Cultural Enrichment

A big thank you to TESPTO for all of the wonderful experiences they have provided to us at school. 

We really enjoyed listening to the stories shared by Len Cabral. He is an amazing storyteller and we were very lucky to welcome him to our school!

Click here to hear more!

We also were dazzled by the Fabulous Chinese Acrobats who performed amazing feats of dexterity and strength. 

Click here to be amazed!

                                       

December Fun!

The holiday season is a busy time in Room 210. So much learning is going on and we can’t wait to share it with you! There are only sixteen school days in the month of December, but these days are jam-packed with exciting learning. Here's a preview of what we can look forward to this month:

Writing - We will begin creative writing this month! The children will have the chance to write a creative story about the elf they will create at the Elf Store. They will be practicing using dialogue in their stories, as well as strengthening their use of interesting adjectives and varied sentence structure.

  

Math - We will finish our unit on bar models this week, but will continue to use them to solve problems throughout the rest of the year. Later this month we will work on the concepts of multiplication and division. *If you log on to Think Central, click on ‘my library’, and then click on ‘math in focus math background videos’, there are videos explaining the concepts that are being taught in each chapter. These can be very helpful!*

 

Social Studies - Our next unit will shift our focus to geography, where the children will learn about maps, landforms, bodies of water, continents, the major mountain ranges and rivers of our world. We will be creating our own 3D maps of the world later this month (or early next year) using various mediums. We'll be looking for parent helpers when the project gets closer!

 

Elf Store - Our Elf Store will take place on Friday, 12/5 from 11-12:15. This is a very fun event where the children will get to practice their money skills, as well as problem solving skills, to figure out how to decorate their elf while staying within a budget. We need many volunteers for this activity so please let me or our room mom know if you are able to come in to help out! Thanks in advance!

Thanksgiving Plans Homework

Hi Second Graders! Please read the question below and double click on the wall. Fill in your name (first name only) and then answer the questions. Remember to write in complete sentences using capitals and punctuation!

Created with Padlet

Common Core Standards W.2.6  Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others. With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers.

A visit from an author!

Today we were fortunate enough to meet a published author! Matt Tavares, author of Zachary's Ball, spoke to us about how he comes up with ideas, the writing process, and ultimately publishing a book. He gave us lots of helpful and useful tips to become better writers and illustrators. It was exciting to hear that Matt begins writing much like we do in our classroom! He often takes real experiences from his life (personal narratives) and adds in details from his imagination to make an interesting story. He also mentioned using illustrations to tell a lot of the story. Afterwards, the children couldn't wait to come back to the room and write/draw some ideas. We have a great group of authors in our class!

Click here to learn more about this great author!

Our friend Hailey posing for an illustration!

(Common Core Standard W.2.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagines experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structure event sequences. )   

Subtraction in Action!

We are knee-deep in subtraction with regrouping! It is definitely a challenging concept but I have been very impressed with the way the children have stuck with it and helped each other along the way. As we prepare for our upcoming test this week, the class was able to deepen their understanding of regrouping by 'teaching' each other. 

Check out our

fabulous second 

graders in action!

(2.NBT.B.7 - Use place value understanding and properties of operations to add and subtract.)

Halloween in Room 210

Our Halloween celebration will be next Friday, October 31st at 11:15. Children are invited to bring their Halloween costumes to school (but please leave any additional props at home so they will not accidentally be left at school.) Be sure to label all belongings so they can be returned for your child's Trick-or-Treating adventures later that evening. Thank you in advance to the families who have agreed to donate healthy treats and supplies for our classroom celebrations. A very special thank you to our room mom for organizing what promises to be a fun-filled morning! 

What Makes You Different Makes You Special

We were so lucky to welcome Johnny the K to Steward School last week! He is an amazing performer who teaches kids through songs (and many hats!) how to have a positive attitude about themselves and others around them, be proud of their accomplishments, always do their best, and work together to help everyone feel included. He teaches such important and valuable life lessons in a fun and engaging way. Click the quote below to see a clip of Johnny the K performing one of his great songs!

"Children are constantly reminded throughout my performances that by working together to create a caring, compassionate, and cooperative school environment, we can reduce the incidents of teasing while increasing random acts of kindness. By taking care of each other, speaking out against bullies, and working together, we have tremendous power in making a difference." 
~ Johnny the K.

