Tuesday, March 17, 2015

St. Patrick's Day!

Our day started off with a glitter filled room and a pot of gold left for us by a leprechaun.  The students followed a trail of green and gold glitter to a pot of gold treats.  Each student got to pick five chocolates to eat during our movie, the Magic School Bus: Water Cycle.  All the students made their own water cycle book to be added to their end of the unit work books.  The students spent much of the day talking about their own leprechaun traps that they set at home, or how they like to spend St. Patrick's Day. It was another great day in room 13!
our pot of gold

Friday, March 13, 2015

Friday March 13th

Today was a great day for room 13.  In the morning the last group learned about a Galileo Thermometer, a presentation done by one of our fourth graders.  Students then created a water cycle poster with facts they found in classroom books.  Students learned about water vapor, evaporation and precipitation.  As our unit continues, students will learn more and more about weather and how it forms.  During math the class spent time playing new math games.  The games help students practice their addition, subtraction and multiplication.  The class is eager to learn about multiplication and has been asking for extra problems! 
showing how the thermometer works


using math work places

playing math games on the carpet

Thursday, March 5, 2015

3/5/2015

Today we continued our unit on weather by starting with the atmosphere and air pressure.  Students learned just how strong air can be by filling a plastic bag, with a straw, with air and piling books on top.  There were mounds of books all over the classroom and students were amazed with how strong air really is!  As we continue our weather unit we will look more in depth at what causes our weather and how meteorologists predict what weather is coming.  At the end of the day students are spending time researching their All About topics, a non-fiction topic that they will end up writing a book about. 



there is a bag of air under there!

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

New Month, New Units

Today was a big day in room 13 as we started three new units for the month of March!  This morning we started our weather unit by talking about a time when we were caught in severe weather.  Some students shared stories about vacations in snowy New York or just being at home in rainy Portland.  As a class we created a poster of all our weather stories.  In math we introduced multiplication and the concept
our weather poster
of using base ten blocks and units to add up to a set sum in different ways.  We will finish the day with our final new unit, All About stories.  This unit introduces students to the organization and structure of an informational piece of writing.  Students will soon be writing their own All About stories!

Monday, March 2, 2015

March 2nd 2015

Today was our Read-a-Thon in room 13 in order to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday!  Our morning was spent watching a puppet show put on by Metro, teaching us all about natural gardening.  Students learned how to keep chemicals out of the garden in order to create a healthy environment for plants to grow.  The rest of the morning was spent learning about our new number calendar that is focused on fractions and telling time.  After lunch we kicked off our Read-a-Thon with Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss!  Students then got their pillows, books and sleeping bags out and started to read.  The afternoon flew by and students read all sorts of books, ranging from chapter books to poems.  At the end of the day the class was sent home with book orders and a new homework packet for the week.  Happy Dr. Seuss Day!
The start of the puppet show


time to start reading

students settle in for the Read-a-Thon

February 27th

Today we ended our unit on dental health by creating a book or poster on what we have learned throughout the unit.  Students were able to work alone or with a partner.  The morning was spent creating the projects to show to our fifth grade buddies!  Students presented their projects to the fifth graders in the afternoon and demonstrated their new knowledge on proper dental care.  When students were done showing their work they had the opportunity to read with their fifth grade buddies.  The end of the day was spent watching The Cat in the Hat with the rest of the second grade class to celebrate November-February birthdays.