We are starting to implement the elements of our "Daily Five" Reading Framework. Students are learning to select good fit books, and are building STAMINA during short periods of "Read to Self" time.
VORACIOUS readers are comfortable readers -- we are not bound by our desks and chairs during our "Read to Self" time, as long as we are building stamina and are focused on the job at hand -- reading!
Learning to work with partners is also important in our classroom - whether reading with others OR working on math skills.
Here we are learning about graphs using our school's netbooks and our Smartboard. The software is called "Graph Club" and it helps us achieve the goal of using data to create and interpret charts and graphs. Students start using this program in 1st grade, and this year our goal is to expand their knowledge as to the types of graphs and how to interpret the data.
In Social Studies we are learning about maps. To help us understand the various landforms and waterways in our world, we borrowed a sand table from the preschool, and got our hands a little dirty building mountains, hills, plateaus, valleys, plains, islands, peninsulas, and lakes. Our BGSU methods student/student teacher Mrs. Fletcher joined in the fun. While students waited their turn for the sand table, they made flip books of the landforms and watched a "Brain Pop Jr." video.
As a part of a weather unit in science, we built anemometers (to measure wind speed). This was after learning the three parts of weather (temperature, precipitation, and wind), learning about the water cycle and cloud types, and examining seasonal changes.
Our class earns rewards by working together towards common goals. Here students earned the privilege of bringing a stuffed animal to school to serve as their "reading buddy" for the day. Other rewards include extra recess, game days, etc.
Our class was lucky to be joined by retired BG Teacher, Mrs. Zeh, on Halloween with a special science lesson featuring "skeleton" books, songs, and crafts.
In science, we are learning about force and motion. Here you see small groups learning about gravity with Mrs. Fletcher, our BGSU Methods Student. Then our class observed friction as we sent hockey pucks down the hallway on the tile, rug, and a rubber mat.
Readers Theater is a great way for students to build their reading fluency and comprehension. Here a group performs Are You My Mother? for our class, and then for two of the first grade classrooms.
On Veteran's Day, we were honored and privileged to recognize Veterans for their years of service, both through a schoolwide assembly and in a class visit by Staff Sgt Wright and Master Sgt Hill. At the schoolwide assembly, Zoe Smith was able to salute her mother for years of service, and I was able to honor my father-in-law. Our classroom guests shared the many roles the military carry both in war and peacetime -- reminding students there is far more to a life of service than what students see in video games. We then followed up by compiling a care packages for the 371st Sustainment Brigade of the Army National Guard. This brigade is based in Springfield, OH and is currently stationed in Kuwait.
As a culmination of our social studies unit on how science and technology have changed our lives, students enjoyed a "game day" where in small groups they rotated between "toys of today: wii, ipads, and ipods" and "toys of the pilgrims: blocks, sticks, hoops." Fun and learning enjoyed by all - with many students preferring the option of making their own fun with toys from the past :).
As second graders transition to more sophisticated addition and subtraction strategies, we continue to use manipulatives such as base-10 blocks to demonstrate our understanding of the skills. Here these second graders demonstrate "trading in" ten ones to make a long in order to perform two digit addition with regrouping.
Each month we select a writing sample to place in our "Writing Portfolio." Often we celebrate our work by sharing it from the "author's chair." Here a student shares his narrative story with a holiday theme.
Principal Garbig read The Polar Express to our class to help us celebrate our last day before Winter Break:
We practiced our letter writing skills with online letters to the man at the North Pole:
Our class shared information about Winter Holidays in Mexico as part of the school-wide holiday assembly:
FINALLY on Feb 20th we were able to celebrate the 100th Day of School with a topical "Olympics" Theme. We were able to talk about PERSEVERANCE, DETERMINATION, and TEAM WORK while we exercised our minds and bodies.
Chris Gajewicz, a Naturalist for the BG Parks Department, came to all three Crim 2nd grade classrooms to present information on Ohio Animals, and Fossils, as we begin our next science investigations. Students were enthralled with the fossil examples and animal pelts that he shared.
We continued learning about fossils and extinction through hands-on activities in our classroom -- making imprints with buttons in clay, conducting a paleontology expedition, and painting plaster-cast molded fossils
We are learning about measurement by measuring length and width on our partners!
We understood WHY we need standard units of measure, after trying to measure our class in "second graders" rather than by feet and yards or meters, using standard measuring tools.
We researched careers using information or non-fiction texts, and presented our research reports to our classmates.
As a part of NEA's Read Across America, Crim School celebrated Dr. Seuss! Here are some photos of our festivities:
We are on our third row of hunks-n-chunks for our phonics dance! We use these phonics rules (which are often broken) to help us spell and read.
To help us explore 3D shapes, students built pyramids using straws and twist-ties.
Students use "kidspiration" software on the netbooks to build their own graphic organizers. Lit Circles made webs to share information with classmates about "Light, Sound, and Energy" or "Life in Colonial Times." All students made sensory webs for the Woodlands Habitat.
We have been so fortunate to collaborate with our music teacher, Mrs. Wallace, on weekly reader's theatre scripts! What a great way to incorporate the arts and literature!
BG Parks Naturalist, Cinda Stutzman, helped all of the 2nd grade classes celebrate Earth Day by making paper from recycled materials.
Crim 2nd grade classes were the recipients of an "Adopt a School" Grant from Imagination Station, and enjoyed a wonderful day there April 25. We were able to review weather and force/motion, we were able to learn more about energy, and got a preview of some healthy choices. It was a great experience! more pictures this weekend....
Two students from our class, Aiden D. and Dempsey, had artwork on display at Imagination Station as part of the Symphony League Showcase of Arts. Congrats!
Crim PTO sponsored the "Fest Before the Test" on April 25. What a fun night for Crim families!
We have been learning about fractions through the use of manipulatives, drawings, songs, and craft projects:
As part of the schoolwide reading incentive program, our class enjoyed visits by three trained therapy dogs. Students learned more about these service animals, how and why they are trained and utilized, and then had the opportunity to "dazzle" them with their reading progress.
Completing our culminating study of habitats has involved pulling information from a variety of resources, including non-fiction/information texts and using the internet. Two very helpful websites included: http://www.st-thomas.library.on.ca/?q=content/pebblego-databases-kids and http://a-zanimals.com
As we complete our culminating study of habitats -- in particular, those of sea creatures -- students created artwork using the Tux Paint Program in the style of artist David Katz, after viewing his "Cartoon Sea" video which accompanied a biography of marine biologist Rachel Carson he illustrated.
Visual Displays were created as part of our sea animal habitat research projects, along with written reports:
We participated in a spelling bee using our "red words" (high frequency, word wall, irregularly spelled words we cannot rely on phonics to spell) with the other two second grade classes:
Several students from our class participated in the school talent show:
Second Grades took a walking field trip to Dairy Queen to wrap up our year :)