also had so much fun at our field day! We were able to do every event and one we even did twice!
The students had a great day!
Please remember that Monday, June 5th, is Insect Day! We are excited to have parents and friends visit our classroom to see our insect models and reports.
Have a great weekend,
Mrs. Scheck
Tug of war
Watering can relay race!
Summer relay race!
Watering can relay!
Water balloon toss!
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
Week of May 22-26
Dear families,
Our class is excited to announce that we have 5 painted lady caterpillars hanging quietly in their chrysalis's. We have been reading about butterflies and learning how our caterpillars are going through metamorphosis. We will be so excited when we have butterflies to observe very soon! Many students have already turned in their insect reports and models.Reports and models are due Thursday, May 25th. If your child has not completed his or her report and needs more time, please let me know. We will begin sharing reports in class. Have your child read their report to you for practice!
We also have crickets in our room this week We have built their habitat and observed them. We learned the males are the only ones that can make the chirping sound we hear. We will watch the crickets over the next two weeks.
This week we have begun a new unit of writing called Opinion Writing. We read the book, Should We Squash Bugs. Today we began organizing our opinions onto a graphic organizer. We wrote 4 reasons why or why not to squash bugs. We shared our strongest reasons. Tomorrow I will teach students how to write a conclusion. We will work on Opinion Writing for the next three weeks of school.
In math we have been working on reviewing two digit addition and subtraction, telling time to the half hour, composite shapes and name collection boxes.
Upcoming events- mark your calendars...
Popcorn day is on Friday, May 26th.
Field day is June 2nd - please look for your child's field day shirt from the Fall Walkathon.
June 5th is Insect Day at 3:00-3:30 p.m. Parents are invited to come and see our Insect Projects!
Thank you!
Mrs. Scheck
Our class is excited to announce that we have 5 painted lady caterpillars hanging quietly in their chrysalis's. We have been reading about butterflies and learning how our caterpillars are going through metamorphosis. We will be so excited when we have butterflies to observe very soon! Many students have already turned in their insect reports and models.Reports and models are due Thursday, May 25th. If your child has not completed his or her report and needs more time, please let me know. We will begin sharing reports in class. Have your child read their report to you for practice!
We also have crickets in our room this week We have built their habitat and observed them. We learned the males are the only ones that can make the chirping sound we hear. We will watch the crickets over the next two weeks.
This week we have begun a new unit of writing called Opinion Writing. We read the book, Should We Squash Bugs. Today we began organizing our opinions onto a graphic organizer. We wrote 4 reasons why or why not to squash bugs. We shared our strongest reasons. Tomorrow I will teach students how to write a conclusion. We will work on Opinion Writing for the next three weeks of school.
In math we have been working on reviewing two digit addition and subtraction, telling time to the half hour, composite shapes and name collection boxes.
Upcoming events- mark your calendars...
Popcorn day is on Friday, May 26th.
Field day is June 2nd - please look for your child's field day shirt from the Fall Walkathon.
June 5th is Insect Day at 3:00-3:30 p.m. Parents are invited to come and see our Insect Projects!
Thank you!
Mrs. Scheck
Tuesday, May 9, 2017
May 8-12
Dear families,
We have been so busy the last few weeks in our classroom.
Here are a few of the exciting things we have had happening in room 109.
Science - We have three insects that we are caring for in our classroom: mealworms, painted lady caterpillars, and milkweed eggs. We have watched our mealworms change from larvae to pupae and now we have several adult darkling beetles that we have added to our mealworm colony. We five caterpillars in our classroom and we have learned that our caterpillars will become adult painted lady butterflies. They are in the larva stage right now. We wrote an observation of the caterpillars today.
Lastly, we have milkweed insects that have arrived to us in the first stage of their life cycle as eggs.
We set up the habitat today. We are eagerly awaiting our first milkweed insects. These insects do not go through a metamorphosis, they will go through several nymph stages. We hope to observe them over the next 3-4 weeks. We still have one more insect that will arrive late this month!
Reading -We have been reading Non-fiction books in class. Today we read A Harbor Seal Pup Grows Up. We discussed how a seal pup is a mammal that lives in the ocean. It drinks milk from its mother. We learned what a time line is and how to read a time line. We have also read many short Time For Kids articles that have features of non-fiction text such as: headings, diagrams, captions, labels, etc.
