Class News 5/26/2023

 

Upcoming Events

5/29 - No school (Memorial Day holiday)

5/31 - Field Day

6/6 - PTA meeting

6/8 - Second grade celebration

6/8 - Buchanan concert

6/9 - No school for students 

6/14 - Last day of school (half day)

 

Countdown to Summer Activities (Items needing preparation at home)

5/30 - Joke day - Bring one written joke to share.

6/2 - Game day - Bring a game from home (not electronic).

 

Weekly Folders

Weekly Folders are not coming home this week.  Please look for weekly papers in the orange Daily Folder.

 

7 Habits for Happy Kids

We learned about and are practicing seven habits (life skills) that can help us live happy, productive lives.  

• Be proactive – This habit is essentially about taking initiative with things you know you need to do, and not waiting for someone to tell you to do them. 

• Begin with the end in mind – This habit is about having a plan for what you want to accomplish, and focusing on the plan.

• Put first things first – This habit is about working first, then playing.

• Think win-win – This habit is about finding ways for everyone to be happy.

• Seek first to understand – This habit is about listening first, before you speak. 

• Synergize - This habit is about working together.

• Sharpen the saw - This habit is about taking care of yourself.

 

Orton-Gillingham Phonics

This week’s focus: “au” as in cause

Phonograms taught previously (this year) include:

• Ending “ng” as in sang, sing, song, sung

• Ending “nk” as in bank, think, honk, sunk

• Ending “ed”(3 sounds) as in sorted, cleaned, stopped

• Magic “e” as in cane, pine, robe, tube

• “Ph” as in phone

• “Ck” as in back

• Vowel team “ea” as in team

• Vowel team “oa” as in boat

• Vowel team “ai” as in rain

• Vowel team “ee” as in feet

• Vowel team “ay” as in day

• Vowel team “oe” as in toe

• Review Week (vowel teams ea, oa, ai, ee, ay, oe)

• “er” as in smaller

• “ir” as in first

• “ur” as in turn

• “ow” as in cow

• “ou” as in out

• “igh” as in night

• consonant -le“ as in table

• ar as in car

• or as in fork

• oo as in pool

• y as a vowel as in my, happy, and gym

• “aw” as in saw

 

English Language Arts (ELA) - Science: Organisms

We finished our Organisms unit this week.  

• Our big question for this unit was “How do plants and animals depend on each other and their habitat to survive?”

• We did observations of six plants and recorded our observations in our journal.

  • We measured the height of each plant.

  • We observed the colors of each plant.

  • We counted the leaves on each plant.

• We read texts about plants and animals and identified cause-effect relationships.  This is challenging for many students.  They would benefit from extra practice identifying what happened first (the cause) and what happened next (the effect).

• We wrote a narrative story from the perspective of a seed, an animal carrying a seed, or a bee.  The story showed what we know about seed dispersal or pollination.

• We did a performance task wherein we identified the best place to plant a milkweed plant on a given schoolyard map.  

  • Students needed to think about the needs of specific plants, seeds, and flowers.  

  • Students needed to put this information into an informational writing piece structured as Claim-Evidence-Reasoning.  There was a lot to think about on this task.  Students used a graphic organizer and an Informational Writing components poster to help them be sure we included everything they needed.  Some students color-coded their final writing piece too!  This helped them identify missing pieces (for example, transition words or a definition).  I’m so proud of them for remembering how color-coding can help and doing it!

 

Math  

Focus/Unit: 9 Equal Shares and Whole Number Operations

This week:

• Unit 9 assessments are coming home today in the orange Daily Folder.

 

Focus/Unit: Skill Review and Practice

This week:

• We used CUBS to help us do Problem Solving.

• We practiced solving basic math facts quickly.  By the end of 2nd grade, students should know from memory the sums of two one-digit numbers.

• We practiced telling time to the nearest 5 minutes.

• We learned the traditional method of addition.  This is most likely how you learned to add multiple-digit numbers when you were in school.

• We practiced adding 2-digit numbers without regrouping with the traditional method of addition.

• We practiced adding 2-digit number with regrouping with the traditional method of addition.

 

Link to Second Grade End of the Year Standards (Click here for the link.) 

https://www.livoniapublicschools.org/Page/10857 

 

Link to Resources for Home (Click here for the link.) 

https://www.livoniapublicschools.org/Page/10859 

 

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Class News 5/19/2023

 

Upcoming Events

5/26 - ALL Buchanan library books are due

5/26 - Half day (dismissal at 12:10 p.m.)

5/29 - No school (Memorial Day holiday)

5/31 - Field Day

6/6 - PTA meeting

6/8 - Second grade celebration

6/8 - Buchanan concert

6/9 - No school for students 

6/14 - Last day of school (half day)

 

Greenmead Field Trip

Wow!  School was very different in the days of the one room schoolhouse.  Thank you for helping your child to prepare for this unique experience.  Ask your child to tell you three things that were different in the days of the one room schoolhouse.

