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
Friday, January 17, 2020
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
Friday, December 20, 2019
Happy Holidays!
Dear families,
Wow, It is hard to believe we are already here! Winter break begins tomorrow, Dec. 21st. The students will be on break until January 6th. The time has been flying by!
So far we have had a great year. I hope you enjoy your holiday with your family and treasure the time spent... they only stay little for so long!
When we return in January we will begin a new unit of reading and writing.
In reading we will begin a new unit called Series Books. We will read books in a series and notice how characters behave. We will study character traits and development. Students will be in book clubs based on their choice of books.
In January we will have our second I-Ready assessment. I will inform parents when it will be taking place.
In writing, we will also start a new unit on Opinion writing. This unit fits well with Series Books, we will use the books we read to write opinion letters about them. We will be working on this unit for the next few months!
In math, we are going to complete unit 4 after the break. We have covered measurement to the inch. We will wrap up the last few lessons on place value, telling time and units of measurement.
We have completed our Air and Weather science unit. We reviewed the ABC's of air and weather and wrote what we knew in our All about the Weather books!
Social Studies will begin again after the break. We will be working on communities, mapping and the history of Walled Lake!
Thank you for sending your children to me each day, I feel so grateful to have such a wonderful, kind, caring class! Your children are so special and they give me a wonderful sense of purpose every day!
See you in 2020!
Mrs. Scheck
Wow, It is hard to believe we are already here! Winter break begins tomorrow, Dec. 21st. The students will be on break until January 6th. The time has been flying by!
So far we have had a great year. I hope you enjoy your holiday with your family and treasure the time spent... they only stay little for so long!
When we return in January we will begin a new unit of reading and writing.
In reading we will begin a new unit called Series Books. We will read books in a series and notice how characters behave. We will study character traits and development. Students will be in book clubs based on their choice of books.
In January we will have our second I-Ready assessment. I will inform parents when it will be taking place.
In writing, we will also start a new unit on Opinion writing. This unit fits well with Series Books, we will use the books we read to write opinion letters about them. We will be working on this unit for the next few months!
In math, we are going to complete unit 4 after the break. We have covered measurement to the inch. We will wrap up the last few lessons on place value, telling time and units of measurement.
We have completed our Air and Weather science unit. We reviewed the ABC's of air and weather and wrote what we knew in our All about the Weather books!
Social Studies will begin again after the break. We will be working on communities, mapping and the history of Walled Lake!
Thank you for sending your children to me each day, I feel so grateful to have such a wonderful, kind, caring class! Your children are so special and they give me a wonderful sense of purpose every day!
See you in 2020!
Mrs. Scheck
Friday, December 6, 2019
December 9-13
Hello! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with your families. My family enjoyed seeing out of town relatives, watching football, eating and playing some glow golf!
We are already well into the month of December and we have been so busy with lots of fun and learning in our classroom!
In reading workshop we are continuing to work on reading non-fiction. This past week we read non-fiction books and looked for features such as: a glossary, index and bold words. We used the book Tigers for practice using an entire page to figure out a meaning of a word. Students looked at vocabulary words and found ideas that were similar to those words to share in reading workshop. Today we practiced reading our non-fiction books and sounding like an expert.
This week we began writing informational or non-fiction books. Students brainstormed topics they know a lot about and began writing books on them. We started with putting together a table of contents and writing introductions. We used a writing check lists to begin seeing if second graders are able to include the key parts of a non-fiction book. We will continue to work on non-fiction books until the end of the month. Next we will put a "how to" page into our books and add a glossary at the end picking 2-3 words that we want to teach our readers.
In Phonics, we worked on noticing word patterns in rhyming books. We made lists of words with the same pattern (ack, ill, ight, etc). We used our lists to write rhyming books and today we are sharing our books with Mrs. Megyesi's kindergarten class. Look for pictures on twitter!
We started unit 4 in math, a family letter came home on Monday. Keep the family letter to refer to when your child is working on home links. This unit is all about measurement. We began with telling time on analog clocks to the five minute mark. This skill is developing for many students, practice at home on the paper clock to help your child. We will work next week on place value using base ten blocks to represent numbers and to compare numbers.
