Super Mrs. Wells

Today was dress like your favorite superhero.  I'm not one to miss out on the fun so I joined in.

This week we did some research on weather.  We researched different types of weather like storms, tornadoes, snow and rainbows.  Then we wrote and presented reports to each other.

We started a poetry unit in writing.  We started by taking a nature walk and choosing some topics in nature that we wanted to write about.  We tried using our imagination and seeing things differently through a poet's eyes.  We learned about putting line breaks in our poems too.

In science, we did a fun gas experiment with Mrs. Taylor's gas. Then learned about how the particles look in solids, liquids and gases.  We created a model to help us understand this concept.

In math, we finished up with clocks and have moved onto money.  Several students still do need practice telling time.  Many get confused with the hour hand.  Whenever possible, try to practice at home.  We are doing really well so far with coin counting.  Next week we will start adding money and doing word problems involving money.

Our penny war for our playground is going great.  Our penny bucket is very full.  Great job parents. Next week, the bombing starts!!  Let's go 2-Wells!! Bring in those silver coins and dollar bills.  

Have a great weekend.

We All Just Wanna Be Big Rock Stars!!

This week we finished up our class book and it is on its way to be published.  I'm so excited to see the finished product.  One of our lucky students even designed the cover.

Since our book was complete, we started a new writing project.  We wrote a narrative about what it would be like to trade places with our favorite TV, movie or rock star.  The students had some great ideas like riding in limos, performing in concerts and just spending a lot of money.

This week we read poems about nature in reading.  We talked about how the poet shows his or her feelings in writing.  We found similies and rhyming words in the poems.  We also discussed the theme or message of the poems.  

We started practicing telling time in math.  This is a skill that needs some practice. Any practice you can do at home is very helpful.  The expectation is that second graders should be able to tell time to the nearest five minutes.  We played time bingo today for some extra practice.

In science we compared the properties of solids to the properties of liquids.  We found some similiarities like they both have color.  We also discovered that one thing they do not have in common is shape, liquid takes the shape of whatever you put it in.  In social studies we read about how communities get bigger and smaller when people move in or out. Sometimes, communities get run down and must be rebuilt.  The students were asked to take a run down community and decide whether to rebuild some buildings or fix them up. 

Today is the first day of spring.  Someone needs to let Mother Nature know that...snow is falling!!

Make sure you check out the class news page for the updated school calendar.

Spring has Sprung!!

After a snowy week last week, it looks like winter may be over.  Let's hope!!

Last week, in celebration of Dr. Seuss's birthday, we read The Cat in the Hat.  We then wrote about what we would do if those two silly characters, Thing 1 and Thing 2, came to our house.  We wrote about they would get in, what they would do while they were there and how we would get them to leave.

This week we were introduced to several folktales.  We read some fun and silly stories that tried to explain something in nature to us.  In one story "Why the Sun and Moon Live in the Sky", the Sun wanted to invite his friend, Water, to his house.  Sun and his wife, Moon, thought that was the right thing to do since Water was their friend.  In the end, Sun and Moon could not live in their house because Water took it over,  The lesson of the story was about how important it is to have a friend.

We finished up our Measuring unit today with a Unit Test.  These will be sent home to be signed and returned.  Next week we will be starting on Time and Money.

We started working on our class book this week.  You should have received an order form for the book.  If you are not interested in purchasing the book, please just check no and return the form.  This needs to be returned in order for us to receive a free book for the classroom.  The title of the book will be How To Be a Good Second Grader.

In social studies we started a unit on How Communities Change.  In one of our lessons, we started with a new, small community where people were beginning to move.  These people had several different needs.  Therefore, we had to add things to the community.  For example, there were people moving in who had children.  So, we added a school and a playground.  

In science, we mixed liquids.  We predicted what would happen when we mixed shampoo, oil and glue to water.  Many of the students were surprised to see that the oil and water did not mix. 

Have a nice weekend.  Looks like rain...at least it's not snow. 

All About Volcanoes

This week our essential question was "How does the Earth change?"  We read about beach erosion, earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanoes and how each of them change our Earth. We then took some of the information we learned in reading and research from other sources, like other books and a video, and wrote a report about volcanoes for writing. We are still in the process of finishing these, but they will be on display at Best of Heights Night.

