Monday, April 13th, 2015

Today in the second grade, we:

• rehearsed for tomorrow's Mass during the weekly assembly
• took our weekly spelling quiz and took turns sharing in front of the class in language and spelling class
• classified and compared solid shapes in math class
• worked with syllabification and suffixes in reading and phonics class
• practiced using our map reading skills in social studies class

 Tonight's Homework:

In your language and spelling notebook, write 12-15 sentences (2-3 paragraphs) about a story in Journeys or a story you have read. Please be sure to follow the directions on the accompanying rubric.

The spelling words for our next spelling quiz (Monday, April 20th) will come from Math chapters 7 and 8:

1. face
2. edge
3. vertex
4. rectangular prism
5. sphere
6. square
7. pyramid
8. cone
9. cube
10. cylinder
11. circle
12. solid
13. plane
14. shapes
15. pattern
16. slide
17. flip 
18. turn

Special Notes:

• We will have our Easter Mass tomorrow at 8:30, followed by the annual Easter Egg Hunt.

• There will be a math quiz on chapter 8 this Friday, April 17th.

•  I have returned your child's spelling tablet. They were instructed to write their mistakes five times and to get their tablet signed by a parent. Thank you!

• Picture Day will be next Monday, April 20th after the morning assembly. The students are instructed to come dressed in their proper school uniform. Thank you!

Friday, April 10th, 2015

Today in the second grade, we:

• reviewed our weekly target vocabulary and continued working with suffixes in reading and phonics class
• reviewed the edges, faces, and vertices of solid shapes in math class in preparation for our chapter 8 quiz next Friday, April 17th
• shared our letters with each other and offered peer feedback in language and spelling class
• practiced our latest class poem  and listened to our latest class story during independent learning
• continued to work on our typing skills in computer class
• learned about different measuring tools that scientists use to predict the weather in science class

Tonight's homework:

• Complete Journeys Practice Book pg. 126-129.
• Complete four of the nine activities on the Think-Tac-Toe (in your child's Journeys Practice Book.) Please sign any activity that your child completed. Thank you!
• Prepare for the spelling quiz on Monday, April 13th. The words come from Communities pg. 168-186: unique, special, person, people, culture, point of view, explorer, pioneer, immigrant, country, world, route, heritage, religion, tradition, family, ancestor, holiday. 
• Complete your Science Fair presentation board and bring it to school with you on Monday. I will help with any finishing touches and the students will practice presenting in front of their classmates next week.

Special Notes:

• Next Tuesday, April 14th, we will have our Easter Mass at 8:30 a.m., followed by the annual Easter Egg Hunt.

Dominican International Science Fair Scoring Sheet

Dominican International Science Fair Scoring Sheet

Student Name(s):

__________________________________________________

Project Title:

______________________________________________________

	No  (0 pts)	Somewhat (1 pt)	Mostly (2 pts)	YES! (3 pts)
Appearance of Project:      Is the board well organized?
Is the text easy to read and the headings and      title easily visible?
Did they use appropriate graphics, images,              models  or demonstrations to help make their         ideas clear?
Purpose: Did the group explain why their project is      important and interesting?
Hypothesis: Did the group suggest an answer to their      question?
Did they explain why they think so?
Did they use background research to help form              their hypothesis?
Materials: Are all the materials for the experiment listed?     (Did they list quantities?)
Procedure: Are the steps of the experiment clear?
Data (quantitative and or qualitative):  Is the data presented clearly (In tables, charts,     graphs, photos, etc)?
Results: Did they make observations about their data?
Did they explain their observations clearly?
Conclusion: Did they say if their hypothesis was correct or         not?
Did they try to explain why or why not?
Did they talk about possibility for future      experiments (*extra credit for Grade 1-3)
Oral Presentation: Were the students able to talk about their     experiment?
Were they able to answer questions?

Judge’s comments to the student:

Thursday, April 9th, 2015

Today in the second grade, we:

• reviewed our weekly target vocabulary, reread and discussed our story on jellyfish in reading and phonics class
• created solid shapes out of play-doh and toothpicks in order to review faces, edges, and vertices during math class
• celebrated our 10 "Good Day Monsters" with a pizza party, playing games, and listening to our latest class story during independent learning
• compared and contrasted evaporation and condensation while we learned about the water cycle in science class
• decorated our Easter eggs for the annual school Easter egg hunt (next Tuesday, April 14th) and started creating our cherry blossom tree pictures in art class

Tonight's Homework:

• Complete Math Practice 8.2.
• Complete the final copy of your letter to me about spring break on the stationary paper provided in class.

Special Notes:

I have returned your USB to your child with the Science Fair documents edited. If there was a problem, I typed a note to you at the bottom of your child's work. 

