Saturday, September 29, 2018

Solid Buildings

For the past few weeks our second graders have been learning about different states of matter. To work on one specific state of matter, solids, the students had the opportunity to think of what solids are appropriate for building certain objects. In order for students to really think this through, they were given the opportunity to build three different items (such as a house, bike, car, etc.) with numerous building tools spread across the classroom (magnets, counting cubes, shape tiles, lincoln logs, etc.). Students worked in pairs to build their three objects:





































After building their objects, students thought through a few different questions. How did you choose the materials for your design solution? What was the purpose of different blocks? Students thought through these questions and discovered that different blocks (different solids) are better at designing certain objects than others. For example, students would rather build a house out of the lincoln logs than with the counting cubes because it built a sturdier house. Through this activity, students realized that the properties of different solids truly make a difference when they think through objects that they would make out of those solids.

Thursday, September 20, 2018

Fun Run Classroom Incentives

Our second graders have been working really hard to earn $1,000 as a class through our Fun Run fundraiser this week. As a class, we have earned a LOT of different incentives by raising money as our class. Today, our Pledge-O-Meter reached it's highest level, which means we met our goal of $1,000 as a class.


Today the second graders received their "free choice centers" reward and students LOVED moving around the classroom as they wished through their different centers across the classroom. Students had the choice of doing free choice on the computer, free choice on the iPads, building with magnets, building with blocks, or making different pictures with shapes. Below are some pictures of the students participating in these fun centers around the classroom. 





Tomorrow our second graders will be participating in the school Fun Run from 9:00 - 11:00. There is still time to donate money to our second graders to greatly exceed our goal of $1,000. After the Fun Run tomorrow, second graders will receive their last reward on our incentive chart - Movie Day!! The second graders are excited to spend the afternoon relaxing while watching a movie after their run in the morning. Parents, family, and friends, thank you for helping us reach our goal!

Wednesday, September 5, 2018

Dignity Revolution

Today our second graders had an assembly for Dignity Revolution, which is a bullying prevention program. Throughout this program students were entertained by the hilariously terrible magician as he tried to complete magic tricks. Many students were called up to work with the magician and my second graders were excited to help him out with his magic tricks!



























Through this program, our second graders learned that everyone has value, everyone should be courageous to try new things, and everyone has the right to be respected. Students loved watching this crazy magician and hearing the lessons that he had to teach them. We hope and pray that students take these lessons to heart and put them into practice throughout this 2018-2019 school year.

Tuesday, September 4, 2018

Welcome Second Graders!

Welcome to second grade! My name is Miss Beery and I am excited to be your child's second grade teacher this school year. I wanted to give you parents a glimpse into our second grade classroom. Around our classroom we have different work areas with yoga balls, comfy chairs, or fidget desks so that our second graders can have their choice of seating as they work through different activities. I'm also excited to use our SmartBoard where students can become active in their learning as they work with text or manipulatives on the board. Throughout the day students will have access to computers and iPads so that they can add to their learning with these different forms of technology. Lastly, around the room we have Reading Street bulletin boards as well as a Word Wall so that students can see what they are learning each week and what words they have learned to read and spell throughout the school year. Below are a few pictures of what our second grade classroom looks like this year!