December 14th and 21st Posts

 

Please return your field trip permission slip and money as soon as possible. Also, bring in Your Gift of Reading book tomorrow. It will mean a lot more if the book comes from YOU than fro me tomorrow for your child!

Parents please check in at the office before going to a classroom or anywhere in the building. Please remember that if you come after 9:00am you will need to call the office to be let into the building. (248)956-3800. Thank you for your support during this time, as you know, your children's safety is our main priority!

 The weather has gotten cold in a short amount of time. Please make sure that your child is dressed for the weather as they will be going outside daily for recess.

 Word Study:

This past week the students noticed parts of a word, which makes it easier for them to break apart the word. We used the word part – -ink and –ing to brainstorm words with these endings. Then the students practiced these words when they played Lotto. We learned that some word patterns have a double consonant at the end and the sound of the vowel is short – bell, yell, sell and sniff, stiff, and cliff. We ended the week by playing Follow the path with our phonics groups. This game taught the children the double vowel rule- when words have a double vowel (like ee) followed by a consonant, the vowel may sound like its name, for example- see, seed, and feet.

This week our students will be talking about seeing and using high frequency words. These words are important because they help us read and write. We’ll finish out the week by learning about antonyms and synonyms. The students will read two poems- Pease Porridge and Jack Sprat, these are excellent examples of antonyms and synonyms. They’ll play Lotto to practice antonyms and synonyms.

 Reader’s Workshop:

Our second grade readers continued learning about the different types of dialogue. We talked more about “continuing dialogue” this is where the author tells you who is talking in the middle of the character words. During reader’s workshop the students had the opportunity to find more dialogue to share with the class. After hearing about a certain book, many children get excited about finding and reading the book the following week, it spiked their interest. The readers are also filling out their reading log, ask your child what has been their favorite book this week. i have also been continuing individual reading assessments. This is a long process, but is showing such tremendous growth by our students! As a result, Reading Groups have met sporatically and for some kids, will be changing after break to show the growth that they have made! If I can urge you to CONTINUE having your child read daily for 15-20 minutes over break, that would be awesome!

 

Writer’s Workshop:

Our Summary unit is still going strong. The Students had the chance to try out their own summary. Before they began we talked about what makes a great summary… not telling too much for each section. The writers could also use “The heart of the author’s message” to complete a summary. It always amazes me the skills of these second grade writers.This week the writers are continuing to write summaries or even edit to make one better. 

Math Workshop:

The mathematicians had the opportunity to identify the names and characteristics of quadrangles- they have 4 sides, 4 corners, and 4 verticals. Working in groups the students used squares and triangles to form various shapes- square, triangle, trapezoid, just to name a few. We used 3-D shapes to find the differences and similarities with the cone and cylinder, and the cone and pyramid. Students discovered that some shapes have a curved surface, a flat surface, a vertex (where 3 edges meet), and an edge. Then we made a class chart comparing the different kinds of pyramids. We followed up this day with a marshmallow and toothpick activity- the kids made a cube, pyramid, and triangular prism. It was easier for the students to count the edges, corners, and sides of each 3-D shape. The week ended by learning about symmetry by using the shapes of a football, leaf, square, and rectangle. Students also had to use their pattern template to complete each shape in their math journal.

This week we started by having our Unit 5 math test. They also had another open response question to try out. We’ll continue to guide the students in answering these questions, as it is very difficult to explain their thinking in the written form.

Moving onto Unit 6- Whole Number Operations and Number Stories

The mathematicians are learning to add three or more numbers together. Students can use the number chart, draw tally marks, mental math, number line, or parts-and-total diagram. Students practiced this skill by playing Three Addends with their math partner. We are also reviewing ballpark and partial sums algorithm, this will continue throughout the year. Students will finish off the week by learning about Comparison number stories involving the difference between two quantities.

Social Studies:

We continued our look into the holidays this past week and week to come in Second Grade! We spent time learning about Hanukkah and even had a chance to play the dreidel game. The kids learned about Kwanzaa and the different meaning behind each of the seven days of the holiday. Lastly we spent time learning about Christmas and worked on our Gingerbread Houses with our Reading Buddies from Mrs. Barry's 4th grade classroom. Thank you to EVERYONE who sent in such generous donations - the room smelled like a candy factory on Thursday, as our students worked and sang along to Christmas Carols with their teachers and a few anonymous parents!

