It seems it was just the beginning of October and the weather was warm and sunny the other day and now its already November! This is the 9th week of school!
I want to thank all the parents who helped out for our Halloween party last week. It was a very fun parade!
We have started reading a historical fiction book called Samuel Eaton. Its about a pilgrim boy who lived in Plimonth in 1627. We are using our new strategy called Determining Important Ideas. Its a very useful strategy especially for nonfiction writing. We will also be reading about a pilgrim girl and a Wampanoag boy during this same time period.
We have started our expository writing pieces called "How to . .". The students have selected an idea about how to tell others how to do something or make something. We have a very interesting list of crafts, activities, and even some gymnastic moves!
In word study we are learning that some words have short or long vowel sounds and how to tell when that occurs in a word.
Geometry is loads of fun. We are listing the attributes of rectangles and talking and writing about them. We have also introduced the idea of symmetry - these ideas are all done with lots of exploratory activities and projects.
In social studies we have covered map keys, and the equator - northern and southern hemispheres.
If you have time this weekend check out the Children's Book Fair on Saturday at MCC. Lots of local children's authors will be there including Newbery winner Linda Sue Park. Its from 10 to 4. I try to attend every year to see whats happening in children's literature. Its a great event!!
Its mitten weather. Be sure to label all clothing. Remember, mini hand sanitizers and water bottles are allowed in the classroom. Have a great weekend.

Hello Autumn!!

It seems like I just woke up this morning and all the trees put on their colorful coats for autumn! How beautiful it is outside at this time of year.
Our personal narratives (small moments) are just about finished and I am so proud of all the writing the students have completed! They are full of confidence and see themselves as writers who have important ideas to share with others. It is wonderful to see. We move to writing expository pieces - writing that tells or explains how to do something. It is quite fun to help students put down on paper their ideas about how to make or build something. I show them student pieces from years past to give them an idea of how to write this kind of piece.
In reading we are using our strategy called visualizing. Students can articulate this strategy very well. We have been reading several non-fiction pieces about snakes and spiders. The students are fascinated by these topics. (Thomas found his own spider during recess and we are trying to find out what kind it is!!)
In Word Study we are learning about how some words have two vowels and they usually make the long vowel sound of the first vowel.
In science we have completed an experiment on interactions of different properties. In social studies we have been using maps and talking about parts of maps.
Math continues to be lots of fun. Geometry is a terrific topic!! We have covered quadrilaterals, rectangles, and right angles. It is fascinating to see students using these shapes to solve problems.
We had a terrific visit to the George Eastman House and the Brighton Fire Station. Thank you to all the parents who helped us plan and participate in these two trips.
If you would like to send in a small bottle of hand sanitizer for your child to use at lunch or in the classroom that would be fine. We have larger bottles for classroom use, as well. Also, please send in your pillowcase if you haven't done so already. We use these for holding all our books!
We will have a student teacher on Monday. Mr. Steven Pace will be joining us from Nazareth College. He will be with us for 7 weeks.
Enjoy the beautiful fall colors! Mr. Wikiera

It is hard to believe that we are already into October and its the fifth week of school already!
We have been very busy with our first reading strategy called Visualizing. We will be practicing this strategy for the next few week. We create a mental image in our brains when we read and this helps us with comprehending what we have read. Students say things like" "I pictured . . . "
Our personal narratives are really coming together. The student pieces are ideas that they have taken and "stretched"' into small moment stories. Students are beginning to understand what revising means and demonstrated this many times.
In math, story problems have been introduced and students are great at giving complete answers - pictures, equations, labels, and sentences.
For word study we reviewed vowels (short sounds) and have created our first word study list.
REMINDERS:
We would like to welcome Owen back to Allen Creek.
We have a field trip to the Brighton Fire Station on the 15th.
We have a field trip to the George Eastman House on the 16th.
Picture Day will be on the 15th as well.
Don't forget to send in a pillowcase if you haven't already done so.
Columbus Day on the 12th - no school.

All of you would be so proud of the hard work that happened all week! The students are really getting the idea of using strategies to help their reading. We talked some more about what real reading looks like when we do it. We read several stories to practice these strategies this week.
I have seen some amazing beginnings for our personal narratives (small moments). Small moments include true stories that take a small moment in time of an ordinary experience and "stretch it out" to make an interesting story. We have read several books that are from this genre and it is helping us get started. I am very pleased with this first big writing project.
In math we looked at writing number sentences to solve a math problem. Our responses showed a picture, number sentence, labels, and sentences.
We met our 4th grade buddies today and did a social studies activity with them this afternoon. It worked out very well.
Don't forget your pillowcase if you haven't sent it in yet.
Have a terrific week.

What a great week we have had so far. We are seeing our first writing projects near completion and we have finished two learning units in math! Students have started putting important information in their Reader's Notebooks. We talked today about how text plus thinking equals real reading!!
Could you send in an old pillowcase? We will have them sewed and we will put them on the back of our chairs as a book pocket.
Thank you for all the donations of hand sanitizer, tissues, wipes, and paper towels. It really helps.

I am so excited to begin this new school year! We are off to a great start of learning and growing in second grade.
I just want to remind you that our specials are as follows:
Mon - gym, music
Tues - art
Wed - gym, music
Thur - lib.
Fri - gym
We have already begun our important discussions of what good readers do when they read. We learned what the word metacognition means - thinking about your thinking! The students enjoyed learning about this idea and how it relates to reading. We talked about all the wonderful things our brain does when we read.
I am looking forward to meeting everyone on Thursday, Sept. 10th. See you then!

Summer Reading - How's It Going?
Have you found the perfect book yet for your summer reading?? Take some time to visit the library or book store and browse to your hearts content. I am reading Three Cups of Tea (the young adult version) right now with my son. It is fascinating to see how the main character gets started in his work with some villagers in the mountains of Pakistan.
Its great to stay up late each night and read a good book with a glass of lemonade and a bowl of chocolate chip cookies. So pick that favorite book today.

Welcome

I am happy to welcome all of you to Mr. Wikiera's blog. (Welcome, Mr. Wikiera, to the 21st century).