Second Grade Rock Stars
Tour News!
Traveling Around the World
Next on tour: Upcoming Events
Coming on Tour Soon:
- 12/18-01/01: No School
- 01/04: Back in session/on tour
- 01/07: WAVE Coffee Talk at 7:50 am
- 01/07: WAVE Meeting at 6:30 pm
- 01/14: WCS Board Meeting
- 01/15: Sports Day - Wear your favorite team or your own jersey/uniform
- 01/18: No School - Martin Luther King Jr. Day
- 01/21: WCMS Info Night
- 01/22: WAVE Astronomy Night
- 01/25: Application Assistance at 6:30-7:30 pm
- 01/27: Geography Bee at 6:00-7:00 pm
- 02/06: My Princess and Me Dance
Our Highlights: What We've Been Rockin' At!
What a fabulous time of year! We have learned to research with a partner, create presentations collaboratively, and present! This all in just a few weeks! Our travel unit kicked off with a flight around the world and inspired students to look up and decide upon with their partners what country they wanted to research. After they decided on a country, next they researched with their partner. Then, they used what they found to create a Google slideshow. Google slides allow for both students to work on the same presentation at the same time while using their own computers. They need to communicate really well because they can both change things on the presentation at exactly the same time. Google Slides also allows me to be able to access their presentation at the same time they are working on it as well! Students learned as they created and you'd be surprised how tech savvy these students are already!
While learning about their own countries (and each other's countries) we also learned about celebrations around the world! A very special thank you to
- Malini for sharing about India and Diwali
- Vero for sharing about Switzerland and Swiss New Years
- Mike for sharing about Sri Lanka and New Years in Sri Lanka
- Kelly for sharing about Italy, the Gondola Regatta, and the Valencia Celebration
- Mrs. Battin for sharing about Hannakah
- Mrs. Wilson for sharing about Russia and the Russian Nutcracker
- Mrs. Acquisto for sharing about Brazil and Brazilian Carnival
- Mrs. Rojo for sharing about China and Chinese New Years
- Mrs. Wright for sharing about Egypt and Japanese New Years
Check out the video at the top for a closer look at our travel unit!
Star Performance, Difference Makers!
- We received post cards from Russia, Papua New Guinea, Brazil, China, and Egypt! While reading the post card from Papua New Guinea, we heard that in their school they only use their crayons once a week. I asked the Rock Stars why they think they only use them once a week and the students responded that they think it is because they don't have enough...which is right. This led to Kadence saying, "Why don't we send them crayons?" I, of course, said, "Great idea!" Aditya rebounded by mentioning that we should send them a crayon machine so that they can make their own crayons! Again, "What a great idea!" When students want to make a difference, it is simply my job to show them how. I am currently contacting schools to see who might need crayons there. I'll be discussing my findings with the students when we get back from break and we will come up with a plan together.
- What can you do in the meantime? Inspire you child! You can also donate a crayon machine! Brandon said they have them on Amazon (how does an 8 year old know about Amazon? These kids amaze me!) He was right. Here's a link if you are interested.
- Also, we'd love to thank those that donated food items for local families over break. Unfortunately we weren't able to have it go to Westlake families, but we were able to have it go to families in need at Two Rivers. We were still able to keep it local. Thanks so much to Alicia for helping organize it and also for collecting all the food in your own home! Her house was packed with boxes ready for families due to all of your support to help families! Thank you! Also, thank you for sending in old towels! Those were donated to a local animal shelter and they were extremely thankful for them! I feel so fortunate to have such a group of thoughtful students and parents!
Rockin' and Rollin' into Next Week!
Reading: Non-Fiction: Main Idea and Details, Summarizing, Text Features, and Types of Non-Fiction
Writing: Non-Fiction Informative Writing: Biographies of People Who Made a Difference
Language: Commas, Plural Possessives, and Compound Words
Theme: People Who Made a Difference
A Mini-Documentary on Creating solutions to Erosion
Tuned In: Notices and Reminders
- Make sure to send back in student book bags! Students have all moved up in their reading levels and are ready for new books! Feel free to send a note with them or shoot me an email if you have any questions about book bags or any recommendations for books.
- I will be contacting you shortly to see if you would like to have a parent teacher conference at school, at a public place (like Starbucks), or in your home. I will be presenting at the National CUE (Computer Using Educators) Conference in Palm Springs during Conference week, so I figure I'd switch it up and make it as convenient as possible for you and your family since it won't be during scheduled conference time.
- Please make sure you check out the specialty classes websites! They have been doing some fantastic work in Art with Mrs. Arzaga, P.E. with Ms. Connelley, and Spanish with Ms. Espinosa!
Learning to Code? You Bet! We participated in the national hour of code
Questions to ask your Rock Star...
- Can you name the 7 continents?
- Can you name the 5 oceans?
- Can you tell me something interesting about Egypt? How about China? Papua New Guinea? Russia? Brazil?
- What was your favorite thing about researching?
- What was a fun fact that you found about the country you researched?
- What did you like most when you were creating your presentation with your partner?
- How did you collaborate with your partner while working on the presentation at the same time on your own computers?
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