We have started our insect reports. All students have chosen an insect to study, write about and build a model of at home. Many students have told me they have already started writing their reports. I have suggested that they take their time and not wait until it is the night before! In class we are continuing to write "All Abouts." We have been working on how to write an interesting, short title to a "chapter" of our non-fiction books. We will talk about writing with comparisons this week. If you have any questions or your child needs a book or article to help he or she write their report, please let me know!
In math, we have completed Unit 8. Monday we took a unit test and the students did a great job! This was a unit that covered 3-D shapes, time to the half hour, addition and subtraction with 10, and composite shapes. Unit 8 tests will come home later this week. Please go over any concepts that were difficult for your child. We will begin Unit 9 tomorrow, which is a review of the entire year. Please look for the family letter tomorrow.
A letter is coming home today for Field Day which is on June 2nd. Please consider volunteering on this day, Mrs. Bellino will needs many volunteers to help make our field day a success!
Thank you,
Mrs. Scheck
We have been so busy the last few weeks in our classroom.
Here are a few of the exciting things we have had happening in room 109.
Science - We have three insects that we are caring for in our classroom: mealworms, painted lady caterpillars, and milkweed eggs. We have watched our mealworms change from larvae to pupae and now we have several adult darkling beetles that we have added to our mealworm colony. We five caterpillars in our classroom and we have learned that our caterpillars will become adult painted lady butterflies. They are in the larva stage right now. We wrote an observation of the caterpillars today.
Lastly, we have milkweed insects that have arrived to us in the first stage of their life cycle as eggs.
We set up the habitat today. We are eagerly awaiting our first milkweed insects. These insects do not go through a metamorphosis, they will go through several nymph stages. We hope to observe them over the next 3-4 weeks. We still have one more insect that will arrive late this month!
Reading -We have been reading Non-fiction books in class. Today we read A Harbor Seal Pup Grows Up. We discussed how a seal pup is a mammal that lives in the ocean. It drinks milk from its mother. We learned what a time line is and how to read a time line. We have also read many short Time For Kids articles that have features of non-fiction text such as: headings, diagrams, captions, labels, etc.
We have started our insect reports. All students have chosen an insect to study, write about and build a model of at home. Many students have told me they have already started writing their reports. I have suggested that they take their time and not wait until it is the night before! In class we are continuing to write "All Abouts." We have been working on how to write an interesting, short title to a "chapter" of our non-fiction books. We will talk about writing with comparisons this week. If you have any questions or your child needs a book or article to help he or she write their report, please let me know!
In math, we have completed Unit 8. Monday we took a unit test and the students did a great job! This was a unit that covered 3-D shapes, time to the half hour, addition and subtraction with 10, and composite shapes. Unit 8 tests will come home later this week. Please go over any concepts that were difficult for your child. We will begin Unit 9 tomorrow, which is a review of the entire year. Please look for the family letter tomorrow.
A letter is coming home today for Field Day which is on June 2nd. Please consider volunteering on this day, Mrs. Bellino will needs many volunteers to help make our field day a success!
Thank you,
Mrs. Scheck
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
April 17-21
Dear families,
This week in first grade we have started several new things...
In writing, we have started a new unit of writing called "All Abouts" or non-fiction writing.
We spent time yesterday looking at non-fiction books and noticing the features of non-fiction. Many students were able to find real photographs, diagrams, maps, captions, labels, table of contents, glossary and indexes in books. We began writing non-fiction pieces today. We started by making a list of "expert topics." Students wrote down as many topics they could that may be great non-fictions books to write. We started writing and shared our first attempts at non-fiction today. Tonight students will bring home with Realistic Fiction stories to keep at home.
In math, we have begun unit 8. We have started exploring equal shares. We discussed how to share a cracker equally with two people. We learned the names 1/2, one half, one of two and halves. The unit 8 family letter is going home today. A homelink is going home today to review this concept.
Today we read the book The Perfect Day for language workshop. We added the vocabulary word daffodil to our notebooks. We discussed the character traits of the bear: greedy and selfish. We discussed how the author was able to show how the animals in the story felt through the pictures.
We have just begun our science unit on Insects. A letter went home yesterday. Any day now we will be getting our first insect! We will be watching this insect go through metamorphosis. It will be a surprise what our insect will change into, so please keep it quiet at home if you already know! Students will get to have hands on experience with the insects, they will observe and write about them as well as care for them.
A field trip note went home last week! At this time, I have all the chaperones that are needed. We will be going to the Walled Lake Outdoor Center on May 2nd. The cost is $10.00 per student, $6.00 per chaperone. Money and permission slips are due on Wednesday, April 19th.
