Happy New Year! We got right back into the swing of things here in second grade and had a very busy week!
Reading: We are beginning a study of non-fiction in both reading and writing. In reading this week we talked about the difference between nonfiction and fiction books. The kids also sorted the books in our nonfiction library and created new categories and book bin labels.
Problem: Ask a question - this week’s question was what objects will stick to a magnet?
Hypothesis: Make a guess to answer the question
Procedure: Write up the steps for your experiment
Data: After following your procedure and following the steps, show what happened using a chart or drawings
Results: State your observations in writing
Conclusion: Give your thoughts about the experiment- was your hypothesis right? What explanations can you give for what happened? What are you wondering now?
This is a new unit for me as well and I have been impressed by the writing I have seen just in this first week of the unit. So far, each child has written one full lab report with a lot of guidance from me at the beginning and more independence by the end. We’ll continue to work on writing lab reports with increased independence.
Second Step: We read the book Say Something this week. This book talks about being a bystander or someone who witnesses bullying. We talked about how as a bystander there are ways that we can help others to stand up to bullies.
Conversation Starters:
What was your procedure for the science experiment you did this week?
Is the book you are reading fiction or nonfiction? How do you know?
What is the difference between am and pm?
Dates to Remember:
Wednesday, January 13th: Early Release
Monday, January 18th: No School
Tuesday, January 19th: Delayed Opening