 

 

Second Grade Celebration

All second grade classes will have an end of the year celebration on Thursday, June 8th.  We are looking for parent volunteers to help setup, run activities, and clean up.  We are also looking for donations to purchase needed items.  If you can help, please be sure that you have completed an iChat by Thursday, May 25th and sign up.  Thank you for your support!

 

iChat link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdiZ5jC61p4o_pH7qppc6lCWcMy0nuEatcwDO_RO1SCVoaAeg/viewform

 

Sign up link:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080e4da9aa29a57-2ndgrade1#/

 

Weekly Folders

Weekly Folders are not coming home this week.  Please look for weekly papers in the orange Daily Folder.

 

7 Habits for Happy Kids

We learned about and practiced seven habits (life skills) that can help us live happy, productive lives.  

• Be proactive – This habit is essentially about taking initiative with things you know you need to do, and not waiting for someone to tell you to do them. 

• Begin with the end in mind – This habit is about having a plan for what you want to accomplish, and focusing on the plan.

• Put first things first – This habit is about working first, then playing.

• Think win-win – This habit is about finding ways for everyone to be happy.

• Seek first to understand – This habit is about listening first, before you speak. 

• Synergize - This habit is about working together.

• Sharpen the saw - This habit is about taking care of yourself.

 

Orton-Gillingham Phonics

This week’s focus: “aw” as in saw

Phonograms taught previously (this year) include:

• Ending “ng” as in sang, sing, song, sung

• Ending “nk” as in bank, think, honk, sunk

• Ending “ed”(3 sounds) as in sorted, cleaned, stopped

• Magic “e” as in cane, pine, robe, tube

• “Ph” as in phone

• “Ck” as in back

• Vowel team “ea” as in team

• Vowel team “oa” as in boat

• Vowel team “ai” as in rain

• Vowel team “ee” as in feet

• Vowel team “ay” as in day

• Vowel team “oe” as in toe

• Review Week (vowel teams ea, oa, ai, ee, ay, oe)

• “er” as in smaller

• “ir” as in first

• “ur” as in turn

• “ow” as in cow

• “ou” as in out

• “igh” as in night

• consonant -le“ as in table

• ar as in car

• or as in fork

• oo as in pool

• y as a vowel as in my, happy, and gym

 

English Language Arts (ELA) - Integrated Reading and Writing

Students did an integrated reading and writing activity this week.  

• They read an article and looked for facts to help answer the question, “How do sharks use their body and senses to hunt?”  

• They used a graphic organizer to collect facts and plan the introduction, topic sentences, and conclusion.

• Finally, they wrote an informational piece of writing to answer the big question.

• Informational writing pieces include these parts:

  • Introduction

  • Topic sentences

  • Facts and definitions

  • Transition words

  • Conclusion

 

Math  

Focus/Unit: 9 Equal Shares and Whole Number Operations

This week:

• We took the unit 9 assessment this week.  Look for them to come home next Friday in the orange Daily Folder.

• We used CUBS to help us do Problem Solving.

 

Focus/Unit: Skill Review and Practice

This week:

• We solved two digit addition and subtraction problems.

• We practiced solving basic math facts quickly.  By the end of 2nd grade, students should know from memory the sums of two one-digit numbers.

 

Link to Second Grade End of the Year Standards (Click here for the link.) 

https://www.livoniapublicschools.org/Page/10857 

 

Link to Resources for Home (Click here for the link.) 

https://www.livoniapublicschools.org/Page/10859 

 

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Class News 5/12/2023

 

Upcoming Events

5/16 - Unit 9 math assessment

5/17 - Last day for students to check out Buchanan library books 

5/18 - Greenmead Field Trip (Adams & Gruenewald)

5/18 - STEAM Night (6:00 - 8:00 p.m.)

5/26 - ALL Buchanan library books are due

5/26 - Half day (dismissal at 12:10 p.m.)

5/29 - No school (Memorial Day holiday)

5/31 - Field Day

6/6 - PTA meeting

6/8 - Buchanan concert?

6/9 - No school for students 

6/14 - Last day of school (half day)

 

Greenmead Field Trip (5/18/23)

Our Greenmead is just a few days away!  Have you decided what your child will wear to school on that special day?  You may find the email attachment “clothing” to be helpful as you are planning for that special day.  Information about lunches is coming home in the Friday Folder today. 

 

Buchanan Spirit Wear (repeated from previous week)

Our new spirit wear store is live.  Use the link below to get all your Bears gear and show your school spirit.

https://1stplacespiritwear.com/schools/MI/Livonia/Buchanan+Elementary+School

 

Medications at School (repeated from previous weeks)

If it is absolutely necessary for a child to have medication during the school day, parents may come to school and give the medicine themselves or have their physician fill out and sign a special permission form (available at the school office) that will allow school personnel to administer the medicine. Please do not send medication to school without the form. This includes any over-the-counter medications, such as cough drops, aspirin, and sunscreen etc. Because of obvious dangers to other pupils, children are not to carry any medicine with them in school to take at their own discretion, with the exception of inhalers and the principal’s approval.

 

7 Habits for Happy Kids

We are learning about and practicing seven habits (life skills) that can help us live happy, productive lives.  

