Hello families,
This week our class ended our opinion writing unit. We also had a great first week with book clubs! We are in the middle of unit 7 in math and we have planted Brassica plants and grass to observe for in science! It has been a busy week!
On Thursday, April 18th, we wrapped up our opinion writing with a celebration! Students chose one book they loved the most to write about. We began with a rough draft and used our rough drafts to compose a final copy. We then made posters to advertise the book to a fellow second grader. Lastly we colored trophies to give to our books for being so awesome! We shared books, the posters we made, a paper and a trophy on our desks. Classes visited each other and walked around sampling the books. I heard many positive comments from readers! Mrs. Russel came and visited too to see what we have been working on the last several weeks.
Our new unit of writing will be Poetry. We will begin next week by using poet's eyes to see the world differently. We will listen to poems and try looking at objects with our poets eyes. We will experiment writing our poems with different line breaks. We will learn write poems that create a picture in our heads. We will listen for the music inside of poems.
In phonics we will continue to use www.pearsonrealize.com to practice word study. This week we worked with R controlled vowels that appear in words with -ar, -are, -air. Next week we will work again on R controlled vowels with a new pattern: er, ear, eer. The class has been doing their sort on the computer, saving us paper!
We are continuing our work with book clubs. Many groups have already read a whole chapter book and completed their first book club. We wrote a retelling of a whole chapter, we noticed traits about the main character and wrote them down to share. Next week several groups will be selecting new books. In class students wrote reviews about their book club book to share with another reader. The students are enjoying the new format for reading workshop. Please remind your child to bring his or her book to school every day. Even if they do not complete the reading or the writing, he or she can work in class during reading workshop to read from their book. They will fall further behind their group if their book is not here.
In math, we have been measuring with the yardstick and meter stick. We practiced estimating the size of items in our room, then doing actual measurements. Next week we will learn about arm span, collect data for standing jumps and make a frequency table. We will be ending unit 7 at the end of next week. Look for an email letting you know that the unit 7 study guide will come home! We will try doing another kahoot to review in class as they children loved the one we did for social studies!
Science is in full swing in our classroom! The Brassica plants are doing great. We have observed and measured their growth. We have discussed and read about parts of a plant: roots, stem, leaves, true leaves and bud. We will continue to observe next week. We planted grass today! We will observe it growing and soon we will be cutting it as it gets longer.
We are getting prepared for a field trip to Mill Race Village on May 22nd. Permission slips went home earlier this week. In social studies, we will begin learning the history of Walled Lake and learn about the amusement park that was once in town.. We will learn about schools in the past and present and compare them using a Venn Diagram. We will make personal time lines as an at home project - an email will come home before I send it.
Have a wonderful holiday weekend!
Mrs. Scheck
Thursday, April 18, 2019
Tuesday, April 9, 2019
Week of April 8-12
Hello families!
Welcome back from Spring Break! I hope everyone enjoyed some time outside, doing something they enjoy!
This week we will be wrapping up our opinion writing unit. Students have selected one book they think is so good that it deserves an award. They will finish their rough drafts, write a final copy and lastly make a poster about the book they select. We will be sharing our opinion papers and favorite books with the other second graders soon.
In reading, we will be starting a new unit called "Series books" and we will begin Book Clubs. Students will preview books and make a list of their top three choices. I will put students into a book club and we will learn how to have discussions about the books. This unit is very fun. I will impress upon each group the importance of doing the actual reading and writing! Books clubs work well when everyone does their part!
Our phonics focus for this week are words that have r-controlled vowels. We will use the online component to practice sorting, writing and reading words with the patterns -ar, -or.
In math, we have begun unit 7. The family letter went home before spring break. This week we will work on adding three numbers and learn to how to play two new games called Hit the Target and Basketball Addition. We will review how to make a pictograph. Home links will come home on Tuesday and Thursday.
In social studies, we practiced sorting wants and needs. We reviewed how wants are the things we want but we can survive without them! We will review producers and consumers. We will wrap up this unit and have a short assessment on Friday.