Thank you and have a great week!
Mrs. Scheck
This week in first grade we have started several new things...
In writing, we have started a new unit of writing called "All Abouts" or non-fiction writing.
We spent time yesterday looking at non-fiction books and noticing the features of non-fiction. Many students were able to find real photographs, diagrams, maps, captions, labels, table of contents, glossary and indexes in books. We began writing non-fiction pieces today. We started by making a list of "expert topics." Students wrote down as many topics they could that may be great non-fictions books to write. We started writing and shared our first attempts at non-fiction today. Tonight students will bring home with Realistic Fiction stories to keep at home.
In math, we have begun unit 8. We have started exploring equal shares. We discussed how to share a cracker equally with two people. We learned the names 1/2, one half, one of two and halves. The unit 8 family letter is going home today. A homelink is going home today to review this concept.
Today we read the book The Perfect Day for language workshop. We added the vocabulary word daffodil to our notebooks. We discussed the character traits of the bear: greedy and selfish. We discussed how the author was able to show how the animals in the story felt through the pictures.
We have just begun our science unit on Insects. A letter went home yesterday. Any day now we will be getting our first insect! We will be watching this insect go through metamorphosis. It will be a surprise what our insect will change into, so please keep it quiet at home if you already know! Students will get to have hands on experience with the insects, they will observe and write about them as well as care for them.
A field trip note went home last week! At this time, I have all the chaperones that are needed. We will be going to the Walled Lake Outdoor Center on May 2nd. The cost is $10.00 per student, $6.00 per chaperone. Money and permission slips are due on Wednesday, April 19th.
Thank you and have a great week!
Mrs. Scheck
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Week of March 27-31
Hello families!
This week in first grade we have been busy working on Realistic Fiction in reading and writing!
We read the book The Potato Chip Champ and Pink Tiara Cookies for Three (Both by Maria Dismondy). These two stories are in the Realistic Fiction genre. The Potato Chip Champ is about having empathy for others and we learned the character trait arrogant. In Pink Tiara Cookies for Three, we discussed jealousy and how to get along with others even when things do not go our way.
Our popcorn words this week are: or, for, more, store, porch and sport.
We are in the middle of a new unit of writing called Realistic Fiction.
The students have learned how to pretend a character and give the character a name. They have dreamed up different problems the character could have. Students are writing stories using dialogue to "show and not tell" what the character was thinking or feeling. We have been working on making our characters "unfreeze" in the story. This has been a fun unit of writing and the students have been so creative. We will be wrapping up this unit of writing after the Spring Break.
In math we have learned the defining attributes and non-defining attributes of shapes. For example, a triangle has three sides, three corners and no openings or curves. We have learned the color or size of a triangle is not a way to define it as a shape.
Today we learned something new in math. We looked for number patterns in "what's my rule?" There is a home link tonight to follow up on this new concept.
Please take a few minutes to view your child's report card online for the second marking period. If you need skyward access, please email to let me know!
There is no school next week for Spring Break (April 1-9)! We will return to school on Monday, April 10th.
Have a great week!
Mrs. Scheck
This week in first grade we have been busy working on Realistic Fiction in reading and writing!
We read the book The Potato Chip Champ and Pink Tiara Cookies for Three (Both by Maria Dismondy). These two stories are in the Realistic Fiction genre. The Potato Chip Champ is about having empathy for others and we learned the character trait arrogant. In Pink Tiara Cookies for Three, we discussed jealousy and how to get along with others even when things do not go our way.
Our popcorn words this week are: or, for, more, store, porch and sport.
We are in the middle of a new unit of writing called Realistic Fiction.
The students have learned how to pretend a character and give the character a name. They have dreamed up different problems the character could have. Students are writing stories using dialogue to "show and not tell" what the character was thinking or feeling. We have been working on making our characters "unfreeze" in the story. This has been a fun unit of writing and the students have been so creative. We will be wrapping up this unit of writing after the Spring Break.
In math we have learned the defining attributes and non-defining attributes of shapes. For example, a triangle has three sides, three corners and no openings or curves. We have learned the color or size of a triangle is not a way to define it as a shape.
Today we learned something new in math. We looked for number patterns in "what's my rule?" There is a home link tonight to follow up on this new concept.
Please take a few minutes to view your child's report card online for the second marking period. If you need skyward access, please email to let me know!
