Smarties Fraction Picture

Today we used 2 packages of Smarties and incorporated fractions, art, and a writing exercise.  My Second Graders needed to use all the Smarties to make a picture and then write the fraction for each color.  After they were done with these two steps they need to write 2-3 sentences about their picture.

Desert Fair

This past Thursday our school hosted a Biome/Habitat Fair.  Our classroom had the desert.  We dressed up like the Blue People of the desert and sang a song about the saguaro cactus.  We also had a dig for "gold" in the sand tub, graphing exercise, showcased our Did You Know Cards and Guess What books, had desert landscape types-rocks, sand, ice, etc. and shared many interesting facts about the desert.  Did you know Antarctica is a desert?  We were exhausted after the fair, but it was well worth it!

Making an Instrument!

We continue to learn about sound and the sense of hearing-how/low pitches, vibrations, echos, protection of one's ears, etc.  One of the favorite activites of this unit has always been our version of a harminoca!

I passed out 5 plastic straws and had my students cut them in various places.  We then lined up the ends from shortest to longest and taped the straws together.  We then predicted which straw would have the highest and which one the lowest pitch!  Once they tried out their new instrument, they could not stop using them!  I think we had a band of 19 students playing the same instrument! 

Sound/Pitch Jars

HELLO!  We continue to learn about sound and sight!  Today we made Sound Jars and learned about pitch!  What causes pitch?  What is pitch?  Why is low and high?  What is a high pitch and a low pitch?  What are some examples?  We then predicted which jar would make the highest pitch and also the lowest pitch?  Why?  Finally, we were able to test out the sound jars with a ruler!

Sharing Space Facts

Today I passed our note cards and each student was given two minutes to print all the facts they could about space (moon, Earth, stars).  After two minutes  I teamed them up and they share their facts and recorded new facts; again they were given two minutes.  Then they were in a group of four.  At this point some of them had a full card-hooray!!!
Eventually, we got back as a class and I had them highlight a fact on their card that they did not know before this lesson!  We then discussed our cards!  I was surprised by the facts they remembered and the new ones they presented!

POPULAR ADDITIONS!

I ordered a Stability Ball for one of my students to assist him with his posture, help him with focusing and keeping his energy levels at a better balance, and engage his muscles and brain needed to remain and stay balanced on the ball.  Once he had one and students saw the benefits of the "sit ball" everyone asked
if they could have one!  I WOULD LOVE to have one for each of my students but they are not within the reach of our budget.  I did buy a second one which rotates around the classroom!  Everyone wanted to have the 2nd one on the first day!  Both balls should be red, because these are definitely "hot."  

Glyphs

  Happy Saturday!  The sun is shining in WI!!!  It is a chilly 41 degrees, but I will take it when the sun can make it seem like it is 71 degrees :)


I continue to search for ways to  to assess listening and following directions as well as find out more about my students.  GLYPHS are a great activity to do all of these!  Once completed, discussion can be held to discuss the results of the Glyph-comparing and contrasting two or three Glyphs, having students present their Glyphs, etc.  Here is a link to one glyph that I have pinned!  


Butterfly Glyph

Businesses in our community

HELLO! A few months ago I went around in our village and took pictures of each business/organization/places of services. I believe I took 82 pictures! Today we began writing about a place of our choice. Several students are doing more than one! Some even get to do businesses that their parents own or work at!

Measuring FUN!!!

Today we measured around the room! I found Measuring
Task Cards online and we measured what the task card asked
us to measure. First we predicted, then when measured!
It was interesting to see the different levels of measuring experience!
Some thought they had to add several sets of 12 for the
white board, others realized they could convert it to feet,
whiles others watched first then measured.
A few students needed a challenge so I had them measure the
perimeter of the carpet, room, and the length of the floor!

Painted Lady Larvae-Caterpillars

THEY ARE HERE!!!!!! Our larvae arrived today and we are super excited to start taking notes and make observations of daily changes! In 4 weeks we expect to see PAINTED LADY BUTTERFLIES!!!

Painted Lady Caterpillars

I am so excited. My order has been placed for our Painted Lady Caterpillars! Once we recieve our caterpillars we will watch them move to the next two stages of the life cycle-the chrysallis and then the Painted Lady Butterfly! We will record daily changes, discuss each stage and its importance, and also compare our lives to the life cycle of a butterfly! (only 3 weeks to wait).

Desert Research

We are HOT with desert facts and up to our knees in sand as we research the types of deserts, animal adaptions, survival tools, and where deserts are located. Did you know Antarctica is a desert? Here is a great website for animal facts and has a wealth of helpful information for animal research:

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/animals/creaturefeature/

Our Constitution

Hooray it's Constitution Day...well at least we are learning about our Constitution! ;)
Why do we have one? What is it? What would happen if we didn't? What does the Constitution have to do with my life? We had a great discussion and then wrote our own School Rules to apply what we learned about the Constitution to our lives. Each student had to write five rules that each student in our classroom has to follow. We then shared!
Here is a website I used to help generate a printable Constitution:
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/classroom-management/printable/6800.html

I LOVE EARTH

We have been discussing ways to protect Earth, taking care of our
environment, and being Earth friendly! Each student wrote things
they love about Earth and then we planted Clover seeds. We analyzed the seeds and predicted when they will spout. (many think the 1st week in May).

Parts of speech with Easter eggs

I raided the Dollar Store and bought many bags of Easter Eggs. The possibilities with these are endless. I found many interesting activities online-matching, antonyms, synoyms, homophones, contractions, compound words, math facts, etc. I decided that one of the acitivities I will do is write words on the eggs that are nouns. To add a twist of color, I also wrote words that were not nouns. I will put the eggs around the room and students will need to write down the word, part of speech that it is, and then share their results with each other.

Here is a site that has more ideas:

Easter

I want to wish you all a blessed Easter! May you be filled with hope, joy, and peace knowing that Jesus is risen!

Eagle Cam

Last year we were able to watch the Eagle Cam. The students were fascinated by the care/love the mother has for her young. Again, this year we are able to watch nature in action! AMAZING.

http://www.farmyou.com/falcon_cams/index.html

ENJOY!!!

MONEY!

A Penny is worth 1, a nickel is worth 5, a dime worth ten , and a quarter a 25. ( a little jingle I use to help m 2nd Graders with coin values :)

We have been exploring counting change, making change, adding different coin combinations and comparing the results, and also playing Mystery Coins (I have 4 coins worth 45 cents, what are the 4 coins...)

Overall my 2nd graders are doing well! Adding with half dollars and a series of quarters is a little challenging for them, but I allow them to use an Elbow Buddy to assist them :-)

Here are a few websites I came across to assist in our money unit:

http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/lets_compare/
http://www.smartygames.com/igre/math/learnMoney.html
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/mathgames/money/MoneyDollars.htm

Mini Book Review

HAPPY TUESDAY!!!!! I just found a great find on Teachers Pay Teachers (and it
is free). It is a Mini Book Review; it is a perfect short review for 2nd Graders!
I like that the form has included a part for students to summarize what they have read. Earlier in the year summarizing was hard for my 2nd Graders!
ENJOY!!!!!

2nd Grade Store

Wow. I am amazed and overwhelmed by how well my 2nd Grade students did for our 2nd Grade Store. They are wonderful "business owners," marketers, price adjusters, and have excellent customer service skills! We raised $182 dollars which will be match by a local business. The money will be donated to the American Red Cross!

BRAVO!!!!!!!!!