A 2-2 Update!

Did you know... The Just Move it Challenge is right around the corner!

The Just Move it! Challenge 5k and 1 Mile run/walk fundraiser will be held on April 22nd at South Middle School!  This is a great family and community event that raises money for ABC25 grants.  Please consider participating as a runner/walker or a volunteer and help Dryden bring home the participation trophy this year!! It would be so much fun to have interested students in our class run or walk together! If you and your family are thinking about participating and would like to stir up interest in our class and help to designate a time and place for our classmates to meet up and participate together, please let me know. The kids would have a blast doing this as a group!

Early registration for the JMI Challenge is now open to all walkers and runners!  Please go to registration.  In order to guarantee that you receive a t-shirt for the race, you must register before April 7, 2017.

If anyone would like to volunteer at the event to help make this year's race a huge success, please sign up here. Thank you!

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Below are some photos I snapped during our week at school. We have come to the end of several things! 

* We wrapped up our nonfiction reading unit and took an assessment to demonstrate our understanding of concepts we've covered

* We finished our science unit on land, wind, and water! The children learned about water erosion, wind erosion, and rapid changes to the land. They took a science assessment after reviewing these concepts in class.

* We finished unit 6 in math. They worked hard to practice array models, reviewed strategies for solving addition and subtraction problems, and developed procedures to prepare them to solve multiplication and division problems.

* We finished a full round of Fountas & Pinnell reading assessments! I am astounded by the progress the children have made in the area of reading. We will be tweaking our reading groups according to our new reading levels and will be back to our guided reading this week!

* We reached the end of the 2nd Trimester of school! The children took a review spelling test, took an assessment of their addition/subtraction math facts, and completed a self-report card this week, too! I look forward to sharing all of these samples of your child's progress with you at our upcoming parent/teacher conference in March.

 In the LMC this week, we started our new social studies unit which is a cultural comparison between the United States and the country of Australia. Mrs. O'Kelly prepared a lesson using the Nearpod app to pique the children's interest in our new topic! They are so excited!

 They started off by answering some questions about Australia to see how much they already know.

 Then they viewed pictures from each of the Australian Territories that we will be studying! The children will be working in small groups to research one particular territory and find all of the wonderful reasons they think we should visit there. Then they will make a commercial to persuade us!

 One of our last lessons in our science unit was to witness how erosion works. The children used a cube to represent a house sitting on a mountain. We made it "rain" on the mountain and watched what happened to the house. We noticed shifting, tilting, and tumbling. We noticed water pouring downward gathering chunks of dirt and rocks on its way.

 The children were challenged to think about ways to prevent erosion. They were given a variety of supplies including toothpicks, popsicle sticks, and plastic wrap and designed a way to stop erosion from moving their house. The children sketched their designs before our trial run!

 We gathered at each station to witness the levels of erosion taking place at each group. The children were inspired by each other's ideas! They thought carefully about why each house moved- or didn't move- after watching each demonstration. They thought about ways they would tweak their design to improve it and cause even less erosion the next time!

The children noticed that each group's design looked very different, and included multiple ways to prevent the erosion. After looking at each design, they wanted to race back to their group to tweak their own!

I loved listening to the children's observations and reasoning about what they think caused their house to move, or not move. They thought of ways to make their design stronger, and protect their house further from erosion.

 As a result of our lessons, the children decided they would NOT like to live on the side of a mountain or a hill! :)

 It was time to switch gears and prepare for our "trip" to Australia on Monday! We watched a slideshow about places and landmarks we will be sure to visit during our trip. We thought about things we'll need and different types of clothing we should wear while exploring the outback, billabongs, beaches, and big cities in this land down under!

 We were so happy to welcome Charlie's parents in as special star student guests on Friday! Charlie demonstrated how a ball and an egg roll in very different ways. The children observed the ball rolling straight and even, while the egg rolled in a circular motion in a very wobbly way. We learned from Charlie that the shape of the egg protects it from rolling out of the bird's nest!

 Charlie's mom shared a favorite story of Charlie's that got us thinking about what Santa might be up to now that the Christmas season is over. It's hard to picture him in any other place than the North Pole. The class loved this story! 

