For the last few weeks, we have been learning about the amazing Galapagos Islands. The first project was researching and finding facts about the Galapagos Islands. The children worked in pairs or individually to make posters to share their facts. Then they chose an animal they wanted to learn about. They researched their animals on Chromebooks or in library books, wrote up their information, and then many of them typed their final product. Their final project was making a sculpture of their animal using tinfoil and Model Magic. This project required a lot of problem solving and hard work, but it paid off.
During the Art and Literature Fair, the 2nd and 3rd grade were learning about animals of Australia. They were concerned about the Great Barrier Reef and how it is being affected by climate change and pollution. They also learned about animals living on the continent of Australia and were very upset to hear about the forest fires of Australia. They brainstormed about what they could do to help. We set up a fundraiser to raise money for IFAW’s Australian Animal Fund. The children made posters, manned a station to talk to parents and ask for donations, and spoke to their own parents and families about the fundraiser. Our All School Morning Meeting Bake Sale’s proceeds were donated to the fundraiser, along with a cake that was donated by a parent to raffle off. Miss Courtney and a parent set up Facebook fundraising pages which added to the money that we raised in school, brought in $702.25
We are saying goodbye to Reading Journals. After reading in Edutopia about how Reading Journals can actually diminish a child's desire to read, I decided to look at some alternatives. We are starting Reading Accountability Partners. Students are partnered with another student who is reading at a similar reading level. We discussed how to be a good listener and what are some good questions to ask after your partner tells you about what s/he read. We start our day with about 5 minutes of meeting time. Today was day one, and the children loved it.
On this freezing cold day, we had fun with our Mentor Buddies - Miss Rachael's Preschool Class. We played hide and seek, built towers with blocks, drew pictures and had lots of fun.
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Karin Pearce-Small
Ms. Karin is the 2nd/3rd grade teacher. Categories |