We also uncovered our apples (it has been 7 days). We learned that the salt preserved the apple the best. There were so many great observations and such great thinking taking place! Students noted that if an apple was kept moist (say in the vinegar, or by the gauze) there were more black spots. They were also changing their original hypothesis as they want. One student commented that she hypothesized that vinegar would preserve the apple the best, but realized the dry materials were doing a better job.
Our first unit of writing is narratives, and we have been writing small moment stories. Today and yesterday we practiced stretching out small moments and adding details. Today I taught a lesson on showing, not telling. We practice writing descriptive paragraphs rather than just a telling sentence. The students got a kick out of the start of the lesson, when I pretended to be mad so we could write a descriptive story about it! We also uncovered our apples (it has been 7 days). We learned that the salt preserved the apple the best. There were so many great observations and such great thinking taking place! Students noted that if an apple was kept moist (say in the vinegar, or by the gauze) there were more black spots. They were also changing their original hypothesis as they want. One student commented that she hypothesized that vinegar would preserve the apple the best, but realized the dry materials were doing a better job.
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We had the BEST time apple picking. Hopefully you all have a chance to make some delicious apple treats this weekend. Science is my favorite thing to take pictures of. But I promise, we also do other things. :) In anticipation of our apple picking field trip tomorrow, we did some Apple Science today. We weighed an apple and some other objects to see which ones were heavier or lighter. We investigated whether apples sink or float. We learned about the life cycles of apples. We learned facts about apples. We described apples. And oh yeah, we got to eat some, too! We also had apple bread. The BIG experiment, which again allowed us to practice following the steps of the scientific method, was called "Preserving an Apple." We first talked about what preserving means (we came up with the definition: making something stay the same longer). Then we made our hypothesis. We predicted the answer to the question, "What material works best at preserving apples?" We had 8 choices! The preservatives were sugar, salt, vinegar, or baking soda. We had a control apple, and we also wrapped apples in gauze (kind of like how mummies are preserved). We will look at our apples in 7 days and record our results. Literacy block is going along well. I am still tweaking the reading groups, trying to make sure all students are successful. Some students will be in new groups next week. I am also happy with how math is going. Mr. Rivard, our math interventionist, has been helping out to make sure all the students stay on track to officially start the second grade unit the week after next. As we are still learning some routines, we tended to go over in time a lot this week, so we didn't have as much time for writer's workshop as I would've liked. But it's only the 17th day of school, so I know that we are fine. Look for pictures of our field trip tomorrow! We've been up to a lot in second grade! The kids are really getting good with the routines and knowing what's expected and when. We start reading groups next week, and I am very confident that they are going to go well. Students have been doing a great job at Read to Self, Work on Writing, and Buddy Reading. The kids are especially excited about Buddy Reading time because I introduced some Reader's Theater scripts. See the pictures below. These are great for practicing fluency as well as public speaking skills. I also introduced some of the word work centers, which include: beads, wikki stix, bananagrams, and many other choices. Student choice is such a strong motivator, so I try to make sure to incorporate it often into the day. I am so impressed with the enthusiasm that the kids are having during work on writing. They seem to really love having a choice in what they write. I can't wait to show it to parents at conference time. Next week we will start writer's workshop, which is a separate writing time 3 days a week where explicit writing instruction takes place and the students focus on a specific type of writing. See the pictures below of some kids sharing their writing. In science we are continuing to complete simple experiments to familiarize ourselves with the scientific method. This week we tested the question: what items can dissolve in water? See the pictures below. Math is going well. I feel good that we are taking it slowly, as kids are building a much more solid foundation before we move on to the second grade unit. Math homework starts next week and the following week homework will include Fundations Spelling and Reading. Today students were introduced to the scientific method. They may not yet remember all the steps, so here they are:
We followed steps today with a simple experiment. Our question was: How many drops of water can a penny hold? We talked about accuracy and how the drops needed to be the same size. Some students finished early and tested another question: which coin holds the most drops of water? The quarter won!! Writing is very important in our classroom. We do it EVERYDAY, multiple times a day. Student choice is also very important in this classroom. Today students were introduced to the writing center. Work on writing is one of the 6 centers during literacy time. At this center, students have complete choice over what they write. They can write anything! Lists, letters, recipes, postcards, nonfiction stories, fiction stories, biographies, interviews....the possibilities are endless. We also have our writer's notebooks and class journals. Today each student picked what type of writing they wanted to do and worked independently for 15 minutes. Then we had a group share. Explicit writing instruction comes during a separate block - during Writer's Workshop (which is 3 times a week).
Tying in nicely with last week's lesson that it's "Okay to be Okay" and "No one is good at everything, but everyone is good at something," today we learned about "Good Fit" books. We tried on each other's shoes and talked about how each shoe has a purpose. You wouldn't wear high heels to gym class, for instance! Just like with shoes, books that are a good fit for one student may not be a good fit for another. If Student A has on her own gym shoes and is in the gym, she has a good-fit pair of shoes; they are a good-fit pair of shoes for her because they are the correct shoes for her purpose, her interest, and are not too big or too small—they fit. She can be very successful in gym wearing shoes that are a good fit. If she has a book that is a good fit for her, she will be very successful reading that book. Student B's gym shoes also are the correct shoes for Student A's purpose and interest, but they are way too big for her. She will not be successful in gym wearing those shoes because they are not a good fit. Likewise if she is reading Student B's book that may be too hard, it is not a good fit and she will not be successful, not to mention it is just not fun.
I hope this lesson resonated with students, as all the students set goals to be stronger readers. This is only going to happen if students are working at their "Just Right" (or instructional) level, not their frustrational level. |
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