The end of the year came and went faster than ever before! Of course, it was marked with some wonderful learning experiences. During the month of May we start noticing all of the dandelions turning into seed pods. I love watching the kids on the playground make a wish a blow those seeds away! This is the perfect opportunity to tie in those magical flowers with science and writing. It was also the perfect way to wrap up our life cycles unit. We discussed what happens when we blow those seeds, and where those seeds came from. Then we created our own dandelions seed pod flowers, along with a short writing piece telling about our 3 wishes. The black and white photo just makes them that much more special...
Speaking of life cycles, we had a fabulous time hatching chicks in room B4!
Day one was marked by placing the eggs in the incubator. Each day, a couple of students rotated the eggs and we tracked the chicks' development in our chick journals.
On Day 21 we noticed a little crack in the egg. The chick was using it's egg tooth the break through! The next morning, we had 3 chicks hatched and drying in the incubator! Take a look at those empty eggs...what a great science lesson!
When the chicks' feathers had dried enough, we put them in the brooder and gave them a name.
There were lots of names suggested, but in the end the 3 names that we chose were...
Mrs. Cuddles
Jeff
Cutie Judy
The kids LOVED being able to watch them run around and pet/ hold them!! How fun!
We also tied in our math unit about 2D and 3D shapes with chicks! The students each chose their own shape and turned it into an adorable chick!
The last month of school was marked with field trips, parties, and ocean animal research!
Our field trip to Animal Land was a blast! We saw lots of different animals and got to play with all our Pashley first grade friends. One of the highlights was the safari ride and getting chased by those rude camels!
The students worked extremely hard on their ocean animals research reports! I was so proud of all their diligence. They used iPads, computers, and books to take notes. Then they practiced turning those notes into their own words. They wrote a rough draft and a final draft. We practiced reading them many times using the microphone and podium.
The students also created the cutest self portraits of themselves snorkeling with their ocean animal in the background!
I loved the setup of the room... I still can't believe how many audience members we fit in our classroom! I think it was probably around 50!
The students read their reports so well and I think their parents were proud. I know I was! (Thank you to Mrs. Puglisi for the pics!)
After we were all done with our reports it was time to PARTY! We were ready to have our marble party! During the persuasive writing unit, the students learned how to write an opinion piece, as well as how to persuade somebody to do something or to think a certain way. As a culminating activity, the kids had to write a letter to me trying to persuade me to have a certain type of party. They learned to remember who their reader would be and to say things that would persuade that reader. I wish I took some pictures of the final drafts because I was so impressed! All of the students were so polite and said things that they knew I would like! In the end, I decided to have a picnic party. Two of the students convinced me that this would be the best choice considering the nice weather, the healthy food choices, and that "I could get a little break" while the students ate. OK!!
The food was delicious and the star sunglasses from Mrs. Heritage were a nice touch! :)
It was such a fabulous year! I loved working with each and every student and I am so excited to be looping with them all. Thank you to all the families for the great partnership... we made a great team! I can't wait for more second grade fun with you all! I hope everyone has a wonderful summer.
Clarkie has plans of enjoying the summer and keeping this momma busy!!
