Snowmen at Night

After reading Snowmen at Night and discussing the writer's craft of rhyme, look what we created!

Such imaginative children we have! 

December in Our Town

What an amazing performance!

Wishing you a wonderful holiday!

Publishing Popcorn Party!

Today we celebrated our first narrative writing. We looked at 3 specific pieces for crafts that we can incorporate into our own writing. Ask about engaging beginnings, voice, and dialogue.

We then got into groups and listened to yo friends read their stories and are our popcorn!

The Dot- Pumpkin Style

We are incorporating the message from The Dot into our classroom throughout the year. 

Check out our "dots!"

Earthworms Galore!

Friday was kind of a "wiggly" day! We have been studying rocks and soil in science.

We have also been reading about earthworms that live in the top layer of the soil. We have found out many pieces of information about an earthworm! Just ask us about their castings!

We started Friday by predicting if two earthworms would go to a  

damp or dry paper towel when put in a dark box. We placed the two worms in the center of the box. 10 minutes later, we collected our first data. Both went to the damp towel! 10 minutes later, one worm had gone to the dry and then did a u turn for the damp. The other worm was under the damp towel!!!

We then felt, held and measured the lengths and widths of the worms.

What excitement!

Gardening

Today was a perfect day to get into our garden!  The sun was shining and the fall temperatures are here!  We weeded and planted some Sugar Ann Peas. We can't wait until they begin to sprout!! 

 

We can't wait to get into our garden!

   Dr. Zenk, aka "The Garden Lady", came to speak to our class this past week. She showed us some sweet potatoes and watermelons grown in our very own CCE garden!  Some students even had the opportunity to demonstrate the importance of space when planting seeds!  The students are looking forward to getting into the garden this coming week to plant sugar snap peas.  We all hope to have green thumbs as we learn about the life cycles of plants!

Book Fair Fun!

After reading School Picture Day by Lynn Plourde, we read Book Fair Day today. Both these books are well written and loved by our students!

We were able to begin to compare and contrast the two stories and notice the different writing crafts like using a repeating line.

Dewey Booker snuck down 15 doors to the library, so today we "snuck" in the book fair! 

Such

fun!

Friendship Dots

We received our other half of our friendship dots from our new friends in New York. The children glued their half with the other child's to make a complete dot! Look for them in the homework folders this week.

Marvelous Magical Media

Today we visited Ms. KK in the Media Center! The students checked out books and listened to her read! 

The children clapped and were so excited to be in that large room filled with books. They loved learning from the Library Fairy!

Rocks!

Today we investigated our rocks using various scientific tools. We sketched, looked at it closely with a magnifying glass and measured it with a ruler in centimeters. We used delicious adjectives to describe our rocks as well.  We will determine its mass tomorrow.

Object Memories

Lucy Caulkins is a writing guru for educators across the country. We follow her writing curriculum here at Chets Creek. 

As we have been working on our personal narratives, this week we chose to write about an object.

We had such a fun time bringing in an object from home! There were several requirements, but the biggest requirement was that the object had to spark a memory! We had show and tell jotting down ideas. We created a web using specific question words and then we began to write.

Open House

What a wonderful evening we had with our families! It is an honor for us to teach your precious children. We were "wild" about sharing our day with you and enjoyed watching you on the Academic Safari. We are looking forward to a "roaring" year!

Starting Stories

As we launch our narrative writing unit, we have learned that writers write about special people and special places. As writers, we learn from each other all the time.

Today in share time, we heard from writers who used sensory details, descriptive details and onomatopoeia or sound words. 

Webs are a great tool a writer uses to generate thoughts. Each writer also has their writing book to use as another tool!

Dot Skypes!

Yesterday we had the pleasure of skyping with a second grade class near New York City. Earlier in the week we had decorated a friendship dot and sent the children half of the dot. Next week we should receive the half decorated by our new friends.

While skyping, a few friends from our class described to the students in New York the activities we did for Dot Day! They were impressed. A special thanks to Mrs. Holtsman for arranging this friendship adventure!

What's Popping in Science

As scientists we had fun today using our five senses to explain a scientific process. We used our senses to describe what happens to a popcorn kernel when it is heated. We started by writing a prediction and ended with a conclusion statement. 

The children were so excited to hear the kernels popping while over the heat! The teachers enjoyed the smell of the popcorn and we ALL enjoyed the taste!

 

Dot Day

We had an amazing day today! We designed 5 centers to showcase each child's creativity, just like Vashti.

Children wrote about how they were going to leave their "mark" on the world. They used various supplies to create a 3D dot. Each child brilliantly used an eraser on a pencil and a stamp pad and created art with dots. For pure pleasure, they each decorated a dot sugar cookie with icing dots and sprinkles. We were astonished at their masterpieces! Finally, they went on a dot exploration. They drew or wrote on a data collection sheet (little scientists)  the dots they found. Mrs. Walag captured each dot in a photograph. Their keen eyes are going to yield an amazing photographic display of dots. Peter H. Reynolds might want to visit Chets Creek!

Scientists Survey

Today we learned that scientists gather data by conducting surveys. Each student selected 5 animals from a list the class created. They then walked around surveying friends to find their favorite animal off of their list. 

Students then analyzed their data and wrote a sentence telling what they learned.

Close to 20

Today we used number cards and number strings with three digits to get "Close to 20!" 

The students were dealt 5 cards. They had to select the 3 cards that when added together would get them closest to 20. 

When Mrs. Constande and Mrs. Walag played one round, they tied!

The students were so supportive and encouraging with each other! 

No Legs, Please!

We are excitedly working on number strings! We know to look for combinations of 10 and for doubles. When we find a number combination that equals 10, we rewrite them using parenthesis. We also reference the number chart in the classroom to become familiar with doubles up to 30! 

In first grade some of us used "legs" in our number strings, but we are now using parenthesis!

Make A Word

We are using Patricia Cunningham's Make a Word phonics and spelling instruction. The children manipulate letters to see phonetic patterns and spelling rules. We also incorporate vocabulary development, rhymes, homophones and many other skills. The words are in the back of their planners with the master list.

You Scream, Ice Scream

Our second graders have been working hard these first three weeks of school. As a treat, we gave them ice cream sandwiches. They were so happy and appreciative! 

WOW!

Tomorrow is our first WOW Day! It stands for Working On the Work. While your child rotates between the resource classes, the second grade teachers are in training. It is a phenomenal way for your child to receive extra resource and for the teachers to learn and plan.