Class 2OL

After sharing our Inventions, accompanying brochures and our Inquiry Projects with our families last week, we had to chance to view each other’s work. The students enjoyed hearing their classmates reflections on the iPods (especially the music they chose!) They also gave feedback about what they liked and what questions they had. Students used this information and the feedback they received from their families to set some goals for what they could do differently next time.

What hard workers!

Today we went outside and read Dr. Seuss’, The Lorax, to celebrate Earth day. The students then brainstormed to come up with different ways they could each help to save the Earth and keep plants, animals and people safe. We then painted a mural in the hallway and each of us painted a Truffula tree, the bright and fluffy trees that the Lorax tried to protect from the Once-ler who sadly cut down all of the trees to make Thneed.

The students then wrote one thing they could do to try and help the Earth in their Truffula tree.

Take a look at our bright and beautiful mural of Truffula trees painted by the artists of 2ol and our ideas to help save the Earth.

This morning when we came into school there was one brown chicken walking around. Within two hours we were able to see 4 more hatch!! It has been quite an exciting morning and the kids are enjoying every minute of it.  Hopefully a few more will hatch throughout the day.We were able to get a little of this excitement on video. It’s a really quick video but check it out!chick-movie-2.MOV 

Students of Class 2OL have come up with some amazing inventions! We are working on making brochures to accompany their inventions. We are studying brochures and commercials to see what kinds of words and images advertisers use to sell products. There are links to three commercials on this site that we are asking students to take a look at for inspiration! 

Our geometry investigation is coming to an end. The children have spent the past few weeks discovering the different attributes of 2-D and 3-D shapes. We have discussed many new vocabulary words such as right angle, vertex, edge, face, base and many different shapes.

To wrap up our unit, we’ve been creating stained glass windows with 2 lines of symmetry. See if you can find the lines of symmetry in our windows.

I’m sure the kids have told you, but if not, we have 24 chick eggs staying warm in an incubator in our class. So if all goes as planned, we’ll be watching them hatch around April 14th!!! We are learning so much about the life cycle of a chick and how to take care of them. It is very excited and the kids have so many questions.

Here are a few things the kids of 2OL are wondering.

How many eggs does a hen lay at once? – Anna

What do chicks eat? – Gabby

How can you tell the difference between a breakfast egg, and an egg with a chick growing inside? – Dana

Were chicks related to Dinosaurs? – Ryan

How long do chicks live? - Cooper

Do you know the answers to our questions?

We plan on finding these answers and more along the way. Stay tuned…

After reading several biographies of Albert Einstein and learning that his birthday is March 14th, students in Class 2OL decided that we should celebrate his birthday. To celebrate, they wanted to:

-Do algebra (Einstein was into algebra)

- Play time games

- Learn about compasses (Einstein’s interest in science began when his father gave him a compass)

- Ask and answer questions (We learned that asking questions was the most important thing to Einstein.)

-Dress up like absent-minded geniuses

- And, what’s a birthday celebration without cake? (Thanks to Victoria for the Einstein pumpkin cupcakes!)

It was a fun day, made better by the fact it was what the kids wanted to do to celebrate their learning!

For the last several weeks, students have been investigating  topic of there own choosing. First they had to come with a list of topics that they were interested in, then narrow down that list to a few topics that they could spend a month learning about. 

 After choosing a topic, students found books,

on-line resources,

and people to help them answer their questions.

The topics range from learning Spanish to figuring out how a remote control works, and everything in between.

The next step is for the kids to find a way to share what they’ve learned. And for them to think about what they’ve learned about learning!

We’ll keep you posted!

Hola! On Wednesday, Mr. Johnston’s middle school spanish students gave our class a spanish lesson. We played some spanish games and learned some vocabulary words about weather and colors. Here are some of the words and expressions that the kids wanted to share:

• morado – purple – Kelsey
• rosado – pink – Carter
• negro – black – Cooper
• blanco – white – Kelsey
• Verde – green – Ben S.
• Azul – blue – Ryan
• Rojo – red – Luke S
• anaranjado – orange – Kesey and Hayden
• Esta – It is. Cooper
• Hace sol – It is sunny.  
• Hace frio – It is cold. – Hayden
• Hace fresco – It is cool. – Ryan
• El ojo – eye – Cooper
• El pie – the foot – Gabby
• La boca – the mouth – Carter

Gracias, el clase de Senor Johnston!!!Adios!  

Wow! Can you believe those were second graders presenting graphs? The kids of 2OL did an amazing job sharing their graphs and the other various items they’ve been working on in class. Some students chose to share their inquiry projects or stories they’ve been working on, while others chose their poetry notebooks and illustrations. Everyone did a great job. Thank you to all the parents that were able to make it. If you were unable to attend, here are some pictures for you to enjoy!