Balance and Motion

Wow, things are really rolling along in Room 223...We just began a science unit on how objects move and balance. We are observing and experimenting with forces like pushing and pulling, gravity, balancing points, and counterweights.

We began our investigations by using some simple tools: a cardboard ramp, a plastic axle, and two different sized wheels. During our experiments we noted what happened when big and little wheels were pulled along by gravity. Ok, some groups added pushing forces as well. Zoom, zoom, zoom.

The last couple days we have been exploring balance and balancing points. Who among us would have predicted we could balance a crayfish on its nose? Sound fishy? You're right. We used a tagboard cutout of a crayfish instead of the genuine article. While the crayfish was fairly stable, we discovered it became more stable when we added counterweights. You probably know the counterweights better as clothespins.

Each day we explore a little, question a little, talk a little, and read and write a little about balance and motion. In these processes, literacy helps us complete our work as scientists, engineers, problem solvers. As always, the learning never seems to stop. So, here's to balance. Here's to motion. And here's to Seconds!

No Bones About It

Question for you all: Why are there old dinosaur bones in the Science Museum? Because they can't afford new ones!

If there's a dinosaur joke, there must be dinosaurs and there was. Today, all second graders at Woodland attended a presentation by the Science Museum of Minnesota to begin preparing us for our upcoming field trip to the Museum. The presentation and field trip are generously funded by Flint Hills Resources. Hooray and thank you!!

During the presentation, we were scientists. As paleontologists, we observed, discussed, and learned about life as it was long ago. Matthew, our guide from the Science Museum, explained how dinosaurs became buried under layers of rock and soil, what paleontologists do, and how paleontologists work to piece together the bones they find. Luckily, we had a room filled with scientists who worked together to assemble a model of Deinonychus' skeleton.

https://goo.gl/H2UVmq

We also learned that Deinonychus was a meat eater whose name means "terrible claw." One look at Deinonychus and we quickly saw it was accurately named. Yikes! Time for a manicure??

Now, why did Deinonychus eat raw meat? Because it couldn't cook, of course. Mathew shared a ton of great information on dinosaurs. Don't be surprised if dinnertime turns into dino-time!  So here's to dinosaurs, here's to the Science Museum, here's to Flint Hills, and Here's to Seconds!

Keeping Cool and Staying Warm

Our favorite letters these past couple weeks have been "b" and "r" as in brrrrr. Even though it's been cold outside, our reading and writing work are heating up.

Right before winter break we launched into a study of Kevin Henkes' work as author and illustrator. We are continuing that work and are now taking closer looks at his writing and artistic craft. Maybe you saw your child's drawing of Lilly? Thanks to Emily, my daughter, for coming in and sharing her art with us and helping us see the big shapes Mr. Henkes used to create a great character!

As we analyze what Mr. Henkes does as an author, we are trying to write in similar ways. Around here, we are reading like writers and writing like readers. Here's a few of the writing moves Mr. Henkes often includes in his books:

• Mice are main characters.
• Words and phrases are often repeated.
• Storylines grow out of real-life occurrences from at home or school.
• Humor adds enjoyment.
• Characters change throughout the story.

We also noticed that Mr. Henkes does not just write about what happened. He adds more to his stories. To make his books really interesting, Mr. Henkes uses the following:

• dialogue
• description
• thoughts
• feelings
• sounds

All this good writing work must be the reason Mr. Henkes just won a Caldecott Honor for his latest book Waiting. Wow, what an honor for him. And what an honor for us to be studying this author from Madison, WI! So here's to Kevin Henkes and here's to Seconds!!

Skating Along

We are skating along and rolling toward a mid-winter break. Really. We are really, and honestly, truly roller skating in PE. It was super fun on Friday to strap on a pair of quads and wheel around the gym. All the students were showing great effort and working to extend their skating abilities. I must say, I was honored to be wearing my daughter, Emily's, roller derby helmet. I think the loaner helped me skate better; it sure didn't hurt! Well, maybe it hurts a little when you fall.

This week is off to a good start. As you might imagine, we are trying to wrap up big projects, continue with our daily routines, and enjoy a story or two before we say so long to 2015. During our morning meeting, we talked about how to be our best selves this week. Everyone knew the positive behaviors that help make our classroom and Woodland a safe and fun place to be. Today, the students did more than talk the talk. They used their work time productively; they said, "Excuse me," and "Thank you." They took care of their own tasks and supported the work in the entire room. Delightfully delightful.

So here's a big shout out to the kind children in our room. Here's to skaters. And here's to Seconds!

Rolling Along!

Writing Toward the Finish Line

All good things must come to an end, and we have a deadline for our writing about plants. After a brief writers' meeting this morning, we have set next Wednesday as our first deadline to complete our writing and next Friday as our final deadline. Most writers thought they could finish by then while others lobbied for the end of December. (That's going out on a limb...even for plant writing.)

The last few days have been loaded with learning. As we finish up this project, we are asking ourselves how we can make our writing clear and interesting for our readers. We noticed that when we say facts in our own words the writing sounds more like us. That's interesting. In this way, we are sharing our knowledge. We are owning the information and recording it for others so they can learn. That's what writers do.

You wouldn't believe what we are learning from each other as well. Students have demonstrated how to write longer pieces, use paragraphs, use quotation marks, use punctuation marks, and how to make illustrations pop. Elegant writing abounds in Room 223.

So hi-ho, here we go sprinting to the finish line with quality writing in hand. Here's to writing; here's to writers; and here's to Seconds!

Growing Our Research

Reading and research has definitely sprouted in our classroom. We have selected our topics and have been busily gathering information. What is your child's topic? Is it on this list, or is it something different?

• life cycles of plants
• plant parts: roots, stems, leaves, seeds, flowers
• interesting or unusual plants: cactus, venus flytrap, WOW!
• trees
• plant colors
• photosynthesis (It's what makes a plant a plant you know.)
• sunflowers
• ???
• how seeds are spread

Whatever the topic, I'm sure your child has a bushel of information to share. While we gather this information, we are also thinking about how to publish what we know so others can learn from us. We are working as researchers and thinking like writers. Do we have enough information to publish? When we publish, how can we make it all look like an organized book a reader will be interested in? These are but a few of the questions we are considering as we wrap up our plant unit.

What's that you ask? Are we singing a song about plants too? Why yes we are, thanks for asking. This week we learned and sang along to the Garden Song as performed by John Denver and the Muppets. So, here's to the Garden Song Link; here's to plants; and here's to Seconds!

Bloom and Grow

How do roots grow? How do plants make food? What's the largest and smallest plant? Some questions, huh?

You may have heard through the grapevine that we are researching plants. Each day we take some time to read and write about plants and mix in some experiments along the way. We are working as botanists, scientists, researchers, and writers as we unearth lots of information about plants.

When we return from Thanksgiving break, we will really dig in and form several research groups. The groups will be rooted in investigations around specific plant topics. Within these groups, researchers will cultivate an understanding of their topic and share this knowledge with others. No doubt, cool and informative projects will sprout up over the next couple weeks.

We look forward to our explorations really branching out, as every new discovery is just more food for thought. So here's to plants and here's to Seconds!