On Thursday, January 29th the 2nd graders at MacMillan held their first "Invention Convention." This was a culminating IB project which we studied the research process, writing expository essays, learning about different inventors and their impact on our society. The students worked hard for 9 weeks reading, researching, writing, and creating the posters seen below. Some even created powerpoints! On the day of the actual conventions, we all went to the media center and took turns interviewing the other "inventors" from the other 2 second grade classes. The room was filled with so much intellectual conversations! The kids did a terrific job!
This week, we began planning and working on IB economics project. The central idea for this unit is "Creative economic ideas can
have a positive impact on humankind and the environment." The students' job was to create a 100th day of school t-shirt that would be marketable to others. First, they created a design on paper what their t-shirt would look like. We talked about different examples and creative ways to put 100 items on their shirt. On Thursday and Friday, we actually created them! Students brought in their t-shirts and 100 items along with paint and glue. The classroom was a mess, but the students thoroughly enjoyed making their ideas come to life. Students will wear their t-shirts on January 26th (the 100th day of school) and will be marketing them and trying to "sell" them to other students.
A fun hands on activity I did with my students before the holiday break included these cute "Christmas lights" cards. The students used cardstock to draw a string, and then dipped their thumbs in different color tempera paints to create colored light bulbs. On the inside, they wrote a letter to their parents. I hope you all enjoyed them! I stole the idea from the brilliant Amy Lemons here at http://stepintosecondgrade.blogspot.com/2014/12/a-whole-lotta-christmas.html
As of Monday, January 12, Room 124 has its first class pet! After the children achieved the high reward of filling up their brownie point tray, they voted and we decided their reward would be a class pet.I applied for a grant through Petco called "Pets in the Classroom." I got a letter the first week back saying we had been chosen! Roxy is now our newest resident and the students couldn't be happier! We are going to learn so much about animal care and behavior these next few months and the kids will really benefit from it!
Roxy loves her dome
Here is the permission slip I sent home to the parents.
On Tuesday, January 13th our school hosted an IB Reading and Math night. I chose to do a session on common core math. I wanted the parents to understand our current math topics and what resources they have available to them to assist their child at home. In case you missed it, I'm attaching the powerpoint that we went over and the handout that was sent home.
Also, here is a video we watched to help them understand what the Common Core is all about!
