The ABC's of Second Grade

Written by the Students of Room 13!

A-The ABC Countdown let us all participate in school wide activities to celebrate the last 26 days of school.

B- Bar Models are a math tool that help you solve real-world problems.  They help you determine if you are solving for a part or a whole.

C-Counting Coins! We learned how to count money in this year.  We learned that a dime is worth 10 cents, a nickel is worth 5 cents, and a quarter is worth 25 cents. We also learned to add coins and dollar bills. Coins are important because sometimes you go shopping and people tell you an amount of money and you need to know to count out correct coins and dollars to pay for things. 

D-Differences-We spent time reading many books and poems about celebrating peoples' differences.  We talked about how people like different foods, like to do different things etc. This came up during our Shared Reading, If all the Trees Were Oaks. We learned that if the world had only one kind of a tree, it would be a boring place, just like if all the people were the same, it would be a boring place.  We talked about how differences make us special!

E-Envision- During our Shared Reading experience, we spent every Wednesday practicing our visualization skills.  This is also called "Making a movie in your mind!" Good readers use their senses, text clues, details, and background knowledge to make pictures in their mind about what they are reading.

F- Fundations Fun- We continued to work on our spelling skills in second grade.  We used strategies like tapping out words, magnetic tiles, whiteboards and more to sound out the spelling of words, learn new spelling patterns, and recognize more trick words. 

G-Geometric Shapes are 3D and 2D shapes.These shapes can be used to create different patterns in a variety of ways.  Some shapes we learned this year include a cone, pyramid, cylinder, sphere, cube, and a rectangular prism. 

H-Helping- Every week this year we were assigned a different job.  These jobs help the teachers and class run smoothly.  Some jobs were; line leader, calendar, closet monitor and so much more! When you help other people, you should feel happy because you are doing something nice for someone else. 

I-Inferencing- We applied this reading skill throughout the year during both Reading Workshop and Shared Reading. One way to make inferences is by using this special formula "BK+TC=I"

BK stands for Background knowledge, TC stands for text clues, and I is Inference! An inference is a new idea that is not in the text.  You are coming up with the new idea by using what you already know and what you just read!

J-Jeopardy-We played Jeopardy and many other fun games this year.  We used the games to learn new skills and review ones we already learned.  We loved using the buzzers to help us buzz in when we had the correct answer to the questions. 

K-Keeping a Positive Attitude-We focused on making good choices and always looking on the bright side of things. We talked a lot about speaking in a calm manner and keeping a positive attitude.

L-Letting Butterflies Go! We watched butterflies go through their life cycle. Starting with larva, it turned into a chrysalis and hung upside down in a net for a few days. When the butterflies turned into adults, they came out of their chrysalis and started to fly around. We put orange slices on the bottom and after a few days, we went outside and watched them fly away. We ran around and chased the butterflies. 

M-Making Fairy Tale Books-Our Fairy Tale unit was truly one we will never forgot.  We started by studying original tales, then moved onto reading published fractured Fairy Tales. We then started fracturing our very own Fairy Tales. We studied the craft and structure of original tales and applied it to our own. We had so much fun doing this! We know we will enjoy reading our own books forever!

N- New Technology- We used iPads to play math games, create QR codes to show what we learned about wants and needs and goods and services. We used the Show Me app to create videos of our landforms. The Sock Puppets app helped us show what we know about the different communities people live in around the world. We practiced our tangram skills on the Osmos. Twitter and Blogger both helped us stay connected to our #Marsenpirate famiy, colleagues, other educators and anyone who follows us! 

O-Off to the Playhouse! We took a long bus ride to Northport to see the play Cinderella. We loved the playhouse because the actors and actresses came into aisles during the play and included the audience in the show. The play was great and funny! We saw Cinderella because we were studying Fairytales and we were getting ready to put on our own show in the classroom. 

