A Poem of Inspiration to End the Year

When You Thought I Wasn't Looking

When you thought I wasn't looking, you displayed my first report and I wanted to do another.

When you thought I wasn't looking, you fed a stray cat and I thought it was good to be kind to animals.

When you thought I wasn't looking, you gave me a sticker and I knew that little things were special things.

When you thought I wasn't looking, you put your arm around me and I felt loved.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw tears come out of your eyes and I learned that sometimes things hurt- but that it's alright to cry.

WHen you thought I wasn't looking, you smiled and it made me want to look pretty too.

When you thought I wasn't looking, you cared and I wanted to be everything I could be.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I looked...and wanted to say thanks for all those things you did when you thought I wasn't looking.

I Cannot Believe...

I cannot believe it is the last day of school. I cannot believe how much your children have grown. I cannot believe that I was lucky enough to be able to spend each day with the most wonderful kids in the world. I cannot believe that I got the honor of working with you. I cannot believe how lucky I am, to have the most wonderful job in the world.

Thank you for such a fantastic year, and the true joy and honor of being able to work with your children. They are amazing, and I will truly miss them.

Have a fantastic summer, and I will greatly miss all of you!

Beach Party Information!

Tomorrow, Wednesday 5/25 is our annual 2nd grade beach party! Here is a little information about what will be going on:

What to wear:

-Beach clothes- no bathing suits, make sure your clothes meet the school dress code

-Hawaiian shirts/shorts, colorful tops and bottoms

-Students may wear flip-flops but need to bring tennis shoes for recess

-Wear sunblock

What to bring:

-Beach towels

-Sun glasses

-Hat

-Any other beach items (beach ball, beach books, etc)

-Your yearbook if you ordered one

What fun!!

Beach Party!

On Wednesday, we are going to have our annual 2nd grade beach party and yearbook signing. If you bought a yearbook, please be sure to bring it in. We are going to spend some time together as a grade level, and give the students a chance to have their books signed by all of their friends. Be sure to watch for our letter which will come home as we approach the date!

Birthday Celebrations!

With it being the end of the year (only 11 days left), we are giving our summer birthdays a chance to celebrate here in class! Here is the schedule for when your child is having their special day!

Monday, May 16- Meredith

Wednesday, May 18- Jake

Monday, May 23- Zach

Tuesday, May 24- Aneesh

Wednesday, May 25- Andrew

Friday, May 27- Joshua

We wish a happy early birthday to all of our friends!

Thank You!

I would like to send out 2 HUGE thank yous today! First of all, thank you for the wonderful gift cards and letters from the kids that I received last Friday for teacher appreciation day. You really surprised me!

Secondly, thank you to Sydney and Makena's families for the WONDERFUL lunch today! It was fantastic, and I cannot wait to take the leftovers home to share with my family!

You are all the most amazing group of parents to work with! I am so lucky!

Wants and Needs

Today, we talked about the differences between wants versus needs. I introduced this topic through a song called "The Wanting Song" that is sung to the tune of "London Bridge".

Here are the lyrics:

Wants are things we'd like to have,

Like to have,

Like to have.

Wants are things we'd like to have

_________ wants a _________.

Here's the wonderful list of wants the class came up with:

Andrew: pool

Panya: rollercoaster

Samhi: tiger

Sydney: a key to the bank

Benjamin: to be president

Jake: a flat screen tv

Ezra: a new bayblade

Jenna: box of money

Gunnar: jet pack

Jessica: puppy

Sarah J: i-Pod touch

Aneesh: mansion

Ryan: something you step on and it lights up and flies

Vishi: trampoline

Jonathan: dsi

Joshua: 9 trillion dollars

Joel: a robot that would do everything for me

Makena: palace

Meredith: a cruise ship

Zachary: pool

Victoria: 2 horses

How creative we are!

Stanford and OLSAT Scores

Here is a link to some information to help you interpret your child's Stanford and OLSAT scores. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions.

