What a Busy Bee week...

First of all, I apologize for not getting this posted sooner.  The weekend managed to slip away from me. Our last week in class was certainly busy, but there was a lot of learning going on.

In Math: We focused on using the strategy of counting on a timeline and counting back on a timeline can be useful strategies in solving addition and subtraction problems.  We used a variety of materials, including beans, bumblebees, honeypots, and beehives.

 

Counting on beans ---- 5 in the bag + 5 on the table is 10 beans total

We also figured out the simplicity of subtracting zero and subtracting all of a given group.  The class used paper tubes to create equations and then check themselves on whether they should subtract all of that number or zero in order to get the given difference.

In Writing:  This last week we focused on writing descriptive pieces.  The students were each given a partner and a Lego piece.  The partners had to write about their Lego pieces in a descriptive way, as if the others in the room had never seen their Lego piece.  We had some very unique pieces, not just your average Lego brick.

And how could I possibly get out the Legos and not let the kids play at least for a few minutes?!?!  After the kids finished their partner descriptive writing, they were allowed to play with the Legos.  We have quite a set of builders and innovators in this group.

 

In Science: We have been focusing on different properties of different objects.  This last week, we took that one step further and used our knowledge of different properties to determine how different tools might be used.  With the tools being from multiple rooms from my own house, including the kitchen, the garage, and the sewing area, the students saw a variety of tools and how they could be put to use.  The students recorded their observations in their science journals and even drew pictures of the different tools that we were researching.

Our tools ---- do you know the use for all of these tools?

(Shown from left to right: vice grip, seam ripper, magnetic pole, avocado slicer, needle threader, apple corer, pastry blender, and bottle/can opener)

In Technology:  We began our Friday technology session with an "unplugged activity."  I pretended I was a robot that needed directions to avoid other obstacles.  The students had to "code" me and give me directions that a computer or robot would understand.  After our unplugged activity, the students had a chance to try a little bit of code and programming on their Chromebooks.  We used kodable.com and we were introduced to the Fuzzies as each of the various codes were written.  These second graders did great with programming the Fuzzies to do what they wanted them to do.

It was such a great week!  Hopefully this week, I can get the blog post up sooner.  Enjoy your week!

*Reminder: This week is Parent-Teacher Conferences.  Students are dismissed at 12:20 pm Tuesday, October 4th - Friday, October 7th.  I look forward to meeting with everyone throughout this week.*

A New Colony

This last week has definitely seemed like a bit of a whirlwind to me.  I have such a great group of kids and I look forward to getting to know each of them better as the school year progresses.  Besides, all of the normal learning of routines, procedures, and expectations, this new group of Busy Bees had a lot to do this first week.
The students started writing in their Think Books, where I give them a topic each day and they write 2 or 3 sentences that focuses around that topic.  This gives them a chance to do some free and creative writing.  The highlight of the Think Books this week for most was probably being able to decorate it with feathers, stickers, and all sorts of little things to really make it their own.  I absolutely love when kids can feel proud of something because they have helped create it.
I introduced a little bit of science this week.  Our focus was on "What are the different types of science?" We also talked about what qualifies as science.  The students went to 4 different science centers where they had to determine if that activity was science or not.  At the "Ice Center" they observed ice melting either in their hands or on the table.  Some students even found out here that when you slide the ice around on the table, it melts faster.  At the "Paint Center," the students mixed two different colors of paint and added that to their science journal.  At the "Attribute Block Center," the students had to sort different shapes and colors of blocks into different groups.  The last center, the "Cubes Center," had students taking apart pre-built items and creating new designs out of the snapping cubes.  After some time to explore, discover, and discuss the class was able to determine that all 4 of the centers were science....all different types of science.  As we continue throughout the year, we will be diving deeper into each of these areas of science, along with other areas.
Tuesday afternoons is our regularly scheduled P.E. time, and we began with some basic jumping skills.  The students had a great time jumping in and out of hoops and spots on the ground using two feet at once, one foot at a time, and skip-jumps where they jumped with one foot and landed on the other.  This was the introduction to our Jump Rope unit for the year.
In this first week of school, the class as a whole was able to earn a total of 300+ Class Dojo Points.  It averages out to about 20 points (or so) per student.  The class is learning very quickly that earning points can be very easy, as long as they are following directions.  It will be very interesting to see what our grand total is this coming Friday when I hold our first Class Dojo Store.
Throughout the week we also managed to get out the Chromebooks twice!  With having 1:1 Chromebooks in the classroom, I like to spend part of the year on understanding how to properly use the device.  While the Chromebooks are fun and we do many different things on them, I remind the students that we are very lucky to have such wonderful TOOLS (not toys) in our classroom.
So this pretty much sums up our first week as a new colony of Busy Bees.  Normally I would post pictures that went along with some of what I wrote about, but I am still checking on picture release permission forms and want to make sure that I am respecting what everyone is requesting.  Hopefully some pictures will make it up here this next week!

