The Power of the Penny

Mrs. Baker came in to read a special book to the class. It is called The Power of the Penny.

Later we were able to Skype with the author, Elaina Redmond. Thank you to Mrs. Baker for arranging this special event for the second graders. Several students were able to ask questions. It was interesting finding out that her book started with a poem she wrote. 

She explained how much she admired Abraham Lincoln as a child and wanted to be a hero like him. The book is full of inspiring information.

Hands-on Math!

Touch it! 

         Count it!

                 Move it! 

                         Write it! 

                                              ...Learn it!

               

Each math unit allows for the use of hands-on materials. These are some of the ways we use materials to make sense of math concepts. Here is an example of students building arrays with bingo chips. 

Students also used a hole punch to create arrays.

Sometimes there are visuals in the workbook and sometimes 
we have to create the visual.

Before drawing in the workbook, we can build the groups with cubes and plates.

Here is an example of "4 groups of 3".

                             

Here we are digging into coins. We used coins to help us solve coin riddles. 

We also solve shopping problems during calendar time. When learning about money we use coins and bills to practice counting different amounts of money. We can also use coins to compare different amounts of money. Here's a fun song to learn about the dollar.

                              

Hands on math works at home too! Empty out your wallet or piggy bank and count coins and make change. Also, grab a ruler or measuring tape and find the height and length of household items. Take out a bathroom or kitchen scale and weigh things. Have fun and explore!

President Projects

President Projects

                           

Several students completed a president project as an optional homework assignment during February. The students were given a template to create and/or decorate a George or Abe figure, using any materials they liked. 

They were also given several questions about George Washington or Abraham Lincoln to research. Once completed the students shared this information with their classmates. 

It was fun to hear the interesting facts they learned about these popular presidents!

Mrs. Begin

Toontastic

In the fall. Ms. Conroy introduced our class to the Toontastic app. The students and I were very excited to learn how to use the app to make movies to tell our own stories. 

(You can learn more about the free Toontastic app HERE.)

 

 Ms. Conroy created a story with the students to practice. First, they had to select a setting. The app provides many to choose from. Next, they selected characters and decided on a problem one of the characters would have. Finally, they determined the solution to the problem. The students learned that they would create the actions and the voices of the characters. In fact, they would be able to use different voices and accents to speak as the characters. 

Students explored the Toontastic app on classroom ipads during writing time and WIN time.  They chose characters from those available or created their own using a drawing feature. Students touched the screen to control the movements of the characters and recorded the dialogue of each character using their own voices. This ties in with our second grade reading standards. We practice using different voices when reading dialogue orally.

  One of the benefits of Toontastic is that the story-making process is broken down into five steps, which gives students exposure to the structure of a well-told story.

 

Students also have the option to enhance the mood of each scene by selecting appropriate background music. Once students complete their story, they title their movie and it is saved to the ipad,
where it can be viewed by others.

When we began our genre study of Animal Fantasy, Ms. Conroy showed the students how to create their own Animal Fantasy story, connecting reading and writing. 

Students used a story web graphic organizer to plan their Animal Fantasy story.  Ms. Conroy also created a dialogue graphic organizer that students used to plan out what their characters would say. This allowed students the chance to rehearse the voices of the different characters.

 

The students enjoyed writing their own stories with dialogue. Below are some of the standards addressed during reading and writing time. 

This app is certainly a fun way to practice these skills!

RL.2.6 Craft and Structure 6. Acknowledge differences in the points of view of characters, including by speaking in a different voice for each character when reading dialogue aloud.
W.2.3 Text Types and Purposes 3. Write narratives in which they recount a well-elaborated event or short sequence of events, include details to describe actions, thoughts, and feelings, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide a sense of closure.
W.2.6 Production and Distribution of Writing 6. With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers.                                                                                          Mrs. Begin

Animal Habitats and Adaptations

The Museum of Science in-house field trip was amazing!  The teacher from the museum brought three live animals for the students to observe. These animals live in different habitats in the wild. Through the use of a slide show and a camera, students were able to examine different features of each animal. One thing we looked at on each animal was its teeth. This helped us determine what type of food the animal eats. The students were made encouraged to use the terms herbivore, carnivore, and omnivore. Students observed other features that could help an animal get food, hide from enemies, and survive in its habitat. As students determined information about the animal, the teacher added it to this large chart. The final task was to determine which habitat the animal lived in. Students began by eliminating the habitats it definitely could NOT live in to narrow the choices.

One of the animals was a hedgehog. She was very shy and spent most of the time hiding in the shavings but the information provided in the slide helped us learn more about her.

       

The other animals were a tiger salamander and a prehensile tailed skink.

Below is a video about a barred tiger salamander.

Here is the chart the students helped to complete.

After the presentation (and a question/answer session) the students got to explore the animal skins and coverings at a touch table.  

   

   

We also got a closer look at the skink!

Later that day, students had the opportunity to draw and write about the field trip. They were able to record what they learned about habitats and the animals we saw.

This is such a great experience. I look forward to this visit every year!

Stay tuned because The Museum of Science will be coming back again

 to teach the second graders about Life Cycles!