Classroom Update #4

Field Trips

We had a great time on our field trip to the Alf museum. We were able to see, and even touch, dinosaur fossils and learn about life in the Mesozoic Era. The week after Spring Break we will be taking our next field trip to see a play based on the book Miss Nelson is Missing. This will be a fun way to teach the kids about live theatre.

Flexible Seating:

On Monday morning we'll be doing something new in Room 1; flexible seating. We now have four seating options that students can choose from.

  • Sit in a chair or on a short stool at a table

  • Sit on the floor at a low table

  • Sit on a tall stool, or stand at a high table

  • Work on the rug with a clipboard or lapdesk

Students will not be assigned seats. Instead they will pick a work area that is best for them. They may choose different areas throughout the day, and from day to day. I will be working with the kids on how to make good decisions for where they work.

The reason I am using flexible seating is to create more engaged and successful students. Research has shown benefits to flexible seating. Energetic students have more chances to move, students are more comfortable, empowered by the ability to choose for themselves and stimulated by the variety of work areas. Teachers who use flexible seating report that students enjoy the choice, are more responsible for their learning, more engaged in class and have fewer discipline problems.

If you'd like to know more watch this video created by Edutopia, or follow the link below to read some of the research yourself.

Research by University of Salford Manchester

Prodigygame.com: I recently learned about a new website that we have started using. It is prodigygame.com. The game is very fun for the kids, but also requires them to do a lot of math. The program keeps track of what they know and don't know, allows me to track their progress and assign certain types of problems. Students will have time to play at school, and they may also play at home. See the letter that I attached to the email sent out to you for more information.

Thank You: I want to give a big thanks to Delta Kappa Gamma for the mini-grant they have given our classroom. We will be getting over $300 in new books for our classroom library thanks to their support. This honor society of female educators has been wonderful to us!

Thank you to everyone who helped us out by purchasing filament. Our 3D printer is well stocked again and ready to go. After Spring Break students will design and print items to buy and sell (with fake money) from each other as we practice working with money.

Curriculum: In math we are finishing up our unit on geometry and will beginning to work with money. This can be tricky for 2nd graders. Give your student as many chances as you can to handle and use dollars and coins to help them. Our science unit on dinosaurs and fossils is coming to an end as students are creating a dinosaur report. Soon we will begin to study life long ago in social studies. This will tie in well as we use our reading time to read a Little House book together about life long ago in the United States. Our current focus in writing is informational writing. This includes writing reports and directions. In makerspace we recently completed another challenge. Read more by following this link. In music we just learned about the William Tell Overture. That makes 9 pieces of classical and jazz music that the kids know! See the songs they know by following this link.