Our reading lessons this week led us to realize that traditional fiction stories tend to be written in a sequential format that is easy for the reader to both follow and process. There are a variety of temporal words that authors use to show the passage of time. The children enjoyed their independent reading time this week, focusing on this particular concept and hunting for temporal words in the texts they selected to read on their own!
On Wednesday, our school honored our local Veterans with a breakfast and celebration recognizing their courage and bravery in our military.
We stood and said the Pledge of Allegiance all together.
We recognized each of our veterans in an introduction that included their name, branch, years of service with a clap.
Mr. Deptula led us in "America the Beautiful" and "This Land is your Land."
We watched a video the Dryden students and staff put together to honor the Veterans.
Mrs. Lane (Dryden Administrative Assistant) and her husband Army Veteran Steve Lane came and shared a piece of Mr. Lane's military experience with us. He flew a helicopter during the Vietnam War, helping injured soldiers.
Mr. Lane showed us his dog tags that identify him.
He also brought his helmet, and Kurt tried it on!
This is a photo of Mr. Lane near the helicopter he flew during the Vietnam War.
Thank you for coming to our class and sharing your experience with us, Mr. Lane! You helped us to better understand the meaning and importance of Veteran's Day. We thank you for your service to our country!
The children were eager to get to work in writing Mr. Lane a thank you note for coming to our class!
It was wonderful to see the patriotic touches the children added to their notes and cards. What a wonderful authentic learning opportunity during our Citizenship unit!
Another reading workshop lesson this week during our fiction unit had us investigating the "hero" of the story, as well as the journey or adventure they go through throughout the story. Often the story ends with a positive resolution, too! The children then chose fiction books to read independently to search for these story components independently.
During our social studies/citizenship lessons, I mentioned that our class would be participating in a mock election. We participated in the Primaries and the National Convention this week! For the sake of the practice, we split our class in half and called one half the Republican party, and the other half the Democratic party. We listened to 4 "candidates" share what they would do if they were elected President! These candidates were Trent Thompson (tough guy, decision maker), Dotty Davis (free spirit, health nut), Clark Conway (for the people, a good listener), and Abigail Andrews (fun loving, playful). The Republican party and the Democratic party each selected a candidate to represent them moving forward into the "Big Campaign!" (We did not discuss the political parties in depth, only the process of selecting candidates. We also mentioned that there are often Independent candidates who participate in the election as well.)
Trent Thompson tells the class that he will be a leader who makes decisions for us all!
Abigail Andrews shared that we will have fun, play games, eat healthy, and get lots of rest.
Clark shared that he will listen to the class before making any important decisions and he will be a good listener.
Dottie explained that we will play lots of games, and go on many field trips!
The children discussed which candidate would be a good leader for our class.
Trent Thompson and Clark Conway (Curtis and Joe's characters) are the winners of our our Primary election and will move forward into the big campaign. The children will make buttons and posters and show support for the candidate of their choice next week as we move through the process!
Another special guest visited our classroom this week, Mayor Thomas Hayes- mayor of Arlington Heights! During our election talks we discussed qualities that a good leader shows. The children listed qualities that include: fair, honest, caring, smart, a good listener, and makes decisions that are good for everyone. As we listened to Mayor Hayes speak to us about making decisions for Arlington Heights with the help of his town council/trustees, we noticed several of these qualities!
The children were phenomenal listeners, and they asked terrific questions including what Mayor Hayes liked the best about being Mayor, what was the hardest part, and if he worked on the weekends! We learned so much!
We also learned that Mayor Hayes is a military veteran who fought for the freedom of our country. We made sure to wish him a Happy Veteran's Day!
Thanks for checking in on our 2nd grade adventure!
Enjoy the weekend!
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