Can You Feel the Vibrations?

Last week our story, Moses Goes to a Concert by Isaac Millman was about a boy who was deaf.  His classmates went on a field trip to a concert.  They used balloons to feel the vibrations of the music.  They were also able to meet the percussionist who played in her stocking feet to feel the vibrations.  Why do you think she did?  Many of the pages also had sign language to correlate with the text in the story.

Mr. Dauphin gave us a special treat.  He shared about each of the percussion instruments in his room and about sound vibrations.  We were able to try them out too, just like Moses' class!  Be sure to watch the video below to hear our efforts!  Thank you Mr. Dauphin!

Sign Language

We had the honor of Neila Hand (a former student) and her mom Rosemary coming to visit the second graders last week.  We'd learned about sign language from our reading story.  The kids had been practicing spelling their names using the alphabet, but they were able to give us a better understanding of the importance of sign language.  Mrs. Hand signed while Neila interpreted.  The students were able to learn how this form of communication is beneficial.  The mother and daughter pair also showed us different ways to sign things, as well as how sign language is different from the written and spoken word.  They've left some book for us to look at too.  Thank you Mrs. Hand and Neila!

Virtual Stores

We've been practicing money during math.  Everyone has made a lot of progress with identifying coins, determining values, counting coins, adding money amounts, and making change.  So, we decided to conclude our money unit by creating virtual stores along with Mrs. Griffin's class from Georgia. 

Day 1: Mrs. Griffin's Class created Mrs. Griffin's Sweet Treats.  So many yummy options were available for a reasonable price!  They shared a SMARTnotebook file with us through Skype.  Groups of students went up to the SMARTboard to choose their purchases.  They were given $2.00 to spend.  They told the other class what they'd like to buy.  Both classes added up the amounts and asked each other if they agreed.  Next, all students determined the change.  Kids congratulated each other on their efforts.

Day 2: Mrs. Griffith's Class created the Peculiar Pet Place.  My students created the store during centers.  They chose their images from the gallery and inserted them into SMARTnotebook.  Then they determined prices.  Students chose odd pets, food items, pet accessories, and toys for their imaginary store.  The rest of the Skype call went the same as above. 

 

Both Mrs. Griffin and I were impressed to see how many different ways students solved the math problems.  We're already reflecting and talking about next year!  This was a wonderful collaborative project! 

Virtual Stores: Collaborative Project on PhotoPeach

ePals

Last month we started pen pals with Mrs. Snyder's 2nd graders in PA.  We're using a teacher-monitored email tool called ePals.  It's simple!  The students have been able to write back and forth now a few times.  They sent us some photos of themselves and made them into Blabbers using Blabberize.  This week, we tried out PhotoBooth and took some silly shots of ourselves using some of the effects!  Check out our silly pics below in the slideshow!

Meet Mrs. Griffith's Class on PhotoPeach

Signs of Spring

Signs of Spring are different depending on where you live and what your climate is like.  We'd been talking about Spring in Randolph, NY to prepare for our 3rd Skype call with our friends in Italy.  Students brought in various items that represented what Spring is like where we live.  Students had also taken a picture out of our classroom window for about a month, to show how Spring takes a LONG time to get here.  The day we had our Skype call it snowed AGAIN!  Ms. Toshini's class shared with us what they've noticed about the weather in Italy, then we showed them our items and photos.  She help up her computer to the window to show the buds on their trees outside and we grabbed a handful of snow from our window sill.  Check out the video clips below and the slideshow me made for them!

SpringinRandolphNY on PhotoPeach



Harmful Weather Skype

We have been learning about harmful weather.  Students chose from hurricanes, tornadoes, lightning, and volcanoes.  Last Friday, we had the opportunity to Skype with Brad Panovich.  He is a meteoroligist from Charlotte.  He shared with us an amazing video that shows how a thunderstorm starts and a video with the elements of a tornado.  Brad also used Google Earth to show where volcanoes can be found.  He gave the students tips about being safe from a hurricane as well.  Thank you to Mr. Panovich for taking the time to inspire this second grade class.  Maybe one of the students will follow in your footsteps and want to know the WHY? of weather! 

Sugar Shack