We are nearing the end of our science unit this month. We will still record the weather in our science journals. We have worked with tools to learn about measuring the weather using an anemometer, a thermometer, a rain gauge, and a weather vane. We made pin wheels and whirligigs to show how wind moves outside. We studied these types of clouds: cumulus, nimbus, cirrus and stratus. We made a poster and used cotton balls to show the types of clouds and how they look. We read about the changing seasons and learned how the northern hemisphere is tipped away from the sun in winter. This causes the nights to be longer and for us to have less daylight! We discussed where the equator is and how it stays warm year round in countries near it. Next we will make a paper kite and hopefully get outside to try our kites next week!
We are getting ready for our field trip on December 19th. I have the necessary amount of chaperones signed up to go! On that day we will be both outside and inside, students and parents please bring warm clothes for being outside. The experiments we will be doing will show how animals survive in winter. Students will need a sack lunch that day. We will return to school around 1:30 p.m.
Next week is parent teacher conferences! The students have a half day and are dismissed at 11:25 p.m. Parents will meet with me and get their child's first report card for the year. I look forward to seeing you on Dec. 12th!
Have a great weekend,
Mrs. Scheck
We are already well into the month of December and we have been so busy with lots of fun and learning in our classroom!
In reading workshop we are continuing to work on reading non-fiction. This past week we read non-fiction books and looked for features such as: a glossary, index and bold words. We used the book Tigers for practice using an entire page to figure out a meaning of a word. Students looked at vocabulary words and found ideas that were similar to those words to share in reading workshop. Today we practiced reading our non-fiction books and sounding like an expert.
This week we began writing informational or non-fiction books. Students brainstormed topics they know a lot about and began writing books on them. We started with putting together a table of contents and writing introductions. We used a writing check lists to begin seeing if second graders are able to include the key parts of a non-fiction book. We will continue to work on non-fiction books until the end of the month. Next we will put a "how to" page into our books and add a glossary at the end picking 2-3 words that we want to teach our readers.
In Phonics, we worked on noticing word patterns in rhyming books. We made lists of words with the same pattern (ack, ill, ight, etc). We used our lists to write rhyming books and today we are sharing our books with Mrs. Megyesi's kindergarten class. Look for pictures on twitter!
We started unit 4 in math, a family letter came home on Monday. Keep the family letter to refer to when your child is working on home links. This unit is all about measurement. We began with telling time on analog clocks to the five minute mark. This skill is developing for many students, practice at home on the paper clock to help your child. We will work next week on place value using base ten blocks to represent numbers and to compare numbers.
We are nearing the end of our science unit this month. We will still record the weather in our science journals. We have worked with tools to learn about measuring the weather using an anemometer, a thermometer, a rain gauge, and a weather vane. We made pin wheels and whirligigs to show how wind moves outside. We studied these types of clouds: cumulus, nimbus, cirrus and stratus. We made a poster and used cotton balls to show the types of clouds and how they look. We read about the changing seasons and learned how the northern hemisphere is tipped away from the sun in winter. This causes the nights to be longer and for us to have less daylight! We discussed where the equator is and how it stays warm year round in countries near it. Next we will make a paper kite and hopefully get outside to try our kites next week!
We are getting ready for our field trip on December 19th. I have the necessary amount of chaperones signed up to go! On that day we will be both outside and inside, students and parents please bring warm clothes for being outside. The experiments we will be doing will show how animals survive in winter. Students will need a sack lunch that day. We will return to school around 1:30 p.m.
Next week is parent teacher conferences! The students have a half day and are dismissed at 11:25 p.m. Parents will meet with me and get their child's first report card for the year. I look forward to seeing you on Dec. 12th!
Have a great weekend,
Mrs. Scheck
Friday, November 15, 2019
November 11-15
Hello families!
This week has been so busy here at Wixom Elementary! With the arrival of snow, winter weather and our MSU/U of M coin challenge we have had an exciting week!
In phonics we worked on learning trouble maker words. The words that are often mispelled by second graders are: about, here, school, what, was, with, could, and very. These words cannot be "sounded out" because they don't follow phonetic rules, hence the word troublemakers!
