2nd Grade News

Throughout the year, the 2nd graders enjoyed many math manipulative challenges, including "Tile Towers" shown here.

Throughout the year, the 2nd graders enjoyed many math manipulative challenges, including “Tile Towers” shown here.

DEAR PARENTS: Here you will find information about our class studies in 2nd Grade G/T this year!

5-23-16 I am very proud of the second grade G/T students this year! In the final weeks of G/T class, I challenged them to create their own logic puzzles. Creating a puzzle requires much more thinking than just solving one, and they were highly successful! My third graders tested each one and gave feedback, which prompted the 3rd grade students to write some of their own. The students also participated in an online end-of-the-year quiz on the website KAHOOT and that was great fun. They remembered a lot from the year, including details about structures we had studied (e.g. the Great Barrier Reef, caves), literature and poetry we had read (“I’m Ceiling Fad,” Journey to the Center of the Earth) and concepts we had learned (e.g. how to read a number on an abacus). What a wonderful year we had! If you’re looking for summer learning opportunities, check out the NEISD Community Education catalog or my web page for parents! Also, I will be updating my “Cool Links” during the summer so you can check back often. The students really enjoyed the THINKFUN online games recently added to that page. I hope you all have a safe and happy summer!

Testing our earthquake-proof structures after a lesson in engineering!

Testing our earthquake-proof structures after a lesson in engineering!

4-23-16 – In the past few weeks, the 2nd grade G/T students have continued to learn about various structures in Japan. We learned a little about the particular challenges faced by the Japanese, in particular tsunamis and earthquakes. After a lesson found on this site called “Teach Engineering,” the students used what they learned about cross-bracing and other structural factors to construct “earthquake-proof structures” using marshmallows and toothpicks! The structures were tested on a pan of jello, shaken to simulate an earthquake. Click here to see a 9-second video of this! We also learned that tsunamis are often caused by underwater earthquakes, and that the giant wall of water only appears as it approaches the coastline, where the sea floor rises and lifts the mass of water. Our literature included the story of Hachiko,a loyal dog, well-known in Toykyo, in whose honor a statue was erected near a busy train station. In addition to our advanced math and logical thinking activities, we also learned about biomimicry, a way of inventing or improving things by observing what works well in nature! The students tested different types of “whirly bird” flyers, some emulating the fins of whales and others a shark’s skin. Ask your child to show you their most recent G/T work and tell you about it!

Second graders created their own abacuses and used them to solve problems.

Second graders created their own abacuses and used them to solve problems.

Coral reef model

3-4-16 We continue to be busy bees in 2nd grade G/T and the days just whiz by! In keeping with our Structures theme, we’ve been touring the world to learn about all kinds of natural and manmade structures. The Great Barrier Reef is unique in that it is the only “living structure” that can be seen from outer space! We had a lot of fun identifying the fact and fiction in the movie “Finding Nemo,” and the students really enjoyed creating models of coral reefs by growing crystals! We discussed some of the famous manmade structures in Australia as well, but now we have flown up to Japan to learn about the unique structures there. The students were surprised by several videos we viewed about school in Japan, the housing there, and the capsule hotels! We made origami leaping frogs on Leap Day and also abacuses, which we learned to use. In other math activities, we’ve done some Beanstick Algebra and calculator riddles, as well as some team logic problems involving math. What a great time we have learning together in 2nd grade G/T!

2nd graders learning from a BrainPOP video about the inner earth to complete a webquest.

2nd graders learning from a BrainPOP video about the inner earth to complete a webquest.

Students rotated through five stations on this day, the visual-spatial puzzles always being one of the favorite centers!

Students rotated through five stations on this day, the visual-spatial puzzles always being one of the favorite centers!

12-30-15 Wow! Where did November and December go? With holidays and special events, time got away from me! Here is the latest news from 2nd grade G/T: We are well into our novel Journey to the Center of the Earth! In addition to enjoying the prose, learning some new vocabulary, and getting into the plot, we’ve also learned all about what is true and NOT true about what lies beneath the surface of the earth! Our advanced math studies have included some challenging problems from the NRich website and MENSA FOR KIDS Math, and we learned about probability and how to devise a strategy by playing and analyzing the “Two-Dice Sums” game. We participated in the “Hour of Code,” an international event that promotes computer programming in the classroom. Since we’d been doing coding already, we tried out “real coding” as taught in “Code Monkey” IMG_2119on BrainPOP. We’ve continued testing our reasoning skills through the game “Aces, Jumble, Zilch, grid and perplexor logic problems, and Sudoku. Also, the students have become “Six-Hat Thinkers,” learning to see any decision or problem from a variety of perspectives, forcing their thinking to focus on one aspect at a time. I have been impressed with the discussions! Parents, watch for G/T report cards to be sent home our first week back. Happy New Year!

