Official Second Graders!

We have a classroom full of 22 well-prepared and highly capable second graders upstairs at WPS! The first day of school brought students bounding into our new classroom's door, reportedly feeling excited and happy about the promises of a fresh year, reuniting with friends, and the newfound joy of being upstairs. 

On our first day together, I read aloud Julie Danneberg's First Day Jitters, the story of a nervous school-going newbie. In the end, much to 2B's surprise, this newbie is a TEACHER, not a new student. While it was relieving to hear from our students that they did not feel jittery the morning before school started, I disclosed that I, in fact, was feeling that nervous! It's important to me that students understand I eagerly await their arrival as soon as August 1 hits, basically! And, like all humans, that I want to feel acceptance, belonging, significance, and fun! 

Our work together during the first week was extremely important in laying a foundation and establishing purpose for our time together. I knew this was going to be a stellar group as soon as I posed the question: Why do we come to school, anyway? 

I wasn't sure what this group of students would generate. After all, this was the first intellectual discussion we had together. Well, I was floored. I was humbled and refreshed and revved up to see many hands waving in the air and my hand couldn't keep up with the flow of thoughtful responses to record on our chart paper. Here are some of the gems of ideas:

-If we don't come to school each day, then we won't grow a bit smarter each day.

-And if we don't grow smarter each day, we won't have success! We won't get good jobs! Or get into the colleges we want! 

-Because (added another student) you know, colleges can be picky with who they choose to let in.

-We come here each day to see our friends.

-We come to WPS to make new friends.

-We come here to learn. To read. To write. To do math. To get better at all of these things.

-We come here to exercise. To run. To play.

-We go to school so we can work together better, so we know how to work with people.

These are just a few of the student thoughts that I wrote and posted in our classroom. I was just so enthused by the level of reflection and substantial thinking that students volunteered literally from day one. 

It's certainly going to be a most fabulous year.

Here are a few photos I took of students in action during our first week. 

Strong students

Friends at school

Feeling the wind in their hair

Generating destinations for Flat Stanley travels and writing why they'd like their project to travel there

 Having a fun break

Researching China and New York City photos to inform illustrations for their Flat Stanley projects

We're Fluent

As end of year reading assessments roll around, I am amazed at the growth our second graders have accomplished over the course of the year in reading. One learning activity we use from time to time during our reading block is Reader's Theatre. This is a partner or small-group, student-led activity that develops fluency. We need students to leave second grade deeply understanding and consistently exhibiting fluent reading.

Fluent reading is multifaceted and supports comprehension:

• Rate: Maintain a fast (but not too fast) pace
• Phrasing: Read "like you talk." Read in ~four word chunks and use punctuation to guide phrasing (commas, elipsis, colons, semi-colons, etc.).
• Expression: Show expression in tone and voice level, applying appropriate stress and pausing, "reading with feeling"
• Accuracy: decode words in text with ease, integrating cuing systems

Thought you might enjoy these tidbits of paired reading performances! They come from a great series called You Read to Me, I'll Read to You! These books are a series of short partner reads. They would be awesome choices for summer reading with your student before bed or whenever!

Green Thumbs

We have a room full of green thumbs! Second graders have gained experience with multiple plantings this Spring season, which is just the kind of experiential learning I am so thrilled to have a hand in with our students. Second grade science units include Pebbles, Sand & Silt, Soil and New Plants. We have researched, read about, and explored various kinds of earth materials. Students have developed an in-depth understanding of earth materials involved in soil and have been able to apply this knowledge in plantings with the Washington Garden Club, at Flanders Nature Center, with the WPS PTO, and in our classroom! What a flowery way to welcome Spring!

Strike up a conversation with your student....here's some fuel for your chat:

-Can you teach me about how boulders can end up as a grain of sand?

-What are some earth materials that can be found in soil?

-Which is the best type of soil for plant growth? The worst? Why?

-What are some ways seeds can travel?

-What do all plants need to survive?

-Why should we turn plants we keep indoors?

Happy Growing :)

Dress Up as a Word

 Cade as Leif Ericson

 Charlotte as Ruby Bridges

Kyle as Martin Luther King, Jr.

 Asia as Peru

When the clock strikes 8:45 and the morning bell sounds, 2B is really always abuzz. On Dress Up as a Word Day on March 22, though, it was especially lively. Students hurried around, ensuring their costumes were just so, fastening words and definitions to their fronts, scribbling definitions in a frenzy of energy. It was quite fun.  We had everybody in our room--from "ones" (the ones place in a number), to Vikings, to liquid, to fruit, to Beta fish. 

Months ago, I stayed late one night fashioning the most impractical costume ever. The students in 2B know my words of choice are "hope" and "kindness." So for this occasion, I chose to be "hope," the desire and expectation for something to happen. What I ended up with was a laminated suit of second grade pictures and hopes dangling on strings. Students got a real kick out of seeing me maneuvering around the room, holding up my laminated legs, with little yarn hopes flying around me (and who knew wearing laminated paper could be so HOT!?). The point is, I think of my hopes for this group of young people every day. I think of my hope for them to love school, to make the world a better place, to smile 100 times a day, to notice the small beautiful things in life, to accept others' differences. And this was just another chance I couldn't pass up to tell them about it. It weighs on my mind every day, and they should know. 

