March 27, 2009

Well, there is a whole lot happening at the Lerner School these days, and the 2nd grade
classroom has been hopping. There’s a lot going on in the next few weeks, so please make sure
to read the “upcoming” section carefully!

It has been a very exciting week in science. To begin our insects unit, we first compiled a
list of things the children already know about insects. Of course, this conversation also
prompted many questions! The children have spent time this week getting to know our
caterpillars, who will change into painted lady butterflies. They observed the caterpillars
closely with hand lenses, and recorded details about how they look and behave, as well as any
questions they had, in their science lab notebooks. Several scientists drew observational
pictures as well. The children used our collection of books about insects to act as “insect
fact detectives.” Did you know that: there are venomous butterflies?...cockroaches can live for
a week after they lose their heads?...praying mantises can turn their heads 180 degrees?...many
insects have coloring marks that look like large eyes to ward off predators? These facts and
many, many others are the result of industrious research on the part of the Gesher science team
and are displayed on our classroom bulletin board. Come and learn something!

We have begun discussing measuring length in math. We explored estimating length by estimating
how many second graders it would take to measure the length of our classroom, and we measured
the room with several children; this activity also led us to a discussion about the need for
standard units of measure. We compared meters and yards, and practiced measuring with meters,
yards, feet, decimeters (a 10-centimeter unit), inches, and centimeters. We also examined the
fractional marks on an inch ruler and the millimeter marks on the centimeter ruler, and measured
to quarter and half inches and centimeters. Finally, we learned about perimeter, and practiced
finding the perimeter of objects by tracing around small boxes and measuring the length of each
side. We then added up all the measurements to find the perimeter of the object.

In social studies we, along with the rest of the elementary school, are discussing tikkun olam.
Each class has chosen a specific global need/concern to focus on, and the 2nd and 3rd graders
will be working together to discuss illiteracy both locally and globally. We began with
a “test:” we asked the children to read a short passage and answer three simple questions about
it. Although the teachers insisted the test was quite easy, many of the children had a
difficult time with it, as the passage—“Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”—was typed with most of
the words written backwards. After giving the children a few minutes to complete their “test,”
we solicited their responses and their feelings before explaining what we were going to be
studying and why we had chosen that activity. The children were quite thoughtful, commenting
that they felt frustrated, worried, confused, upset, or unsure when their teacher insisted
something was easy but they could not understand it. We read “Thank You, Mr. Falker,” an
excellent (and autobiographical) picture book by Patricia Polocco about a little girl who
suffers through school until her 5th grade teacher discovers she still can’t read and teaches
her how. After these two activities, we defined “literacy” and “illiteracy” and made a list of
descriptive words about how the children felt when they couldn’t read the passage, and how they
thought being illiterate might feel. We also worked in small groups to create lists and cause-
and-effect webs about all the things that reading and writing allow us to do, as well as the
things that being illiterate might prevent us from doing. The children responded to this
serious subject matter with their usual thoughtfulness, curiosity, and creativity. Amber and I
are very much looking forward to exploring this topic with the combined group for the next
several weeks.

Finally, we had a wonderful trip to Duke Homestead on Friday. Many thanks to Julie, Jodi,
Diana, and Jenny for driving and helping out! We watched a film called “Sarah’s Farm” which
told us all about life as a 19th century farmer in the Piedmont, took a tour of the farm house,
saw a 19th century fashion show, and explored archaeology. The children sifted through the
layers of an “archaeological dig” in search of objects buried there, and explored how and what
such found objects could teach us about the past. They had a great time and learned a lot as
well! It was a nice end to our study of historic Durham and Chapel Hill.

Upcoming/Reminders:
--Talent show and bake sale, Tuesday 3/31 at 8:15. If you can’t attend, please consider sending
your child with 50¢ to purchase a lunchtime treat at the bake sale.
--Field trip to Schoolhouse of Wonder on Wednesday, 4/1. Please have your child dress in warm
layers (as appropriate to the weather) and send a labeled bag lunch and drink.
--As part of our school-wide tikkun olam focus this spring, the 2nd and 3rd graders will be
conducting a book drive and the 1st graders will be holding a clothing drive. As you are
getting ready for Pesach/spring cleaning, please save any gently used books and clothes you are
ready to part with for us! More details to come after Spring Break.
--Speaking of spring cleaning, we will be cleaning out our cubbies before vacation. Also, I
would like to make sure all of the endangered species work—posters, masks, and dioramas—goes
home by Tuesday, April 7th. I will send out more reminders, but please be aware of this as you
may need several days to safely bring home all of this wonderful work.
--Upcoming: More on insects and the power of reading and writing! In math, continued measuring,
more on perimeter, and a look at calculating area.

Shabbat Shalom,
Arielle