Thursday, March 30, 2017
Mystery Reader #2: A Visit from a Cousin
This mystery reader has curly hair, is a sophomore at Lanesboro, and has a first cousin in 2nd grade. It didn't take long for the class to figure this one out! The 2nd grade cousin was thrilled to have this reader stop into 2nd grade! Thanks so much Peighton for taking time out of your busy day to share a story with us.
Mystery Reader #1: A Master Rubik's Cube Solver!
Our first mystery reader is a familiar face to 2nd grade! Ever since Mason left 2nd grade, he has been adamant about being our first mystery reader every year. He enjoys coming in to read with the class and to see their happy faces. He picked out the book "The End (Almost)" by Jim Benton to read. He also brought along his rubik's cube to show the class his hidden talent. Thanks Mason! I love seeing you back in 2nd grade!
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
Cookbook Project
We have completely wrapped up our cookbook project, and we are so grateful for all the people that supported this project!
When we started our economics unit, our lessons were focused on how people make money- by providing a good or a service, and also what people use money for- to buy things we need or want. We discussed the differences between a need and a want. We also read a book that was very impactful: "The Lemonade Ripple" by Paul Reichert. We invited in Isaac Snyder, a 5th grader, who runs his own egg business to talk to the class about how he came up with the idea and the work he puts into his business.
I wanted to find a way for the students to put all this information into action. After a brainstorming session with Mason and Ellie, we came up with the idea of a classroom cookbook. I talked to the class about it, and they were so excited!
We gathered our recipes and added a personal touch by having students write and illustrate how they'd like to make money some day and what they would do with it. We also made posters to advertise our cookbook and hung them all over the school.
From the very beginning, we stated our goal was to use the profit to buy something for our classroom and to help a family. Our original goal was to sell 40 cookbooks. We couldn't have imagined how fast the sales would take off. So many students, both elementary and high school, teachers, some community members, came pouring into our classroom excited to support our project. With every sale, we cheered and added the numbers to our growing spreadsheet of sales. Every day we updated the number of cookbooks sold and the total profit. We decided as a class that our cut off day would be on the same day as Books for Breakfast, so it would be about a 3 week selling period. Our final sales ended with a total of 191 cookbooks sold with a profit of $205.30!
I told the class that bringing in this amount of a money lends itself to a big responsibility of how to best spend it. Our first step was to decide how much we wanted to set aside to help a family. Once that money was set aside, we brainstormed ideas for what we need for our classroom. We ultimately decided on new pencils with erasers. With this purchase, each student was able to get 4 new pencils and a large pink eraser. We then brainstormed ideas for what we want for our classroom. The class decided they wanted to add new pillows to our window bench that the students use throughout the day to make their reading and writing more cozy. They also wanted to order books from our Top 20 Countdown.
As a class we went on Amazon to look at pillow ideas, and I also presented the prices of all the top 20 books. We had to pick and choose what we really wanted to fit into our budgeted amount. We bought 4 new pillows and 7 new books. With each purchase, we went online together and counted the money out of our box to make the payment.
Our final purchase was at Pedal Pushers. We chose this business to buy a gift card from to give to a family in our community. Yesterday we walked down there to take a tour and learn about their business. Angie and Scott Taylor did an awesome job teaching the students about owning your own business. It was so interesting to hear about how their business runs, the number of customers they serve, and how Pedal Pushers came to be. Thank you so much to Angie and Scott!
This project was so fun! I truly hope the 2nd grade students were inspired through this project! Thanks again to everyone who purchased a cookbook from 2nd grade, and we hope you are enjoying the recipes!
When we started our economics unit, our lessons were focused on how people make money- by providing a good or a service, and also what people use money for- to buy things we need or want. We discussed the differences between a need and a want. We also read a book that was very impactful: "The Lemonade Ripple" by Paul Reichert. We invited in Isaac Snyder, a 5th grader, who runs his own egg business to talk to the class about how he came up with the idea and the work he puts into his business.
I wanted to find a way for the students to put all this information into action. After a brainstorming session with Mason and Ellie, we came up with the idea of a classroom cookbook. I talked to the class about it, and they were so excited!
We gathered our recipes and added a personal touch by having students write and illustrate how they'd like to make money some day and what they would do with it. We also made posters to advertise our cookbook and hung them all over the school.
