Math: For fourth term students were challenged to design a zoo.  This unit focused on several different math skills.  First, students were given a budget of $100 and had to decide which animals they would purchase for their zoo.  Next, they had to measure the animals so they would know how large the cages should be.  After measuring, students had to create a layout of their zoo using the data they had collected about cage sizes. Students used fractions to record their finding about which foods animals preferred.  We learned that the denominator represents the whole (how many total monkeys) and the numerator represents the part (how many monkeys prefer bananas instead of oranges). Students counted money next.  They had to, first find out how much money they had, and then determine if they could buy certain items from the souvenir shop.  Finally, we added a new reptile exhibit. Students had to determine how many windows each exhibit needed for each shape. The shapes included hexagon, octagon, quadrilateral, and pentagon.    

Density: Why does ice float? Why do some solids sink in water while others float? Can I make an egg float? These are all questions first graders explored in DEEP this term.  Students used the language of the discipline icon to learn and explore the meaning of words like density, solutions, solutes, solvents, hypothesis, and matter.  Students conducted experiments and looked for patterns to explain why some solids form solutions when mixed with water and some do not, why some objects float and some sink.  One experiment included testing different candies to see which float, which sink and then analyze why some candies are more dense than others.  Other activities in this unit include density towers, exploring why a piece of an orange sinks while a whole orange floats, adding solids to liquids to see if they would form solutions and more. 

Magnets: This term second grade explored how magnets relate to balanced/unbalanced forces.  Students learned about magnetic fields, magnetic poles, push and pull, and how to make magnets float on a marker.  This unit concluded with students designing a maze.  Mazes also had to include one of two simple machines, either a wedge or an inclined plane.  Students would use a magnet to push or pull a piece of metal through the maze.  Students also learned about scale as they transferred the design of their maze onto the larger paper.   

OWLS WERE THE FOCUS OF STUDY FOR SECOND GRADE THIS TERM.  WE STARTED BY USING THE UNANSWERED QUESTIONS ICON TO IDENTIFY QUESTIONS STUDENTS WANTED TO ANSWER DURING THIS UNIT. STUDENTS IDENTIFIED KEY PARTS OF OWL ANATOMY BY MAKING A SCIENTIFIC DIAGRAM OF AN OWL. NEXT, WE EXPLORED DIFFERENT TYPES OF OWLS. BARN OWLS WERE A FAVORITE OF STUDENTS THIS YEAR.  STUDENTS ENJOYED LEARNING ABOUT HOW OWLS FLY SILENTLY AND HOW THEY USE TRIANGULATION TO FIND PREY HIDING UNDER THE SNOW.  NEXT, WE MADE OWL MASKS TO SHOW HOW THE SHAPE OF AN OWL'S EYES DIFFER FROM THOSE OF HUMANS AND THE ROLE THAT PLAYS IN HOW THEY SEE.  THIS UNIT CONCLUDED WITH OWL PELLET DISSECTIONS. STUDENTS WERE AMAZED TO FIND SEVERAL BONES IN THEIR PELLETS.  

Math: THIS TERM STUDENTS DESIGNED THEIR OWN SPACE MISSIONS. FIRST, STUDENTS WERE GIVEN A BUDGET, A LIST OF POSSIBLE EMPLOYEES, AND TOLD TO SELECT THEIR CREW. THEY HAD TO READ SHORT BIOGRAPHIES OF THE POTENTIAL CREW MEMBERS AND CHOOSE AT LEAST THREE ASTRONAUTS, THEN OTHER CREW MEMBERS BASED OFF OF WHAT THEY READ. NEXT, THE STUDENTS  USED THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF ELAPSED TIME TO CREATE A TRAINING SCHEDULE FOR THEIR CREW TO FOLLOW.  THEN, STUDENTS COUNTED HOW MUCH MONEY CREW MEMBERS HAD AND MEASURED DISTANCES BETWEEN PLANETS. STUDENTS THEN HAD TO COLLECT, GRAPH, AND ANALYZE DATA ABOUT SPACE OBJECTS. THE UNIT CONCLUDED WITH AN EXAMINATION OF HOW MULTIPLICATION AND ADDITION ARE RELATED.  STUDENTS WROTE REPEATED ADDITION SENTENCES AND CORRESPONDING MULTIPLICATION SENTENCES DETAILING ALIENS ON EACH PLANET.  WE CONTINUED LEARNING ABOUT SPACE.  STUDENTS WERE GIVEN TEXT TO READ ABOUT EACH PLANET IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.  THEN, THEY HAD TO IDENTIFY THREE IMPORTANT DETAILS AND WRITE THOSE DETAILS IN THEIR PLANET JOURNAL.  WE TALKED ABOUT HOW TO WRITE SENTENCES AND WHAT EACH SENTENCE SHOULD INCLUDE.  WE LOOKED AT WHAT THE HUBBLE TELESCOPE  PHOTOGRAPHED ON EACH STUDENT'S BIRTHDAY.  NEXT, WE EXPLORED WHAT NEBULAS ARE.  WE FINISHED OUR STUDY OF SPACE OFF BY TAKING A SMALL ONLINE TOUR OF THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.  WE ENDED THE TERM WITH ROBOTS. STUDENTS PRACTICED THEIR CODING SKILLS AND LEARNED HOW TO GET DASH TO DANCE, LAUGH, MAKE SOUNDS, MOVE AROUND OBJECTS, AND MORE.