All Kids Love Learning About Animals!

The second graders love learning about animals!  We started the unit by making interesting animal sentences.  Using an idea I got at a conference this year, I covered the board with columns of different colored paper.  Each colomn was named: adverbs, nouns, adjectives, verbs, prepositions.  Nouns and verbs were easy for the kids to list.  Adjectives and adverbs were a little more difficult, so I gave them lists and they highlighted words they knew and liked.  After filling our columns with words, each student chose two animal pictures.  They had to write a silly sentence about one animal and a serious sentence for the other.  They also had to use each of the five parts of speech we listed on the board.  It was a fantastic exercise and it got the kids thinking about the characteristics we attribute to certain animals.

Recently, we've been discussing how animals can be divided into different groups.  The students are working together in different centers to deepen their understanding and at the same time, strengthen their skills.  They use the Oxford Picture Dictionary to match amphibians and reptiles from a list of pictures to a nature scene. 

The students really enjoy the information hunt tic-tac-toe activity.  In this center, they have to find the animal book and page that is specified on their tic-tac-toe board, and find the missing information. 

One of the most exciting things about centers is watching the students help each other.  I was busy helping students at a different center, so I asked Alejandra if she would help Athan understand what to do, since she had already visited the vocabulary match-up center.  Cooperative learning is the optimum learning environment for English Language Learners, and allows for students of all proficiency levels to become experts and teachers themselves!

 

Happy Chinese New Year!

                            

During Chinese New Year, we asked the students which they would wish for in the coming year: fortune, longevity and honor.  As we discussed what each word meant and why you would ish for them, we heard some very heartfelt responses.  Here's one from a third grade student.



You Are My Sunshine

The kindergarteners have been learning about weather and the seasons.  We've learned "The Itsy Bitsty Spider", "Rain, Rain Go Away" and "You Are My Sunshine".  Check out these amazing singers!

The students can now tell you which kinds of clothes you should wear in sunny, windy, rainy and snowy weather.

Here the students are sorting pictures and activities among the appropriate seasons.  After so much talk about the weather, it's easy to get confused between, say, winter and snowy weather.  We've been asking each other questions like, "Which is your favorite season?" and "What do you like to do in the winter?" 

Krakus and the Dragon

The second graders read a book called Krakus and the Dragon, a folktale from Poland about how the city of Krakow got its name.  After reading the book several times, the students demonstrated their understanding of the story by illustrating and writing about their favorite moment.  Two girls wrote a dialogue between a reporter and a character in the story about what had happened the day the dragon came to their village.  They did a great job!

As we read the book, we all realized this would be a perfect story to dramatize.  The students made a list of the characters.  Of course, all the boys wanted to be the dragon!  I had the kids write their top three choices for parts, and then made the assignments.  The next step was to plan the scenes.  On a huge piece of paper, we noted what should happen in each scene, and we used this list as we practiced.  We hope you enjoy the final product!