There is no school next week for Spring Break (April 1-9)! We will return to school on Monday, April 10th.
Have a great week!
Mrs. Scheck
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
Week of March 6-10
Hello families!
This week in first grade we are reading the story Little Tree and discussing the message in the story. We read the story yesterday and again today. We did a visual thinking routine called "See, Think, Wonder." We talked about what message the author was telling us. We learned two new vocabulary words: unsure and confident. We will write about the story tomorrow.
Our new popcorn words focus on CVCE words (consonant, vowel, consonant, silent e). We are learning how "I" often says "I" when it has an e at the end in words such as bite, kite, like, etc.
We also are learning the spelling pattern -ight. We will practice these words all week in class. Please remember to do the popcorn words at home to reinforce the patterns at home.
Reading groups - a quick reminder... If your child brings home a book, please have them read it to you and send it back to school the very next school day. We need those books for instruction. If one book is missing it is hard to have enough copies for the group. If a child loses a book, please let me know asap. If you child does not return their book to school, I cannot send a new book until the old one is returned. Thank you in advance for helping your child to remember his or her book!
In writing, we are moving on to a new unit of writing called Realistic Fiction. We will read Henry and Mudge, a chapter book series, to learn what elements make a story realistic fiction. We will discuss how to create characters and how to get a character into and out of trouble.
In math, we are reviewing place value today. Tomorrow we will finish the last lesson in Unit 6. On Thursday we will take a unit test and on Friday we will have a cumulative review test. Please practice adding doubles and near doubles, telling time to the hour, adding two digit numbers, and number collection boxes.
Next week we have a half day on Wednesday, March 15th. School will be dismissed at 12:09 p.m.
First grade is making Leprechaun traps that day! We are asking parents for donations to make our traps. Your child will need a cereal box or a shoe box. We will decorate our traps and construct them on March 15th. We will put our traps out on St. Patrick's day and try to catch a Leprechaun. Any fun items you are willing to donate such as: stickers, rainbows, fake gold, etc. are welcome! Send your Leprechaun trap items to school by Tuesday, March 14th.
Our crazy March weather is unpredictable! Please be sure to send boots to school for muddy days and if it is snowy, continue to send your child to school with snow pants, hats, mittens and boots to be sure they stay warm outside!
Have a great week!
Mrs. Scheck
This week in first grade we are reading the story Little Tree and discussing the message in the story. We read the story yesterday and again today. We did a visual thinking routine called "See, Think, Wonder." We talked about what message the author was telling us. We learned two new vocabulary words: unsure and confident. We will write about the story tomorrow.
Our new popcorn words focus on CVCE words (consonant, vowel, consonant, silent e). We are learning how "I" often says "I" when it has an e at the end in words such as bite, kite, like, etc.
We also are learning the spelling pattern -ight. We will practice these words all week in class. Please remember to do the popcorn words at home to reinforce the patterns at home.
Reading groups - a quick reminder... If your child brings home a book, please have them read it to you and send it back to school the very next school day. We need those books for instruction. If one book is missing it is hard to have enough copies for the group. If a child loses a book, please let me know asap. If you child does not return their book to school, I cannot send a new book until the old one is returned. Thank you in advance for helping your child to remember his or her book!
In writing, we are moving on to a new unit of writing called Realistic Fiction. We will read Henry and Mudge, a chapter book series, to learn what elements make a story realistic fiction. We will discuss how to create characters and how to get a character into and out of trouble.
In math, we are reviewing place value today. Tomorrow we will finish the last lesson in Unit 6. On Thursday we will take a unit test and on Friday we will have a cumulative review test. Please practice adding doubles and near doubles, telling time to the hour, adding two digit numbers, and number collection boxes.
Next week we have a half day on Wednesday, March 15th. School will be dismissed at 12:09 p.m.
First grade is making Leprechaun traps that day! We are asking parents for donations to make our traps. Your child will need a cereal box or a shoe box. We will decorate our traps and construct them on March 15th. We will put our traps out on St. Patrick's day and try to catch a Leprechaun. Any fun items you are willing to donate such as: stickers, rainbows, fake gold, etc. are welcome! Send your Leprechaun trap items to school by Tuesday, March 14th.
Our crazy March weather is unpredictable! Please be sure to send boots to school for muddy days and if it is snowy, continue to send your child to school with snow pants, hats, mittens and boots to be sure they stay warm outside!
Have a great week!
Mrs. Scheck
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