 

Here's the recipe we used last week to make latkes in 204 with Mrs. Weckstein's Mom, Mrs. Phillips:

• 1 package Simply Potatoes® Shredded Hash Browns
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• Applesauce or Sour Cream, if desired

1. In large bowl stir together Simply Potatoes, flour and salt. Stir in beaten eggs.

2. Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Drop four generous 1/4 cup pancakes of potato mixture into skillet; flatten slightly. Cook each pancake 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown, turning once. Cook remaining pancakes, adding additional oil to skillet if needed. Drain pancakes on paper towel. Serve with applesauce or sour cream if desired

Science:

The botanists continue to observe their grass, brassica, wheat, potato, and garlic. The scientists are always amazed at the growth our plants are making. These young minds are always ready to learn. They noticed the garlic is beginning to have white roots coming from the bottom of the garlic clove. The potato has many roots and continues to grow each day. Students are now being challenged to make a new plant from the stem cutting of a mature plant. We’ll continue to observe these over time. A big thank you to the parents who sent in the plant cuttings!

Making Meaning:

We read the story Chester’s Way. Students are making many inferences to understand characters and their actions. Students talked to their partner how Chester and Wilson changed their opinions toward Lilly. They had to explain their thinking and make inferences from the story.

Mr. Belinsky’s Bagels is this week’s book. Students continue to discuss characters and make inferences about them. They will also continue to explain their thinking in partner and whole class discussions. Students are beginning to understand characters more as they reveal themselves in stories through the things they say, do, and think. We’ll continue to work on this through Reader’s Workshop.

 Important Dates/Reminders:

· Friday, December 21: Holiday Sing Along (2:30-3:00 PM) Cafeteria

· Friday, December 21: Classroom Holiday Parties (3:00-3:45 PM)

· Thursday, January 3: School Resumes

· Friday, January 4: Second Grade field trip to the Walled Lake Outdoor Center- please dress appropriately

The weather has gotten cold in a short amount of time.  Please make sure that your child is dressed for the weather as they will be going outside daily for recess.

Word Study:

This week in your child reviewed how to decode and write words with double consonants by playing a game called “Follow the Path”.  We also took a closer look at the sounds that middle consonant make in words.  Our second graders ended the week by sorting and writing words with the –obe, -oke, -ope, and –ore word patterns.

Reader’s Workshop:

Our readers continued learning about the different types of dialogue.  They learned that “no-said dialogue” is when the author doesn’t come right out and tell the reader who is talking.  Instead, the reader can look at the pattern of the dialogue to find out who is talking.  In “continuation dialogue”, the character starts talking and the author tells you who is talking smack dab in the middle of the dialogue and then the dialogue continues on.  Our second graders had to find examples of these two types of dialogue in their “just right” books and share them with the rest of the class.  Ask your reader what type of dialogue is the hardest to find:  simple, no-said, or continuation.

Writer’s Workshop:

Our Summary unit continued this week.  We read Lost in the Forest together and we wrote a good written retelling with the class.  Then we read Little Dinosaur Escapes and were given a summary that was already written.  Our writers had to edit and revise the summary in order to make it better.  By now, your child should know that good summaries include at least two important events in each section and have juicy vocabulary, setting and main characters from the story. 

Math Workshop:

Our mathematicians started the week out by taking our assessment for Unit 4.  They also tried out a new type of assessment called an open response.  This is where your child not only has to solve a math problem, but they need to explain their mathematical thinking in written form.  This is VERY difficult for most students.  I tried to encourage them to write down what their “BRAIN” was telling them to do in order to solve the problem.  We will be reviewing the answer to this open response and your child will be learning how to properly tackle this new type of math problem.  We also started our Geometry Unit.  Students were introduced to points and line segments.  They now know how to use a straight edge to follow codes that connect the line segments to form shapes.  They also know about parallel line segments and polygons. Our second graders ended the week by exploring with the concepts of: geometry, division, clocks, money and time in our math workstations.

Social Studies:

This week in Social Studies we began our Celebrations Unit by learning first about the Mexican Christmas, Los Posadas. This holiday uses the poinsettia as a symbol of Christmas. We read a legend by Tomie dePaola that helped explain the significance of this red star flower. Next we began our study of Kwanzaa as we prepared to make our Mkekas! These are a traditional placemat that we will do a paper weaving with next week and are symbolically decorated with illustrations of our family members.

Science:

Our botanists looked at garlic bulbs this week.  They found out that there is a group of cloves (seeds) inside of each bulb.  We conducted an experiment to see if we could start a new plant from a garlic clove by using a cup, water and COTTON BALLS!  They will be monitoring their growth and observing the appearance of both roots and shoots! 