A Chance of A Lifetime

One in a lifetime, you get the chance as a professional to fulfill a dream that will drastically impact the way you teach. My entire career, I have been a huge fan of the author Debbie Miller (Reading With Meaning; Teaching With Intention), and her books have molded the instruction that I give in my classroom. Today, as I sit writing this, I am not at my usual place in the room but rather in a meeting with other excited educators waiting to listen to this wonderful woman share her thoughts. I will miss my kiddos greatly today, but I can't wait to share what I have learned! Have a wonderful weekend!

Selecting Our Animals

We have been talking in great detail about animal classifications, habitats, and Ohio's environments. Today, there was true excitement in the air as the class was able to pick their animals for the research projects. They cannot wait to get started!

**If you are having difficulty reading the list, double-click on it and it should open it up into a larger view.**

Building Our Garden

Today, as our study of Ohio plants and animals continues, we planted our own little garden to talk about the plant life cycle. We planted sugar snap peas (which the seeds are actually the peas- the kids were fascinated with that). They each made their own label, and found their own spot. We talked about the basic needs of plants, and how we were going to provide these needs. Then, we made predictions about which day we thought we would start to see some sprouting. It was an exciting morning here in 2nd grade!

Nonfiction Writing

Today we started our nonfiction writing unit. We had such a good time! We began by looking at a book that answered such questions as what is earwax made of, how many hairs are on my head, how high until my balloon pops, and my personal favorite if a deaf person speaks in sign and reads lips, do they think in sign too?

We then sat down and created a list of things we thought we were an expert in (what we had to teach others), and things we could learn more about. It was amazing how similar some of our lists looked. There were also a lot of people who's expert lists matched some "want to know" lists. It was a great experience!

Our Famous Person Projects

They did such an amazing job! I am so proud of them!

Tomorrow's Open House

Dear Parents,

this is just a friendly reminder that tomorrow is our famous person open house from 1:30-2:15 in the commons. The students have been working extremely hard getting their projects ready to demonstrate their research and knowledge to you, and they are very excited! Please remember to send in their costume in either their bookbag or a labeled bag, and we will be changing before the open house begins. It is a very informal presentation; students will be standing with their projects and you are encouraged to walk up and look at what they have completed and ask them all about their famous person (after all, they have been researching them since the first of February!). We look forward to seeing you tomorrow! Please let me know if you have any questions!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Price

This week, we have been reviewing our love of nonfiction texts! We started by reading the books Actual Size and What Do You Do With A Tail Like This, both of which are by Steve Jenkins. We then moved into comparing fiction and nonfiction using the books Frogs and Frog and Toad are Friends. Today, we selected 11 books from the library on sharks (so each set of partners could have their own book), and reviewed the features that made that text nonfiction. We looked at things such as the index, table of contents, glossary, etc. We also talked about what these elements bring to nonfiction, and why they are important. It was really exciting to see how much the kids were loving the books about sharks. There were a great deal of "ooh"'s, "oh my gosh", and "look at that"s coming from our classroom. And, at the end, the nonfiction section was the most popular place during read-to-self time. It was a wonderful day!

Chaperones

Thank you so much to all of the parents who signed up to be a chaperone! Unfortunately, I can't take all of you. So, I put names in a hat and just drew four so that it would be fair. Here are the four families that will be chaperoning:

-Andrew

-Ezra

-Jenna

-Jessica

I hope that the remainder of parents will still join us on the 8th for a wonderful trip! If you plan on joining us, please let me know so I can add your name to our list. Thanks for all of the support!

COSI Field Trip

On Friday, April 8th, all of the second grade classes will be taking a field trip to COSI. We will see exhibits that connect to the science and social studies standards throughout our 2nd grade curriculum. The cost will be $8.00 per student and everyone will need to bring a sack lunch. Please do not pack any items that cannot be thrown away. If you have a COSI membership, you can send in a copy of the front and back of the card instead of the $8.00. We will leave at approximately 9:15 that morning so please be sure to be at school on time that day.

Chaperones are limited to 4, on a first come, first serve basis. They will ride the bus with us and pay only $8.00 for their ticket. Other parents who wish to attend and are not a formal chaperone can meet us down at COSI and pay the regular $14.25 admission and parking fees.