From the very beginning, we stated our goal was to use the profit to buy something for our classroom and to help a family. Our original goal was to sell 40 cookbooks. We couldn't have imagined how fast the sales would take off. So many students, both elementary and high school, teachers, some community members, came pouring into our classroom excited to support our project. With every sale, we cheered and added the numbers to our growing spreadsheet of sales. Every day we updated the number of cookbooks sold and the total profit. We decided as a class that our cut off day would be on the same day as Books for Breakfast, so it would be about a 3 week selling period. Our final sales ended with a total of 191 cookbooks sold with a profit of $205.30!
I told the class that bringing in this amount of a money lends itself to a big responsibility of how to best spend it. Our first step was to decide how much we wanted to set aside to help a family. Once that money was set aside, we brainstormed ideas for what we need for our classroom. We ultimately decided on new pencils with erasers. With this purchase, each student was able to get 4 new pencils and a large pink eraser. We then brainstormed ideas for what we want for our classroom. The class decided they wanted to add new pillows to our window bench that the students use throughout the day to make their reading and writing more cozy. They also wanted to order books from our Top 20 Countdown.
As a class we went on Amazon to look at pillow ideas, and I also presented the prices of all the top 20 books. We had to pick and choose what we really wanted to fit into our budgeted amount. We bought 4 new pillows and 7 new books. With each purchase, we went online together and counted the money out of our box to make the payment.
Our final purchase was at Pedal Pushers. We chose this business to buy a gift card from to give to a family in our community. Yesterday we walked down there to take a tour and learn about their business. Angie and Scott Taylor did an awesome job teaching the students about owning your own business. It was so interesting to hear about how their business runs, the number of customers they serve, and how Pedal Pushers came to be. Thank you so much to Angie and Scott!
Spring Art Project
We're excited for spring in 2nd grade. Last week we completed an art project to bring some spring vibes to our classroom. The students started with a black piece of paper. They drew any type of flower design that they liked. We outlined the designs with white glue. Once that dried, we filled in with oil pastels. They turned out beautiful!
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Part of our Delivery...
If you're checking in 2nd graders, part of our delivery arrived tonight. We are still missing a few books which are supposed to be arriving in the next couple days.
Monday, March 13, 2017
Sunday, March 12, 2017
Top 20 Books of 2016
Every year Amazon puts out a list of the top 20 books from the previous year. We read them throughout the month of February. We start at book number 20 and work our way up to book number 1. Along the way, the students choose their favorite. At the end, each student makes a final favorite choice and writes a book review to post in the hallway urging others to check out their favorite picks. We love our Top 20 Countdown! This year's list is one of my favorites!
Saturday, March 11, 2017
Taste Testers #7
Jack Brogle's Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe was a big hit with Mason and Ellie. Mason couldn't even wait for the picture to be taken before he dove into his cookie, and Ellie said, "These cookies are amazing!" My kids will be asking to make these again soon! Great recipe Jack!
Banana Bingo Celebration: Lunch in the Classroom
This last Monday the students were able to bring their lunches to the classroom for our Banana Bingo Celebration. We also turned on some music so the students could show off their dance moves while enjoying lunch!
The Spaghetti Noodle Tower Challenge
We've started our engineering unit in 2nd grade. We learned that engineers design and build things to solve problems. They use creative and innovative ideas. We've also learned that there are many types of engineers. Some may create new things, some take things apart to see how they work, and others study why things don't work.
Our first task was to make a spaghetti tower using only 30 noodles and 25 marshmallows. The students were placed in groups of 3, and they had two science class periods to work. The goal was to build the tallest standing structure. Once the students got their supplies they got right to work with enthusiasm. Groups were sketching out ideas they thought might work and tried to apply their design to their tower.
Groups soon found that this was more challenging than they anticipated. Spaghetti noodles are not strong building supplies and marshmallows are gooey. Several groups had to design and redesign. This can lead to frustration, and how the groups handled this frustration definitely impacted their outcome.
On the third day we measured our towers and discussed the process. Every group ended with a standing tower which is a success! I asked the students what they found surprising about the process. They agreed that the supplies were not easy to work with. They said that it was frustrating when their ideas didn't work. They were surprised how difficult it was to translate their design on paper to the noodles and marshmallows. Having 3 voices in a group was challenging because there were so many ideas to work through. I asked the class how this relates to engineering, and they could see that engineers may have to try their ideas and design many times before it works.
I asked the class how cooperation is important to this project. They agreed that keeping a positive attitude was so important. Groups that had a more difficult time listening to each other's ideas were not as successful in the end. Some students said they thought it would be easier to just do this project by themselves so they didn't have to try anybody else's ideas. Other students said that working alone wouldn't be the best strategy because you may run out of ideas when it wasn't working.