And they do know, for our room is filled with hope.

WORMS!

2B is having too much fun with poetry. Poetry is one of my favorite units because of the artistry inherent in its written craft. I feel especially passionate about it, and I'm thinking it's catching on amongst the class.

On Friday, Haleigh performed a rendition of "Hiccups" by the hilarious children's poet Jack Prelutsky with poise, humor, and fluency. I was in stitches and our class listened actively and in amazement at Haleigh's excellent reading and flawlessly placed "hiccup" sounds as she read. I wish I caught that one on tape. The celebrated her reading with a round of snaps, as in a coffee shop listening to a poetry slam.

Instead, I have a little gem of a video to share with you from Reading Workshop on Friday. Students are growing in their understanding that poems demand to be read in very intentional ways in order to carry the meaning and music they were written to carry.

Our students might have thought I had gone looney when I told them to "watch me" as I got up, walked across the room, sat on the floor quite close the wall, and started reading to it. The strategy is called Reading to the Wall, and it's a way to develop fluency and meaning in poetry by reading aloud to the wall to perfect performances while hearing oneself.

Though it's a little loud in the background (only because all students were excitedly reading to the piece of wall they had laid claim to), here is a short clip of Cade "reading to the wall." The poem, by Frank Flynn, is called "Spaghetti" and it is about spaghetti's uncanny, fun-but-grotesque likeness to worms (wriggling down your throat, flapping on the side of your face as you slurp). At one point, Flynn writes "WORMS!" on the page...so when you hear lots of screaming, it means students reading to the wall around the room had reached that part and are reading it just as it was meant to be read--in a scream! Next time you eat spaghetti, I hope you don't think of WORMS! 

Travel To Peru!

Who knew our second graders could develop PowerPoint Presentations that could rival some of my college professors!?! :)

As a culminating project for our Social Studies Unit on Peru, students were guided through the research process as they researched, took notes, drafted, and designed presentations on various selected topics relevant to Peru. Their mission? To become experts on their topic and teach their classmates more than they would have known from our regular whole-group instruction on Peru.

Here is a sample--our student group who researched what it is like to go to school in Peru was captured on film to give you a taste of what our second graders were able to produce.

It was very impressive to behold the level of professionalism that students were able to carry out. Their process was mega-multistep:
1. Rate choices for topic preferences from 1-5.
2. Read and highlight key information in 3 print sources.
3. Reread highlighted information and paraphrase.
4. Make decisions within each group as to what material each student in the group would be responsible for reporting on.
5. Craft an outline for each PowerPoint slide with only KEY words.
6. Decide as a group on a slide layout and create slides.
7. Select images that would support text and insert on slides.
8. Craft notecards that elaborate richly on words from slides.
9. Rehearse as a group and provide feedback to one another before presenting.
10. Present as a group to the rest of the class.
11. Provide written feedback to one another and self reflections.

Wow. When I type it out like this, I am even more amazed at the grown up work our students have done. This is super exciting because these research, public speaking, and collaborative group work skills will serve our students well throughout life. Not to mention, students were able to compare and contrast life in CT to life in Peru with understanding, our goal in working to understand cultural significance and grow global perspectives.

We're settin' these second graders up for success!

The Content of our Character

At our faculty meeting this week, we reviewed the results from the Climate Survey completed by staff, parents, and students at the beginning of the school year. Kindness is king in 2B--all students know that kindness is my favorite word and concept. Ever. Morning Meeting fosters community and kindness, and I try to foster kindness throughout the day in subtle ways, just through the way we communicate, our nonverbal language, etc. The results of the student surveys were promising in that many students responded that someone says something nice to them and/or they say something nice to someone each day. Some students, though, indicated that they say or hear mean words being spoken toward peers. A part of me cringes in acknowledging that this is reality: people are not always kind. But the ceaseless idealist in me says: I will work tirelessly to help students in 2B to be the kindest in all the land.

It's March. And our students have been together most days of the week for most waking hours of the day for about 6 months. Not to mention learning and growing in a classroom together through Kindergarten and 1st grade, as well, for the most part. With that being said, at this point in the year, I think we can all use a refresher focus on kindness. In celebration of kindness, here are some recent shots of our students--smiling, cooperating, being silly, having fun.

We continue to focus on building character at school. Here are some of our school wide character focuses to keep in mind in teaching and learning with your child at home. I am quite sure we all hope for these things for our students. I encourage you to think through how you can focus on these concepts with your child in daily life at home :).

Respect: The Golden Rule, courteous actions, acceptance, nonviolence, understanding

Responsibility: accountability, self-control, perseverance, hard work, self-discipline, right/wrong, thinking before acting

Caring: show concern for others, friendliness, empathy, charitable, compassion, generosity

Effective Communicator: patience, active listening, optimism, assertion, cooperation, tolerance, reliability, just, honest, integrity

Creative Problem Solver: take initiative, persist in spite of obstacles, flexibility, creativity, resourcefulness, open-mindedness, leadership

Citizenship: honor and respect for authority, for our country, volunteer, have a voice