Students need to have their money and permission slip in NO LATER than Friday, April 1st. Cash is fine, and checks should be written to GRE. I look forward to a fantastic trip!

Nonfiction Study

We have just begun a reading and writing unit in nonfiction. Soon, your child will be talking to you about topics he or she is interested in and would like to learn more about.

We will research and collect information about topics that interest your child. Research in second grade is about three things: observing closely, asking questions, and reading. For example, a child writing about and thinking about manatees can visit the local zoo, talk to a zookeeper, visit websites, and look at various research books.

Please talk with your child about his or her interests and help with the research process at home by facilitating this wonderful conversation. We look forward to learning a lot together!

Animal Habitats

Today, Mrs. Pettit came from Franklin SWCD came to talk to us about animal in Ohio and the habitats they live in. I took some great pictures of the kids interacting with the hands-on display, we hope you enjoy it. Be sure to ask your little on about "their" animal. They should have some great facts to share with you!

Learning A New Game

Today in math, the students were introduced to a new computer game (in addition to Dicewars) that I came across in my class the other night. It is called railroad repair, and it is a pretty challenging game. The basis is not only in logic, but decimals (parts of a whole) as well. You can get to the link here. We hope you enjoy it!

Tonigh's Schedule

Here is the student-led conference schedule for tonight. I am so excited for your child to be able to share all of their learning and hard work with you! These conferences last (typically) between 20-30 minutes, and your child will be doing all of the talking. They have been working very hard to get ready for this evening, and are taking a great deal of responsibility with this task. They are so excited!

A Bald Eagle

Mrs. Cavanaugh passed this website along to us today- it is a live webcam focused on an eagle's nest. It is really interesting! Click here to check it out!

Baba Jubal

Click here to read an article about the visit we had from Baba Jubal!

Dice Wars!

I am currently taking a new class with Ohio Dominican University which focuses on Mathematics and Science. During our online exploration this evening, I came across a new math game (among others which I will share tomorrow) and I wanted to share the game with you. It is called Dice Wars, and we are going to learn how to play formally tomorrow. Here is a link, along with directions, to play the game. I hope you enjoy Dice Wars!

Talking Points

Today in reading workshop, we started looking at how authors communicate what characters are saying in stories. We started by reading the book Somebody and the Three Blairs, taking time to stop and look at all of the conversation that was going on. We selected three sentences from the story, so that we could study dialogue, tone, and pace (along with the usage and placement of quotation marks). Here are the sentences we looked at:

Baby Blair said, "Bye-bye. Come again and play tomorrow."

"This cereal is too dry," said Somebody.

"Issa big teddy bear," said Baby Blair.

We will keep discussing the conversation of stories, so if you discover them on your nightly exploration of books, be sure to have your kids tell you all about them!

Our Famous Person Projects Are Fabulous!

The class has been working so hard on their famous person projects. To walk in here during content time you would see integration of technology, teamwork, collaboration, and a true excitement for learning. They are having a great time working on these (I think the use of all different forms of media). I am so proud of them, and they are incredibly proud of their work. They are counting down the days until our open house! I want to send a special thank you to those classroom moms who have come in and helped during their volunteer time. The time you have spent working with the kids and their research projects is priceless to all of us. You are fantastic!

FAMOUS PERSON OPEN HOUSE!

Good morning! We will be celebrating the completion of our famous person projects on Friday, 4/1 from 1:30-2:15 here at GRE. It will be a wonderful experience for students to share what they have learned with you, so we would love for you to be able to attend if possible. Your child needs to dress in an outfit fitting of their famous person (as detailed in the sheet that came home). On that day, they need to bring it in a bag so they can change before the open house starts. We can't wait to see you!

Famous Person Projects

We have started the second phase of our famous person projects, which are the projects themselves. Here is a copy of the handout that the students recieved today (along with all supporting pages) to help them organize thier information. They are doing such a wonderful job! We can't wait to share the final product with you!

Visit from Chrissy

Today, Chrissy from Glacier Ridge Metro Park came to talk to us about birds. She brought wings, skulls, and even a fun migration game. Be sure to ask us what we did, for we had a great time!