Here are the habits we have learned so far this year:

• Be proactive – This habit is essentially about taking initiative with things you know you need to do, and not waiting for someone to tell you to do them. 

• Begin with the end in mind – This habit is about having a plan for what you want to accomplish, and focusing on the plan.

• Put first things first – This habit is about working first, then playing.

• Think win-win – This habit is about finding ways for everyone to be happy.

• Seek first to understand – This habit is about listening first, before you speak. 

• Synergize - This habit is about working together.

 

We will learn about these habits later in the year: 

• Sharpen the saw - This habit is about taking care of yourself.

 

Orton-Gillingham Phonics

This week’s focus: y as a vowel as in my, happy, and gym

Phonograms taught previously (this year) include:

• Ending “ng” as in sang, sing, song, sung

• Ending “nk” as in bank, think, honk, sunk

• Ending “ed”(3 sounds) as in sorted, cleaned, stopped

• Magic “e” as in cane, pine, robe, tube

• “Ph” as in phone

• “Ck” as in back

• Vowel team “ea” as in team

• Vowel team “oa” as in boat

• Vowel team “ai” as in rain

• Vowel team “ee” as in feet

• Vowel team “ay” as in day

• Vowel team “oe” as in toe

• Review Week (vowel teams ea, oa, ai, ee, ay, oe)

• “er” as in smaller

• “ir” as in first

• “ur” as in turn

• “ow” as in cow

• “ou” as in out

• “igh” as in night

• consonant -le“ as in table

• ar as in car

• or as in fork

• oo as in pool

 

English Language Arts (ELA) - Science: Organisms

We continued our Organisms unit this week.  

• Our big question for this unit is “How do plants and animals depend on each other and their habitat to survive?”

• We observed our plant investigation.

  • We measured the height of each plant.

  • We observed the colors of each plant.

  • We counted the leaves on each plant.

• Investigation setup includes 6 plants.

  • Two plants are not getting sunlight.

  • Two plants are not getting water.

  • Two plants are getting both sunlight and water.

• We did observations of the six plants and recorded our observations in our journal.

  • We measured the height of each plant.

  • We observed the colors of each plant.

  • We counted the leaves on each plant.

• We learned how insects help pollinate flowers.

• We did a hands-on activity to help us understand how pollen travels from flower to flower on an insect.  

  • Ask your child what happened to their fingers when they tried to move Skittles from one flower to another and there were Cheetos on top of the Skittles.

• We learned that the bee population is in trouble.  Bees are an important pollinator for flowering plants.

• We designed a pollinator to help pollinate flowers.

• We designed a model to show how seeds are dispersed in nature.

 

Math  

Focus/Unit: 9 Equal Shares and Whole Number Operations

This week:

• We finished the unit 9 lessons. 

• We will take the unit 9 assessment next week.

• We estimated the total cost of purchasing three items.  We tried to spend as much of $100 as possible.

• We noticed the connection between even numbers, equal groups, and doubles facts.

• We used skip counting (and multiplication) to figure the total number of items when they were in groups of 5 or 10.

• We used CUBS to help us do Problem Solving.

 

Link to Second Grade End of the Year Standards (Click here for the link.) 

https://www.livoniapublicschools.org/Page/10857 

 

Link to Resources for Home (Click here for the link.) 

https://www.livoniapublicschools.org/Page/10859 

 

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Class News 5/5/2023

 

Upcoming Events

5/17 - Last day for students to check out Buchanan library books 

5/18 - Greenmead Field Trip (Adams & Gruenewald)

5/18 - STEAM Night (6:00 - 8:00 p.m.)

5/26 - ALL Buchanan library books are due

5/26 - Half day (dismissal at 12:10 p.m.)

5/29 - No school (Memorial Day holiday)

5/31 - Field Day

6/6 - PTA meeting

6/9 - No school for students 

6/14 - Last day of school (half day)

 

Greenmead Field Trip (5/18/23)

Our Greenmead is just a little over a week away!  Have you decided what your child will wear to school on that special day?  You may find the email attachment “clothing” to be helpful as you are planning for that special day.  Information about lunches will come home in next week’s Friday Folder.  See the “school lunches of the era” attachment this week if you are looking ahead and are ready to start thinking about packing your child’s lunch for that special day.

 

Buchanan Spirit Wear

Our new spirit wear store is live.  Use the link below to get all your Bears gear and show your school spirit.

https://1stplacespiritwear.com/schools/MI/Livonia/Buchanan+Elementary+School

 

Medications at School (repeated from previous week)

If it is absolutely necessary for a child to have medication during the school day, parents may come to school and give the medicine themselves or have their physician fill out and sign a special permission form (available at the school office) that will allow school personnel to administer the medicine. Please do not send medication to school without the form. This includes any over-the-counter medications, such as cough drops, aspirin, and sunscreen etc. Because of obvious dangers to other pupils, children are not to carry any medicine with them in school to take at their own discretion, with the exception of inhalers and the principal’s approval.

 

7 Habits for Happy Kids

We are learning about and practicing seven habits (life skills) that can help us live happy, productive lives.  