Here is to looking forward to a great 2016-2017 school year!

Welcome Back from Break!

Welcome back from Spring Break!  As I mentioned to the class the other day, we are now in the last trimester (3 months) of the school year.  Some of the students had a hard time believing that they were that close to 3rd grade.  As second grade is coming closer to an end, we still remain the very busy, Busy Bees.

This week our writing has been focused on some of the components of Digital Citizenship.  Each student had to choose one component of Digital Citizenship and explain why it is the most important piece to them.  The class chose from Digital Footprint, Privacy and Security, Internet Safety, Communication, and Creative Credit since these are the main elements that we have been focusing on throughout the school year.  We were able to put together some class books that talk about the different elements of Digital Citizenship.  Some of these written papers will be used for our culminating project on Digital Citizenship that we will be filming in just a couple of weeks.

In math this week, we began to work on learning about two-digit subtraction.  So far, it seems to be a skill that many of the students are enjoying being able to try out.  We have played a couple of subtraction games this week, including the "Pirate Sunken Treasure" game that the students played with a partner. 

Also, in math this week the class was introduced to a new website called prodigygame.com  The students are very excited about this site because the kids answer math questions while they "battle" against wizards and monsters, with quests that they can complete along the way.  

This was probably the highlight of the week for many of the students.

For P.E. this week. we took advantage of the bright sun.  The students were in groups of three and had to create a shadow shape and then the other groups had to make that same shaped shadow.  This was a great opportunity for the students to figure out where they should stand in relation to the sun and how they could move their bodies to mimic the shapes being shown.  Eventually, we combined a few of the groups and the kids had an even bigger shadow shape to match.

Heart

The letter Q

Propeller

Larger group

Larger Group

To end the week, we started an exciting and new thing for STEAM.  The whole class is now part of the Google CS-First Club.  This club stands for Computer Science- First.  In this club, the students get to create a project each week using Visual Programming Interface coding.  This week the students created a project using the site scratch.mit.edu and it's main character the "scratch cat."  This was very exciting as many students were able to program the cat to do something, whether it was talk, walk, run, or meow.  At the end of our club session we were able to have a showcase and view some of the students' work.  As we continue with the Google CS-First club, the students will be able to get  a stronger grasp on what coding looks like and what they can actually have the computer programmed to do.  If nothing else, the students were able to collaborate and gain ideas, tips, and advice from their own classmates.

scratch.mit.edu

Some collaboration in action

This was a great week and a great way to come back from spring break!  

Coming soon.... information on the field trip to Fort Bragg (ocean).  

Quick FYI: The date for the field trip is Tuesday, May 31st.  If you are planning on attending as a chaperon, please make sure you have a recent cleared TB test and have filled out the volunteer packet through the office.