Student-Led Conference Sign-Ups

Good afternoon! I have received a great deal of feedback about our student-led conferences. We are all so excited to share our learning with you! I have attached the sign-up sheet (click here), be sure to put your child's name, and save it before you close out of the page. If none of these times work for you, please email me and we will work something out. I am so happy you are all coming in!

Happy Read Across America Week!

What a busy week it is here in 2nd grade, as we appreciate all forms of reading. Today, we watched a short music video called "Gotta Keep Reading". You can access the video by clicking here. We hope you enjoy it!

Baba Jubal- what fun!

Welcome to Baba Jubal!

Today, our visiting artist-in-residence, wowed us with an extremely fun assembly! Baba Jubal shared some wonderful beats, songs, and stories that are rooted in his African heritage. We had such a great time, be sure to check out some of our memories (I will be posting a video later today)!

My Amazing Discovery!

I was sitting on the couch this evening, watching TV, and looking around for some new math websites to use in our classroom. I came across this site called Math Playground, which I think the kids are going to love. It gives them problems in the set-up that they are familiar to (part- part- whole, now how do they work together). I am very excited to introduce this website! You can click the icon, and it should take you directly to the site. If they like them, have your child comment on this telling their favorite part. It will really get children wanting to try new things!

Our Graphic Novels

We have been spending the last 4 weeks or so working on writing our graphic novels. The students have learned all about text boxes, panels, transitions, and character interactions. As the unit draws to a close, I wanted to let you see what your child will be graded on before the final product comes home. The students have been aware of these expectations since the start of the unit, and it has guided our discussion throughout our exploration. Have a great night!

Loren Long is Coming Tomorrow!

We are so excited! The incredibly talented author/illustrator, Loren Long, is coming to our school tomorrow! He is the author of one of our classroom favorites, Otis, as well as the illustrator for our project book, Of The I Sing. You can read some of his bio here.

If you purchased books at the book fair, or from an outside source, and want to have them autographed, here is what to do:

-Send the book in tomorrow (it MUST be here in the morning)

-Place a post-it on the cover with your child's name and any special message you would like inscribed.

-The books will return back home tomorrow.

Be sure to watch our blog for a video of his visit. We could not be more excited!!!!

Our Field Trip Today!

We had such an amazing time today! The doctors had set up wonderful stations for us. We got to experience making a dental mold (though they did it with our fingertips), see how a mouthguard and retainer were made, and even look at the x-ray machine. We really had a lot of fun, and learned a great deal about what happens at their office. They even sent us home with goodie bags (including the little pills that turn your mouth pink to show where you need to brush- these were a hit today). I hope you enjoy the pictures, and getting to see some of what we did. Have a great evening!

Measurement

Today we started Topic 13, which focuses on Measurement (Length and Area). We introduced this topic by playing a game called "Measurement Hunt" where the children were using their estimating skills to predict the length (in cubes) of objects. **This activity is on the back of your math mat if you are interested in reinforcing the skills at home.** Be sure to check our important math words section to see our new math vocabulary!

A Tear To My Eye

Every once in a while, while reading a professional book, I stumble upon a few words that will reaffirm my love of my students and my teaching. I was reading a book called "The Complete Year in Reading and Writing: Grade 2", and there is a description of a second grader that really caught my attention. I thought I would share it all with you, since I am so blessed that you share your second graders with me.

"The second grader, with his gap-toothed smile, is a physical marvel...he is able to think outside the concrete experience of his in-the-moment life, and to plan ahead. He can envision what is not yet there. As a result, he worries about things more than ever before. What will happen if Mom is not there to meet him when he gets off the school bus? What if his playdate goes badly? Second graders worry, but they also revel in the life-rich moments that are special to that age. An ice cream cone with a grandparent, a subway ride with mom: these moments are grand adventures. Second graders are cuddly and cozy, and an inch closer to you as read-aloud begins. They are just learning the pleasures of a good joke, and no one will laugh harder or louder at the funny parts in a book. They are your best buddies and true companions."