P-Pirate of the Week- Each student got to be a "Pirate of the Week"! When you are Pirate of the Week, we celebrated this student by talking about what makes this student special. A poster was made by the teachers and it hung in the hallway for a week. Each student got to wear a pirate eye patch and a pirate coin necklace. Also, a "Bucket Filler of the Week" sheet was filled out and we waited for Mr. Sinanis to call our names over the loudspeaker. It was fun to hear what others think we are good at. 

Q- Que Pasa?  FLES was an awesome experience this year and we loved learning about the Spanish Culture and language.  We enjoyed new foods, challenging projects, and listening to stories about the  cultures. 
R-Rewards!Rewards!Rewards! We worked hard to earn individual tickets, table points and class compliments this year.  We loved going to the treasure chest, having lunch with the teachers, earning extra free time, reading to old teachers, or even having lunch with Mr. Sinanis. Rewards Rock!

S-Scientist of the Week- Each of us had an opportunity to plan and present an experiment to the class, using the Scientific Method.  We learned about so many different, cool things! We loved getting an opportunity to teach others. 

T-Thank You! Thank you to all our teachers, specialists, and staff that helped make this year a great one:
Joey, Joe, Mrs. Colucci, Ms. Zegel, Ms. O'Neill, Mrs. Hennes, Mrs. Katz, Nurse G, Mrs. Andrews, Dr. Sinanis, Laura, Pam, Mr. Bailin, Mr. Channey, Mrs. Hussey, and everyone in the kitchen and cafeteria.   THANK YOU!
U- Urban, Suburban, Rural- Off to the Queens County Farm we went last fall. We learned about life on a farm and took a hay ride. We learned that plants and animals are raised by farmers and sold around the country to people in all communities. Life on a farm is really cool. 

V- Visits from an author- We had the opportunity to meet and work with Suzy Kline during this years author visit.  We loved reading her books and then meeting her to discuss her work.  We even got to write with her.  It was truly awesome! A skype session with Tomie dePaola was awesome too. We loved our question and answer period with him on the big screen. 

W- Watching assemblies in the auditorium was so much fun! The magician was one we all enjoyed.  We also enjoyed concerts and presentations.  It is nice when the whole school can enjoy something together.  We love assemblies!!
X- Extra Recess was awesome! We loved the opportunity to play extra for someone's birthday or for a special event.  We had the best time celebrating and playing outside, in the gym or in the classroom!

Y-Yes! We Won Field Day! Field Day was truly an awesome experience.  We participated in fun events, an apache relay, and cheered our hearts out to victory.  Go White!

Z- Zooming out of 2nd Grade now! We truly enjoyed each day at school this year with all the teachers and students.  We will miss everyone's unique personalities and smiles.  W wish everyone a restful, fun, and relaxing summer. See you next year!

March and April Fun!

Room 13 was VERY busy in the months of March and April.  We have truly learned so much! Read on to find out about the great things that took place in school.  Please leave comment or a question and one of our students will respond in our next blog.  We look forward to your feedback!!!!!

Class Novel

As part of our Reading Workshop this year, the entire class participated in the Class Novel experience.  We tapped into all of the useful reading skills we have learned in both Shared Reading and Reading Workshop to understand and "dig in" to a chapter book.  This was different from the regular Reading Workshop because both students and teachers had a copy of the book in front of them.  Ask your child about the deep conversations we had during this exciting experience!

Earth Day!

Another Shared Reading had students discussing how each and every person can "Save the Planet!"Enjoy this special video presentation!

Needs and Wants/Goods and Services/

 Producers and Consumers

We created collages to show visual examples of wants and needs/ good and services.  We then wrote paragraphs explaining each term.  We recorded the students reading their paragraphs.  Finally, we created QR codes that can be scanned.  Once scanned, these codes take you to the videos that were uploaded on our you tube channel.  Check it out!

Science Fun!

We have made so many amazing projects in the science lab this year.  We had planted seeds to observe how they will grow.  How is your child's plant doing? An important focus was which direction did the plant grow....towards the light, away from the light, etc. 

Right now, students are designing and building insects! Fun and creative! 

Measurement, Telling Time, and Money...