Here are the habits we have learned so far this year:

• Be proactive – This habit is essentially about taking initiative with things you know you need to do, and not waiting for someone to tell you to do them. 

• Begin with the end in mind – This habit is about having a plan for what you want to accomplish, and focusing on the plan.

• Put first things first – This habit is about working first, then playing.

• Think win-win – This habit is about finding ways for everyone to be happy.

• Seek first to understand – This habit is about listening first, before you speak. 

 

We will learn about these habits later in the year: 

• Synergize - This habit is about working together.

• Sharpen the saw - This habit is about taking care of yourself.

 

Orton-Gillingham Phonics

This week’s focus: oo as in pool

Phonograms taught previously (this year) include:

• Ending “ng” as in sang, sing, song, sung

• Ending “nk” as in bank, think, honk, sunk

• Ending “ed”(3 sounds) as in sorted, cleaned, stopped

• Magic “e” as in cane, pine, robe, tube

• “Ph” as in phone

• “Ck” as in back

• Vowel team “ea” as in team

• Vowel team “oa” as in boat

• Vowel team “ai” as in rain

• Vowel team “ee” as in feet

• Vowel team “ay” as in day

• Vowel team “oe” as in toe

• Review Week (vowel teams ea, oa, ai, ee, ay, oe)

• “er” as in smaller

• “ir” as in first

• “ur” as in turn

• “ow” as in cow

• “ou” as in out

• “igh” as in night

• consonant -le“ as in table

• ar as in car

• or as in fork

 

English Language Arts (ELA) - Science: Organisms

We began our Organisms unit this week.  

• Our big question for this unit is “How do plants and animals depend on each other and their habitat to survive?”

• We watched a video with plants and animals and stopped to take notes about what we saw, what that made us think, and what we wondered.

  • We saw “Animals were in trees and around plants.”

  • We thought, “This is where the animals live.”

  • We wondered, “Do birds move to a special nest for the winter?”

• We set up a plant investigation to see what happens to plants if they don’t get sunlight or water.

  • Two plants are not going to get sunlight.

  • Two plants are not going to get water.

  • Two plants are going to get both sunlight and water.

• We did initial observations of the six plants and recorded our observations in our journal.

  • We measured the height of each plant.

  • We observed the colors of each plant.

  • We counted the leaves on each plant.

• We wrote a hypothesis about what we think will happen to the six plants.

• We learned that plants live in habitats where they can get what they need to survive.

• We learned that animals live in habitats where they can get what they need to survive.

 

Math  

Focus/Unit: 9 Equal Shares and Whole Number Operations

This week:

• We continued the unit 9 lessons.

• We used base ten blocks to solve subtraction problems.  When we use base ten blocks, we follow these steps:

  • Build the big number.

  • Look to see if you can subtract in each place (the 100s place, the 10s place, and the 1s place).

  • Make an exchange if you need to.

  • Look again to see if you can subtract in each place (the 100s place, the 10s place, and the 1s place).

  • Subtract.

• We learned the Expand and Trade method of subtraction.  See attached handout.

• We found different ways to represent given amounts with coins.  

  • For example 69 cents could be Q Q D N P P P P or it could be D D D D D D N P P P P.

• We used CUBS to help us do Problem Solving.

 

Link to Second Grade End of the Year Standards (Click here for the link.) 

https://www.livoniapublicschools.org/Page/10857 

 

Link to Resources for Home (Click here for the link.) 

https://www.livoniapublicschools.org/Page/10859 

 

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Class News 4/28/2023

 

Upcoming Events

5/1 - Bonus gym class

5/5 - Spring Fling (5:30 - 8:00 p.m.)

5/17 - Last day for students to check out Buchanan library books 

5/18 - Greenmead Field Trip (Adams & Gruenewald)

5/18 - STEAM Night (6:00 - 8:00 p.m.)

5/26 - ALL Buchanan library books are due

5/26 - Half day (dismissal at 12:10 p.m.)

5/29 - No school (Memorial Day holiday)

5/31 - Field Day

6/6 - PTA meeting

6/14 - Last day of school (half day)

 

Bonus Gym Class (5/1/23)

Students will have a bonus gym class on Monday. This is a celebration for being one of the top 5 fundraising classes for the Kids Heart Challenge.

 

Steam Night

Mark your calendars for Buchanan's 2nd Annual Family STEAM Night on May 18th from 6:00-8:00. See STEAM NIGHT FLYER for more information. If your child is interested in participating in the Science Fair that evening, please fill out the SCIENCE FAIR/STEAM NIGHT Google Form.

 

7 Habits for Happy Kids

We are learning about and practicing seven habits (life skills) that can help us live happy, productive lives.  

Here are the habits we have learned so far this year:

• Be proactive – This habit is essentially about taking initiative with things you know you need to do, and not waiting for someone to tell you to do them. 

• Begin with the end in mind – This habit is about having a plan for what you want to accomplish, and focusing on the plan.

• Put first things first – This habit is about working first, then playing.

• Think win-win – This habit is about finding ways for everyone to be happy.