-Patty Vitale-Reilly and Pam Allyn

Our Valentine's Party

Our Valentine's Day party is on Friday from 2:15-3:30. What fun! We will be passing out our valentines on Friday morning, so that our party can be focused more on coming together as a class and having a great time. So, please make sure that your child has their valentines here to school by Friday morning (you are welcome to send them in earlier). You are welcome to have your child write student's names, or just have them sign them- it is completely up to you. Here is a list of the students in the class:

Andrew

Panya

Samhi

Sydney

Benjamin

Jake

Ezra

Jenna

Gunnar

Jessica

Sarah J.

Aneesh

Ryan

Vishi

Sarah R.

Jonathan

Joshua

Joel

Makena

Meredith

Zachary

Victoria

Homophones

We have been talking about the wonderful world of homophones! Homophones are words that sound alike, but are spelled differently and have different meanings. We read two books together, How Much Can a Bare Bear Bear and Dear Deer. These two books were incredible! Then, we came together and generated a list of all the homophone pairs we could think of. Here are some of the examples:

aunt-ant, flew-flu, bee-be, bear-bare, horse-hoarse, tale-tail, see-sea, and choose-chews.

The students then demonstrated their understanding through showing me a pair in illustration and words. They came up with some of the cutest examples!

Changing Our View of Reading

I was sitting in our classroom during reading the other day, and I had an epiphany. "We need to reflect on our reading more!" So, we have revamped our reading workshop (for as I tell the kids, if it doesn't work for you, fix it). Now, after about 15 minutes of quiet reading, the students are given the remainder of the time as "workshop"time to do independent projects that reflect their reading goals. Here are some of the things they are working on:

-Book chats with Mrs. Price

-Blog about a great read, or recommendations

-Reading contracts

-Reading connection sheets

-Work in Reading Response notebook

-Continue to read

You would have been so proud of them today! They were so engaged in their reading. Be sure to check out their conversations on KidBlog!

ProgressBook

I took a look at the account activity today on ProgressBook, and I thought I would send out a reminder. It is CRITICAL that you check your child's account at least weekly to see how they are doing in 2nd grade. We are inputting grades and comments almost daily, and it is a direct representation as to their progress (if a report card were to come home today, these are the grades you would be seeing). Please, please, please check periodically. If you need login information, I am going to resend it home today just as a reminder, and as always, let me know if you have any questions.

Our Famous People!

Andrew- Thomas Jefferson

Panya- Mother Teresa

Samhi- Ruby Bridges

Sydney- Jane Goodall

Benjamin- Benjamin Franklin

Jake- Albert Einstein

Ezra- John Hancock

Jenna- Betsy Ross

Gunnar- Barack Obama

Jessica- Amelia Earhart

Sarah J.- Betsy Ross

Aneesh- Mahatma Ghandhi

Ryan- Ronald Reagan

Vishi- George Washington

Sarah R.- Abraham Lincoln

Jonathan- Thomas Edison

Joshua- The Wright Brothers

Joel- Neil Armstrong

Makena- Elizabeth Blackwell

Meredith- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Zachary- Buzz Aldrin

Victoria- Pocahontas

**Please feel free to go to the Dublin branch of the library and check out additional books to send in. We will keep them in our book bins until the research is complete. Thanks for all of your help!

Famous Person Projects

At the start of next week, we are going to begin our famous person project. The children will be researching the life and accomplishments of someone who has contributed to American (or world) history in some way. They will demonstrate their knowledge through a series of self-selected projects at the completion of the research, and will share this knowledge with the class and all of you! We are so excited! There will be a list of possibilities posted here on the blog, so please discuss some of these options with your child. There will be only one kiddo researching each famous person, so be sure to discuss a few. Be sure to have your top 3 possibilities, and send it back in to school by Monday (you can have your child write it down, email it to me, comment on this post, or just have them tell me). Let the learning begin!

Happy Chinese New Year!

Gung hay fat choy (which means "I hope you are lucky and successful")! Today is the start of Chinese New Year! It lasts for 15 days, and is a huge reason to celebrate! This year is the year of the Rabbit, and the kids found this fascinating! If they were born in 2003, they were born in the year of the Ram. If their birthday was in 2002, it was the year of the horse. The had a great time using the chart to figure out the birthdays of all of the people they knew!