Our mathematician's have been learning so much in the last months. As we continue our math journey together, our students continue to learn and grow. We are blown away by all they are learning.   We have covered the units of measurement, money, and telling time (since our last blog), and are currently back to multiplication of 3's and 4's. As always, we focus on real world application and problem solving in all units of study. The students have been challenged to think about how and why they will use these skills, in the real world!

Suzy Kline Author Visit 

This was an amazing visit by a truly wonderful author! In the weeks leading up to Suzy Kline's visit, we conducted an author study of many Suzy Kline books.  The children truly loved reading, listening to, and discussing many Horrible Harry and Herbie Jones books.   The day Suzy came to Cantiague was exciting and interesting.  She shared with us her writing process, and what she does as a writer.  She shared her inspirations for many of her stories, and we loved hearing how she collected her ideas (the seeds).  Some advice she offered was, "Always carry a small notebook in your pocket. You never know when a seed to a story will happen." Suzy then had the teachers perform a play from a part of her Herbie Jones series! Ask your child about our acting skills! Finally, Suzy took the opportunity to give the children and the teachers a couple of writing prompts.  She had us share what we wrote, and provided positive feedback to all! Thank you Suzy Kline!

Hear Ye-Hear-Ye- Team Marsen has been HARD AT WORK preparing for our Royal Gala Event. See you Wednesday June 3rd at 8:45 AM (SHARP) for a magical showing of our writing, acting, singing, and creativity! 

See ya' real soon!

January/February in Review

Room 13 rang in the New Year with smiles on our faces, happy to be reunited.  We have been working hard and playing hard in the months of January AND February! Read on to find out how.... 

"Far Out" in Space...

We were very immersed in our Solar System Unit both in the Science Lab and in the classroom. We learned about all of the planets and how each planet is unique. We  watched videos, read books, and researched each planet's facts and important information.  In addition, students worked in cooperative groups to research their randomly assigned planet in the computer lab.  They used a variety of websites and books to become experts on their planet.  They have almost finished creating PowerPoints with their research, and we know they will be OUT OF THIS WORLD!!!!! 

Landforms, Landforms, Landforms

Room 13 has been hard at work, learning about the different types of landforms in our world.  We have read books, researched the internet, watched movies, and participated in a variety of activities to immerse ourselves in the different landforms we see or know of.  Soon, students will start to create a project (which they will chose) to demonstrate their knowledge of their researched landform.  Project styles include; a mini model of their landform and using the Show Me app, students will embed a picture of the landform and narrate their landform's characteristics. We can't wait to see what they create!

Hero Writing/Letter Fun               

Our last writing unit was very  informative and interesting.  Students were asked to think of a person that inspires them-either from their family, school, or community.  Your children then researched this important person by conducting an interview.  We  asked students to think about why their person is important and how they are inspired. We then took all the information gathered and wrote a letter explaining to others why this person is a TRUE hero.  Shout out to Mrs. Colucci for being Team Marsen's model and hero! Your work continues to inspire US each day! A key component we focused on this unit was adding in your opinion.  We felt it was very important for students to form opinions and support their thinking during this unit.   Have a conversation with your child about who inspires them and why! Next up.....Fairy tales!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are so excited for this unit, because it promotes creativity and out of the box thinking. 

Measurement Matters!                   

Our previous unit in math was measurement in meters and centimeters. This unit has given us an opportunity to have discussions on the two different systems of measurement and why it is important to be familiar with both.  Although this particular unit targets length, we used this opportunity to discuss different kinds of measurement.  We were impressed with the children's knowledge.  We hope that you can take the time at home to discuss measurement when it applies.  We talked about how it is a real world skill that will help the students long after the unit is over. We currently are working on our money unit in math, and are already impressed with our students strong foundation in this subject area. 


Party time/Fun times!
We have had so much to celebrate since returning to school.  Valentines Day, 100th Day of School, Chinese New Year, 50 class compliments, and theJump-a-Thon are all reasons to smile and celebrate.  We truly enjoyed each of these occasions and know the students did too!

We are looking forward to meeting with Team Marsen families, at the end of March, to discuss students' growth this year!

Until next month....stay warm!