Charlie had a terrific star week! He always brings smiles and fun to our classroom! Charlie shares his clever thinking and interesting connections to concepts we are learning at school, embedding his love of nature and his amazing travel experiences which enhance our learning! Thank you for adding so much interest and fun to our classroom, Charlie!

Erosion, 100th Day, Valentine's Day, World Read Aloud Day, Division...

... and the list goes on and on! We have had a jam-packed few days of school recently! Read below to see the highlights of what we have been up to in 2nd grade!

 The children were given soil, sand, and water to build a mountain for their group.

 When it was complete, the children looked at it carefully and considered how it was the same as a mountain found in nature, and how it was different.

 It was time to celebrate our star student, Ethan! We were happy to have Mr. and Mrs. Pawlik in as our guests!

 Ethan demonstrated how gravity pulls objects down toward the center of the earth by rolling a tennis ball across the floor. When he pressed a thumb tack into the ball, this affected the ball's center of gravity- therefore affecting the way the ball rolled!

 Ethan chose a fun story to share with the class about how Santa Claus got his job. It was an unexpected choice for February, but the children loved it!

 We are lucky to have such a bright, vibrant, and clever student in our class this year! Ethan is always thinking, observing, and finding interesting ways to solve a problem. You had a terrific week, Ethan!

 Our Reading Workshop mini lessons brought us back to the concept of reading texts with a chronological text structure. The children enjoy the sequence and order that is found in this type of text!

 We are practicing the beginning stages of division during math! It has been helpful to use counters, our slates, and use of the Mimio to help us split numbers of items into equal groups!

 Back in science, it was time to make it "rain" on our mountain! The children observed as: the water seeped into their mountain, ran down the side of the mountain, and brought sand and soil with it down the mountain - erosion before our very eyes! We also noticed that some of the water gathered at the bottom of the mountain, forming a river, valley, and even the beginning of a plain down below. It was amazing to think about how this happens on a larger scale in nature!

 It was time to celebrate the 100th day of school! It's hard to believe that 100 days are behind us, and we are now 100 days smarter! The children had fun thinking about what their life would be like at the distinguished age of 100, and creating these awesome images of themselves to go along with them!

 Happy Valentine's Day! We had fun showering our classmates with love and smiles and enjoyed a lively classroom party to celebrate! Thank you to Mrs. Pawlik, Mrs. Cinkler, and Mrs. Velazquez for organizing such a fun afternoon for our class!

 Another reading workshop lesson had us working with the nonfiction text structure of problem/solution. The children LOVED reading on the iPads through the use of ZING!, which is an online reading component that accompanies our reading curriculum. They worked together to consider a whale who had become trapped, and then identified a series of attempts to solve the problem before describing the final solution.

 Another celebration!?! It was World Read Aloud Day! We had fun listening to a story that our classmate and friend shared with us called Brady Brady and the Great Rink.

 We have a wonderful partnership with the LMC that supports all areas of our students' learning! The children reinforced their understanding of nonfiction text features reading a variety of nonfiction magazines!

 One more read aloud for World Read Aloud Day! We listened to Stellaluna with Mrs. O'Kelly on the story steps in the library. The children thought about the big idea from this story and came up with "Be yourself!" and "Being different is great!"

 We had one more exciting and unique learning experience on Friday. We watched a performance sponsored by the PTA by Face to Face Productions- and it was all about numbers! It was based on theories of Albert Einstein and the songs, music, and math had our full attention!

 Our last celebration of the week was to honor our star student, Mia! Mrs. Cinkler stopped by to help Mia demonstrate how warm air expands and cold air contracts using hot water, ice water, a plastic bottle, and a balloon. The kids were amazed to observe the results of this experiment!

 Mrs. Cinkler shared Ada Twist, Scientist with our class. This was a terrific story about a curious girl who enjoys partaking in endless fact-finding missions. It inspired us to keep thinking, wondering, and exploring! We are so very happy to now add this book to our classroom library!!

Mia, you had a wonderful star week! Thank you for always working your hardest, putting forth your best effort, and modeling such focused and caring behavior every single day. Your artwork and attention to detail are the icing on the Mia cake! We are one lucky group to have you in our class this year! :)