Wednesday, April 8th, 2015

Welcome back! We only have 27 more days (including the Science Fair!) of classroom instruction before the quarter four final exams. Below are the goals that I have set for the second grade for our last stretch of time together:

• complete units on solid shapes, fractions, and telling time in math class
• complete units on weather and space in science class
• complete our unit on people and make headway on our unit on past and present in social studies class
• review essential grammar points that we have learned throughout the year, continue to explore and practice writing in different styles using the writing process, and complete our unit in cursive writing in language and spelling class
• continue to work on our decoding skills and reading for fluency and comprehension in reading and phonics class
• increase our typing speed and accuracy in computer class
• explore several more styles of art and how to recreate our own pieces in those styles in art class
• actively participate in this year's Science Fair

As you can see, we have quite a bit ahead of us! Apart from academic instruction, I would also like our class to continue focusing on staying organized with their school work, being responsible for their actions and possessions, and being cooperative with others.

Today in the second grade, we:

• took turns sharing news about our spring break in front of the class in reading and phonics class
• counted faces, edges and vertices in math class
• conferenced with me about Science Fair projects and learned about weather patterns in science class
• reviewed our weekly target vocabulary and practiced writing with voice in language and spelling class
• continued to learn about different cultures in social studies class

Tonight's Homework:

Write a letter to Miss Easterling describing your spring break vacation. Be sure to answer these questions:

• What did you do?
• Where did you go?
• What was your favorite part?
• What was your least favorite part?
• Who did you see?
• How long do you think spring break should be?
• Is spring break important? Why or why not?

 Special Notes:

• Tomorrow we will have a pizza party to celebrate the students receiving 10 "Good Day Monsters!"

• Thank you for encouraging your child to work hard on their Science Fair project! I will return the USBs tomorrow with the corrected draft so that your child can start working on their presentation boards. The presentation boards will be due Monday, April 13th.

TIME Magazine Online For Kids

I hope everyone is enjoying a happy and healthy spring break! The weather is getting hotter, so I also hope everyone is finding fun ways to beat the heat.

We will start discussing more current events in class. The students will be invited to share articles with the class that they have read during independent learning and/or other relevant major subject times. This is not currently an assignment, but I may assign specific articles as classwork or homework for the students to read, discuss, and/or write about. TIME Magazine has a great website for children, where the students can access many timely, interesting and reading level appropriate articles that span a variety of topics: TIME For Kids.

Just as a refresher, the homework that is due this Wednesday, April 8th is:

• Complete Journey's Practice Book pg. 122-125.
• Write spelling words five times and choose eight words to create sentences with (from Communities pg. 168-186: unique, special, person, people, culture, point of view, explorer, pioneer, immigrant, country, world, route, heritage, religion, tradition, family, ancestor, holiday.)
• Complete your Science Fair paper. Everything but the results (what happened) and the conclusion (why it happened and what you learned) has been completed. 
• I have encouraged the students to type up their results and save it to a USB to hand in on Wednesday, April 8th. I will edit the students' work and return it the following day so that they are able to get started on their presentation boards. If the students have time and are interested, they are encouraged to start thinking about how to design their presentation boards.  

We will start off Wednesday by taking turns to share news about spring break in front of the class. We will then be reviewing the weekly target vocabulary, learning about the faces and edges of solid shapes in math class, comparing and contrasting various weather patterns in science class, discussing different cultures in social studies class, reviewing the final draft of our Kenting Field Trip essay in language and spelling class, and conferencing with me to discuss our Science Fair projects during independent learning.

Until then, please continue enjoying your spring break! As always, I have missed and look forward to seeing my bright, beautiful, and brilliant grade two students.

Friday, March 27th, 2015

Happy Spring Break to my lovely second grade students!

Today was a half day, with the morning spent at this month's Mass, which focused on the Stations of the Cross.

It was wonderful to chat with the parents who came this afternoon! I am lucky to have such supportive, involved families here at DISK. I appreciate the suggestions and continue to welcome your feedback.

Spring Break Homework:

• Complete Journey's Practice Book pg. 122-125.
• Write spelling words five times and choose eight words to create sentences with (from Communities pg. 168-186: unique, special, person, people, culture, point of view, explorer, pioneer, immigrant, country, world, route, heritage, religion, tradition, family, ancestor, holiday.)
• Complete your Science Fair paper. Everything but the results (what happened) and the conclusion (why it happened and what you learned) has been completed. I have encouraged the students to type up their results and save it to a USB to hand in on Wednesday, April 8th. I will edit the students' work and return it the following day so that they are able to get started on their presentation boards. If the students have time and are interested, they are encouraged to start thinking about how to design their presentation boards.

Special Notes:

*Thank you for all of the birthday greeting and treats! I am thoroughly spoiled by the love I receive from my second grade family! My dear coworkers, Ms. Zeng and Ms. Johnson put together a video of some of the students which I thought was too cute not to share:   Birthday!

*I hope that the students have a wonderful, relaxing spring break. I can't believe how fast time is flying! I want to make every moment count for my precious students.

Thursday, March 26th, 2015

Today in the second grade, we:

• completed our IOWA tests! Congratulations and thanks to the students for working hard and being patient during this week.
• continued to learn about solid shapes in math class
• created Easter-related art in art class
• rehearsed for tomorrow's special Mass, the Stations of the Cross
• reviewed the portions of the Science Fair worksheet that was completed for homework; we will continue talking about the Science Fair tomorrow

Tonight's Homework:

• Complete Math Practice 8.1
• Complete the final draft of "Kenting Field Trip" on the paper provided.

