The Penguin Lady

Last Thursday we had the opportunity to meet Dyan deNapoli, The Penguin Lady! Dyan shared many facts and extensive penguin knowledge with us as we played a fun penguin game show! She showed us photographs she has taken during her research around the world and her large collection of penguin stuffed animals.

We are so fortunate to have special visitors ad experts come and visit us at Steward! Thank you TESTPO for your support!

Global Play Day

Last Wednesday Steward School celebrated Global Play Day!

February 4, 2015, was the first annual Global School Play Day for students in schools around the world. In year one, over 65,000 students participated! Over 177,000 students took part in 2016. In 2017, over 283,000 kids celebrated Global School Play Day! We were so excited to be a part of this fun experiment this year!

Our class had fun playing with board games and toys brought from home. Mid-day, the class came together to put on a motorcycle show for Mrs. Willa, Mrs. Rhuda (our school nurse), and Mrs. Pags who was working in the cafe.

Here is a fun video from the day: 

Polar Bear Study

This week we began our study on Polar Bears. Students worked in small groups or individually to use non-fiction picture books and collect facts about the polar bear habitat, life cycle and adaptations.

J.J. scribes polar bear facts on his graphic organizer.

Gwyneth shows off her polar bear research packet.

We even had the opportunity to watch a live webcam from a Tundra Buggy in the Arctic Circle! We were able to watch live video of polar bears in their natural habitat! Check out the link below to see the live webcam:

Polar Bear Live Camera

FUN in Fundations Stations!

This week during Fundations stations students reviewed bonus letters and closed syllables. We watched a fun Alphablocks video to kick off the lesson, then broke into differentiated groups to rotate through stations. This group is constantly impressing me with their knowledge of spelling principles!

Alphablocks clip

Students search for and correct spelling errors on words with bonus letters.

Caleb and Elise work on trick word tic-tac-toe

Ada and Luke hard at work!

Molly and Nadia practice marking up bonus letter words.

Writer's Workshop: Map of my Heart

In Writer’s Workshop this week we read a fun mentor text ‘The Best Story’ and students brainstormed ideas for a ‘Map of My Heart’. We will be doing a lot of writing in our classroom over the next few weeks to celebrate the fall and Halloween season just around the corner.

Sadie, Soren and Gwyneth are busy filling the Map of their Hearts!

Nadia adds to her 'favorites'

J.J. decorates his heart map.

Starting Reader's Workshop!

Throughout Reader's Workshop in the past few weeks, students have practiced expanding their reading selection and choosing a ‘just right’ book. We read the mentor text Goldi Socks and the Three Libearians, and discussed the “five finger rule”. Ask your child how this rule works!

Annie tries out a non-fiction book using the five finger rule.

Danielle uses the five finger rule with a new series.

Jake reads the first page of a new book!

We also explored our classroom library and learned how and where our non-fiction, fiction, and series books are organized. During independent reading time, I have started conferencing one-on-one with students and learning more about them as readers. During share time we practiced the ‘turn and talk technique' with a partner. This is when students quietly share their thinking with a buddy. We are having fun in Reader’s Workshop and working hard!

Welcome to Second Grade!

Hi Second Graders! I have been busy this month getting our classroom ready for your arrival. I hope you have all had a restful and fun summer and are looking forward to coming back to Steward! Here are some before and after pictures of our classroom to get you excited! See you next week!

Before

Almost ready for you!