• Seek first to understand – This habit is about listening first, before you speak. 

 

We will learn about these habits later in the year: 

• Synergize - This habit is about working together.

• Sharpen the saw - This habit is about taking care of yourself.

 

Orton-Gillingham Phonics

This week’s focus: or as in fork

Phonograms taught previously (this year) include:

• Ending “ng” as in sang, sing, song, sung

• Ending “nk” as in bank, think, honk, sunk

• Ending “ed”(3 sounds) as in sorted, cleaned, stopped

• Magic “e” as in cane, pine, robe, tube

• “Ph” as in phone

• “Ck” as in back

• Vowel team “ea” as in team

• Vowel team “oa” as in boat

• Vowel team “ai” as in rain

• Vowel team “ee” as in feet

• Vowel team “ay” as in day

• Vowel team “oe” as in toe

• Review Week (vowel teams ea, oa, ai, ee, ay, oe)

• “er” as in smaller

• “ir” as in first

• “ur” as in turn

• “ow” as in cow

• “ou” as in out

• “igh” as in night

• consonant -le“ as in table

• ar as in car

 

English Language Arts (ELA) - Social Studies: History

We finished our History unit this week.  

• Our big question for this unit was “How do communities change over time?”

• Schools have changed from long ago until now.  

• Students wrote a letter telling what life is like now in Livonia.

• Students wrote a letter telling what life was like long ago in Livonia.

 

Math  

Focus/Unit: 8 Geometry and Arrays

This week:

• We took the unit 8 assessments.

 

Focus/Unit: 9 Equal Shares and Whole Number Operations

This week:

• We continued the unit 9 lessons.

• We used pattern blocks to represent fractions of big shapes.

• We used CUBS to help us do Problem Solving.

 

Link to Second Grade End of the Year Standards (Click here for the link.) 

https://www.livoniapublicschools.org/Page/10857 

 

Link to Resources for Home (Click here for the link.) 

https://www.livoniapublicschools.org/Page/10859 

 

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Class News 4/21/2023

 

Upcoming Events

4/25 - Unit 8 math assessment

5/18 - Greenmead Field Trip (Adams & Gruenewald)

5/18 - STEAM Night

5/26 - Half day (dismissal at 12:10 p.m.)

5/29 - No school (Memorial Day holiday)

6/6 - PTA meeting

6/14 - Last day of school (half day)

 

Weekly Folders

Weekly Folders are not coming home today.  Look for weekly papers in the orange Daily Folder this week.

Steam Night

Mark your calendars for Buchanan's 2nd Annual Family STEAM Night on May 18th from 6:00-8:00. See STEAM NIGHT FLYER for more information. If your child is interested in participating in the Science Fair that evening, please fill out the SCIENCE FAIR/STEAM NIGHT Google Form.

 

7 Habits for Happy Kids

We are learning about and practicing seven habits (life skills) that can help us live happy, productive lives.  

Here are the habits we have learned so far this year:

• Be proactive – This habit is essentially about taking initiative with things you know you need to do, and not waiting for someone to tell you to do them. 

• Begin with the end in mind – This habit is about having a plan for what you want to accomplish, and focusing on the plan.

• Put first things first – This habit is about working first, then playing.

• Think win-win – This habit is about finding ways for everyone to be happy.

• Seek first to understand – This habit is about listening first, before you speak. 

 

We will learn about these habits later in the year: 

• Synergize - This habit is about working together.

• Sharpen the saw - This habit is about taking care of yourself.

 

Orton-Gillingham Phonics

This week’s focus: ar as in car

Phonograms taught previously (this year) include:

• Ending “ng” as in sang, sing, song, sung

• Ending “nk” as in bank, think, honk, sunk

• Ending “ed”(3 sounds) as in sorted, cleaned, stopped

• Magic “e” as in cane, pine, robe, tube

• “Ph” as in phone

• “Ck” as in back

• Vowel team “ea” as in team

• Vowel team “oa” as in boat

• Vowel team “ai” as in rain

• Vowel team “ee” as in feet

• Vowel team “ay” as in day

• Vowel team “oe” as in toe

• Review Week (vowel teams ea, oa, ai, ee, ay, oe)

• “er” as in smaller

• “ir” as in first

• “ur” as in turn

• “ow” as in cow

• “ou” as in out

• “igh” as in night

• consonant -le“ as in table

 

English Language Arts (ELA) - Social Studies: History

We continued our History unit this week.  

• Our big question for this unit is “How do communities change over time?”

• Communication has changed from long ago until now.

• Schools have changed from long ago until now.

 

Math  

Focus/Unit: 8 Geometry and Arrays

This week:

• We finished the unit 8 lessons next week.

• We will go over the unit 8 practice tests and take the unit 8 assessments next week.

 

Focus/Unit: 9 Equal Shares and Whole Number Operations

This week:

• We began the unit 9 lessons.

• We square pieces of paper to show equal shares.

• We drew lines on shapes to cut them into equal shares.