Our new science kits have arrived. We will begin a new unit on Plants and Life cycles. Students will be growing many different types of plants. We will begin with the fast growing Brassica. We will observe the plant over several days, recording changes. This unit is very hands on. We encourage students to begin looking outside for new plants! It is the perfect time of year to be learning about Plants!
We are raising money for Scarlet's Smile, a playground for all children, that will be handicap accessible. Smencils sales began this week. The students may purchase smencils, tattoos and bracelets before or after lunch.
Have a wonderful week!
Mrs. Scheck
Welcome back from Spring Break! I hope everyone enjoyed some time outside, doing something they enjoy!
This week we will be wrapping up our opinion writing unit. Students have selected one book they think is so good that it deserves an award. They will finish their rough drafts, write a final copy and lastly make a poster about the book they select. We will be sharing our opinion papers and favorite books with the other second graders soon.
In reading, we will be starting a new unit called "Series books" and we will begin Book Clubs. Students will preview books and make a list of their top three choices. I will put students into a book club and we will learn how to have discussions about the books. This unit is very fun. I will impress upon each group the importance of doing the actual reading and writing! Books clubs work well when everyone does their part!
Our phonics focus for this week are words that have r-controlled vowels. We will use the online component to practice sorting, writing and reading words with the patterns -ar, -or.
In math, we have begun unit 7. The family letter went home before spring break. This week we will work on adding three numbers and learn to how to play two new games called Hit the Target and Basketball Addition. We will review how to make a pictograph. Home links will come home on Tuesday and Thursday.
In social studies, we practiced sorting wants and needs. We reviewed how wants are the things we want but we can survive without them! We will review producers and consumers. We will wrap up this unit and have a short assessment on Friday.
Our new science kits have arrived. We will begin a new unit on Plants and Life cycles. Students will be growing many different types of plants. We will begin with the fast growing Brassica. We will observe the plant over several days, recording changes. This unit is very hands on. We encourage students to begin looking outside for new plants! It is the perfect time of year to be learning about Plants!
We are raising money for Scarlet's Smile, a playground for all children, that will be handicap accessible. Smencils sales began this week. The students may purchase smencils, tattoos and bracelets before or after lunch.
Have a wonderful week!
Mrs. Scheck
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
Week of March 25-29
Hello families,
We are off to a good start this week! The students are continuing to work on: opinion writing, reading to find the main idea, using strategies to add two digit and subtract two digit numbers, and working on a new vowel team: ei, ie.
In reading, we will continue to read books with chapters and determine the most important part. this is an important skill. When students are asked to retell as story, it helps them to pause in their reading and write what happened. We have discussed characters, problem, solution, main events, and some details because they all go into a good retelling.
In writing, we are selecting a book we have read to give an award to. We will write a rough draft, outlining three reasons we think the book is great, then we will use the rough draft to write a final copy. We will also make a poster advertising the book to other students. After spring break, we will share the books with other second grade classes in a celebration to end our opinion writing unit.
In math, we are at the end of Unit 6. We worked yesterday previewing unit 7 through explorations. We will be working on measurement, addition with four or more addends, generating and organizing data, and interpreting data. The math test for Unit 6 is Wednesday, March 27th. The study guide is due tomorrow. We will do a "math scoot" in class to help us prepare!
In phonics we have a new vowel team ei, and ie. We will work with words containing these vowels all week. I hope you had a chance to try the sort on www.pearsonrealize.com. It is just another tool for practice. We will be doing the sort in class this week along with other activities from the site!
Second grade musical information- a note went home from Ms. Emmet last week. It details what the students are wearing. We will perform the musical in school on Thursday, March 28th. We will perform again at night on Thursday. Students arrive at 6:30 p.m.
The book fair is open during lunch time and on Thursday night! If you like to shop with your child and help him or her select books, you can do that. If your child bring money to school to shop, the book fair is open at lunch time and he or she can shop!
Have a great day!
