A Very Happy Valentine's Day

We definitely had a very special Valentine's Day in 2A this year, and it was so great that so many of our parents were able to join us!

I am including videos of the Poetry Celebration that Audrey's Dad was so nice to share with us!  These links are UNLISTED, so only those who have the link can access and view them.  The students' names are not connected to the video title, either.

Thanks to Luca's mom who made the beautiful backdrop for us this year!  I had it laminated so we can keep using it in the future, too!  :)

I hope everyone had a great time at our Poetry Celebration and our party.  Thanks to everyone who sent in goodies to make the day extra special.  I know the kiddos were thrilled about all the yummy treats!




Your child's video is labeled by his/her class number.

#3
http://youtu.be/BU9itJadJ30

 #7
http://youtu.be/JDQPXiBztnQ

#22
http://youtu.be/yr7cCoQMAJU

#19
http://youtu.be/3Xmn_HMN_o4

#13
http://youtu.be/CbD-f2ij-H0

#17
http://youtu.be/gpSTQWHX1Fk

#16
http://youtu.be/7UHPO0eaQjE

#21
http://youtu.be/vvIvi3cqg-Y

#4
http://youtu.be/rueyAlz2HhQ

#10
http://youtu.be/G3kMeQY6Szs

#12
http://youtu.be/fqcANXHV7xs

#11
http://youtu.be/bEf8n4yNsbA

#14
http://youtu.be/3Sbew8Zo-0c

#9
http://youtu.be/RyCDt0UAPsk

#2
http://youtu.be/x2hTmx6CmZk

#15
http://youtu.be/jqPpA5OkoAU

#5
http://youtu.be/_jJ0ExGWNSo

#1
http://youtu.be/ll11Io4Vk5Y

#20
http://youtu.be/zQ9q2cizADY

#8
http://youtu.be/4okEIYDYFkg

#6
http://youtu.be/2NZpI5MPl-A

#18
http://youtu.be/yBuIjJ_10OU

Our Poetry PBL is complete!

"How can we, as 2nd graders, collaborate to compile a book of poetry to share with an audience?"

This was the Driving Question for our students for the past few weeks.

They generated questions that they needed to find answers to in order to create a book of poetry.

Each team member had a job:  Tech Head, Recorder/Editor, Time/Supply Manager, and Graphic Designer.

Teams researched 3 different types of poetry:  haiku, diamante, and cinquain.  Then, each group chose their favorite, brainstormed topics to write about, and began writing.

After editing, Tech Heads typed the poems in Microsoft Word while the rest of the team worked with the Graphic Designers to create an illustration for their poem.

I am very proud of their end result:



Thanks to all who were able to join us for our awesome Poetry Celebration and Valentine's Day party on Friday!  I know you are all very proud of your children.  They are pretty amazing kids.

What We've Been Up To...

We have been some busy bees down in the 2nd grade hallway!

We are on Week 2 of our Project-Based Learning unit (PBL) about U.S. landmarks and how they make places unique.  Next week, the learners will be issued their challenge for the rest of the project, and get ready--it's a doozy!

So far, they have learned the basics about the Washington Monument, the Casa Grande ruins, Mount Rushmore, and the Golden Gate Bridge.  They have also completed missions based on these landmarks, in which they used creativity, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking (our 21st century soft skills).

Below are some photos from today's mission, "Big, Big Bridge."

The learners worked in their PBL teams to construct a long bridge to span between 2 desks.

They were judged on the length of the bridge, its beauty, and teamwork.

Top left: The "Tae Kwon Do Dallas Stars British Team" is really improving in their teamwork!

Top right: The "4 Cute Best Friends" team won the Creativity award for using red pipe cleaners to create roses that decorated their bridge.

Bottom: The "Awesome Launchers" team had a great idea to add straws below their bridge for support.

Top: The "Crooked Arrows" team won today's mission by building the longest bridge and receiving high points in teamwork and beauty, as well.

Bottom: The "Lightning Bolts" team got the 2nd highest score for beauty and used colorful pipe cleaners to decorate their bridge.

Great job, teams!  I commended them all today for how well they worked in their teams.  I am so proud to already see their collaboration and communication improving after just 6 days of this PBL unit!  Way to go, 2A!

Stay tuned for all the fun and learning that is yet to come!

Our 1st PBL Unit!

Well, you probably heard about this during the first 2 weeks of school when our kiddos were working together on this project, but I am finally getting around to updating our little ole blog here!

Our learners were challenged by our principal and assistant principal to create a "superhero" with a quality that would help make our school an even better place to learn.

They were put into groups and had to figure out their exact task by deciphering the Entry Document given to them by Mrs. H and Mrs. F.  That document was pretty wordy, so our learners had to discuss and figure out what many of the words and phrases meant so they could understand exactly what they needed to do!

They did a great job collaborating, and after fully discovering their task, they made plans and their final product to showcase their team Superheroes!

Here are the finished products displayed in our classroom--each one portrays a specific character quality that the team felt would help our school be a better place to learn...

"Respect Girl"

"Effort Man"

"Super Boy," Effort

"Leo the Super Dog," Caring

I am super excited for our class to begin their next PBL unit in October!  

I know they are going to accomplish great things this year.