Thinking Bubbles

Money Scoot!

In Math, we have been focusing a lot on money- recognizing coins & making amounts. Students are learning how to count coins and make the transition from quarters (25) to dimes (10) to nickels (5) to pennies (1) when counting a group of coins. 

One game that the students enjoyed was called Money Scoot. They were given a secret amount that they had to first create at their desks. Once they did this, we began the game. I set a time for 1 minute. Students had to 'scoot' from desk to desk and count the value that another student made on their desk. They filled in that amount in a box provided. They had a lot of fun!

Super 2nd Graders!

Making Money!!

Using Sponge Bob money cards, we made money on the board with magnetic coins. Students made the amount two ways. It is encouraged to make the values using the least amount of coins possible. Students made the amounts and then explained why they used the coins they chose. 

Air Resistance

2nd Grade learned a lot about Air & Weather from Mrs. J in the first science unit of they year. They made thermometers, did experiments, and learned a lot about air resistance. To conclude the unit, students made pinwheels and were able to go outside and 'test' them in the wind to 'observe' the air resistance. Mrs. J. also brought out a kite to demonstrate the effect the air resistance had on the kite.

Monitor for Meaning

The students have been studying a variety of Comprehension Strategies over the course of the year. One strategy, Monitor for Meaning, focuses on thinking about their own thinking while they are reading. It is important not to use their 'Distracting Voice!"
Students made speech bubbles that included sentence starters to use to help them think about the books they were reading.
Here are the sentence starters (thinking stems) we used to monitor our thinking:

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).

GREAT BEGINNINGS

Our first writing unit of the year focused on Narrative Writing. We studied Narrative Elements: Characters, Setting, Plot, Problem & Solution. Students also worked on sequencing & using transition words. They worked a lot on writing GREAT Beginnings and GREAT endings.

One activity we did was a Great Beginnings Scavenger Hunt. The students searched and searched through magazines to find and record the great beginnings that started the articles. Here is the final product. We had a lot of fun reading these...

Make it Two Ways

Students played a game using their coins called 'Make it Two Ways.' They work with a partner, pull a 'Piggy Bank' card, and make the value on the bank 2 ways. They are working towards making the amounts using the least amount of coins possible.

2013-2014 School Year!

I am very happy to be back and blogging again about my 2nd Grade Class! They are an outstanding bunch and we have been busy at work since August. Please check back weekly for updates on what we are learning in class. Here are a few pictures of our class on Halloween:

 

Ready to start the parade:

 

The students played a SUPER FUN game spinning a SPIDER WEB during the class party!

Oobleck!!!!!

We celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday by spending a week researching, writing, and reading about this famous author. We ready MANY books written by him.

One book in particluar, Bartholomew and the Oobleck, written by Dr. Seuss follows the adventures of a young boy named Bartholomew, who must rescue his kingdom from a sticky substance called "oobleck".

It just so happened that on the way to work one day, another 2nd Grade teacher had Oobleck fall on her car while she was driving! She put some in a bucket and brought it to school so the 2nd grade students could experiment with it.

It was STICKY, GOOEY, AND FUN!!

Math Strategies

The students are become true 'MATHEMATICIANS' by using a variety of different tools to solve double digit addition and subtraction. Some of these strategies include: Number Line, Bead Strings, Mental Math, Ten Frames, Base Ten Blocks, and Decomposing. According to the Common Core State Standards, students will not start using the 'standard' method of solving 2-digit problems until 4th Grade, so we are trying to acquaint them with all of the other/different ways they can solve these problems. This way, they will truly understand what they are doing when it comes time to 'borrow' or 'regroup' using the standard method.
 
Here is a letter that went home with parents regarding the Common Core Standards and our math curriculum:

2nd Grade Math News!

Attention Parents!

There have been many changes in math this year with the new Common Core Learning Standards. 48 of the 50 states have agreed to adopt these new standards and schools across the country are starting to implement them this year. These standards are researched based and believed to help students become better prepared for college and their future careers. These standards will help students gain the problem solving skills and number sense they will need throughout their lives instead of just learning rote skills and facts.  Students will gain a better knowledge of place value which will help them become more proficient with mental math. 

 

One of the biggest goals with the new Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS) is to help students express their thinking and explain their work.  The strategies that we have been using in class, such as number lines and decomposing, are examples of ways that students can show their work. These strategies are laying the ground work for better understanding of place value, number sense, and problem solving.  Students are able to use these strategies mentally to solve problems more and more as they progress in grade levels. 

 

Students have brought up using the “borrowing” and “carrying” method (which is probably the way that we all learned to subtract and add).  That is not the way that addition and subtraction will be taught in 2^nd grade according the new national CCLS.  Students will learn the standard algorithm (borrowing method) in 4^th grade.  Research shows that 4^th grade is the time that is developmentally appropriate for students to learn the algorithm because they should have very strong background knowledge of place value and base-ten by this time.  They will also understand the process as opposed to learning the “borrowing trick”.  It has been shown through research that students that learn standard algorithms too early will struggle in math because their problem solving skills are not as strong.

 

It is very important that students practice the strategies that are being taught in class at home as well.  That is why I am asking that all homework (besides basic fact practice) will show one of the strategies that we have used in class that are based on the CCLS. 

 

These strategies include:

·        Using a number line

·        Decomposing

·        Ten Frames

·        Base Ten Blocks

·        Drawing a picture/Tallies

·        Bead Strings

·        Counters (Cereal, beans, etc)

·        Mental

·        Writing an explanation of the process

 

The students seem very excited about the “new math” that we are learning! They have a Math ‘Toolbox’ that they use in class that contain the tools they need to use these strategies in class. I would be happy to share any resources with you to help your child at home. If you I hope that we can continue to work together as partners in your child’s education and help them to develop these extremely important math skills that will help them throughout their lives. I will continue to send home information about the strategies we are learning in class and I encourage you to also have your child explain what they are doing. We spend a lot of instruction time explaining our work and ‘mathematical’ thinking and this would be a great way to practice this extremely important skill at home!

 

 

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Here are a few pictures of the students using these different methods of solving addition/subtraction problems:

Ten Frames:

Base Ten Blocks:

 

Number Line:

 

Decomposing:

 

Mental Math:

 

Hibernation Day

We wrapped up our unit on Cold Weather Animals with a fun-filled day of hibernation! The students came to school dressed in their furriest clothing, brought healthy snacks to eat all day long (to make sure they could store enough food & have energy for the long winter hibernation), read books, and we had 'Celebrity Readers' come into the classroom all day long to read to the students while they hibernated in their sleeping bags. This is a special treat for Second Graders and it is a day that they remember for years to come

In the weeks prior, students read about, researched, and learned many new facts about cold-weather animals. Some of these animals included: arctic foxes, snowy owls, polar bears, penguins, seals, whales, lynxes, wolves, and many more. Students worked independently and in groups to gather information, make books, write paragraphs, and view pictures of some these animals. They worked very hard to earn this special day.


Here are a few pictures from the day: