Second Grade: Specials Spotlight
Fourth Quarter 2016-2017
Exploratory Team
Music
2nd graders had lots of fun in Music this last quarter! We watched the musical, The Wizard of Oz, and learned about the behind-the-scenes excitement in creating a musical performance. After learning about the various instruments in an orchestra and the families they are organized into, students were treated with a visit from the Kansas City Symphony. The education representative from the symphony brought many of the instruments with her so our students could see, hear, and even play them!! What a fabulous experience! To finish the year, we did some drumming – students worked to learn the proper way to play tubano drums, using their palms for the bass sound and their fingers for the tone sound. They then combined the two sounds to improvise some fun rhythms about their name, favorite food, colors, and animals! I hope you have a wonderful summer and take some time to sing and dance along the way!
Art
The end of the 2016-2017 school year is here. With the end of the year comes many traditions and celebrations. It has been a tradition at Riverview Elementary to award one student from each grade the honor of being the artist of the year. This is kept secret from the students until the awards ceremony. A piece of art has been selected to represent each student. These works of art will be framed and they will hang in the Riverview office for the next school year. In addition, one work of art is chosen to be framed and hung at the DeSoto School District office until the student graduates. Congratulations to these students, as their artwork was outstanding! Thank you for all you do to encourage the artist within your child!
Portfolios have all gone home with students over the last few weeks. It is so exciting to look at how much our artists have grown in their talents over the course of the school year. I hope everyone has taken the time to share and discuss your child's art with them. They have made great progress this year with their art talents!
I want to thank all of the Riverview families I have been fortunate to meet and talk to. I have truly enjoyed working with your children this year at Riverview. Enjoy your summer!
PE
Fourth quarter was filled with many awesome activities! We were able to learn more about basketball, striking objects, and prepared for Field Day! We got to learn more about basketball at such a prime time; right in the middle of March Madness! It was the perfect time to play the sport and be able to talk about the different games that were taking place (and hear about the upsets and how ruined our brackets were :)). I was (always am) so proud of all the students for their continued improvements in their talents and skills. They amaze me every day! The striking unit is always a fun one. Students were able to strike objects such as balloons, fleece balls, dodge balls, beachballs, and volleyballs with their hands, pillow paddles, noodles, and rackets. We learned about the force we use when swinging to strike an object, and got to practice using different amounts of forces for the different types of hits we were aiming for. Field Day was such an amazing way to end the quarter! The students seemed to have a great time, and I saw amazing sportsmanship all day long! I am so looking forward to next year with this group of students as third graders. They are so fun and energetic! Have a great summer!!
Technology
We also got a chance to use the new Ozobots PTA purchased for us . The kids loved designing coded mazes on paper and using them with our ipads.
Students reviewed skills for online safety. We had great discussions. Many said they could easily access the internet with their own phones, ipods or tablets. We discussed the importance of not sharing our private information online and seeking out an adult when we wanted to go online.
I hope you have a great summer! On those rainy days practice typing skills! See you next year!
Library
In our library classes this quarter we reviewed our procedures for our fire, tornado, and intruder drills. We had more practice opportunities putting Fiction call numbers in order and locating books using the call number. We continued learning about the Dewey Decimal Classification System. Students worked in small groups and matched titles of books to the Dewey category in which they would be found. We enjoyed stories read by members of the Screen Actors Guild online. Second graders can begin reading the William Allen White nominees for 2017-2018 this summer! Information about the program and a Reading Log to track your child’s reading will be posted to my website soon. You can visit my website at: http://riverviewlibrary.weebly.com/ . Please keep reading and enjoying books from the public library over the summer!