This is a fun project with so many great lessons!
Our first task was to make a spaghetti tower using only 30 noodles and 25 marshmallows. The students were placed in groups of 3, and they had two science class periods to work. The goal was to build the tallest standing structure. Once the students got their supplies they got right to work with enthusiasm. Groups were sketching out ideas they thought might work and tried to apply their design to their tower.
Groups soon found that this was more challenging than they anticipated. Spaghetti noodles are not strong building supplies and marshmallows are gooey. Several groups had to design and redesign. This can lead to frustration, and how the groups handled this frustration definitely impacted their outcome.
On the third day we measured our towers and discussed the process. Every group ended with a standing tower which is a success! I asked the students what they found surprising about the process. They agreed that the supplies were not easy to work with. They said that it was frustrating when their ideas didn't work. They were surprised how difficult it was to translate their design on paper to the noodles and marshmallows. Having 3 voices in a group was challenging because there were so many ideas to work through. I asked the class how this relates to engineering, and they could see that engineers may have to try their ideas and design many times before it works.
I asked the class how cooperation is important to this project. They agreed that keeping a positive attitude was so important. Groups that had a more difficult time listening to each other's ideas were not as successful in the end. Some students said they thought it would be easier to just do this project by themselves so they didn't have to try anybody else's ideas. Other students said that working alone wouldn't be the best strategy because you may run out of ideas when it wasn't working.
This is a fun project with so many great lessons!
Sunday, March 5, 2017
Taste Testers #6!
Ellie had some friends over for a sleepover, and I thought Trayton's Good Old Fashioned Pancakes would be a great breakfast for them this morning! They loved your pancakes Trayton!
Saturday, March 4, 2017
Scientific Method Experiment 2
The second experiment we did to practice making a hypothesis, carrying out an experiment, and analyzing the results was "Growing Gummy Bears." We asked the question: "What liquid will make our gummy bears grow the most?" We tried out 4 different possibilities: plain water, sugar water, vinegar water, and lemon water. We weighed and measured each gummy bear before and after so we could be as clear as possible on our results. Most students predicted that the gummy bear in the sugar water would grow the most. The reasoning the students gave was that gummy bears are made of sugar, and sugar water would make them grow fast. We were surprised to see that the gummy bears in the vinegar and lemon water become blobs of gelatin overnight! We concluded that the gummy bear in the plain water grew the most. Although the bear in the vinegar weighed in with the most mass, it was very difficult to decipher how much of that weight was just from additional water poured on the scale because it was so hard to weigh that blob! The bear in the lemon water grew the least, and there was just not much left of that gummy bear to measure! This was a fun experiment, and we talked about how the students could try it at home with any types of liquid they liked! If anyone tries this at home, report back your results!
Scientific Method Experiment 1
In the last few weeks the students have been learning about the scientific method. We've discussed how scientists are curious about something, they ask questions, do research, form a hypothesis, and carry out an experiment to see if their hypothesis is correct.
We tried out the scientific method with "The Great Banana Experiment." We asked the question: "How can we keep bananas fresher longer?" We tried 3 methods: one banana was placed in a sealed plastic bag, another had plastic wrap wrapped around the stem, and the third banana was placed in the fridge.
The class was pretty split in their hypotheses. We recorded our observations for a few days and ultimately concluded that the banana in the sealed plastic bag held up the best. The banana in the fridge turned brown very quickly. Once peeled, the banana in the plastic bag looked very similar to the banana that had plastic wrap around the stem. They both still looked yellow. The banana from the fridge had many dark brown spots once peeled.
We tried out the scientific method with "The Great Banana Experiment." We asked the question: "How can we keep bananas fresher longer?" We tried 3 methods: one banana was placed in a sealed plastic bag, another had plastic wrap wrapped around the stem, and the third banana was placed in the fridge.
The class was pretty split in their hypotheses. We recorded our observations for a few days and ultimately concluded that the banana in the sealed plastic bag held up the best. The banana in the fridge turned brown very quickly. Once peeled, the banana in the plastic bag looked very similar to the banana that had plastic wrap around the stem. They both still looked yellow. The banana from the fridge had many dark brown spots once peeled.
Taste Tester #5!
Ms. Pam shared this picture of her grandson making Grace's Seasoned Snack Mix from the 2nd grade cookbook. Thanks for sharing this with 2nd grade!
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