March 11th, 2010
Using the beam balance
As the second trimester ends, we find ourselves in the midst of many assessments as well as the preparation for our upcoming MAP tests. Luckily, we are still able to squeeze in a little fun! In science, Mrs. Saba has been leading our new unit, “Balance and Weighing”. The kids have used a beam balance and discussed what happens when the fulcrum is moved. Yesterday, they started working with equal-arm balances, and the kids found many interesting objects to weigh and compare!
On March 25th, we will host the Mad Scientists from Mad Scence of Minnesota. Our second graders will see the “Fire and Ice Show”. We are very excited for their visit, and even MORE excited to announce that the PTA has offered to cover the cost of this presentation! We’ll be sure to take pictures so you can see some of the fun. 
A new book order is coming home today. Along with the paper orders, we will accept online orders through March 18th. The information and link for online ordering is to the right on our blog.
We have added links in the Reading and Math sections for MAP practice. The test is administered on the computer, so the more practice the kids can have reading and answering questions in that format, the better. Thank you for your help and support!
February 19th, 2010
Happy Valentine's Day!
You would think that with our fantastic new student teacher, Mrs. Saba, we would have all sorts of spare time to add new and exciting information to our blog. Clearly, that has not been the case!
It's a test-no peeking!
Thank you to everyone who checks regularly, and we have every intention of writing more frequently from here on out. Things are going very well in second grade! Over the past few weeks, Mrs. Saba has been doing a lot in our room with the kids. She will be alternately teaming with each of us, and she has been leading our morning meetings as well as the math and health lessons this week.
Putting it all together (dino bones)
Because it has been awhile since our last post, we have included pictures from a few different events. (OK…we thought we had all the bugs worked out on the photo thing, but we don’t quite have it yet. Pics will be up as soon as we can get them on!)
SPEAKING OF EVENTS, we hope you will join us in the cafeteria this evening for Woodland Movie Night at 6:30 PM. They will be showing “Meet the Robinsons”, and there will be free popcorn and lemonade. We hope to see you there! Additionally, next Friday is Woodland’s Cultural Celebration. It will be held from 6-9 PM in the gym. This event is also free, and a lot of fun!
January 28th, 2010
Looking for fossils!
We are in full swing with our science activities! The key concept we want the kids to learn is how to make an inference. Studying dinosaurs is a great way to practice making inferences, and the kids are doing a great job using information to make educated guesses. This afternoon, we looked at a variety of animal skulls, and the kids were able to determine whether the animal was a carnivore, herbivore, or omnivore based on its teeth.
Everyone took their job very seriously.
On Wednesday, we did a virtual dinosaur dig (see the link under “Miscellaneous” to the right). The kids learned about the steps taken in locating and unearthing fossils. Today we became a whole class of paleontologists, digging for dinosaur bones (chocolate chips) deep in the mountains (cookies). The kids worked so hard, we brought in other teachers to show off our focused and precise workers.
We were very proud fossil expedition leaders! The paleontologists were paid well for their hard work!
January 28th, 2010
We are very pleased to welcome our new student teacher, Mrs. Saba, to our classroom! Many of the kids remember Mrs. Saba from kindergarten Kidstop. While she has been working on her Masters in Education at Hamline, she has also been teaching 4Star at Weaver Lake Elementary. Mrs. Saba will be in our room every day through April 23rd. She will slowly take over some of the responsibilities in our room, and during the full-time teaching of her experience, she will team with both Jody and me alternately. We are looking forward to having another skilled professional in the room with our kids as well as for sharing ideas and creating exciting lessons with!