Yellow flowers have also sprouted from the buds on our brassica plants.  Our botanists have noticed that the brassica stem is getting longer and twisty, while the leaves are growing bigger and smoother along the edges.  Did you know that a potato has eyes?  That’s what our second graders learned this week.  Mrs. Brown sliced an old potato into sections (with eyes) and planted them to see if we could start a new potato plant.  Ask your child what direction (top, bottom or to the side) the eye of the potato must be facing when you plant it in the soil.

Important Dates/Reminders:

Friday, December 21: Holiday Sing Along (2:30-3:00 PM) Cafeteria

·        Friday, December 21: Classroom Holiday Parties (3:00-3:45 PM)

·        Thursday, January 3:  School Resumes

 

Friday, November 30

Parents,

 Thank you SO incredibly much for your support over the course of the past week. It was so hard to go from the excitement in 204 on Tuesday over the announcement of a baby to losing the baby shortly after. While I was nervous to come back to school today, it was SO good to be back with the Weckies. They were filled with hugs, love and compassion. Thank you for taking the time to talk to your child, I am sure it wasn't easy. One of my biggest concerns on Wednesday when I learned of our unfortunate news was how the kids were going to handle this information. A special thank you to all who emailed, sent cards or came to school on Monday morning to help get me back in school-mode and smiling again!  ~ Jen

Word Study

We started our week with learning about singular and plural words.  Students learned that when a word ends with s, sh, ch, or x we need to add and es to make it plural.  Next we noticed connections between similar words.  We found that many words end with the same spellings, but others look just similar such as buses and boxes.  Our last lesson of the week worked with recognizing endings with consonant clusters.  Students enjoyed a “go-fish” game to practice looking at these endings.

Reader’s Workshop

Our readers are continuing exploration and recognition of dialogue in texts.  This week we introduced narration.  Students are learning to recognize whether a narration is 1^st person or 3^rd person.  Ask your child what words we notice in a first person narration and who is then telling the story. 

We also looked closely at how dialogue is written and “how authors do dialogue differently”.  We looked at Frog and Toad books to view simple dialogue with the usual “said _____.”  We used Cynthia Rylant’s Henry and Mudge series to show that dialogue can continue on with “said (or alternative such as whispered) ____ in the middle of dialogue.  We will continue this study and deepen our understanding of it.

Writer’s Workshop

Our next unit, summary writing, will help students synthesize comprehension of their reading to pull out the most important details in a text.  They will practice using transition words to summarize the beginning, middle and end.  This is also a skill that our second graders are required to use to share their comprehension on our next reading assessment.  This week I modeled this writing and students had one try.  We will continue this unit over the next few weeks.

Math

Students were challenged with new concepts this week.  We learned about the differences between solving problems with estimates and exact amounts.  We learned a chant to help us remember the rules of rounding (estimating) numbers.  This seemed difficult for many on the first day, but most had a better grasp of it by the end of the week.  Towards the end of the week we also included work on the introduction of regrouping by teaching partial sums using base 10 blocks. A review packet for Ballpark Estimation came home on Friday stating that we would have a Unit 4 test today. Instead, I spent time today making sure the kids were understanding this tricky concept and will give the test on Wednesday. It was hard for me to be out three days and then give an assessment today when I was not certain this was in our best interests!

Social Studies

Our geography unit was completed with practice and review of skills taught over the past weeks including map features, absolute and relative location findings on maps, problems and solutions in communities, compass directions and more. 

Updates

·    -  Thank you for your support with our pajama drive.  We hope they bring smiles to many families this holiday season.

·      -Our newly formed 4-5th grade Glee Club will be performing with the Michigan Philharmonic Orchestra on December 7th at 7:30 PM. This should be a great night and concert.

Friday, November 16th

Friday, November 16, 2012

A special Thank You to everyone who attended Parent-Teacher Conferences yesterday! It was great to spend time talking with so many of you and getting to share all of the hard work our Second Graders are doing each and every day!

A special thank you to EVERYONE for wearing their pajamas to school today! Remember, if you haven't donated new pajamas yet to the Pajama Drive, you can do so all through the month of November. Thank you to those who have already donated to this worthy and special cause.

 

Reader’s Workshop

In Workshop this week we spent time looking for ways writer’s use “said” alternatives in texts. We brainstormed a giant web of different words for “said” and nearly found over 25 variations! We spent time looking at how these ‘alternatives’ can influence how we read a passage, such as if a character whispered or yelled. Students spent time acting out passages from their texts to continue their look into dialogue and using contextual clues from the author to signal dialect changes. Last we spent time looking to see if all books have dialogue. We made some big generalizations, such as non-fiction tends to not have dialogue while chapter books are loaded with conversations.

