I Have, Who Has?

Students recently learned a new game called "I have, Who has?" This game consists of a deck of pre-made cards for different topics in Math. One game focuses on counting coins. Each student receives a card. They must count the value of the pictures of coins presented on their card and ask the class who has that amount. The amount will be found on the top of another students' card- written this time instead of pictures. This game involves a lot of thinking and the kids seem to really enjoy it. We also have a time game that shows clocks with specific times written on them. Here are a few pictures of the students playing in smaller groups:

Warm Fuzzy Jar

The students finally filled up the warm fuzzy jar! To decide what their reward would be, we used a function on a new application they are using, Edmodo, to vote for the best reward.

 We also use Edmodo for a variety of other things for learning. It is a program that we use to share thinking, share creations, post about what we are learning, give feedback, take quizzes & polls, and much more. Each subject area has its own page so students can keep their work organized.

To Inform/Entertain

 To Inform & To Entertain:

 

Students used a past issue of Scholastic Books to cut and past into a 'T Chart' under the correct category. Does someone read this book to be entertained or informed? This activity was in addition to the work we have been doing on Fiction and Non-Fiction, and also goes hand-in-hand with the reading logs students do daily.

The hardest part was determining whether some of the animal books were fiction or non-fiction. Some students had difficulty with with this because many of the non-fictions texts they check out of the library are about animals, so they always associate animal books being non-fiction. They did very well with this activity and really enjoyed it!

Apple TV

For the past month, our class has become acquainted with a new technology feature in the classroom. It is called 'Apple TV' and it is a product that works with our iPads to project student work onto the white board. This capability helps students share their thinking and reflect on the work they do. The students use an App called 'Educreations' which allows them to create drawings, write text, and record their voices. Then during sharing time, they can project that work onto the big screen and let the students hear what they have created. It is a great tool and the kids love it!

Here is a photo of the students working on the applicatoin 'Counting Coins.' I gave the students an amount and they had to make the amount and share how they counted out that value.

Counting Coins

The students are busy learning to count coins. We are doing this in a variety of ways:

The students track the days of the school year using pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. We add these to our classroom 'bank' and they record it in their Coin Calendars. Can you believe we are already on day 56?! That means, we have $2.10 in our bank!

We are also using a great application on the iPads called 'Counting Coins.' This app allows the kids to make values of different amounts and show how different amounts can be made using different coins. We recently downloaded 'Counting Money,' so we will be starting this app shortly.

Here are a few pictures of our class teaching and working with Mrs. R's class on the iPads during math:

Students are also working vigorously with plastic 'school' coins to make different amounts. We are trading coins, adding coins, subtracting coins, and making large values with our coins and dollar bills. The students help each other tremendously with this skill. They use their 'mathematical thinking' to explain to their classmates how to make values with the least amount of coins.

Happy Halloween!

Here is their scary pose:

Here is their smiley pose:

and their silly pose:

Fix-It Strategies

For our unit on the comprehension strategy 'Monitoring for Meaning,' students have learned a few strategies to help them when they come to an unknown word in their book. These fix-it strategies are modeled after the Beanie Baby figures that were popular years ago.  When your child is reading at home, it would be good to refer to these strategies as that keeps the language consistent between home and school!

Here is a brief explanation of each:

Eagle Eye tells you to Look at the Pictures:  Have your child look at the pictures for clues to help figure out the word.

Lips the Fish tells you to Get your Lips Ready:  Have your child say the first few sounds of the word out loud.

Stretchy Snake tells you to Stretch it Out:  Have your child stretch the word out slowly and put the sounds together to figure out the word.  As a further point, we prefer to use the phrase “say it slowly,” rather than “sound it out.”

Chunky Monkey tells you to Chunk the Word:  Have your child look for a part or a “chunk” that they know (ex: -ing, -old, -and, etc.).

Skippy Frog tells you to Skip it, Skip it:  Have your child skip the word, read to the end of the sentence, and then go back and try it again.

Tryin’ Lion tells you to Try it Again:  Have your child reread the sentence and try a word that makes sense.

Helpful Kangaroo tells you to Ask for Help:  After your child has tried applying some of the strategies as learned, he/she can ask someone else for help.

Dot the Giraffe tells you to Watch the Punctuation:  Have your child watch the punctuation (,  . ? ! “”).  Example:  Read with expression when you see the talking/quotation marks.

Flippy Dolphin tells you to Flip the Vowel Sound:    In other words, try a long vowel sound if the short vowel sound does not work (example: a vowel will say its own name when an ‘e’ is added to the end as is bit to bite, hat to hate, not to note). 

Problem Solving & Building Numbers

Room 110 has been working very hard in Math! We have been working to build numbers with ten frames and bead strings, and then applying that skill to another skill: problem solving. Each student has a 'Math Toolbox' that they store all of their manipulatives in.  They can use their toolbox whenever they need it to assist them with any sort of math skill.

Here, you will see students building numbers using number cards and ten frames. They pull a number out of their bag (closing their eyes, of course :) and build the number with both manipulatives. Then, they take that a step further and make a number that is 10 less & also 10more than the original.

Another day in math focused strictly on Problem Solving. Students were given multiple story problems and used their whiteboards and markers to solve independently at their seats. The skills mentioned above (10 more & 10 less) were the focus of this problem solving lesson. The students also worked on 100 more and 100 less & place value.

