The second graders worked in small groups to give a short presentation about simple machines to their peers.  We will be learning a great deal about these amazing little machines!

Shantanu, Andre, Ellie & Karina

Will, Tommy & Hailey

Megan, Addison, Simon & Jude

Helen, Charlotte, Soma & Mikolaj

                       

Drew, Lauren, Iraj & Yupeng 

Iraj & Shantanu Check Out the Simple Machine Table

Hailey Waits For the Next Instruction

Our New Friend, Helen, Enjoys The Scotia-Glenville Museum Mini Machine!

Jude Moves the Metal Marble Around the Mini Machine Maze

Tess Listens Carefully to Instructions for her Paper Helicopter

Ellie is Working the Rope & Pulley Marble Machine...Check out all the Ramps (Inclined Planes)!

Mikolaj is Playing with the Mini Machines!

Katie is Showing the Domino at Rest (Potential Energy) & Yupeng is About to Demonstrate Kinetic Energy...Look Out For Falling Dominoes!

Soma Uses Great Force to Lift Karina!

Simon is Using Force to Try to Lift the Load (Tommy)!

Tommy Sits on the Giant Lever

We kicked off our Simple Machines Science Unit with an amazing visit from the Scotia-Glenville Traveling Museum.  The children were able to hear a very informative presentation on the basic types of simple machines, and then we were able to explore the different stations.  Everything was "Hands On," and I can assure you that all the students had a BLAST!  We learned about levers, inclined planes, pulleys, wheel & axles, screws...just to name a few.

Helen & Ellie Create a Helicopter

Charlotte...Thank you for sharing your mother & grandmother with us!

Many thanks to Charlotte's mother and grandmother for sharing some time with the children as Mystery Readers!

Charlotte listens with NaNa

Charlotte's mom reads from Love is My Favorite Thing

Your children continue to work on reading an analog clock (with hands).  Most of the students can read the hands to the hour (4:00, 12:00, etc.), but many are still having difficulties with reading a clock when the hands show a half hour (4:30, 12:30, etc.).  Please practice these half hour times at home as we will be reading clocks to the quarter hour next (4:15, 4:45, etc.).

A wrist watch with hands is a great holiday gift!

Please also review coin names and values with your children:

penny - 1 cent
nickel- 5 cents
dime- 10 cents
quarter- 25 cents
half dollar- 50 cents
dollar coin- 100 cents

Counting coins on a regular basis will help your student at school.

Can your child count by 5s?
Can your child count by 10s?  (0, 10, 20, 30, 40...)  or (0, 15, 25, 35, 45...)
Can your child count by 25s?  (0, 25, 50, 75, 100)!

Your children are finally drafting their endings for their personal narrative writing pieces.  We are entering the revising/editing stages.  We have been focusing on correcting our ending punctuation marks...the period (.), the question mark (?), and the exclamation point (!).  The children have been working with a writing partner.  Partners assist each other with this process.

 We have also worked on correcting "run on" sentences (I went to the closet and I grabbed my coat and then I ran to the door and I went outside...).