Writer’s Workshop

This week in Workshop we’ve done a couple of different things… First, we learned about writing a persuasive paper! We transformed your children into Thanksgiving turkeys and gave them the task of persuading the shoppers not to eat them for Thanksgiving dinner! If you have not had a chance to read these in the hallway, you need to stop by, they are instant classics! Our writer’s also spent time this week editing and revising a poem that they would like to publish for our Poetry Celebration next week. Mrs. Weckstein has been frantically typing poems so that our students can illustrate their published pieces!

Math Workshop

In Math this week we have been learning to use different diagrams to help solve addition problems. We have learned about “Part-Part-Total” diagrams as well as “Change to More” diagrams. Students have also continued working with money – a fun concept for second graders! At home remember you can use real money (coins) as well as a hundreds grid to help your child count coins and make change.

Word Study

In Word Study this week we spent time working on High Frequency words by playing a “Follow the Path” game. We also played a concentration game this week that taught us about antonyms (words that mean the opposite of each other).

Social Studies

This week in Social Studies our Geography Unit shifted to look at the ways we take care of our environment. We spent time reading a book by Don Madden called The Wartville Wizard. In this story, an ordinary man continually cleans up the litter and pollution around his town of Wartville and finally becomes fed up. He ends up gaining a special power over the trash and uses it to teach the citizens of Wartville a very important lesson. Be sure to ask your child about this story! We then brainstormed a list of environmental problems and solutions for taking care of our environment. We ended the week by learning about absolute location on a coordinate grid. While our Science Kits have arrived, Mrs. Weckstein will be responsible for teaching Social Studies to the kids of 203 and 204.

Science

Our Science Kits have ARRIVED! Mrs. Brown will be responsible for teaching Science to the kids of 203 and 204. Our second graders started their first science unit this week…NEW PLANTS! The botanists planted brassica seeds and found that plants need space, light and water to grow. We also documented our findings in our plant investigation journals. Brassica is a very fast growing plant and we hope to observe the full life cycle of a plant within the course of a few weeks. They are also a plant that need light 24/7, so we have them under artificial light during the entire day and night. We are looking for a family who would volunteer to take our brassica plants home over the Thanksgiving holiday to make sure that they are well taken care of. All they need is light to be watered every other day. If you are interested, please let me know.

Important News and Dates:

·         Thursday, November 22 – Monday, November 26^th – No School. School resumes on Tuesday, November 27^th.

·         If you volunteered at Conferences to bring in an item for our special “Turkey Treat” on Wednesday, November 21^st, please send that in to school as soon as possible!

·         If you did not receive a PTA Dublin Directory at Parent-Teacher Conferences, please email me so that I can send one home with your son or daughter.

 

At this point in the year there is SO much to be thankful for! We are thankful for the days we get to spend with your children. We wish you all a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving holiday!

~Mrs. Weckstein

Friday, November 9th

Word Study

This week we looked closely at word endings/spelling patterns.  Students sorted words by these endings.  The endings all included silent e.  To read these words fluently students must be able to look beyond the first letters of the word to solve it.  In our discussions we stressed the importance of our word study carrying over to our daily spelling.  

Interactive Read Alouds

This week we used a Frog and Toad story to continue our learning on visualization.  We are finding that if we listen carefully for key words it helps us build our mental images.  Partners are enjoying sharing the pictures they’ve created in their minds with each other.  We also revisited our Poppleton chapter from last week and used a venn diagram to compare the story with Frog and Toad.

To add to our visualization unit we used a fun song called “The Princess Who Saved Herself” by Jonathon Coulton. Students listened to this song (story) several times and then illustrated part of the song.  We’ll be sharing this with families soon.

Reader’s Workshop

We are beginning our study of dialogue.  Your child should be able to tell you what dialogue is and what types of books have it.  Students searched their books during independent reading for examples of dialogue.  They also are learning about patterns of books that use dialogue.  We used Cynthia Rylant books to compare how authors choose to use or not to use dialogue in a book.  It was interesting to see that her series Mr. Putter and Tabby  uses no or very little dialogue in them while Henry and Mudge books seemed full of dialogue.  This study will continue for several weeks.

Writer’s Workshop

Though we haven’t yet completed our poetry unit, we took a brief break this week learning about “how to” writing.  We used making grilled cheese sandwiches as a model for this type of writing.  Then students brainstormed something they were experts with and wrote their own “how to” pieces. Next, we asked students to write a how to on something they had to guess about…how to cook a turkey!  We will be compiling this writing for a class book to share in the new future.

