Team Building

As a class, it is critical to make sure that we can work together as a team. So, in order to show second and third graders the importance of good communication while working as a team, we participated in a team building activity in the gym. Students were broken up into four teams (the groups they are usually placed in for classroom activities) and were given a task: they needed to keep a balloon in the air as long as possible. But, there was a catch, they could not do so with the use of their hands. In their groups, students held hands in a circle and kept the balloon in the air with their feet, arms, bodies, etc. The first time students did this activity I gave them no instructions except to keep the balloon in the air. This resulted in bonked heads, poor team work, and groups that just wanted to give up on the task.  

After this, we talked together about how we could make things better. We decided that if we communicated with our groups and said "I've got it" or "you have this one" there would be less injuries and more reliance on one another to help the team out. After this chat, we experimented with the balloons once again and noticed a change. No, it wasn't drastic...it was still very difficult to keep the balloon in the air. But it was amazing to hear the teams talking to each other and encouraging each other as they tried to keep the balloon in the air. After discussing this second experiment, students agreed that it worked better when they communicated with their team members while working together.

Once we got back to the classroom, we discussed why communication is so important when working with groups of people. We discussed how we sometimes do group projects and if we do not communicate with our teammates, then not everyone is participating and the group is more likely to spew out angry or hurt words because of it. We also talked about "good communication" versus "bad communication" and how we will be more supportive of our group mates if we encourage them with kind words rather than yell at them in anger; I don't know anyone who does their best work while being yelled at! Overall, I feel that this team building activity helped the second and third graders realize the importance of talking things out with their friends while working on accomplishing something together.

Missing Teacher!

This past Friday I was not in the classroom and, to discover where my students thought I was, I left a little writing assignment for them to complete while I was out of the classroom. In this writing assignment, students wrote about where they thought I was, what I was doing, who I was with, etc. I loved reading these writing assignments when I arrived back in the classroom and I thought you parents would enjoy reading a few of them as well!

Science Properties

So far this year in science, we've talked about multiple properties of matter such as size, absorbency, texture, and hardness. Today, we learned about a new property: weight. Students were given six different objects and were then told to make a prediction. Students wrote down their prediction of which object was the heaviest, second, third, and so on. After making their predictions, students became the scientists and tested out their theories. In partners, students compared the weights of their objects using classroom scales to test their predictions.

After testing each object, students wrote down their results and compared their predictions with their results. As a class, we shared our results and were surprised when some of our results were not the same. We discussed why our results might have varied; different sized scissors, whiteboard markers, etc. Throughout this activity, students enjoyed testing out their theories and working with their partners. Good job, students!

Sorting Science

This past week our second and third graders have been learning how to sort objects according to multiple different properties they may have. On the first day, the students were responsible for deciding how they would organize objects to properly pack them into three different sized boxes by simply looking at the object and making their best guess on which box it would fit in best. The following day, students behaved as scientists would and discovered, for sure this time, whether or not these objects would fit in which box by measuring each object.

Through this activity, students learned how to sort objects according to their size. They also learned how to correctly measure objects and decide whether or not they would fit in a specific space. Good job students!

Welcome Students!

I was excited to say a huge "welcome" to all of my new second and third grade students on the first day of school last week! My classroom has gone through quite a few changes since last school year and I wanted to show all of my "old" and "new" parents the classroom their students will be learning in this school year as well as the schedule students will go through every school day.

At the beginning of the school day, second and third graders will begin their mornings with a morning work packet on their desks. This packet will include things which students haven't learned yet and things that review what students have already learned. While working on these packets, there is one student every morning that is in charge of our calendar bulletin board. This student will choose the correct days of the week and weather on the board as well as write down some math facts on the bulletin board using a whiteboard marker. 

After morning work, we get started on our faith lessons which begins with prayer and a devotion. This is followed by Reading Street. Every week in Reading Street our second and third graders will have new vocabulary words, spelling words, comprehension concepts, story of the week, and many other concepts. Some of these concepts are changed out every week and are shown on our Reading Street bulletin boards. 

Students go to Brain Break after Reading Street, then we all come back to the classroom to learn math. We usually learn new math concepts at the carpet, where we use whiteboards to practice the math that we are learning. There are new colorful stars at the carpet so that students know where they may sit as they learn at the carpet. We love our new Sit Spots and the new whiteboard (no more chalkboard!) in our classroom!

The rest of our day varies according to the days of the week. But every afternoon we always squeeze in either a science or social studies lesson and some centers. At centers, students practice skills they have been learning throughout the week and they have the opportunity to read books at the carpet (or in the fun flowery chair). 

Feel free to come on in and visit our second and third grade classroom to check out these changes!

End of the Year Party

For the last quarter, our second and third graders have been working on earning an end of the year party for their class. Students earned this party through good behavior in filling up their "marble jar". Students would fill the jar by being good listeners, paying attention during lessons, and making sure they are on task at all times. It was especially tough to make sure we were doing these things through the distractions that come at the end of the year, but students pulled through and filled the marble jar to earn their classroom party.

The classroom party consisted of a movie, popcorn, juice, ice cream, and a little end-of-the-year present from me. This present included light up glasses and a large, fuzzy mustache. Students loved wearing this present and they especially loved posing together for an end-of-the-year classroom photo.

I will definitely be missing these goofballs over summer break! Have a great summer second and third graders, I will see you next school year!