 

Link to Second Grade End of the Year Standards (Click here for the link.) 

https://www.livoniapublicschools.org/Page/10857 

 

Link to Resources for Home (Click here for the link.) 

https://www.livoniapublicschools.org/Page/10859 

 

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Class News 4/14/2023

 

Upcoming Events

4/25 - Unit 8 math assessment

5/18 - Greenmead Field Trip (Adams & Gruenewald)

5/18 - STEAM Night

5/26 - Half day (dismissal at 12:10 p.m.)

5/29 - No school (Memorial Day holiday)

6/6 - PTA meeting

6/14 - Last day of school (half day)

 

Goodbye Mrs. S

Mrs. Strzalkowski finished her student teaching this week.  We are really going to miss her!  She has been a wonderful student teacher.  We wish Mrs. S. well in her next student teaching and in finding her own classroom after that.  Thank you for being so welcoming to her and for helping her feel appreciated!

7 Habits for Happy Kids

We are learning about and practicing seven habits (life skills) that can help us live happy, productive lives.  

Here are the habits we have learned so far this year:

• Be proactive – This habit is essentially about taking initiative with things you know you need to do, and not waiting for someone to tell you to do them. 

• Begin with the end in mind – This habit is about having a plan for what you want to accomplish, and focusing on the plan.

• Put first things first – This habit is about working first, then playing.

• Think win-win – This habit is about finding ways for everyone to be happy.

• Seek first to understand – This habit is about listening first, before you speak. 

 

We will learn about these habits later in the year: 

• Synergize - This habit is about working together.

• Sharpen the saw - This habit is about taking care of yourself.

 

Orton-Gillingham Phonics

This week’s focus: Review Week  (ow, ou, igh, -le)

Phonograms taught previously (this year) include:

• Ending “ng” as in sang, sing, song, sung

• Ending “nk” as in bank, think, honk, sunk

• Ending “ed”(3 sounds) as in sorted, cleaned, stopped

• Magic “e” as in cane, pine, robe, tube

• “Ph” as in phone

• “Ck” as in back

• Vowel team “ea” as in team

• Vowel team “oa” as in boat

• Vowel team “ai” as in rain

• Vowel team “ee” as in feet

• Vowel team “ay” as in day

• Vowel team “oe” as in toe

• Review Week (vowel teams ea, oa, ai, ee, ay, oe)

• “er” as in smaller

• “ir” as in first

• “ur” as in turn

• “ow” as in cow

• “ou” as in out

• “igh” as in night

• consonant -le“ as in table

 

English Language Arts (ELA) - Literature: Folktales

We finished our Folktales unit this week.  

• Our big question for this unit was “What life lessons can we learn from folktales?”

• We wrote a fairy tale using a graphic organizer.

• We took an end of unit assessment.

 

Social Studies: History

We began our History unit this week.  

• Our big question for this unit is “How do communities change over time?”

• We are learning that many things change over time.

• Our household chores have changed from long ago until now.

• Transportation has changed from long ago until now.

 

Math  

Focus/Unit: 8 Geometry and Arrays

This week:

• We partitioned rectangles into equal sized squares.  

• We solved problems with equal groups and arrays.

• We used CUBS to help us do Problem Solving activities.

• We will finish the unit 8 lessons next week.

• We will start unit 9 lessons next week.

• We will take the unit 8 assessments at the beginning of the following week (4/25).

 

Link to Second Grade End of the Year Standards (Click here for the link.) 

https://www.livoniapublicschools.org/Page/10857 

 

Link to Resources for Home (Click here for the link.) 

https://www.livoniapublicschools.org/Page/10859 

 

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Class News 4/6/2023

 

Upcoming Events

4/7 - No school

4/11 - PTA meeting

4/24 - Unit 8 math assessment

5/26 - Half day (dismissal at 12:10 p.m.)

5/29 - No school (Memorial Day holiday)

 

7 Habits for Happy Kids

We are learning about and practicing seven habits (life skills) that can help us live happy, productive lives.  

Here are the habits we have learned so far this year:

• Be proactive – This habit is essentially about taking initiative with things you know you need to do, and not waiting for someone to tell you to do them. 

• Begin with the end in mind – This habit is about having a plan for what you want to accomplish, and focusing on the plan.

• Put first things first – This habit is about working first, then playing.

• Think win-win – This habit is about finding ways for everyone to be happy.

• Seek first to understand – This habit is about listening first, before you speak. 

 

We will learn about these habits later in the year: 

• Synergize - This habit is about working together.

• Sharpen the saw - This habit is about taking care of yourself.

 

Orton-Gillingham Phonics

This week’s focus: consonant -le“ as in table

 

Phonograms taught previously (this year) include:

• Ending “ng” as in sang, sing, song, sung

• Ending “nk” as in bank, think, honk, sunk

• Ending “ed”(3 sounds) as in sorted, cleaned, stopped

• Magic “e” as in cane, pine, robe, tube

• “Ph” as in phone

• “Ck” as in back

• Vowel team “ea” as in team

• Vowel team “oa” as in boat

• Vowel team “ai” as in rain

• Vowel team “ee” as in feet

• Vowel team “ay” as in day

• Vowel team “oe” as in toe

• Review Week (vowel teams ea, oa, ai, ee, ay, oe)

• “er” as in smaller

• “ir” as in first

• “ur” as in turn

• “ow” as in cow

• “ou” as in out

• “igh” as in night

 

English Language Arts (ELA) - Literature: Folktales

We continued our Folktales unit this week.  