Here are some pictures of students sharing their thinking with the class:

Clouds

We began our unit on weather a few weeks ago. Last week, the students were able to go outside and take pictures of clouds in the sky. They spent some time observing and then chose a cloud that they liked best. In weeks to come, our Media Center director will be working with the students to create a PhotoStory documenting their clouds and categorizing them by types. Here are a few cloud pictures from last week:

Happy 50th Birthday Clifford!

Monday, September 24, 2012 was Clifford the Big Red Dog's 50th Birthday! Fierke's 1st and 2nd graders gathered in a the Media Center to watch a live webcast from Scholastic headquarters in New York City. The webcast featured the author of Clifford's books, Norman Bridwell, along with Emily Elizabeth and Clifford himself! All students wore their 'Clifford ears' that they made themselves. We continued the celebration in class by sending a special message to Clifford using our iPads on www.scholastic.com/Clifford. Here are a few pictures from the event:

Remembering September 11th in Room 110

Today we remembered the events of September 11, 2001. We started the day with a tribute by our Principal and the Pledge of Allegiance. We watched a short video that had very vivid images that were captured throughout the time when the attack on the U.S. occurred. The students were very interested in learning about the sequence of events and the struggles people had to go through during this time.

We also read the book Fireboat, by Maira Kalman. This book captivates the life of a New York City fireboat, built in 1931, that helped out the NY firefighters the day of 9/11. We made connections to this event to our own lives, and also made connections to things we've seen or heard on television or from parents about 9/11 (activated our schema!). 

To wrap up our lesson on September 11th, the kids were given an American Flag template (Thanks to my 2nd Grade team :). In every other stripe, the letters that make up the word R-E-S-P-E-C-T were written. The students had to come up with a word to represent the country that we live in that started with each of the letters of the word Respect. The picture shown above is the students with their final projects. Here are some examples of what they came up with:

R-Responsibility                                          
E-Enjoy Life
S- Sharing
P-Peace
E- Encourage
C- Citizens
T- Trust

R-Respectful
E-Enjoy Freedom
S- Salute the flag
P-Pledge of Allegiance
E- Equal
C- Caring for all and our Community
T- Take Chances


Here is a link to the video on SchoolTube: http://www.schooltube.com/video/9033b1725b7b433f931f/

Classroom

Here is a tour of Room 110. Enjoy!

Classroom pics:

Here is the Classroom Management system that I am using in class.All students begin the day with their clothespin on Green. Blue is a verbal praise. Pink is an additional 10 minute reward choice. Orange is a warning to change behavior and 5 minute loss of technology or other class privilege (teacher's choice). Black is 10 minute loss of privilege and parent contact (form sent home &/or phone call).

My new 'wrap-around' projector that came with the Technology Package. This eliminates using a cart in the middle of the classroom to project on the whiteboard. No shadows!!

Calendar time! During this time every morning, the kids recite the date, count the days of the year using tallies, ten frames, straws (place value), and coins. Each student has a 'Coin Calendar' that includes a calendar and data table that must be filled in every morning to count the days of the year using coins.

 These are student mailboxes that collect all work from the week. Friday folders are sent home with all work from the week and returned on Monday. Homework folders are sent home daily and brought back daily.

This is our reading area. This is where read-alouds take place and students gather to listen. I use my special 'bee' chair to read from.
The 'Super Work Spotted' board is where student work is displayed that is 'spotted' by the teacher!

iPad Station for students' iPads. They must return to their 'homes' at the end of each day.

Birthday cupcakes! I decided to do something a little different this year and add student pictures, instead of just writing their names. They loved it!

What do good readers do? They use all the reading strategies we will cover over the course of the year- Schema, Inferring, Visualizing, Synthesizing, Asking Questions, Determining Importance, & Monitoring for Meaning.

To go along with our 'Technology Classroom,' our classroom jobs are all on iPods. Each week, there will be 16 jobs- each student will have one weekly. Jobs include: Messengers, Scrap Patrol, Monitors, Technology Helpers, Paper Passers, Line Leader & Ender, Librarians, Lunch card and Lunch Bin Helpers.

This may be a little difficult to see, but this is 'Mrs. G's Swap Shop!" I am using this as a reward program and also as a tool in learning how to count coins. The students each have a cup hanging from the side of their desk. Every day, I walk around and reward good behavior with pennies (sometimes nickels if it is outstanding behavior). On Friday afternoons, students have the option to swap their coins for reward prizes- things like pencils, erasers, sharpeners, mini markers, bouncy balls, etc. They can use their money on Friday or save their money to buy something a little more 'expensive.' It will also help them with money management and to be responsible with their 'earnings.'

When students walk into the classroom in the morning, they must grab their lunch card and place it in either the 'hot lunch,' 'cold lunch,' or 'milk' container. This will determine lunch count and attendance for the day.

"Warm Fuzzy" Jar. I found this great idea on Pinterest. It reads 'Do something kind and get a WARM FUZZY. Put it in the jar. When the jar is full you get a class party!' I have the 'warm fuzzies' clipped to the side of the shelf for easy access.

These two shelves make up my library. I am working on expanding it and my co-workers have been very helpful in helping me accomplish this, since I am new to second grade and didn't have many books to start the year. The kids were very excited to see chapter books now that they are in 2nd grade.




Well, there you have it! My classroom- this far. I am in the process of adding a few things, so I will post some new pictures soon! Thank you for viewing my blog!


Mrs. Grigas