Pumpkin Investigations

DOES THE SIZE OF A PUMPKIN AFFECT THE NUMBER OF SEEDS INSIDE? We invited a few parents in to help us find the answer to this question. We measured, weighed, counted ribs, estimated seeds and tested a pumpkin's capacity to sink or float. Ultimately we did find our answer. Ask your child what we learned!

October News

We were busy in the Imagatorium this week! Mrs. MacGregor led us through three marble maze STEM challenges. One used ramps on the lego wall, one used pathways on lego boards and one used a program called Newton on the Osmo.

Welcome Back

Welcome to Second Grade! It's going to be a great year!

Please click on the links above for welcome back letters and supply lists. I look forward to seeing you at our Sneak Peak Time, the day before school starts.

Building knowledge...and other things

Which shape is the strongest?

This was the focus of our recent science experiment. As we learn about solids, we constructed towers with triangle, square and circular bases. Ask your child which tower supported the most books!

This week we focused our efforts on retrieving text evidence from non-fiction.

Our main story was a biography of Helen Keller. We explored sign language and Braille.

Here we are before winter break showing off our newly published winter stories!

Thanks to the generous donations of supplies and time from parents, we enjoyed constructing candied winter trees and dreidels.

Our Secret Snowpal cards were a huge hit! Everyone felt special and appreciated by their classmates.

Our "How to" writing focused on wrapping a present. First we wrote directions, then we wrapped a present, then we revised our directions.

Happy New Year!

 

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Pumpkins,Projects and Problem Solving

'Tis the season for PUMPKINS!

While reading From Seed to Pumpkin, we recorded facts about the plant's life cycle using the 2 Column Notes Strategy. This strategy helps us to identify main ideas and details. During research time, some students extended their learning about pumkins using the DK Find Out! Website.

There was plants of hands on learning during our Pumpkin Explorations! Word of the day...circumference! A student added to our discovery by suggesting we reweigh our pumpkins once they'd been hollowed out. We compared those numbers as well as other measurements and number of seeds.

We explored the question, Do bigger pumpkins have more seeds?

What do you think?

Pumpkins found their way into our BUDDY TIME too. We taught our kindergarten pals how to subtract within 5 by playing hide the seeds.

Fall offers great inspiration for writing. These leaves display our discoveries from the Autumn Sensory Walk we took. Ask your child what they observed and how they marblized their leaf.

During STEM week at Shaker Lane, we accepted the challenge to make something that does something.

Using recyclable materials students created pet toys, organizers, puppet theaters, sleds with brakes and more!

In addition to our Second Step lessons, Mrs. Mathurin and Mrs. Braun have been teaching us important lessons from our Social Thinking Curriculum. So far we've learned about WHOLE BODY LISTENING, VOICE LEVELS, PERSONAL SPACE and BEING PART OF A GROUP.

Personal Space-

Being part of a group-

Here are a few students showing off their "teacher style" on World Teacher Day.

Stayed tuned for the next post about our adventures with GOOGLE DRIVE!

 

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Filling hearts and minds

Independent Research was in full swing this week. Students choose topics of interest, working alone or with partner(s) and their research materials. Working with a combination of texts and websites, students ask questions and record data.

This week we organized data using a new graphic organizer. Using three columns, we sorted information by what our topic HAS, IS, and CAN do.

Ms. Deacon stopped by to hear about our projects and check out the DK Find Out! Website.

Active Listening was the topic of our first session with school counselor Mrs. Mathurin and school psychologist, Mrs. Braun. As part of our social emotional curriculum, these teachers will supplement our Second Step lessons with targeted topics.

In related news, our awesome class filled our HEART jar this week. 100 hearts showing off our Honesty, Effort, Acceptance, Respect and Taking responsibility.

Our kindergarten buddies joined us in our classroom this week. Second grade mentors read stories pointing out letters, pictures and asked questions about the text.

A huge THANK YOU to the generous families who donated books to our class from the recent book fair!

We will all enjoy these new titles.

 

 

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Books, Buddies and Buckets

Students enjoyed picking out books and creating wishlists at the Scholastic Book Fair.

We visited Mrs. Hurley's Class and met our buddies. Each week we'll meet to read and learn together. This mentoring program is a great opportunity for all involved.

It was WONFERFUL to see so many families at Open House. Parents worked very hard on the "how well do you know your child" surveys!!

At our first Community Meeting, we learned about being bucket fillers and made a whole school commitment to the philosophy. Our class is almost at our 100 hearts Mark!

 

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