Some highlights of our learning!

As we come to the end of the 2nd trimester, time really seems to be flying by! 

Here are a few photos of the children at work last week:

 The class took their DOG (Geography) quiz using an app called Socrative. The questions were on the iPads, and the children used maps to help them answer them. I LOVED having the children take their quiz this way because it gave the children (and me) instant results! I was able to view which questions the children did a great job on, and which questions were more challenging. It was also great to print the report to send home right away! I'm already thinking of other ways we can use immediate feedback like this...

 The children practiced sorting and analyzing data during math last week. We used the data from measuring our arm span and our long jump from previous lessons to: 1) determine the minimum and maximum, 2) subtract the minimum from the maximum to determine the range 3) sort the data in order by size and find the median, or middle number. 4) graph the data using post-it notes to identify the mode (most popular number). The children did a great job manipulating these numbers that they gathered themselves-  it was true authentic learning!

 It was time to move each chrysalis (carefully) into their new home- the butterfly house! I only screamed a few times when they surprised me with some wiggles letting me know that I was bothering them and to make it snappy! It's only a matter of time until this butterfly house is full of butterflies!

 The children really enjoy taking notes in their science notebooks each day. These notes include drawings, measurements, as well as observations they see. It is such fun to watch them wonder, watch, and discuss what they see with their classmates.

 I was SO PROUD of David's neat work this week, that I had to take a picture of it! Way to go, David! The children also took their 2nd Schoolwide reading test on our unit on nonfiction. We are excited to begin our new unit on Poetry!

We reviewed before taking our unit 7 math test. The children complete sample/review problems on white boards covering the skills of the unit to give them the opportunity to review and refine their understanding, or to ask questions if they remain unsure about something. I was so impressed with their strategies for solving multiplication story problems in particular- you can see from these pictures that the children used a variety of methods,  including arrays, pictures, and number models- choosing the way they felt most comfortable with to come up with the correct answer. Awesome!

 Mrs. Stevenson came by to complete an art appreciation lesson with the class. The children enjoyed her visit and thinking critically about interesting and beautiful pieces of art!

 Joana's grandmother in Bulgaria sent our class good luck bracelets known as "Martenitsa" that are to be worn during the month of March when a stork, swallow, or budding tree have been spotted. The children and I felt so lucky to receive them! We were happy to make thank you notes for Joana's grandmother and sent them in the mail. Here we are, showing off our new lucky charms!

We were so happy to welcome Kelsey's dad, Mr. Schmidt, to our classroom on Friday afternoon. He read the kids a hilarious story about a little bear who found a child to keep as a pet. The bear named the child "Squeaker" and asked him mom if he could keep him. It was such a funny change in perspective, and the kids enjoyed "squeaking" their way through the story!

 Kelsey and her dad demonstrated how liquids have different densities, as they poured oil and water in the same bottle. We watched as the oil settled on top of the water because water is more dense than oil. Then, they added some carbon dioxide to create bubbles- and the bubbles looked like a lava lamp as they floated through both liquids. What a cool experiment!

Kelsey's dad shared some background stories about the pictures Kelsey showed the class earlier in the week.  He made us laugh!

Finally, Kelsey's dad pulled up a chair to write Kelsey a star letter with her classmates. 

We thought it would be a blast to have him in our class!

What a cute picture of Kelsey and her dad!  We are so fortunate to have such a sweet, hardworking, and caring friend in our class this year. You had a terrific week, Kelsey!

Weekly Wrap up!

Another week packed full of exciting, interesting, and engaging learning for the students in 2-2!

 The children cannot believe how enormous their caterpillars have become! They were excited to get a close up view of these amazing little fellas as they crawled across their science notebooks. Getting a closer view of the caterpillars allowed the children to notice the 6 actual legs of the caterpillar as well as the 10 pro legs. We took note of the way the caterpillar moved and propelled itself forward.

Our hands-on learning continued during math! The children reviewed that there are 16 ounces in a pound, 8 ounces in half of a pound, and then estimated the weight of different books during class before we determined the actual weights using a scale! It was fun to use the document camera to project the scale on the white board for everyone to get a good, close look!

 More experience with measuring! Students practiced measuring each other's arm spans in both inches and centimeters using tape measures. We went on to sort the data by size, determine the minimum and the maximum, and figure out the range of our data set.

 The children particularly enjoyed the long jump part of our data day. They were split into groups of 4, and each person was responsible for a particular job (jumper, line judge, marker, and measurer.) The children did a fantastic job of working cooperatively to complete 2 long jumps and measure them in both inches and in centimeters.

We then wrote down our largest jump in centimeters on a post it note, and the children practiced SORTING the data from smallest jump to largest jump. The children came up little by little and arranged them into a line by size. Then we had the students with the MINIMUM and the MAXIMUM sit down at the magical snap of my "median" fingers. We were left with two students in the middle. One had a 96 centimeter jump, and the other had a 99 centimeter jump. We then had to find the number in the middle of THESE numbers, which was 97.5 centimeters!

Wednesday was World Read Aloud Day.  We welcomed Mrs. Sessler into our classroom for a thought provoking story called More Than Anything Else, which was about a little boy who dreamed of having the gift of being able to read. The children thought about how lucky and fortunate we are to have education at our fingertips and to be completely surrounded by wonderful books to read! We also thought about how not every child in the world is as lucky as we are. What a terrific story to remind us just how valuable our learning is!

 During our writing practice this week, the children were challenged to choose a book they enjoyed reading, and then write a Book Review letting us know more about it! They wrote a brief summary, included a favorite part, and then shared why WE should read it!  I love the huge variety in their book selections- covering both fiction and nonfiction!

 It was Joe's week to shine as our super star second grader! We were so happy to have Mrs. Peters in to celebrate Joe with us! Joe demonstrated a fascinating experiment that involved the power of magnets. We noticed that the magnetic current can pass through metal to reach out and pull in more objects!

 Joe chose the book Ghosts of the White House to read to his classmates. It was full of fascinating facts written from the perspective of a President's daughter. We thought it would be really remarkable to be able to call the White House "home!"

 What an adorable picture of Joe and his mom! We are so happy to have such a strong classroom leader, terrific rule follower, and amazing learner in our class this year! Joe cares so much about his learning and takes his school work very seriously. Best of all, he truly enjoys learning! Some of my favorite times during the day are when Joe makes a connection to something we have studied, and he will race over to tell me. Way to go, Joe!

 In order to provide some student choice in our learning throughout the day in a more personalized way, the children have thought about something in particular they are wondering in relation to our unit on life cycles. After jotting down notes about what we already Know, the children added their Wonders to our KWL chart!

 We shared all of the students' wonders aloud, and looked for patterns or groups that seemed to have similar interests. Some of the students were interested in the length of different life cycles. Other students wondered about how many offspring a mother could have at once. There was another group of children who wondered about the end of the life cycle and if there were signs of it.

 Our class came up with so many interesting "wonders" to consider and research further that extend beyond our curriculum. I loved to see the children gather at the board to look at the small groups and already begin planning and talking with their classmates about ideas they had already come up with! It will be so much fun to see where their learning goes next!

I was out of the building on Friday attending the ICE Conference in St. Charles. While I was there filling my head with some terrific new teaching and technology ideas, I happened to learn about a new online student presentation tool called Buncee, and our class was given a free upgraded subscription for a year! I can't wait to get this up and running. I think it could be a perfect option for the children to showcase their learning!

Thanks for reading!
Enjoy the weekend!