Using Cheez its to find Perimeter and Area!!!

We reviewed perimeter and area the past 2 days by using Cheez Its! Each side of the Cheez It was 1 inch. The students worked in groups and found the perimeter by adding the inches of each side together. The students worked in groups and found the area inside the space by using either multiplication, repeated addition, or counting the Cheez Its to find the!! We had a lot of fun while learning at the same time :)
Ms. Anderson

Go Noodle :)

During my student teaching, my mentor teacher introduced me to Go Noodle! I am sure you have heard your kids talking about it. If not... ask them! Go Noodle is essentially a brain break during the day. After we have been working hard for a couple of hours, it's time to get their bodies up and moving for a few minutes (to take a brain break). This recharges them to finish the day strong. Go Noodle has many different physical activities to choose from. It has olympic games, yoga, dance, etc. I have noticed a big difference in their work ethic after they finish 3 minutes of Go Noodle. To register is free so you can also check it out at home. Check out our class taking a 3 minute brain break!
Ms. Anderson

Working hard!!!

Mrs. Hilley's class has come back ready to work hard! During teacher time, we are reading stories and answering questions to check our reading comprehension. We have been learning to go back in the story and highlight the answer to the question. They LOVE highlighters!! This is a necessary reading skill. This new skill teaches children how to find the important information in a passage and also shows them that looking back in the story can help you answer comprehension questions. Check out some students that have been working hard!
Ms. Anderson

{Cranberries, Cranberries!}

We had a lot of fun experimenting with cranberries before Thanksgiving Break!

First, we made predictions and experimented to see if cranberries would float. Once we discovered that they DO float, we cut them open to find out why. We discovered that cranberries have 4 air pockets inside. This is what allows cranberry harvesters to collect their cranberries from the bog. 

Next, we explored what would happen if we put cranberries in boiling water. The heat built up inside the cranberries' air pockets and then made them pop open. It was pretty cool!

Then, we observed and made noticings about the surface of dried cranberries. We identified that they had ridges all over them. If you drop dried cranberries in a glass of clear soda, the cranberries will dance! The air bubbles from the soda would gather under the ridges of the dried cranberry and push it to the surface. When the air bubbles reached the surface, they would pop and the dried cranberry would fall back down to the bottom of the glass. This happened over and over for a long time! The Twosies collected data on how many times one dried cranberry rose and fell.

Last, I challenged the Twosies to design a cranberry catapult! We got some help from some awesome fifth graders. Each group was given a plastic spoon, popsicle sticks, rubberbands, and cranberries. There were many failures at first, but by the end, some groups were even shooting cranberries over the school building. I was super impressed with their distance!!

{Eagle Run/Walk Awards}

Second Grade Boys: Most Laps 

Zak placed 2nd and Ky're placed 3rd

 Second Grade Girls: Most Laps 

Second Grade Fundraising Champs

{Twosies Go Nocturnal}

Boy did we have some fun last week learning about nocturnal animals!!

The Twosies were greeted on Monday morning with this:

Later that day, we dissected owl pellets to get our minds thinking about what owls might eat and how their digestive systems work!

They were a little grossed out before they began!

We conducted observations before dissecting...

...and during.

We used this chart to identify what each owl had eaten.

We also conducted our learning last week by flashlight. We were in true "nocturnal mode"!

 Throughout the week we conducted research on bats. We completed several pages to make our very own informational books about Bats. The Twosies were so proud of their work!

{Twosie Characters}

Today was the Storybook Character Parade!

Check out our costumes:

I don't think my belly could have held anything else!!!

Here is our storybook character pumpkin we created for the Storypatch: