Animal Projects

Second Graders did such a FANTASTIC job on their animal reports and projects!  Not only did my students have a chance to share their work with classmates, but we also visited the students in Mrs. Poelaert's and Miss Spiniello's classes.  Each student was assigned a student in each of the other classes to interview about their animal.  The interview questions allowed students to ask important questions, but the conversations that continued AFTER the assigned questions were asked were fun, interesting, and so engaging!  To hear second graders carry on conversations about characteristics that distinguish different species as vertebrates (mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, fish) or invertebrates, about adaptations that allow creatures to live in different environments, diet, distribution, and so much more is incredible! 

Projects included puppets, dioramas, poster displays, clay models, Powerpoint slideshows, video, and more!  The students seemed to enjoy the project and obviously took great pride in presenting their work.  I also think they were impressed by their friends, as well.  It is wonderful to see students inspire each other.

Below is a short photo book that I put together.  Unfortunately a couple of students are missing, but I will add them to the page if I can get photos of them with their projects.  Enjoy!

Digital Learning Day!

In recognition of Digital Learning Day, our class created a Wallwisher wall to show what we have learned about mammals! Wallwisher is a fun, easy tool that is great for collaborating to share ideas or organizing ideas. Perhaps a good tool to use to take notes while preparing to write this month's biographies? Enjoy checking out some mammal facts!

Fact Fluency

Thanks to everyone who was able to make it to the curriculum presentation last Tuesday evening!  I thought this might be a good place to answer some questions that came up.  I am going to start with Fact Fluency and Xtra Math, but feel free to email me if you would like to see another topic covered or question answered.  Feel free to direct other grade two classes to the blog as well.  Mrs. Poelaert, Miss Spiniello, and I are always in very close communication.  While this blog is primarily for my class, others may find some of the information helpful. (The same goes for teacher websites.  Be sure to visit all three as you might find some gem you were looking for!)

What is Fact Fluency?
"Mastery of a basic fact means that a child can give a quick response (in about 3 seconds) without resorting to nonefficient means, such as counting." -Teaching Student-Centered Mathematics - Grades 3-8 by John A. Van de Walle and LouAnn H. Lovin copyright 2006

Why do we put so much emphasis on Fact Fluency? 
Educators and cognitive scientists agree that the ability to recall basic math facts fluently is necessary for students to attain higher-order math skills. Grover Whitehurst, the Director of the Institute for Educational Sciences (IES), noted this research during the launch of the federal Math Summit in 2003: “Cognitive psychologists have discovered that humans have fixed limits on the attention and memory that can be used to solve problems. One way around these limits is to have certain components of a task become so routine and over-learned that they become automatic.” Whitehurst, 2003) 

A more in depth explanation can be found here: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/math-fluency

XtraMath is just one tool that we use to help students master math facts.  Card games, flashcards, other computer games are also fun, effective tools.  The XtraMath website has a very useful FAQ section (https://www.xtramath.org/home/faq).  Here I have chosen some questions and answers that seem relevant to our discussion on Tuesday evening.

▼Can students do XtraMath more than once per day?

Students can sign in to XtraMath multiple times per day however once per day is the recommended amount. Additional sessions have diminishing educational value and they decrease students' enthusiasm for the program. Once per day as regularly as possible is the key to making good progress.

▼ XtraMath goes too fast for my child. Can you slow it down?

XtraMath is designed to measure what basic math facts students can recall, not what they can calculate. Three seconds is a carefully selected compromise that is long enough that a relatively slow typist can enter a recalled answer, and short enough so that most finger-counted responses are not erroneously considered fluent. If you increase the interval then you are no longer measuring fluency.

▼ My child is struggling with XtraMath. What should I do?

Here is what we recommend you tell your child if they are struggling with XtraMath:

• XtraMath takes only a few minutes each day, but it requires your undivided attention during that time. Stay focused on the problems and do your best every time.
• Do not feel hurried by the clock. Accuracy is more important than speed, but once you have the answer you should type it in promptly.
• Do not worry about the occasional typo or mistake. You will have many more chances to answer that same problem in the future.
• Do not guess. Try to remember the answer first, and if you cannot remember it then calculate it.
• Whenever "Mr. C" shows you the correct answer take a second to repeat the problem and answer to yourself. This will help you remember it in the future.
• Never, ever enter wrong answers on purpose. If you do your score will drop significantly and it will take you several sessions to prove what you already know and get back where you should be.
• It can take two months or more of regular practice to master an operation so be patient and be persistent.
• Do XtraMath as regularly as possible while following this advice and you will make good progress.

I would also strongly recommend adding yourself to your child's account.  This way you and your child have access to their reports.  There is a section about reading the reports in the FAQ section, as well.

I have students using XtraMath a few times a week at school, but students can also access the site from home.  I have noticed a significant improvement in the fact fluency of those students who have taken the initiative to use the program at home as well.
I hope this helps and please don't hesitate to ask questions that you may have!

Plant a Kiss!

Fun event alert! 

VIP INVITE: PLANT A KISS Book Release Party!

When? Saturday, February 4, 2012, 11:00am until 1:00pm

Come Plant a Kiss! You're Invited to the PLANT A KISS Book Launch Party at The Blue Bunny Bookstore - Saturday, Feb 4th. Plant a Kiss is delightful picture book for all ages - an ode to perseverance & giving by Amy Krouse "Duck Rabbit/Little Pea/Little Oink/Bite Size Cookie books" Rosenthal, illustrated by our very own Peter H. Reynolds - published by our good friends at HarperCollins. You KNOW Miss Perron and Emily will be there! 

 

http://www.whoisamy.com/

http://www.peterhreynolds/

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day

This week, students talked about the greatness of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  The used words to describe him like fair, brave, smart, non-violent.  They discussed the meaning of his speech and what he meant by having a "dream".  We talked about what he stood for and what he wanted. 

Students watched a short movie that summarized the life of Dr. King.  They were given six main events in Dr. King's life and were asked to listen for and record the years in which these events occurred.  The students did fantastic!  Students then created timelines of these events by putting the dates in time order and drawing a picture or symbol to depict each event.  I was so impressed with their work. 

Here is a collage of just a few of the students' work.  Be sure to ask your child about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and allow them to use the timeline to recount some of the important events from his life.  Enjoy!

Donations

I am really excited to share that through Donor's Choose and Adopt-a-Classroom, we have received donations from some incredible and generous people! Back in October, I submitted a Donor's Choose grant for math games that was fulfilled in a record (for me) two and a half months! Our class was excited to receive the big box of materials last week! There was a little prep in assembling them, but I was able to show them to the kiddos on Friday and they were itching to get their hands on them!
I also received a notice last week that an individual from Marlborough, MA donated $250 through Adopt-a-Classroom! I am looking through the approved catalogues now to see what we can get to enhance student learning in grade two.
Photos of students using our new materials will be posted soon!

Ornament Book Projects

For their December book project, second graders created a festive, hanging ornament to represent a book that they read.  Don't they look wonderful!?
This project was inspired by the Family Trees Exhibit at The Concord Museum.  Emily and I had a chance to go over vacation.   The trees are beautiful!  I recommend you make visiting a yearly tradition!