Second Grade Rock Stars
Tour News!
Contraction Surgery!
Next on tour: Upcoming Events
Coming on Tour Soon:
- 11/19: Picture Retake Day
- 11/19-11/20: Early Dismissal Days (Parent Teacher Conferences)
- 11/20: Silly Sock Day
- 11/23-11/30: No School: Thanksgiving Break
- 12/03: WAVE Coffee Talk 8:25-8:55am the DP Campus
- 12/03: WAVE Meeting 6:30-7:30pm on the DP Campus
- 12/10: School-Wide Spelling Bee (We will be represented by Mithra and Aditya who won our class spelling bee) 6:00-7:00pm
- 12/10: WCS Board Meeting on the PW Campus
- 12/11: Hour of Code! We will be learning how to code in our class.
- 12/11: Barnes and Noble Family Night 6:00-7:00pm
- 12/17: Early Dismissal Day (1:15pm)
- 12/18-01/01: No School
Google Expeditions: Traveling to the Amazon Rainforest (South America) and the Gombe National Park (Africa)
Our Highlights: What We've Been Rockin' At!
What can you fit into 4 days? A whole lot!
In science, we used our designs of how to stop water and wind erosion to help us actually make them. Our classroom turned into a maker-space as we brainstormed materials to use then we worked with our partner to make our designs come to life. After students finished the construction of their design we went outside and tested them out. We used sand and water in clear long tubs and tested their concept against the waves that we made against it to see if it slowed down or prevented erosion from happening. We learned that there are a lot of ways to slow down erosion effectively, but not prevent it. We also discussed how what we do in real life on a large scale to prevent coastal erosion could have a negative effect on the wildlife in and around the ocean.
Additionally, we explored and traveled to the Gombe National Park in Africa to see Chimpanzees and see Jane Goodall's House. If that wasn't enough, we also traveled on another trip along the Amazon River in the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil. We might have traveled to a few other places in between those as well. How did we get there? We traveled virtually, seeing it in 360-degree viewpoint through Google Expeditions. We put on the cardboard goggles and just explored (as explorers do)!
We also performed! Contraction surgery that is! We discussed what surgeons do and learned about contractions. Then we learned how a surgeon would go about fixing these words to help them heal into contractions. These BRAVE surgeons went in to perform surgery where letters that were no longer needed were taken out with scalpels (scissors), stitched back together (glued), and healed leaving a scar (the apostrophe). No words were injured, but contractions were made and surgeons worked tirelessly to make sure that the words healed to the best of their ability.
In math, we've been working on subtracting with regrouping/borrowing. Students have been making great connections between addition and subtraction! In reading, we have really been rockin' it! Check out the video at the bottom of me taking a sneaky video during Reading Workshop this week. Every student went up at least one reading level since the beginning of the year, most students even moved up two levels. Their hard work and focus are really paying off! We ended our amazing week with the Olympic Triathlon! Peru did amazing as they went through the P.E. obstacle course, played Spanish games, and made some fantastic artwork. What a way to end a busy and fun week! Make sure to check out our everyday morning mantra below. The students wanted to share it with you this week (they recently added "We will change the world" to it).
Our Morning Mantra
Rockin' and Rollin' into Next Week!
Reading: Fables and then Non-Fiction
Writing: Fractured Fairytales
Language: Adverbs, Editing Marks, and Reflexive Pronouns
Science: Comparing our experiments with what experts do to prevent or slow down erosion.
Theme: Fables and then Travel Unit after break
Making and Testing our Designs to prevent or slow down erosion
Questions to ask your child...
- What does it mean to regroup in subtraction?
- What was your favorite thing about our Google Expedition?
- How did your design hold up to slow down erosion? What are some changes you would now make to it?
- Which design to slow down or prevent erosion do you think worked best? Why?
- Can you answer the Math Monday problem? CLICK HERE to get to it. Remember to answer in a complete sentence. Extra points for explaining what strategy you used!
In Case you missed the Reading Workshop Sneak Peek
Contact the Band Manager!
Second Grade Teacher
Westlake Charter School
Remind 101:
All of Second Grade Reminders Text: @wcs2nd to the phone number: 81010
Messages that only pertain to our class: text @4rockstar to the number: 81010
Email: jmartin@westlakecharter.com
Website: http://MrsMartinsRockStars.weebly.com
Phone: 916-567-5760
Twitter: @MrsMartinsRoom