It's not about what shoes you wear or the color of your skin.
It's all about who you are on the inside!
(note the "gift" hat!)

Having a blast with Johnny the K!

Very cool meeting the man behind the hats.

A special poem just for us.

Our butterflies are here!!

Our first butterfly!

Wow! We had quite an exciting Friday yesterday! Not only did we arrive at school in the morning to see that one chrysalis had already opened, but we actually got to witness the birth of NINE more butterflies - all before lunch time! The red dots you see are not blood, but a leftover fluid from metamorphosis. I took a few pictures but they really can't capture the beauty of these little creatures. Our painted lady butterflies are just amazing to look at, and we made many detailed observations in our journals about what we saw. We were able to see their wings change from being limp and shriveled when they hatched, to broad and colorful within the time span of only a few hours. Here are our pictures and some awesome videos that captured the excitement in the room when they were hatching. I love to hear how the kids cheered them on. :)

What did YOU learn from watching the butterfly's life cycle? What was your favorite thing to watch?

Life cycle observations

We were so excited that our caterpillars arrived last week! By Monday several of them already transformed into chrysalides, and we have been watching the rest of them change right in front of our eyes. It has been fascinating to watch these little creatures change. Click here to watch the life cycle of the butterfly.

Our amazing caterpillars

How long do you predict it will take for our caterpillars to go though complete metamorphosis? Be sure to write your predictions. We will be checking back to see how accurately you predicted!

Audubon Adventures!

Boy, did we luck out with the weather for our field trip! We had a wonderful field tip into the Audubon and found TONS of exciting creatures like crickets, spiders, salamanders, crickets, frogs, worms, crickets... and did I mention crickets?! We learned about complete and incomplete metamorphosis, how to tell a male from a female cricket, and what makes an insect an insect. This aligned perfectly with the MA science standards we have been focusing on (Recognize that plants and animals have life cycles, and that life cycles vary for different living things.) Thanks to all the parent volunteers who helped out today! We couldn't have done it without you! (*A special thanks to Mrs. F for all of the beautiful pictures!)

Salamanders!

Catch of the day!

It's got 3 body segments and 6 legs - it's an insect!

Excellent observers.

Out in the field.

Loving seeing them close up.

Really cool grasshoppers.

A crab spider!

Can't wait to explore...

Awesome tree frog!

What was YOUR favorite part of the trip? What did you learn about insects?

Thank you!

Thank you to everyone who was able to attend Parent Seminar last week! If you were unable to come, please don't hesitate to email or call me with any questions about the materials I sent home with your child.
We are off to a great start in Room 210! We have begun learning about insects and butterflies, and expect to receive our caterpillars this week. We will get to watch the life cycle of the butterfly over the next few weeks and eventually release them when they are ready. It is a wonderful hands-on activity that the children truly enjoy. We are all looking forward to our field trip into the Audubon this week! Fingers crossed that we get nice (dry) weather.
Pictures showing what we are up to every day will be posted soon once I have received all of the green blog permission slips back. Please be sure to return yours if you haven't yet. Thanks!

Happy night-before-school everyone!

I just wanted to share with you all two things.
First, here is a picture of me in second grade. Yes, I was little just like you once! I remember how nervous I was to start school every year, and I keep that in mind when planning our days together. We are going to have so much fun - I promise!

Mrs. Mack in second grade!

Second, I found this poster that perfectly sums up the way I envision our classroom. You will find it on our classroom door as well, but I wanted you to be able to see it here too.

I'm looking forward to seeing you all again tomorrow!

Welcome to Second Grade!

I am so excited to see you all in just a few short weeks. As our schedule comes together I will be updating information on here frequently. Be sure to 'follow by email' (link on the right -->) so you will get notified when I make an update throughout the year.
I hope you all had a wonderful summer and enjoyed your vacation. I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you. What are you looking forward to?
See you soon!

Maritime Museum Field Trip

Despite the very rainy weather, we had a blast visiting the Gloucester Maritime Museum last week! From the awesome animals in the touch tanks, to looking at real plankton through a microscope, to learning so much more about whales and making our own beautiful sea animal paintings - we had a busy but very exciting day! Thanks again to our parent chaperones for coming along and keeping us all safe. :)