• Our big question for this unit is “What life lessons can we learn from folktales?”

• We learned that fairy tales have some of these elements.

  • Special beginning words (Ex., “Once upon a time…”)

  • Special ending words (Ex., “...happily ever after.”)

  • Magic

  • Royalty

  • Wicked characters

  • Good characters

  • Rule of Threes

  • Conflict

  • Lesson

• We read Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, and Jack and the Beanstalk. We identified the elements of fairy tales that were in these stories.

• We retold fairy tales using a graphic organizer.

• We made Wanted posters about wicked characters.

 

Math  

Focus/Unit: 8 Geometry and Arrays

This week:

• We learned that polygons are shapes with straight sides.  They are closed shapes, and the lines do not cross.

• We made 2-dimensional shapes with straws and pipecleaners.

• We drew quadrilaterals with given attributes.  For example, a 4-sided shape with 4 right angles, a 4-sided shape with only 2 right angles.

• We identified and counted faces, edges, vertices, and the apex of 3-dimensional shapes.

• We learned attributes of 3-dimensional shapes (3D shapes).

  • Flat surfaces are called faces.

  • The point on the top of a cone or pyramid is called an apex.

  • An edge is where two faces meet.

  • A vertex is where at least 3 edges meet.  The plural of vertex is vertices.

  • The base of a shape is the bottom face.

  • Pyramids and prisms are named by the shape of their bases.

• We compared 3-dimensional shapes by their attributes.

• We used CUBS to help us do Problem Solving activities.

 

Link to Second Grade End of the Year Standards (Click here for the link.) 

https://www.livoniapublicschools.org/Page/10857 

 

Link to Resources for Home (Click here for the link.) 

https://www.livoniapublicschools.org/Page/10859 

 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Class News 3/24/2023

 

Upcoming Events

3/27 - 3/31 - Spring Break

4/3 - School resumes

4/7 - No school

4/11 - PTA meeting

4/24 - Unit 8 math assessment

5/26 - Half day (dismissal at 12:10 p.m.)

5/29 - No school (Memorial Day holiday)

 

Thank You

Thank you for carefully packing a nut-free lunch for your child on Tuesday.  We are so grateful for your help in keeping our students safe.  

 

March Is Reading Month

Students enjoyed the Battle of the Books and our Camp Out Adventure this week.  Each student received a book from our awesome PTA!  This book was about an animal, and was a small hardcover book.  Thank you for supporting and encouraging your child with reading.

 

7 Habits for Happy Kids

We are learning about and practicing seven habits (life skills) that can help us live happy, productive lives.  

Here are the habits we have learned so far this year:

• Be proactive – This habit is essentially about taking initiative with things you know you need to do, and not waiting for someone to tell you to do them. 

• Begin with the end in mind – This habit is about having a plan for what you want to accomplish, and focusing on the plan.

• Put first things first – This habit is about working first, then playing.

• Think win-win – This habit is about finding ways for everyone to be happy.

 

We will learn about these habits later in the year: 

• Seek first to understand – This habit is about listening first, before you speak. 

• Synergize - This habit is about working together.

• Sharpen the saw - This habit is about taking care of yourself.

 

Orton-Gillingham Phonics

This week’s focus: “igh” as in night

 

Phonograms taught previously (this year) include:

• Ending “ng” as in sang, sing, song, sung

• Ending “nk” as in bank, think, honk, sunk

• Ending “ed”(3 sounds) as in sorted, cleaned, stopped

• Magic “e” as in cane, pine, robe, tube

• “Ph” as in phone

• “Ck” as in back

• Vowel team “ea” as in team

• Vowel team “oa” as in boat

• Vowel team “ai” as in rain

• Vowel team “ee” as in feet

• Vowel team “ay” as in day

• Vowel team “oe” as in toe

• Review Week (vowel teams ea, oa, ai, ee, ay, oe)

• “er” as in smaller

• “ir” as in first

• “ur” as in turn

• “ow” as in cow

• “ou” as in out

 

English Language Arts (ELA) - Literature: Folktales

We continued our Folktales unit this week.  

• Our big question for this unit is “What life lessons can we learn from folktales?”

• We learned that fables have some of these elements.

  • Short story

  • Animal acting like people

  • Only 2 or 3 characters

  • Dialogue and humor

  • Outside setting

  • Conflict

  • Ends in a moral (lesson)

• We read The Fisherman and His Wife, The Lobster and the Crab, The Traveler and the Gold Coins, and The Mouse at the Seashore. We identified the elements of fables that were in these stories.

• We wrote a fable using a graphic organizer.

 

Math  

Focus/Unit: 7 Whole Number Operations and Measurement and Data

This week we finished the unit 7 lessons.

• We took the unit 7 math assessments.