Ask your child what the sugar cubes represented in this experiment.

Ask your child what the sugar cubes represented in this experiment.

10-21-15 In 2nd grade G/T, we are enthusiastic spelunkers! We’ve been exploring the wondrous world of caves and caverns. A quick science experiment reinforced how caves form, then we ventured into this virtual cave to discover all kinds of amazing formations including draperies, popcorn and soda straws! The students enjoyed learning more through additional research and a fun online quiz tool called KAHOOT! This month, our advanced math work has included all kinds of number logic and number sense through activities such as “Find the X Tile” and “Tile Towers.” Many of our favorite challenges involve manipulating shape or number tiles to solve problems. We’ve also enjoyed some literature. We read and analyzed a cool poem called “I’m Ceiling Fad” and will begin a junior version of the classic Journey to the Center of the Earth! Finally, don’t miss this post about our pom-pom launchers! October has been awesome!

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9-21-15 We had such a great G/T class today! The second graders came in ready to put on their thinking caps! After a review of the many different types of thinking (convergent, divergent, etc.), we began with a shapes puzzle from the game “Chocolate Fix.” Using the visual clues, students placed the shapes in the grid correctly (see photo). Then, table groups sorted cards into a variety of categories, finally arriving at the theme for our studies this year- STRUCTURES. Finally, students worked in pairs on a challenge. Given limited materials, they were to create a pom-pom launcher (catapult) with the goal of launching a distance! Some ran out of time to complete this, so they will have more time next week. Others were able to test theirs out. This involved inventive (divergent) thinking and it was great fun! Next week, we will get into some research and advanced science. I am looking forward to a fabulous year with the 2nd grade G/T students!

This is a wonderful logical thinking game that challenges kids of all ages.

This is a wonderful logical thinking game that challenges kids of all ages.

9-16-15 WELCOME BACK SECOND GRADERS! I look forward to seeing you again. G/T classes will begin on Monday, September 21st!
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14 thoughts on “2nd Grade News

  1. I love your blog! I wish our blog got so many comments on our blog as you get on yours! I love that you are learning about ants!
    Your friend,
    Kendall

    • Thank you, Kendall, for your nice comments! We always enjoy reading your comments on our blog. We love your class blog too! It’s been fun learning about ants. What do you like to study in school?

  2. Hi Ms. Lasher,

    My wife and I just love your blog. I can literally see each and every kid enjoying your class thoroughly. In short I wish I had a teacher like you when I was at elementary. You inspire not just the kids but their parents too. Thank you so much for making the kids time at your class an enjoyable experience and a very memorable one.

    your fans,
    Lavanya & Ram

  3. Hi! This is Ghinwa from Pemberton Elementary! I think it’s really cool that you guys are learning about ants! I wonder if our class will do that too?:)

  4. Hi, Donna!
    David and I love the blog! Mila is sooooo happy to be in GT class. We hear all about it on Mondays! Thank you for allowing her to grow and learn and expand her brilliant mind!

  5. Hi Mrs. Lasher,

    We love this blog and LOVE when our daughter, Mila, comes home on Mondays. She tells us first off what cool things you all did in GT. We kept our coral reef for a long time and she even got to teach her 4 year old brother all about it. Now, we are hearing about her Aussie animal.

    Thank you so much for keeping her excited and teaching her so much in class. And even better, she is taking lessons she is learning and applying it to life. YES!

    A Sincere Thank You,
    Renee & David Myers

    • Thank you for your nice comment. We have one student’s recording to add to our Aussie animal show (he was absent when we made the recordings) and then we will publish it for you to see. They worked hard on their research and ideas!

  6. Would you please explain the rules to Aces, Jumble, Zilch or point me to a website? I couldn’t find them online. My son said he just learned this game at school.

    • The game “Aces, Jumble, Zilch” is a logic game from our P.E.T.S. (Primary Education Thinking Skills) curriculum. I will send home another game sheet with directions for you!

      • Mrs. Lasher, my son is not a student of yours. We’re in North Carolina. Your blog was one of the first search results for Aces, Jumble, Zilch. Thank you for offering to send something home!

        • Ha, ha. Although I didn’t recognize your name or email, I have nearly one hundred students so I thought you must be one of my “new” parents! I will email you the directions and game sheet!

  7. Hello! I was wondering, how did your class create their coral reef models? What did you use to have them “grow”? Thank you!

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