| The second graders have been working on the theme of Systems for almost
nine weeks. Mrs. Joy rode a bike into class and asked the students how a
bike was a system. A large poster was made of all the parts or elements of
the bike. The classed discussed how a system ,like a bike, can be functional
or dysfunctional. Many students brainstormed other types of systems in their
world. Some examples were: solar system,digestive sytem, and classroom
management systems.
In our whole group sesions, Mrs. Joy introduced a lesson on the meaning
of civilizations. Students were asked to defend what characteristics made up
a civilization. This helped students reflect on the ancient cultures of
Egypt and China. For the study of China, Mrs. Joy read the story of "Mulan".
The second graders were asked to listen to the tale and write down what
important aspects of Chinese culture and how it was represented in the story.
In math the classes have been studying attributes. In math flex groups,
the students have been using String Games to discover what patterns emerge
in the games. Next, they will be playing a game that asks them to look for
the pattern that is not represented.
Our Language Arts flex groups have had several changes in student groups!
Our first group in October read the Junior Great Book selection, The Lion
and the Mouse by Aesop. The November group is currently finishing a non-
fiction research project on The Great Wall of China. Each child in the group
had a chance to choose how to present their knowledge. Some of the projects
included clay models, newspaper articles, and diagrams on posters. These
students shared their expertise with the whole class.
The second grades are now studying Seasonal Changes in Science. To tie in
the concept of attributes in math and science, the cluster classes went to
the computer lab to do a lesson called, Leaf Detectives. Using the ELMO
microscope, each student was able to see their leaves magnified to determine
its attributes. The classes were given field guides to identify each leaf.
In the month of December, classes will be studying Native American
tribes. Mrs. Joy will be working with a flex group in Language Arts to
explore the culture of the Plains Indians through the tale of Buffalo Woman.
| |
