Lab Report Writing

In Room 106 you'll find ping-pong balls and cotton balls flinging through the air.  No, we haven't lost all control before the holidays!  We're doing experiments with catapults so that we can focus on scientific writing!  We continue to write lab reports and this week we focused on being specific when we are writing down our procedures that need to be followed to perform the experiment.  In jest, I mentioned that if I brought down 5th graders they needed to be able to read the step-by-steps and know exactly how to set things up...we couldn't just write, set things up!

After thinking on the idea Mrs. Pierce (a 5th grade teacher) and I decided, why not have the 5th graders do just that!  See our pictures below.  Each 2nd grader was assigned a 5th grader who worked with them to help revise and carefully read their procedure page.  

The results were awesome!  There was a lot of talk about adding more specifics and 5th graders offered excellent suggestions to us!  Ask your child who they worked with and what they suggested!

Science Changes
We have been examining matter and how it changes when mixed with water.  Here we are comparing salt crystals that  were mixed with water.  The water has since evaporated.  We are comparing these crystals to salt grains.  Notice how each child is observing on their side of the paper.  In the middle of the paper they are putting their thoughts together to look for similarities.  Deep thinking in second grade!

Join Us

For 

American Education Week!

Room 106 invites you to join us for math class on November 21st, 2014 at 2:30 PM.  We will be working on graphing and place value and would like for you to come be a part of our math hour.  Click here to find our RSVP.  Follow the link on my webpage to download and print the form.  We can't wait to have you.  The kids are excited to be able to share with you what we're learning and the strategies we use to get there!   See you then!

Halloween Reader's Theater

Our reading groups performed for the class.  Some groups performed Dav Pilkney's book The Hallowiener and others performed The Little Old Lady Who Wasn't Scared of Anything.  See pictures below!

Writing: Lab Reports - 
We're having so much fun writing this marking period!  In our informative unit we are learning how to write lab reports.  The best part is to write a lab report, you have to do an experiment!  See our writing below for some scientific thinking...we're making a list of our materials and drawing a diagram as to how to set up the experiment!

Determining Story Elements and Summarizing Plot

It may be a little hard to see in our picture.  We read the book The Snowsuit by Robert Munsch as a whole class.  We then went with our buddies to determine what the beginning, middle, and end of the book was (in essence, we were summarizing!!).  Each student wrote either the beginning or the end based on which side of the paper we were sitting.  Then together the pair decided what happened in the middle.  This is something that you could easily do at home.  You don't need to mat to record on.  Just as you're reading together you share what happened in the beginning and have them tell you what happened in the end.  Together decide on the middle!

The Water Cycle
Watch our video below to hear our Water Cycle song!  Listen for our three vocabulary words: evaporation, condensation, and precipitation.

Number Grid Game

In math we have been using our number sense and place value knowledge to play the Number Grid Game.  This would be an easy game to replicate at home.  Use the number grid that was sent home in homework packets (or Google a hundreds number chart and print one off), one die, and any item that can mark a place on the grid.  Students roll the die and move that number of spaces on the grid.  If they roll a 1 or 2 they may decide if they will move 1 or 10 spaces and likewise, 2 or 20!!!  The first person to get to the end of the grid wins!  Winning is all about strategy!  Ask your child to sit down and place with you.  They really like this game and it's quick and easy!

Welcome!

We will use this blog as a way to share ideas, strategies, as well as what we've been doing in class with all of you.  Please check back periodically or subscribe to the blog so that you can see each update!

Writing
We have been learning about writing a narrative focusing on a small moment in our lives.  We have talked about picking something simple to write about, such as going to get pizza, and beginning at the main action of the story and telling as many details as possible.  We have recently begun to revise these pieces, moving them toward publishing.  In the revision process we have conferred with our writing buddies.  In the conferences we ask our buddies to tell us the story and then we ask questions to our buddy about the story in the hopes of learning and adding more details.

    

Knee to Knee with our writing buddies we ask them questions to stretch our our details!

 Showing P.R.I.D.E.
Remind your student at home they can show P.R.I.D.E. as well.  Stay in-control, stick-it-out, be dependable, while being respectful and doing the best they can.  It's a lot to ask but your students are doing it every day!

Beat the Calculator
Here's a great game you can play at home to practice your Fact Power.  Here the students are playing in groups of three, but you can easily adjust this at home to more or less participants.  One person is the "Brain", one the "Caller", and one the "Calculator".  The Caller calls a fact out (ex. 4+5=).  The Calculator types it into the calculator as fast as he can.  Meanwhile the Brain calculates mentally.  Whoever gets the answer first calls it out and if they're correct they get a point.  Is it possible to Beat the Calculator?  With Fact Power, anything is possible!