Making Change

To finish up our unit on money, the second grade class has been making change. In order to make this task easier, we used a chart with the columns labelled Price, Amount Paid, Counting Up, and Change. The second graders have learned that putting information in a chart can make it more organized and understandable. Click on the link below to watch a few second graders fill in this chart to make change!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8GwDUEcuIQ

Butterfly Life Cycle

As I am sure you have heard, we have some classroom pets in Room 205! A few weeks ago, we received ten caterpillars in jars. We watched them grow dramatically in size and eventually pupate into chrysalis. These chrysalides were then transferred into a larger netted cylinder where they eventually emerged as Painted Lady butterflies. Every child has had a chance to sit with the caterpillars, chrysalides and finally butterflies to observe closely these amazing creatures. Every family should receive back their child's caterpillar diary this week. In it the students recorded some of their observations. We will keep the butterflies in our classroom through their life cycles as it is too cold to let them go outside. I really believe this project helped the students understand life cycles better and is ultimately an unforgettable experience. I have posted pictures here of the caterpillars getting ready to go into the pupal stage, an adult butterfly eating from an orange, and a couple of students showing off their caterpillar diary work.

Day of the Dead

Today the second graders attended a Day of the Dead prayer service led by the first and eighth grade students. In preparation for the prayer service, each student colored and cut out a calavera mask. These masks were worn during the prayer service to show that we can both honor and celebrate the life of those loved ones who have died. Every student in the school also colored and cut out a marigold to honor and pray for those who have passed away. The marigolds were glued together to make a beautiful tablecloth. It is important to remember All Saints Day and All Souls Day are celebrated this weekend as well as Halloween!

Halloween Fun Fair

 Halloween celebrations began early this year at St. Sylvester School and the students in second grade couldn't have been happier about it! Everyone's costumes were great and we really enjoyed all of the treats that students shared. The Fun Fair was a huge success and I can't believe how many students won fish! Enjoy the pictures below which are just a snapshot of all the fun that was had. Have a safe and spooky Halloween!

Plants

 The second grade class just wrapped up their first science unit which focused on plants. A few weeks ago, we went outside and everyone planted soaked lima bean seeds. Three seeds were planted in each cup and then watered and left in the windowsill. As we discussed plant parts, how seeds are scattered, and how people use plants, we observed the changes our own plants undertook. At one point, we noticed all of the plants were leaning towards the window. Ask your son or daughter about why that was happening. Every second grader will be bringing home their plant this week. Be sure to give them plenty of sunlight, air and water so that they can continue to grow!

One Week After Planting Seeds

Two Weeks After Planting Seeds

The science test this week focused on new vocabulary, facts about how plants grow, labeling plant parts, and drawing pictures of how seeds are scattered. These tests will come home graded this week, so be sure to go over them with your son or daughter.

Ziploc Baggie Number Lines

I hope most families have been able to see and use the Ziploc baggie number lines the second graders made in math class this week. We will be keeping them in school while the students work through this chapter on subtraction. The good news is that they are so easy to make, hopefully some families will make them at home and use them as an extra tool to complete homework at night! Watch the video below to see the second graders in action with their new number lines.

Grapefruit Observations

Poppleton the Pig is one of my favorite characters in children's literature. This week the students read the story Poppleton and the Grapefruit by Cynthia Rylant. Ask your son or daughter to summarize the story for you! Each child completed a few different activities to go along with our reading.

First, the students made "open-mind portraits" of Poppleton. To do this, they needed to color and cut out an image of Poppleton and then attach paper silhoutettes to the back. On each paper they wrote about what happened in the beginning, middle, and end of the story. These will be hanging in the hallway outside our classroom.

The other activity the students did was to observe grapefruit with all of their senses. First, they looked at the grapefruit, touched it, and finally smelled it. Next, they listened to the sound of it being cut and the juice being squeezed from a segment. Last, everyone partook in a taste test. The students took notes in their writing journals on this experience. Some children enjoyed the grapefruit, while many others did not; just like Poppleton. You can watch the slideshow of all of the children's reactions to their grapefruit tasting in the sidebar.

Ask your son or daughter whether or not they liked the taste of grapefruit!

Exciting News!

The second grade played hangman at the end of the day Friday and uncovered this secret message:

I am so excited to share this special news with you and look forward to the exciting journey ahead of us!

Counting On

Our math unit in second grade begins with a review of several addition strategies. One of these strategies is called counting on. When counting on, you must start with the bigger number and count up from there to add the second number. In second grade, the students put up a fist for the greater number and then raise fingers to count on the second number. You can see Olivia and Antonio demonstrate this in the video below:

The students are practicing counting on along with other strategies to review their first grade addition facts. One of the activities we did to practice was a math memory game. This would be easy to recreate at home! I made cards that have math facts on one side and are blank on the other. The students line them up upside down and try to find to addition sentences that have the same sum. For example, 8+3 and 5+6 would be a match. You can see the students playing math memory in the pictures below!

Welcome to Second Grade!

Welcome to the second grade blog! I have included some pictures of important things in our classroom. Ask your son or daughter to let you know more about these specific areas - they should know them well by now! Thank you to all of the parents who attended Back to School Night this evening! Remember that your attendance earned your child a free dress down day for this Friday, August 30th! I look forward to communicating with you often throughout the 2013-2014 school year!