Additionally, our poets are working on choosing a poem to revise and edit for a class poetry book.  We will work more on this over the next two weeks.

Math Workshop

Our unit 3 is now complete and we’re moving on to unit 4 working more with addition and subtraction.  We continued to work on making change throughout the week as students will need many experiences to better grasp the concept.  We used number stories with data charts to practice the change to more concept.  Students are listening to determine the outcome of a number story.  Our explorations this week included working with a thermometer (along with icy and hot water cups), using attribute blocks to sort and play “what’s my rule”, students also practiced stamping with coins and counting already stamped coins.  My students have come to expect and look forward to our Friday explorations!  Today when I asked students to take out journals for math, 3 quickly panicked and ran up to me asking why we weren’t doing explorations.  Of course once I explained the explorations and they realized they needed journal pages for some they were all smiles.

Social Studies

This week we looked at both good and bad changes in a community.  Ask your child about the story we read that had significant changes called Letting Swift River Go.

Updates:

·        Thursday, November 15^th: NO SCHOOL, parent-teacher conferences

·        Friday, November 16^th:  Pajama day at Dublin!  Please consider donating a new pair of pajamas for a child in need.  For every pair of pajamas donated, Scholastic book club will donate a book for that child as well.   In addition all Dublin students are invited to wear pajamas that day as well. 

Friday, November 2nd

Interactive Read Aloud

We practiced an important comprehension strategy called visualization.  As your child grows as a reader, the books that they will be reading won’t have as many pictures to help them support the meaning of the text. The second graders practiced listening to the words of a chapter in the book, Poppleton and Friends called “Dry Skin” in order to create mental images in their mind.  Students talked to their partners about their visualizations.  This helped them comprehend the story.

Reader's Workshop

In Workshop this week we fine-tuned our partner roles this week. We talked about what to discuss with our partners, what is expected of us to be a good partner as well as how to solve problems that come up in partnerships. To end the week we recited and signed a Reader's Workshop Contract. Read below to see what we have agreed to do as "Wow" readers.

Writer’s Workshop

Keeping to the theme of Halloween, students created their own haunted houses!  Our second graders included creepy creatures in the windows and chose their own color scheme to create a one-of-a-kind haunted house.  Next, they took a look at real estate advertisements on the internet and found the “juicy words” that would entice would-be buyers.  Next, students were given the challenge of writing a piece that would persuade others to buy their haunted houses.  Look for these “spooktacular” persuasive pieces in the hallway!  

 

We ended the week by reading Hailstones and Halibut Bones by Mary O’Neill.  It’s a book that is filled with color poems!  Each poem demonstrated different ways to think about colors using your senses… How would a color look? How would a color taste? How would a color feel? How would a color smell? Using the author’s craft from these poems, we have been working to create our own color poems.

 

Math Workshop

At the beginning of this week, students took the first Benchmark Assessment.  I was impressed with how well our class scored!  Mid-week, we worked on making change this week by counting up.  YES, making change is a hard concept however it is something your child will need to be able to do. Please continue to practice this with them at home. 

Word Study
We began the week looking at words that have “oo”. Students learned that “oo” can sound like /oo/ as in moon or /uh/ as in look. We also tried adding on the silent ‘e’ to words to see how new words could be created. Students used these words to compose their own sentences.

Social Studies
Our second graders reviewed the cardinal directions and the use of a compass rose. We learned the acronym: “Never Eat Soggy Waffles” to help us remember the cardinal directions. Next, we practiced the cardinal directions by looking at map of the United States and answering statements like: Name a state that is south of Michigan. We also learned about the natural (trees, grass, mountains, hills, etc) and human features (bridges, roads, buildings, etc) that are found on map keys.  We read a poem “Making Maps” and students highlighted the natural and human features in the poem.  Students were given a homework assignment today that asked for them to draw a map of their bedroom.  These maps are due on Wednesday.

Computers!
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Special News & Reminders

·        We all had a super fun time at our Halloween Party!  Special thanks to all of the parents who planned or donated items for our celebration. J

·        Sunday, November 4^th– Daylight Savings Time Ends… remember to set your clocks back one hour

·        Tuesday, November 6^th– NO SCHOOL – Professional Development Day – No students!  Don’t forget to vote!

·        Wednesday, November 7^th- Map of bedroom due

·        Thursday, November 15^th  – NO SCHOOL – Parent/Teacher Conferences All Day