A Whirlwind of a Week!

Even though it was a short week at school due to the Columbus Day holiday, the children and I accomplished so much!

1) We participated in a Bus Evacuation practice. The children listened and learned how to ride the bus safely, and they learned what to do in case of an emergency.

2) We reviewed several important reading strategies! 

* The children practiced what to do when they encounter new words: Slow down, reread the sentence, use context clues and illustrations, use background knowledge, use a dictionary or glossary, or ask a friend.

* We practiced making a "movie in our mind" while reading. The children worked to create mental images while reading to help them better understand the text. They sketched these images and labeled them during their practice of this strategy!

* We discussed the elements of poetry. We noticed that poetry has various forms and layouts that contain fewer words and deliberate line breaks. We identified special language patterns that cause rhythm including repetition of sounds (alliteration), rhyming words, and the use of sound words (onomatopeia). We also looked and listened for rich vocabulary words that help us make a picture in our mind, or cause us to feel different feelings. The children broke into small groups with books of poems and came up with so many terrific examples of these poetry features!

3) The children practiced "frames and arrows" problems during math. This involved identifying the "rule" or the pattern, and applying it to several numbers. The children made sure to reverse the rule if they changed direction. We also played a math game called "Name that Number." The kids LOVED this game! With a partner, they looked carefully at a series of 5 cards and challenged themselves to add or subtract (or multiply if they were ready!) the cards in a way that allowed them to hit the target number. I was amazed at how the children pushed themselves to use as many cards as they could to hit the target- the more complex their thinking was, the more cards they were able to collect! 

4) In science, the children learned that objects will not move unless there is a force involved, such as a push or a pull. Through a series of experiments, the children realized that the greater the force, the greater the motion. After a couple of group demonstrations, the children are also very eager to participate in collision trials next week which will involve the use of glass, metal, and cork balls rolling down a track made of meter sticks. The children will predict and measure the distance these balls of varying weights will roll when they collide with each other on the track.

5) We celebrated the writing of our autobiographies this week! After several weeks of hard work, the children were so pleased to be able to share their life stories with their classmates. The children also learned to assess their own writing using a rubric. They looked for an interesting introduction, sequential series of events, correct grammar/spelling, and an appropriate number of details to highlight their life at each stage. It was great to see them look critically at their work, (and to want to make a few more changes before giving themselves their final grades! :)

 The children learned about bus safety this week.

 Kelsey and Maggie experiment by pushing and pulling a toy car with varying amounts of force.

 Scott and Natalie watch to see how the amount of force affects the distance the car travels.

 We learned that both pushes and pulls are types of force! Force is necessary for motion to happen.

 The children read through their own autobiographies this week and measured their work using a rubric!

 It was awesome to see the children looking so carefully at their work and grading themselves accordingly!

 Scoring their work encouraged the children to go back and re-read their work. What a powerful tool to grow as writers!

 Self assessment had the children thinking about ways they will improve on their next writing assignments!

 THEN it was time to CELEBRATE our wonderful writing! The children rotated a few times and shared their work with a handful of partners. They had fun learning about each other and sharing positive feedback and encouragement.

 During reading workshop, one of our comprehension strategies was to "make a movie in your mind." Tyler is reading very carefully, and he is ready to sketch some of his ideas on the clipboard in front of him.

 Alexandra sketches her mental images as she reads.

 Look at how engaged these readers are in their texts! I love it!

 Meg keeps her place in her book so she can continue reading, but pauses to sketch what she is visualizing in order to strengthen her understanding of the text.

 The kids really enjoyed reading poetry this week, too! Our first unit of our new Schoolwide reading program touched on so many interesting genres. It piqued our interest in reading, and the children have become so eager to delve more deeply into each of these genres!

 This is what the track looks like that the children will be experimenting more with next week. They did a great job of making predictions about how far the track ball and ramp ball will move during our preliminary experiments today!

Whew! What a great week!
Thanks for checking in to see all that we have been up to in 2nd grade.

Enjoy the weekend!