Spunky Punky

Thanks to all of the family members that were able to make it for our "Spunky Punky" performance.  The class did a fantastic job!  I'm so proud of all of their hard work!

Red Ribbon Week

We celebrated Red Ribbon Week this last week in the elementary.  Each day the students enjoyed the different dress up days to show support of making healthy choices for our bodies.

"Red Out Day"

"From Head to Toe, I am Drug Free"

"Team Up Against Drugs"

"Voting For My Future to be Drug Free"

"Your Choices are the Key to Your Dreams"

Adjective Self Portraits

We've been learning about nouns and adjectives in the last few weeks.  After reading "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus," we brainstormed words that would describe this bossy pigeon.  We also used adjectives to describe a classmate before the students used adjectives to describe themselves by making adjective self portraits. 

Monsters in the City

This art project was created during the first few weeks of school after reading "Monsters Don't Eat Broccoli" by Barbara Jean Hicks.  This project is inspired by a scene in the book where the monsters are in the city eating everything they can, everything except broccoli of course!  I love how bright and colorful these projects are!

What Turns You into a Crankenstein?

Recently we read "Crankenstein" by Samantha Berger.  In this story the main character details everything that turns him into a Crankenstein!  It is quite a funny list!  We brainstormed what makes us cranky.   We made a class book and also some fun Crankensteins to share with those walking by 2nd grade!

Fire Prevention Week

Last week was Fire Prevention Week, and as a class we discussed the importance of having an exit plan with our family and the possibility of an additional exit plan if needed.  On Friday we walked down to the fire station to learn about the equipment the firefighters use.  They gave a great tour and helped the students to understand how their gear works and what they would look like going into a fire so as to not be frightened.  The students also enjoyed spraying the hose!  Thank you to the Lanesboro Fire Department for the tour!

Electronic Day

This is one Banana Bingo celebration the kids always look forward to.  It's fun for them to bring in an electronic to school to share with a friend.

Writing Workshop

In Writer's Workshop the students write about self-selected topics each day.  As writers we've been developing a list of what great writers do. 

Great Writers:
-choose a topic that interests them
-spend writing time thinking, writing, and illustrating
-add details to their stories that stay on topic
-go back to reread their stories and add to them
-keep a list of possible writing topics for days they feel stuck
-write in complete sentences with capital letters and end marks
-use spelling tools to help them (word wall, dictionaries)
-share their writing with others

Many of these items are a work in progress for most students, and we will continue to add to this list all year long.  The most recent item on our list, "writers share their writing with others," was just introduced last week.  At the end of our writing block, the students now have the opportunity to meet up with a partner if they'd like.  This conference is a time to share our writing that we've worked so hard on and also as a tool for improving our writing.  As a partner, the student is to be a good listener and also ask questions about anything that doesn't make sense or about details the listener is still curious about.

Students have been writing about all sorts of topics: pets, family, friends, school, and also a variety of fiction stories have been written.