The 2nd graders had a week full of hard work and fun learning experiences!
Below are some photo highlights!
Here, the children are researching their Arlington Heights landmarks using the computer! We are learning all about the history and founders that originally formed our town!
We are thankful for some great parent support during our project! Thank you to all of the parents who sent in pictures of the children in front of their landmarks in Arlington Heights! It has been so much fun to see the children "out and about" in their very own town.
Thank you also to Mrs. Kennedy, Ms. Maleska, and Mrs. Ryerson for coming in to support our learning, too!
During math, the children practiced finding the area in square centimeters! They practiced tracing their hands and feet and counting/estimating the area.
It was great to see the cooperative learning taking place in our classroom! The children do a terrific job of working together!
We celebrated two very important people at school last week! It was Administrative Assistants day, and the children made cards for both Mrs. Lane and Mrs. Kelly thanking them for all that they do for us! We are so lucky to have such amazing ladies helping us and supporting us every single day!
The 2nd graders have begun participating in another unique learning experience! The Arlington Heights Art Commission brings the "Write to the Spotlight" Program, now called Stage Write, to our 2nd grade classes. The program is comprised of 4 in-class lessons (about 45 minutes each) by a teaching artist (similar to an in-class field trip) that focus on bringing poetry to life using improvisation, word choice, figurative language, etc. Throughout the lessons, the students and class participate in writing poems that later result in the teaching artist "performing" the poems written by students. Students will enjoy seeing their own writing come to life on the stage at the end of our experience!
Megan Willhite is our teacher/actor who
really flexed the children's imaginative muscles during her first lesson with our class last week! She talked to the kids about how they can use their voice, their movement, and their imaginations to express themselves!
The children then put this into practice! They imagined a variety of different uses for a magic "wand" (really a stick) and the class then had to guess what it was! They also stretched their imaginations using a range of different "voices" - both in word choice and in volume!
The children then acted out different scenarios using their bodies to convey the information. They imagined they were robots, animals, etc.. They loved thinking outside of the box in this way! The children enjoyed their lesson very much and cannot WAIT until their next lesson on Wednesday morning!
Spring MAP testing has begun! The children worked very hard on their Math MAP test last week. They took the test in the classroom this time instead of the LMC. They had scratch paper handy to assist them if necessary as they took the test. I was very proud of how well they focused on this test. They did a terrific job!
We look forward to taking the reading MAP test this week!
After researching facts about their Arlington Heights Landmarks, the children worked on the artistic portion of the project! They drew their landmark carefully and labeled their drawings. These drawings will be included in a slideshow paired with the photographs that we received, and combined with a voice recording of the facts the children learned! It is so much fun to learn from each other in this way!
Here, Erick draws a picture of St. James Church in Arlington Heights.
The children really concentrated on their work! Here, Faiz draws James Dunton's Home!
Maeve drew a wonderful picture of Harry's in Arlington Heights, which was once the Redeker General Store. Ava drew a picture of Arlington Park Racetrack!
Katie worked on her drawing of the 1st Presbyterian Church, and Anna worked her representation of the 1st Methodist Church!
Amina drew the Star Cinema Grill- found in downtown Arlington Heights.
We are grateful for the hands-on support from Mrs. Bartels and Mrs. Laurie in the LMC this week, too! They really helped us note important facts about our landmarks and guide us as we planned our artwork. They were a terrific help!
We had another special guest star this week! It was my nephew Braden! The kids have heard me talking about my niece and nephew all year, and they finally had a chance to meet the little guy!
Braden shared all kinds of facts about himself (with my sister's help :) including details about his family, his birthday, his favorite color, and his favorite places to go!
Braden loves learning Tae-Kwon-do! He put on his blue belt and showed us a few of his moves!
He shared a cute ninja story with us! What a great reader he is- at the age of 5!
The children spontaneously initiated a group hug when it was time for Braden to go!
He loved every minute of his time in our classroom and he can't wait to be a 2nd grader!
Speaking of visitors, a number of additional visitors arrived in the mail last Thursday! Caterpillars! The children immediately began recording details about their size, appearance, and movement in their "Life Cycles" science notebooks. They are growing and changing rapidly at this stage. We can't wait to watch their life cycle unfold!
Thank you for checking in on all of the fun learning and hard work the 2nd graders are up to!
