Book Clubs and Read-In week

 This quarter as part of reader's workshop the kids were part of book clubs! They enjoyed reading series books and studying characters throughout the series. As part of our work we created posters to encourage other second grade readers to read the series we studied. We hung these posters near the second grade classrooms to encourage them to try new books.

Last week we also participated in Missouri read-in week. We enjoyed hearing 'masked readers' share stories with us on zoom. The most fun was trying to guess which teachers were behind the screen. We celebrated Friday by having a read in day and wearing red because of all the books we 'red.'

Leprechaun Traps STEM project

 This week we had SO much fun creating leprechaun traps! BUT the kids HAD to follow some criteria and constraints which really made this educational as well (just don't tell them :)

In the photos below are the traps and leprechauns I showed them to kick off the project. Also in the photos are the 'rules' they had to follow when building.

You'll want to check with your kids to see if the traps worked, I was out of the building today. I'm so excited to hear whether or not they trapped any leprechauns!

A Home for a Penguin

 Our last science unit was called, 'A Home for a Penguin.' The students had to take on the role of scientist and engineer. We began the unit by studying the roles and jobs of each of those roles. We first took on the role of scientist and learned all about penguins, their needs and habitats. Then we became scientists engineers and studied the properties of multiple objects and items. We applied what we learned about various materials and begin to plan a prototype of a penguin habitat. This week we put all of our knowledge to use and created penguin habitat prototypes. The prototypes had to follow these criteria:

-must be able to get the 'penguins' in and out of their habitat (we used penguin shaped ice cubes)

-must keep the penguin cold under a heat lamp for 15 minutes by using materials that best insulated the penguin.

-must keep zoo 'visitors' happy by being able to see the penguins (ice cubes)

The kids did a great job! Each group was given a small box, 5 large rubber bands and could choose 2 of the following materials to build their prototype: aluminum foil, plastic wrap, foam sheets. felt, garbage bags, or bubble wrap.