Students worked with a partner to come up with a way for remembering each word. Then they made posters with reminders for how to remember. We graduated the words to our word wall today! We also put the words into our personal word books! Next week we will work on using word parts and patterns to spell new words. We will use nursery rhymes to zoom in on powerful word patterns. We will work specifically with the word patterns: ill, ock, oon, own and ot.
In writing this week, we used a writing check list to revise our lab reports. We added the science term: friction - when two things rub together. We revised with a partner to fix spelling, capitals and periods. Next week we will do another lab report on a different experiment.
In our non-fiction reading unit we are "growing our knowledge" by paying close attention to details. We focused this week on reading the details in directions for Legos, a poster about the clouds, an informational poster about sources of water and a globe. We also looked closely at a penny and noticed all kinds of new things - numbers, words, pictures, etc. Through observation we came up with questions about the penny to research and learn more about. We will continue to work on non-fiction and begin reading non-fiction books asking first, "what is this book trying to teach me?" We will read non-fiction books at each child's level and ask what surprised us reading about a new topic.
In math, we are working on unit 3. We have been practicing ways to subtract and using new strategies: counting up and counting back> We practiced solving for a missing addend in the game Salute! We used fact triangles to practice subtraction and addition facts. We played the number grid difference. Next week we will learn how to play "what's my rule" and about subtracting with 1 and z). We will learn how to use a doubles fact to subtract.
In Science, we are completing our last air experiment today with balloon rockets! Students will used compressed air inside of a balloon to launch a balloon rocket. This experiment is a lot of fun and it shows how air can be compressed and how it moves things. Next week we will move on to weather experiments. We will learn about the thermometer, how to use a rain gauge and about wind speed making an anemometer to show how scientist measure how fast the wind is blowing.
We will soon begin a new social studies unit on maps!
Thank you for sending in the appropriate snow clothes each day for your child, we have been adjusting to using our snow clothes and we are working on keeping track of them (boots, mittens, hats). If you are missing any items, the lost and found has many unclaimed things!
Have a great weekend,
Mrs. Scheck
This week has been so busy here at Wixom Elementary! With the arrival of snow, winter weather and our MSU/U of M coin challenge we have had an exciting week!
In phonics we worked on learning trouble maker words. The words that are often mispelled by second graders are: about, here, school, what, was, with, could, and very. These words cannot be "sounded out" because they don't follow phonetic rules, hence the word troublemakers!
Students worked with a partner to come up with a way for remembering each word. Then they made posters with reminders for how to remember. We graduated the words to our word wall today! We also put the words into our personal word books! Next week we will work on using word parts and patterns to spell new words. We will use nursery rhymes to zoom in on powerful word patterns. We will work specifically with the word patterns: ill, ock, oon, own and ot.
In writing this week, we used a writing check list to revise our lab reports. We added the science term: friction - when two things rub together. We revised with a partner to fix spelling, capitals and periods. Next week we will do another lab report on a different experiment.
In our non-fiction reading unit we are "growing our knowledge" by paying close attention to details. We focused this week on reading the details in directions for Legos, a poster about the clouds, an informational poster about sources of water and a globe. We also looked closely at a penny and noticed all kinds of new things - numbers, words, pictures, etc. Through observation we came up with questions about the penny to research and learn more about. We will continue to work on non-fiction and begin reading non-fiction books asking first, "what is this book trying to teach me?" We will read non-fiction books at each child's level and ask what surprised us reading about a new topic.
In math, we are working on unit 3. We have been practicing ways to subtract and using new strategies: counting up and counting back> We practiced solving for a missing addend in the game Salute! We used fact triangles to practice subtraction and addition facts. We played the number grid difference. Next week we will learn how to play "what's my rule" and about subtracting with 1 and z). We will learn how to use a doubles fact to subtract.
In Science, we are completing our last air experiment today with balloon rockets! Students will used compressed air inside of a balloon to launch a balloon rocket. This experiment is a lot of fun and it shows how air can be compressed and how it moves things. Next week we will move on to weather experiments. We will learn about the thermometer, how to use a rain gauge and about wind speed making an anemometer to show how scientist measure how fast the wind is blowing.