Special Notes:

*Tomorrow is a half day, with the students being dismissed at 11:45. I have conferences with some parents. I look forward to meeting with you and discussing your child's progress. If you didn't schedule a meeting and would like to chat, you are welcome to come up to the classroom after class and see me, or schedule a time with Ms. Lee.

*I have almost every students' quarter three major subject exams corrected, signed and returned. I just need a few more. Thank you!

Wednesday, March 25th, 2015

Today in the second grade, we:

• read and discussed our latest story in Journeys during reading and phonics class
• continued our IOWA testing during math class and independent learning
• practiced our typing skills during computer class 
• practiced writing with voice during language and spelling class
• continued discussing the science fair during science class
• practiced using a bar graph and reviewed the key vocabulary and concepts from unit 4 in social studies class

Tonight's homework:

Complete the "hypothesis," "materials," and "experiment" portion of your Science Fair paper. Many of the students have finished some of this in class and have been directed to complete the remainder at home.

Special Notes:

*The students have been instructed to do their experiment and try to complete the remainder of their Science Fair paper during Easter break. I will share information in class and post information before the end of the week on the blog on how to create the Science Fair presentation boards if the students want to get started on their boards during Easter break.

Haiku for Kids

The students' homework for tonight has them writing a haiku (Social Studies Activity Book pg. 47.) We had a bit of time to learn about what a haiku was in class, it being:

• A Japanese style of poetry
• Consists of three lines: the first line having five syllables, the second line having seven syllables and the third line having five syllables
• Many haikus refer to something in nature or animals

We reviewed syllabification in class and wrote a quick sample poem to get the students prepared for their homework:

Miss Easterling's class (five syllables)
Is full of lovely students (seven syllables)
Who drive her bonkers (five syllables)

This was just a funny example of what they could do. I encouraged the students to pick any topic that might interest them (soccer, ice cream, mummies, etc.) and try to write a haiku.

Here is a link that the students can check out that explains a bit more about haikus and offers some examples.

I look forward to reading the students' first attempts at this style of poetry tomorrow!

Tuesday, March 24th, 2015

Today in the second grade, we:

• continued our IOWA testing during reading and phonic class, language and spelling class, math class, and independent learning
• discussed the science fair during science class
• discussed how language influences our own and other cultures in social studies class

Tonight's Homework:

Complete Social Studies Activity Book pg. 46-47.
 

Science Fusion Website

Science Fusion Website!

New DISK Website

You can visit the new and updated DISK website at: http://www.diskg.net/

The Great Avocado Ripening Experiment!

The Great Avocado Ripening Experiment

March 16th-March 20th

Question: What do you want to learn?

Do certain storage conditions help avocados ripen more quickly?
 

Hypothesis: What do you think the answer to your questions might be?

I think avocados ripen more quickly when they are stored with other fruit.

Materials: What materials will you need?

5 avocados

3 brown bags

1 banana

1 apple

1 refrigerator

Experiment: Test your question by doing an experiment:

We are going to put our five avocados in different storage conditions. We will keep a data log of their appearance, smell, and texture.

Data Table:
 

Time	Fridge	Desk	Bag	Bag & Apple	Bag & Banana
Day 1	dark green, no smell, hard and bumpy	dark green, no smell, hard and bumpy	dark green, no smell, hard and bumpy	dark green, no smell, hard and bumpy	dark green, no smell, hard and bumpy
Day 2	green, stinky, hard and bumpy	green with dark brown spots, no smell, a little softer and bumpy	dark green with brown spots, smells a bit sweet, a little softer and bumpy	green with dark brown spots, no smell, a little softer and bumpy	dark green, no smell, a little softer and bumpy
Day 3	dark green, no smell, hard like an ice cube, bumpy	dark brown with green spots, no smell, softer and bumpy	brown with dark green spots, smells sweet like salt water, softer, bumpy	a little brown, no smell, softer in some parts, bumpy	dark brown with a little red, a little smelly, softer, bumpy
Day 5	dark green, no smell, hard like an ice cube, bumpy	dark brown, a little smelly, ripe!	dark brown, a little smelly, a little too ripe!	dark brown, a little smelly, too ripe!	dark brown, a little smelly, way too ripe!

 

Results: What happened during the experiment?

The avocado in the fridge did not ripen. The avocado ripened fastest with the banana in the bag, next fastest with the apple in the bag, third fastest with the apple and bag and ripened the slowest (but still ripened) on the desk alone and without a bag.

Conclusion: Discuss your findings and answer your question:

Different fruits give off different amounts of ethylene gas as the ripen. The avocado left inside the brown paper bag ripened quickly because the bag was able to trap a lot of the ethylene gas. If an avocado is left in a a bag or other enclosed space with other fruit that also release ethylene gas, that avocado will ripen even more quickly than an avocado left in a bag alone. The avocado ripened the fastest when left with a banana in a bag because bananas give off a bit more ethylene gas than apples. The avocado left on the desk didn't have a bag to trap the ethylene gas, so it didn't ripen as fast as the others. Cold temperatures slow the release of ethylene gas, so the avocado in the refrigerator ripened the slowest.