In math we did some measuring practice.  We used several different tools to mearsure.  We measured our wrists, neck and ankle with a tape measure.  We measured the hallway and classroom with a meter/yard stick.  We then did some comparing with the measurements.

This week we looked at four liquids in science,  We compared the four liquids by looking at such properties as color, feel, opacity and smell.  We then "squished" them around in a bag to see what happens with their shape.  Next week our four liquids will have a race.

In social studies we are learning about being a good shopper.  We did an activity in which every student receieved $10 to spend on various items.  Many of the students were good shoppers and first spent money on needs then on wants.  Some even decided to put a little in their piggy bank.  

We have a new door decoration...check it out!  Spring will be here before you know it!

100 Day!!

This week we celebrated 100 day.  We started off the day with a fun coloring activity. Then in writing we wrote about how we would be when we were 100.  Some of the things we wrote about were: what kind of foods we will eat, what kind of things we will have (like gray hair, wigs/toupees, glasses), what we will not like (children) and what we will remember about being a kid. We used a fun app that aged our faces to show us what we would look like in 100 years.  The students got a kick out of what they look like with wrinkles.  You will get to see these at Best of Heights Night.

In reading this week we read about different parts of the world and how they are different.  We read about Alaska.  Did you know that in the summer the sun shines for 60 days straight and in the winter there is no sun for 80 days?  We also read about two different kinds of rain forests; the tropical rain forest and the temperate rain forest.  We compared and contrasted the two.

In math this week, we practiced measuring in inches and centimeters.  We measured some things around the room like a pencil, a book, a desk and a bookshelf.

We started our unit on liquids this week...with no spills!!!  We compared two liquids: glue and water. Next week we will add some more liquids and compare them as well. 

In social studies, we concluded our unit on service jobs.  We created puppets of each job and had a "job Fair" by describing each job.  

Have a good weekend. Stay warm! 

Calling Dr. Wells.... Calling Dr. Taylor!!

This week was our annual "Contraction Surgery".  Dr. Taylor and I (Dr. Wells) performed surgery on our three patients: he is, is not and they will.  They came to us asking to be turned into contractions.  We removed the "i" from he is, the "o" from is not and the "wi" from they will.  It was touch and go for a while with they will due to his more complicated surgery but we saved him and he's doing well today.

Dr. Wells and Dr. Taylor

After Dr. Wells and Dr. Taylor performed their surgery, it was time for the medical students to perform surgery.  They were each given a "patient" and asked to make it into a contraction.  Then their patients were put into the recovery romm with Dr. Dennis to look after them.

This week was a review week for reading in preparation for a Unit test that will be given next week. We practiced finding the main idea and figuring out the author's purpose.  

We finished up our unit on double digit addition and subtraction.  Some of the students had a difficult time with the word problems which is very normal at this level.  We will continue to work on them throughout the year.

In honor of Groundhog Day on Monday, we spent the week learning about and writing about groundhogs.  The students were read a book and watched a video about groundhogs.  They took notes with the information they learned and turned that information into a report.  These will be displayed at Best of Heights night in the spring.

Keep in mind that next week is a short week.  Wednesday is our Valentine's party so if you are having your child send cards they have to be in by then.  Thursday is an inservice for teachers so therefore there is no school for students.  Have a great long weekend!!

Express Yourself!

This week our essential question was "How do you express yourself?" We read stories about kids expressing themselves through music.  There is a group of students from a New York public school that travels around the country singing on stage.  Some choirs use dance movements when they sing on stage to express themselves.  We practiced finding the main idea and key details that support the main idea.

In math we continued practicing two digit subtraction with regrouping.  We will do a little more review next week with addition and subtraction followed by an end of unit test.

For fun this week we made some super bowl predictions.  Sorry to the New England Patriots because only one student in our class predicted they would win.  I hope they are not "deflated."

With having had a snow day this week, our writing project fit in nicely.  We wrote about what would make a "Super Snow Day."  

In science we continued testing properties of our solids.  This week we tested whether the solid would float or sink.  It was very messy but some of the students were surprised to see which solids floated.

Finally, at the end of our week we met with our book buddies from 4th grade.  We have been reading a book called The One and Only Ivan.  It's about a gorilla who lives at a shopping mall and who is very lonely.  We haven't gotten too far into the story but I have a sneaky feeling that he will triumph in the end.