It's Feeling like Fall...

 And just like that, Fall is upon us!! We went from super warm weather to super cold weather pretty quickly! We typically have done snack outside but have moved inside towards the end of this week due to the cold temperatures! Please remember, the kids have recess minimally for 20 mins a day outside and need to be dressed appropriately. I would suggest sending layers at this point as the classrooms are still a bit warm and stuffy, but outside the air has been cool and crisp!

We have been super busy here in 2nd grade learning all sorts of things! We have reached that phase where the honeymoon is over and we have seen some concerning behaviors as well. Thank you for continuing to discuss being respectful at home with your Weckie as we are needing a lot of reminders in school lately!

Last week we wrote our Classroom Promise and we have been reciting it daily and referring to it daily as we all promised to make great choices. We incorporated our Classroom Promise into Constitution Day as a great way to review the importance of the Constitution and then create our own Classroom Promise. 

Readers' Workshop

In Readers' Workshop we have been continuing our unit of "Readers Grow Like Beanstalks". We have talked about deciding "how" to read, giving books a sneak peak, building our stamina, learning to book shop in our classroom library and how to take care of our books and we have been slowly learning to work with partners on our reading! We have been working through the iReady Reading Diagnostic and this will give me a better idea for placement into just-right book partners, guided reading groups and IRIPs for individuals who qualify for extra support. 

Writers' Workshop

We are in the midst of our launching unit in Writers' Workshop working on personal narratives and small moments! Writers' have been building their writing stamina while writing about a time they did something. We have been reviewing how all stories have: a beginning, middle and ending, a problem/solution, characters with names and characters who have thoughts and feelings. It has been fun to see what our writer's have created and shared.

Math Workshop

In Math we continue to work through Unit 1. We have been working with coins and coin values this week. ALL of our Weckies can use extra practice at home with coin value and counting combinations of coins. Please make sure you are reviewing this with them at home as that would be super helpful! We have spent time filling in number grid puzzles when numbers have been missing and talking about patterns on a number grid. Like if you need to subtract 10 you just go up one square and likewise if you need to add 10, you go down one square. We will wrap up Unit 1 next week and our first Math Homelinks will also begin to come home!

Have a fantastic weekend... and stay warm! ;-) Mrs. Weckstein

Off and Rolling in 202!

 

Hello Weckie Parents!

Happy Friday!! We are off and rolling in 202!! What a FANTASTIC two weeks of school we have had together. We have been learning about our classmates through games, sharing our favorite books, buddy activities and more! I love this time of year as you watch your classroom community come together, new friendships form and kids come out of their shells (for lack of better words)! I like to use this Friday News Blog to post updates about our learning 1-2x a month! I'd like to say I was really good at posting every other Friday, but sometimes life just happens (or teaching for that matter).  I'll try to email out to the whole when I do post here so you'll know that there is new information to read. I apologize for a lack of photos here or on our Twitter page (be sure to follow @WeAreTheWeckies as I eagerly await the list from the office about which faces are allowed on social media and which are not). Hopefully soon!

Readers' Workshop

We are slowly launching our Readers' Workshop and have spent time the last week:

-Learning to pick a comfy reading spot (Comfy Reading Spot homework due Monday)

-Learning what Readers' Workshop looks like vs. what Readers' Workshop sounds like

-How to ignore distractions and build our reading stamina (up to 20 minutes as a whole group as of today)

-How to talk to an audience about our favorite books, giving the title and showing why we picked this book as a favorite

Writers' Workshop

We are slowly launching our Writers' Workshop as well! We did an On-Demand Writing Assessment to start the unit using a narrative piece (tell me about a time you went...). Our Writers' had about 45 minutes to complete a piece and show all that they were capable of doing as a writer. We will look back at these pieces later in the year to see how your children have grown, and I will use these pieces now to guide my instruction moving forward!

Our first writing unit is a personal narrative unit and we spent time this week talking about big events (and comparing them to a big watermelon) and then all of the little events or small moments that happened in the big event (and comparing those to seeds, or ideas, for our small moments). My modeled example was about a family camping trip to Algonac State Park and each seed was about something that happened or we did in Algonac. Each seed representing something I could write a small moment story about for my audience.

Math Workshop

This week we took a beginning of the year Math Assessment so that I can gather more data about our kids as mathematicians and best guide my instruction. We then began the first couple of lessons from the Everyday Math program as we explored with number lines, filled in missing numbers on number lines, explored the different tools in our math tool kits and talked about all of the ways that numbers are important to us in every day life!

Curriculum Night

Curriculum Night is on Wednesday night at 6:30pm on Wednesday, September 14th!

Please let me know ahead of time if you will not be able to attend so I can send home information with your child on Wednesday! It really is an important time to attend (30 mins) so that we can discuss the details of the year, answer any questions and clarify anything academically we will be covering this year.  I hope to see you here!

Have a fantastic weekend! - Mrs. Weckstein