Mrs. Scheck
We are off to a good start this week! The students are continuing to work on: opinion writing, reading to find the main idea, using strategies to add two digit and subtract two digit numbers, and working on a new vowel team: ei, ie.
In reading, we will continue to read books with chapters and determine the most important part. this is an important skill. When students are asked to retell as story, it helps them to pause in their reading and write what happened. We have discussed characters, problem, solution, main events, and some details because they all go into a good retelling.
In writing, we are selecting a book we have read to give an award to. We will write a rough draft, outlining three reasons we think the book is great, then we will use the rough draft to write a final copy. We will also make a poster advertising the book to other students. After spring break, we will share the books with other second grade classes in a celebration to end our opinion writing unit.
In math, we are at the end of Unit 6. We worked yesterday previewing unit 7 through explorations. We will be working on measurement, addition with four or more addends, generating and organizing data, and interpreting data. The math test for Unit 6 is Wednesday, March 27th. The study guide is due tomorrow. We will do a "math scoot" in class to help us prepare!
In phonics we have a new vowel team ei, and ie. We will work with words containing these vowels all week. I hope you had a chance to try the sort on www.pearsonrealize.com. It is just another tool for practice. We will be doing the sort in class this week along with other activities from the site!
Second grade musical information- a note went home from Ms. Emmet last week. It details what the students are wearing. We will perform the musical in school on Thursday, March 28th. We will perform again at night on Thursday. Students arrive at 6:30 p.m.
The book fair is open during lunch time and on Thursday night! If you like to shop with your child and help him or her select books, you can do that. If your child bring money to school to shop, the book fair is open at lunch time and he or she can shop!
Have a great day!
Mrs. Scheck
Sunday, March 17, 2019
Week of March 18-22
Dear families,
I hope you enjoyed the little bit of sunshine on Sunday and maybe forgot about the snow on Saturday morning! My oldest son turned 15 on St. Patrick's day and we celebrated by going to his swim meet!
In reading this week we will continue to work on looking for literary language in reading workshop. We are practicing new reader's theaters plays for the week as well. We have been noticing similies (comparisons), playful language such as "the words flew out the window", alliteration and repeating phrases. We will read more about a favorite character, Mercy Watson.
In writing, students have been writing longer opinion letters in the form of booklets. We have been using a check list to remind ourselves what an opinion letter includes. We wrote about the characters, retold a favorite part, talked about the title and the cover and a lesson that is learned through reading the book. This week we will continue to write opinion letters, making them longer.
In Social Studies, we have begun the new unit on Producers and Consumers. We have learned we are all consumers! We focused on ice cream and the processing of ice cream. We will make a flow chart to tell the important steps in the process.
In math, we will continue to work on number stories with more than one step. We learned how to make a ball park estimate (rounding numbers to the nearest 10). I can see this will take a little more practice for us!
On Tuesday our class will visit the Media Center and shop for books with Mrs. Banks. If your child forgets his or her money, we can have students shop during lunch recess.
Friday is a half day for students, dismissal time is 12:09. Please email me any changes in your child's daily dismissal routine to avoid any confusion that day.
March is reading month book logs are due Monday. Please total your child's minutes and write them in the box at the bottom of the book log for week 3 - this saves me some time!
Thank you!
Mrs. Scheck
I hope you enjoyed the little bit of sunshine on Sunday and maybe forgot about the snow on Saturday morning! My oldest son turned 15 on St. Patrick's day and we celebrated by going to his swim meet!
In reading this week we will continue to work on looking for literary language in reading workshop. We are practicing new reader's theaters plays for the week as well. We have been noticing similies (comparisons), playful language such as "the words flew out the window", alliteration and repeating phrases. We will read more about a favorite character, Mercy Watson.
In writing, students have been writing longer opinion letters in the form of booklets. We have been using a check list to remind ourselves what an opinion letter includes. We wrote about the characters, retold a favorite part, talked about the title and the cover and a lesson that is learned through reading the book. This week we will continue to write opinion letters, making them longer.