March Madness

As is seeming to be the usual in our classroom, we have been extremely busy.  During our spirit week for Dr. Seuss' birthday we had quite a few participants.  Friday was the, "Oh the Places You'll Go" where students dressed up as what they would like to be when they grow up.  The Busy Bees are definitely going places.  We had a couple of models, a spy, and much more.

From Left to Right - Policeman, spy, cowgirl, nurse, computer geek, veterinarian, model, actress, and model

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In science we have been learning about different habitats that are on Earth.  We have discussed what types of animals and plant species live in the different habitats, as well as the climate and general features of 4 main habitats.  Our main focus in our habitat study have been the pond habitat, desert habitat, arctic habitat, and rainforest habitat.  The students created trioramas of the 4 different habitats.  They also each added one animal to each of their drawn habitats.  They look pretty awesome and the kids are so proud of what they were able to accomplish.

Look at all that hard work!

In between all of our habitat study, the students had an opportunity to spend their Class Dojo points.  In the last set of purchases we had 6 students who chose to spend some points to have lunch with me in the classroom.

During the month of March, you probably heard from your children that "we had a sub...AGAIN!"  Also, the comment was made by some of the students that March has been a busy month for Mrs. Crook.  It is true.  One of the days I was out was for a writing conference and another day was for a science conference.  I was able to take a couple of ideas from each of those and combine those into some wonderful writing by the students that focused on our habitat studies.  Our class was also a model for one of the kindergarten classes on campus, so that they can continue their own writing accomplishments.  After working very diligently on their writing, each student in the class was paired up with a kindergarten student to share their published writing.  We had such a great time with Ms. Brown's kindergarten class, that we also decided to do some GoNoodle (indoor movement/P.E.) with them, as well.

On Friday of this last week, the students took their habitat writing and were able to digitally publish their work in a typed document through Google Docs.  The final product looks beautiful and it also helped the students take more ownership and pride in what they were able to accomplish.

To end this last week, our STEAM Friday was focused on density.  I wanted to do something fun for St. Patrick's Day so the class got to make liquid rainbows.  We talked about molecules and how EVERYTHING (living or dead) is made up of molecules.  We also discussed how some things have more molecules than others, which makes them heavier and denser.  The class was in groups and each group was given 6 different liquids: water (blue), Corn syrup (purple), rubbing alcohol (red), olive oil (yellow), honey (orange), and dish soap (green).  Each group was given a different set of instructions with a different order for how to put the liquids in so that they would just sit on top of each other and not mix.  Not all of the instructions worked, but the class was able to see how the different densities can make a difference in how the liquids sat in the cup.

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Reading group instructions

Our palette of colors

Making observations 

Rubbing alcohol worked best when using an eye dropper and dropping along the sides of the cup.

Here is what it looks like so far....

Pouring all other liquids (except rubbing alcohol) worked best being poured straight into the middle, without touching any sides.

5 layers....

The final result.. All 6 layers --- correct order from bottom to top: Honey, light corn syrup, dish soap, water, very thick layer of olive oil, and rubbing alcohol!

The class was very excited to learn about density and molecules.  We discovered as a class that the stickier, and thicker something is, means it is more dense.  The class made some great discoveries on Friday and seemed to have a great time seeing how this different liquids could make something wonderful when combined.

This coming week, we will be doing a final part to our habitat writing and studies.  The class, in small groups, will be making videos of themselves talking about specific habitats and their features.  Because science with writing was just not enough for me :), I decided to add in some technology to this project.  This multi-layered project is a practice for the project we will be doing in April on Digital Citizenship, which has been a major focus in our classroom for technology, social skills, and proper technological etiquette. 

Looking Ahead:

Friday, March 25 is a Minimum Day

Monday, March 28 through Friday, April 1 is Spring Break --- school will resume on Monday, April 4

UPDATE: Our library time has been switched for the remainder of the year, due to some other circumstances, and will now be on Tuesday mornings.  (Sorry for the switching!)