 

Focus/Unit: 8 Geometry and Arrays

This week we:

• We learned about shape attributes.  For example:

  • Number of sides

  • Number of angles

  • Right angles (square corners)

  • Number of vertices (where the ends of 2 sides touch each other)

  • Parallel sides

• We learned that parallel sides are like lines that go on forever and never cross.

• We sorted shapes by attributes.  For example, shapes with 3 sides, 3 vertices, and 3 angles.

• We used CUBS to help us do Problem Solving activities.

 

Link to Second Grade End of the Year Standards (Click here for the link.) 

https://www.livoniapublicschools.org/Page/10857 

 

Link to Resources for Home (Click here for the link.) 

https://www.livoniapublicschools.org/Page/10859 

 

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Class News 3/17/2023

 

Upcoming Events

3/21 - Battle of the Books (in the morning)

3/21 - Lunch in the classroom (students NOT participating in Battle of the Books) - Please send a nut-free lunch for your child.

3/21 - Unit 7 math assessments (in the afternoon)

3/23 - Camp Out Adventure - You may bring a beach towel.

3/27 - 3/31 - Spring Break

4/3 - School resumes

 

Thank You

Thank you for carefully packing a nut-free lunch for your child on Tuesday.  We are so grateful for your help in keeping our students safe.  If your child is NOT participating in Battle of the Books next week, please send a nut-free lunch next Tuesday (3/21) also.  Thank you!

 

March Is Reading Month

Students are doing a great job reading and reporting reading minutes for our March Is Reading Month challenge!   Thank you also for raising money for Buchanan!  

• Students who reached the 200 minute goal participated in a starlit dome presentation.  

• Students who reached the 300 minute goal by March 17th will participate in a special camp out reading adventure next week.  Students may bring a beach towel to sit on during the camping adventure.

 

Caught Being Good Celebration

Students enjoyed another celebration for earning Caught Being Good tickets!  We went to explore the STEAM room.  

 

7 Habits for Happy Kids

We are learning about and practicing seven habits (life skills) that can help us live happy, productive lives.  

Here are the habits we have learned so far this year:

• Be proactive – This habit is essentially about taking initiative with things you know you need to do, and not waiting for someone to tell you to do them. 

• Begin with the end in mind – This habit is about having a plan for what you want to accomplish, and focusing on the plan.

• Put first things first – This habit is about working first, then playing.

• Think win-win – This habit is about finding ways for everyone to be happy.

 

We will learn about these habits later in the year: 

• Seek first to understand – This habit is about listening first, before you speak. 

• Synergize - This habit is about working together.

• Sharpen the saw - This habit is about taking care of yourself.

 

Orton-Gillingham Phonics

This week’s focus: “ou” as in out

 

Phonograms taught previously (this year) include:

• Ending “ng” as in sang, sing, song, sung

• Ending “nk” as in bank, think, honk, sunk

• Ending “ed”(3 sounds) as in sorted, cleaned, stopped

• Magic “e” as in cane, pine, robe, tube

• “Ph” as in phone

• “Ck” as in back

• Vowel team “ea” as in team

• Vowel team “oa” as in boat

• Vowel team “ai” as in rain

• Vowel team “ee” as in feet

• Vowel team “ay” as in day

• Vowel team “oe” as in toe

• Review Week (vowel teams ea, oa, ai, ee, ay, oe)

• “er” as in smaller

• “ir” as in first

• “ur” as in turn

• “ow” as in cow

 

English Language Arts (ELA) - Physical Science - Matter

We began our Literature: Folktales unit this week.  

• Our big question for this unit is “What life lessons can we learn from folktales?”

• We learned that there are three kinds of folktales:  tall tales, fables, and fairy tales.

• We learned that tall tales have some of these elements.

  • Larger than life character

  • Sidekick

  • Object used by the main character

  • Exaggerated details

  • Based in American history

  • Character solves problems in a humorous way

  • Adventures

• We read two versions of Paul Bunyan and talked about the elements of tall tales that were in these stories.

• We read John Henry and identified the elements that were in this story.

• We wrote a tall tale using a Tall Tale Story Frame (graphic organizer).

 

Math  

Focus/Unit: 7 Whole Number Operations and Measurement and Data

This week we finished the unit 7 lessons.

• We measured in inches and centimeters and compared measurements.

• We learned how to make line plots with data.

• We learned some statistics concepts.  We learned:

  • The smallest reported number is the minimum.

  • The largest reported number is the maximum.

  • The range is the difference between the maximum and the minimum.

  • The mode is the most popular number in a data set.

  • The median is the middle number in a data set.

• We sorted shapes by properties.  For example, shapes with 3 sides, 3 vertices, and 3 angles.

• We drew a picture graph.

• We used CUBS to help us do Problem Solving activities.

 

We will take the unit 7 assessments next week.

 

 

Link to Second Grade End of the Year Standards (Click here for the link.) 

https://www.livoniapublicschools.org/Page/10857 

 

Link to Resources for Home (Click here for the link.) 

https://www.livoniapublicschools.org/Page/10859 

 

Have a wonderful weekend!