In Social Studies, we have begun the new unit on Producers and Consumers. We have learned we are all consumers! We focused on ice cream and the processing of ice cream. We will make a flow chart to tell the important steps in the process.
In math, we will continue to work on number stories with more than one step. We learned how to make a ball park estimate (rounding numbers to the nearest 10). I can see this will take a little more practice for us!
On Tuesday our class will visit the Media Center and shop for books with Mrs. Banks. If your child forgets his or her money, we can have students shop during lunch recess.
Friday is a half day for students, dismissal time is 12:09. Please email me any changes in your child's daily dismissal routine to avoid any confusion that day.
March is reading month book logs are due Monday. Please total your child's minutes and write them in the box at the bottom of the book log for week 3 - this saves me some time!
Thank you!
Mrs. Scheck
Thursday, March 14, 2019
Leprechaun traps!
Hello families!
Today we made Leprechaun traps in our classroom! Students brought in boxes, decorations, and fake gold to make their traps. They made a plan first, then carried out their plan. Many students shared their materials and were helping each other make traps. They had a blast! The traps are set for tomorrow and who knows... maybe a little leprechaun will make his way to Room 105!!
Today we made Leprechaun traps in our classroom! Students brought in boxes, decorations, and fake gold to make their traps. They made a plan first, then carried out their plan. Many students shared their materials and were helping each other make traps. They had a blast! The traps are set for tomorrow and who knows... maybe a little leprechaun will make his way to Room 105!!
Friday, March 8, 2019
Week of March 11-15
Dear families,
What a fun Friday we had at the Wixom Talent Show! So many wonderful acts and great kids giving their best on stage! The audience absolutely enjoyed it!
This week in our classroom we will continue Reading Workshop, we will look for literary language in our books. We will notice when authors play with words and how authors use comparisons in their descriptions.
In Writing Workshop we will continue to work on opinion writing. The students will: learn how to keep their audience in mind when writing their letters, begin using an opinion writing checklist, and how to use paragraphs to tell about more than one part of the story. Students have begun sending letters to classmates, soon we will write to other second graders from Wixom.
We have begun Unit 6 in math. Last week we learned how to use a diagram to solve a number story. This week we will start working on writing our story problems for addition and subtraction. We will practice solving two-step number stories, and students will learn how to solve partial sums addition (adding tens and ones first).
We have begun a new unit of Social Studies on Producers and Consumers. We will new some new vocabulary: producer, consumers, wants, needs and resources. We will begin learning about how paper, ice cream and other goods are produced.
In Phonics, we will work on short e and long e. We will sort patterns with CVC, CVVC, using ea (each) and ee (jeep).
Please remember to use i-ready for lessons at home on the computer for reading and math.
Upcoming events
March 9th: Book orders due
March 22nd: Half day for students
March 29th: Last day before spring break (April 1-April 7)
Have a great weekend,
Mrs. Scheck
What a fun Friday we had at the Wixom Talent Show! So many wonderful acts and great kids giving their best on stage! The audience absolutely enjoyed it!
This week in our classroom we will continue Reading Workshop, we will look for literary language in our books. We will notice when authors play with words and how authors use comparisons in their descriptions.
In Writing Workshop we will continue to work on opinion writing. The students will: learn how to keep their audience in mind when writing their letters, begin using an opinion writing checklist, and how to use paragraphs to tell about more than one part of the story. Students have begun sending letters to classmates, soon we will write to other second graders from Wixom.
We have begun Unit 6 in math. Last week we learned how to use a diagram to solve a number story. This week we will start working on writing our story problems for addition and subtraction. We will practice solving two-step number stories, and students will learn how to solve partial sums addition (adding tens and ones first).
We have begun a new unit of Social Studies on Producers and Consumers. We will new some new vocabulary: producer, consumers, wants, needs and resources. We will begin learning about how paper, ice cream and other goods are produced.
In Phonics, we will work on short e and long e. We will sort patterns with CVC, CVVC, using ea (each) and ee (jeep).
Please remember to use i-ready for lessons at home on the computer for reading and math.
Upcoming events
March 9th: Book orders due
March 22nd: Half day for students
March 29th: Last day before spring break (April 1-April 7)
Have a great weekend,
Mrs. Scheck
Friday, March 1, 2019
Week of March 4-8
Dear families,
What a busy week we had in Room 105!
In reading this week we will continue with our new unit in reading. We will work on making our reading sound phrased and fluent. We will practice in our reader's theater groups until our reading sounds smooth. We will perform our reader's theaters for each other in class.
Then we will prepare to go into a kindergarten or first grade classroom to perform!
The students are enjoying reading their "plays" together and have really worked on making their voices sound like the characters! If your child brings home a reader's theater book, please return it on the following school day! Often times we are sharing the books with a partner (some of the groups have 10 students) because each reader's theater book has 6 copies of the book.
In writing, we have worked hard on selecting a book to share an opinion on with a friend. In our letter writing this week, we will learn how to write with an audience in mind. We will use an opinion writing checklist to make sure we include the main parts of an opinion letter. We will tell about more than one part of the book in our letters. We will begin to send letters only after using the checklist, using envelopes to give them to a friend or classmate!
In phonics this week we will review short u and learn two ways long u can look: ue and ew.
We will practice writing the words in class and do a short and long u sort.
In math, we are beginning Unit 6. A few students will need to complete the Unit 5 test, shortly after I will send home the tests. A Unit 6 family letter is coming home today, March 1st. Please keep the letter handy as it contains answers to the homelinks for this unit.
In this unit students will continue learning how to solve number stories and how to use a new diagram called a comparison diagram. We will also work on partial sums addition, which is a formal addition strategy.
Social Studies - we will continue to work on learning the history of Walled Lake. We will read the Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polloco. We will discuss events of the past and what is history.
Continue to have your child work on i-ready lessons at home 2-3 times per week for 15 minutes.
The March is Reading Month Challenge came home today! Mrs. Russel is challenging 2nd grade to read 30 minutes a night!! See the pink note that came home on Friday for more details!
Thank you and have a great weekend,
Mrs. Scheck
What a busy week we had in Room 105!
In reading this week we will continue with our new unit in reading. We will work on making our reading sound phrased and fluent. We will practice in our reader's theater groups until our reading sounds smooth. We will perform our reader's theaters for each other in class.
Then we will prepare to go into a kindergarten or first grade classroom to perform!
The students are enjoying reading their "plays" together and have really worked on making their voices sound like the characters! If your child brings home a reader's theater book, please return it on the following school day! Often times we are sharing the books with a partner (some of the groups have 10 students) because each reader's theater book has 6 copies of the book.
In writing, we have worked hard on selecting a book to share an opinion on with a friend. In our letter writing this week, we will learn how to write with an audience in mind. We will use an opinion writing checklist to make sure we include the main parts of an opinion letter. We will tell about more than one part of the book in our letters. We will begin to send letters only after using the checklist, using envelopes to give them to a friend or classmate!
In phonics this week we will review short u and learn two ways long u can look: ue and ew.
We will practice writing the words in class and do a short and long u sort.
In math, we are beginning Unit 6. A few students will need to complete the Unit 5 test, shortly after I will send home the tests. A Unit 6 family letter is coming home today, March 1st. Please keep the letter handy as it contains answers to the homelinks for this unit.
In this unit students will continue learning how to solve number stories and how to use a new diagram called a comparison diagram. We will also work on partial sums addition, which is a formal addition strategy.
Social Studies - we will continue to work on learning the history of Walled Lake. We will read the Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polloco. We will discuss events of the past and what is history.
Continue to have your child work on i-ready lessons at home 2-3 times per week for 15 minutes.
The March is Reading Month Challenge came home today! Mrs. Russel is challenging 2nd grade to read 30 minutes a night!! See the pink note that came home on Friday for more details!
Thank you and have a great weekend,
Mrs. Scheck
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