We will soon begin a new social studies unit on maps!
Thank you for sending in the appropriate snow clothes each day for your child, we have been adjusting to using our snow clothes and we are working on keeping track of them (boots, mittens, hats). If you are missing any items, the lost and found has many unclaimed things!
Have a great weekend,
Mrs. Scheck
Friday, November 1, 2019
Week of November 4-8
Hello families,
Wow! November is here, I can't believe how quickly October went!
Snow was on the ground at my house and it was very cold this morning.
This weekend would be a good time to get out the boots, mittens, hats, etc. so your child will be ready when the snow starts to stick!
In reading this week, we have begun a non-fiction unit. We spent time reading In the Time of Knights and learning all about their weapons, armor, how to become a knight, the code of chivalry and much more. The book was very engaging! We will read all about tigers next week and learn how to anticipate what you will learn when reading non-fiction. We will use features such as captions and detailed photos to learn more. We will practice reading information like a reporter or an expert on the topic.
In writing, we have start a new unit on non-fiction. We began writing science lab reports and learned the parts of a lab report: a question, a hypothesis, procedures, results, conclusion. We conducted an experiment where we asked will a matchbox car go farther on carpet or a bare floor, we did multiple trials and recorded our results! We included a results and conclusion page to show our thinking about why the car goes farther on a bare floor versus the carpet. We discussed friction and how it works to slow the car down. Next we will change a part (variable) and re-do the experiment, writing a new lab report. We will work with different materials and test our hypothesis! Students will try writing their own reports after conducting the experiment.
In phonics, we learned all about homophones this week. We wrote silly sentences such as: The knights said," Good night" or The bear was bare! Next week we will focus on the homophones for there, they're and their and work toward using them appropriately in our writing.
We are starting a Unit 3 in Math. A family letter will be coming home today. Please read the letter to learn what we will be working on in this unit. The unit 2 math test will come home today. Many students did very well!
In science, we will conduct more experiments on air and weather. We will learn how air works under water. We will make a water fountain from tubes, bottles and syringes to show how air is matter, it occupies space even though we can't see it.
We will begin observing and recording the weather as it changes through the fall.
Thank you and have a great weekend!
Mrs. Scheck
Wow! November is here, I can't believe how quickly October went!
Snow was on the ground at my house and it was very cold this morning.
This weekend would be a good time to get out the boots, mittens, hats, etc. so your child will be ready when the snow starts to stick!
In reading this week, we have begun a non-fiction unit. We spent time reading In the Time of Knights and learning all about their weapons, armor, how to become a knight, the code of chivalry and much more. The book was very engaging! We will read all about tigers next week and learn how to anticipate what you will learn when reading non-fiction. We will use features such as captions and detailed photos to learn more. We will practice reading information like a reporter or an expert on the topic.
In writing, we have start a new unit on non-fiction. We began writing science lab reports and learned the parts of a lab report: a question, a hypothesis, procedures, results, conclusion. We conducted an experiment where we asked will a matchbox car go farther on carpet or a bare floor, we did multiple trials and recorded our results! We included a results and conclusion page to show our thinking about why the car goes farther on a bare floor versus the carpet. We discussed friction and how it works to slow the car down. Next we will change a part (variable) and re-do the experiment, writing a new lab report. We will work with different materials and test our hypothesis! Students will try writing their own reports after conducting the experiment.
In phonics, we learned all about homophones this week. We wrote silly sentences such as: The knights said," Good night" or The bear was bare! Next week we will focus on the homophones for there, they're and their and work toward using them appropriately in our writing.
We are starting a Unit 3 in Math. A family letter will be coming home today. Please read the letter to learn what we will be working on in this unit. The unit 2 math test will come home today. Many students did very well!
In science, we will conduct more experiments on air and weather. We will learn how air works under water. We will make a water fountain from tubes, bottles and syringes to show how air is matter, it occupies space even though we can't see it.
We will begin observing and recording the weather as it changes through the fall.
Thank you and have a great weekend!
Mrs. Scheck
Thursday, October 31, 2019
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