Plant Hunt

On Monday we began a new unit all about plants.  We went outside in the afternoon to go on a plant hunt.

Students found trees, flowers, vines, grass, and bushes out in the playground area.  The only plant students couldn't find was a cactus!

On Tuesday students learned all about the parts of a plant.  We watched a video on BrainPop Jr. and sang a special song.  Then students created and labeled their own plants.

Water Biome & Beautiful Weather

All week long we have been learning about the biomes of Minnesota as we gear up for our big program at the end of the month.  Our class is becoming experts on the freshwater habitats of Minnesota.  On Tuesday, students worked with partners to sort animals they might find living in a pond from animals that they wouldn't find living in a pond.

A sample project...

So far we have learned about frogs, turtles, cattails, and water lilies.  Here are the awesome turtles students created on Thursday.

We have really been enjoying this week's BEAUTIFUL weather!  We have enjoyed getting to spend a little extra time outside at the end of the day this week!

I Am Poems

This past week students worked very hard writing I Am poems based on the book "I Am America" by Charles R. Smith Jr.

First, we read the book together in class.  The message of the book taught us that even though we are all very different we're all a part of our country, the United States.

Next, students brainstormed ideas of words that described them as well as things they hear, see, taste, wear, and wish for on the chart below.

Then, students wrote rough drafts of their poems on the sentence frame you see below.

Finally, students wrote their final drafts and followed step-by-step directions to draw self portraits.

The final products turned out great!  All students did awesome work coming up with ideas and doing their best spelling to write their poems. 

U.S. Symbols

This past week we learned about U.S. symbols.  We began by learning that a symbol is something small that reminds us of a bigger idea. 

 

The first symbol we learned about was the Statue of Liberty.  We read a non-fiction book and watched a BrainPop Jr. video.  Then students worked on brainstorming words that described what the Statue of Liberty is, was, and has.

 

 

Students also made their own Statue of Liberty crowns.  Here's the whole class with their crowns, torches, and tablets just like the real Statue of Liberty.

 

 

Next we learned about the President and the White House.  Students made flip books that opened up to the facts they wrote all about the White House.

 

 

On Friday morning we learned about Mount Rushmore.  One of Brimhall's second grade teachers let us borrow her awesome replica of Mount Rushmore.

 

 

Each student created their own Mount Rushmore that included a photo of them!  On the back they wrote three facts they had learned about Mount Rushmore.

 

 

Later on Friday afternoon we learned about bald eagles.  We read a non-fiction book and looked at photos and watched a video from Mrs. Mohamed's trip to the Eagle Center in Wabasha.  We also took a look at a live eagle cam.  While we were watching we got to see a mother bald eagle feed her new baby eagle. 

 

To check out the eagle cam you can use the link below:

 

Bald Eagle Live Cam

 

Students followed step by step directions to draw their own bald eagles.