Blogging Fun

Well, this blog is a bit late - but better late than never I say!

The students are having a BALL blogging on their own blogs at Kid Blog.  They are learning about how to leave POSITIVE comments for one another, ask questions,  and how to respond to questions.  I love that many of them are taking the opportunity to get on at home and update their blogs and that some of our parents are too!

If you haven't taken the opportunity to visit your child's blog yet, please do.  Remember that in order to see anything you will need to be logged in.  This feature protects our kiddos from the world outside of our classroom.  If you need me to resend you the log in information, please let me know.

Our blogging pictures are from our first blogging experience on September 11th - thus the better late than never reference! 

Assessments 101

Elementary Rubric

We have been Sliding into 2^nd grade for 6 weeks now and it is time to ASSESS what we have learned! Assessment is not just the "Fancy Nancy" word for a test, it is a description of a process. I am not really "testing" the students but am assessing their learning to determine what still needs to be taught. The word test implies a onetime event where you either get it or don't. My philosophy, and that of our district, is to use assessment to determine what the students know and what they still need to learn. We do not assess and then just move on; students will continue to receive instruction in the material if needed.

In this post you will see a document that is my explanation of our district’s grading rubric.  This was created to be a visual example to students of how they are scored.  As you can see, 4 is the highest possible grade that is given.  But this 4 may look a little different on different assessments.  For example, our math unit assessments all have 20 possible points.  An Advanced score, which would be equivalent to a “4”, is 17 or more points.  A Proficient Score, or “3”, would be 13-16 points.  Our Oral Presentations had 12 possible points, so a “4” would be 10 -12 points, while a “3” would be 8-9.  It is a little confusing but in the end what matters is that it is a consistent grading scale for students to understand.  They know that a 3 or higher is my expectation for them, and I’m sure that it is your expectation too!  The 4, 3, 2, 1 scale is also the score that is reported to you on the report card each quarter.  If you have any questions about grading policies or your child’s assessments, please feel free to contact me directly!

Now that you have had a little "assessment" tutorial of your own...What exactly have we been assessing this past week? Our first social studies unit this has concluded and students were given a social studies assessment and an oral speaking assessment over American symbols, traditions and culture. All students were also given their first math assessment which covered addition strategies and doubling. This one was a bit more difficult as they had to EXPLAIN in writing what strategies they use when they are adding and doubling. We are also continuing our weekly spelling assessments and math facts assessments.  We did a LOT of assessing!  


I am happy to say that overall students ROCKED their assessments! They have learned a lot in our 6 short weeks together and we all have a lot more to learn. I'm grateful for assessments that remind me how much my 2nd grade friends are learning and growing! :) I will be sharing all of these assessments and more with you at conferences in just a few short weeks. I can't wait, can you???

Our M.V.P. Zak

We finally finished the book, I Survived the 9/11 Attacks. It was kind of sad because at the end of the book because his Uncle got badly injured. 

I liked the part at the beginning when a kid threw impossible throws.  The author wrote that he "leaped" not jumped.  This made it interesting. 

When I am writing I put interesting words in and some bold words.  This makes the reader get interested into it. 

What Mrs. Heath Does on the Weekends...

Are you ever curious about what the teacher does on the weekends?  Well recently, I have taken up running with some of my Hickory Hill friends.  Ms. Palatas, Mrs. Osborn and I have now run 3 5k's together over the past month.  This past Saturday I joined them and a few other buddies (including Mrs. Nichols, Mrs. Stephens, and Ms. Shimerdla) for an extreme 5K obstacle course and mud run. I was very scared to climb the 30 feet tall cargo net because I am afraid of heights but I did it! It was also really hard to climb up the wooden walls and go over the top,  but you know what made it easier?  I had friends to cheer me on.  I think our classroom is that way too.  We cheer each other on and then we are successful!   We had SO much fun at our run and got SO dirty.  I thought you might enjoy a few pictures!

Love,
Mrs. Heath

Me and my Hickory Hill buddies before the race started.  See how clean we are??  It won't last!!

This is what we looked like after our race.  We were very dirty!!



This was after the run when we were cleaned up. 

The Rose Theater Presents .... Nutrition Man!



Dannika helps identify proteins for the plate.

No gluttony for us - only proper portions sizes!

Our district is blessed to be supported by the Papillion-La Vista Schools Foundation.  The Foundation supports the district through many grants, programs, and activities - one of which is a grant to support the arts in education.  As part of that grant, our 2nd grade team got to participate in a visit from The Rose Theater.  The focus of the visit was to share an important message about eating healthy foods in proper portions and exercising daily.  This message was shared via a play put on by live actors. The students (and teachers!) learned how to choose a balanced diet that includes low fat choices from each section of the "plate" and how 60 minutes of movement a day is crucial for growing bodies.  Thanks Rose Theater and Papillion-La Vista Schools Foundation for bringing us an important message in such an enjoyable way!

A Lesson in Cultural Diversity

America is one big melting pot when it comes to culture.  But how do you demonstrate that idea to  a group of 7 and 8 year old children?  With food of course!  As part of our social studies unit we have been learning about what culture is and how it varies from country to country across the world.  Students learned about the role of language and music in culture with Mrs. Miglini and about clothing from Mrs. Borden. With me they had the opportunity to discuss food.  (Yes, I did get the best one!)  To begin we spent time discussing what students around the world would each for lunch.  We reviewed the role immigrants have played in American history and culture and discussed that fact that when people immigrated they brought with them their culture - including foods.

 

Using the foods sent in by our wonderful parents (thank you!) we began a demonstration of what food in America looks like.  Students took turns naming a country while we added each individual snack to our mix.  Food from Germany (in go some pretzels), Nepal (Cheerios), Africa (crackers), Mexico (licorice), and on we went.  I was amazed at all the different countries that they could name!  We did have a few discussion about Texas, California and Las Vegas being a PART of the United States but other than that they did well!



Once we had all of our individual ingredients, I presented the mix to them.  Just as American food is a mixture of dishes and ingredients from many other cultures and countries, so was our snack.  It is one lesson that I hope they will long remember!

The best part of any lesson dealing with food is the opportunity to eat!  All of the kiddos enjoyed their tasty snack while they went on with another staple of American culture - a free public education.  We do live in a pretty amazing country, don't we?

Our M.V.P. Dannika

In 2nd grade we do many things differently than 1st grade.  We do a lot more work and read a lot more books.  We have learned about many new things.  I am having so much fun.  I have made a lot of new friends.

We have learned alot of new words and we have learned to use them properly.  Some words are big are small.  Some of the words I have never even heard about!  I have used some of the words in my sentences. 

Being M.V.P. is so much fun.  You get to do a lot of fun activities.  My favorite was the show and tell.  Last year in 1st grade we had a student of the week but this year we have an M.V.P. 

Patriot's Day

Today we celebrate America.  We also take time to remember the tragedy of 9/11 and honor the first responders.  I loved seeing all of the red, white, and blue in our classroom!  The students have been working with Mrs. Palatas on patriotic songs and I shot video of them today singing both "America" and "The Star Spangled Banner." I am hoping to have them up later this evening, but for now, please enjoy photos of us in all of our patriotic glory!

9/16 - The videos are uploaded via You Tube.  Our class You Tube channel is safe in that the videos are unlisted - you can not search You Tube and find them, you must have the link.  I hope you enjoy our patriotic sing!

We Love America!!

Mrs. Heath

Popcorn Reading

We can always tell when it is Popcorn Reading day because the halls are filled with the smell of hot, buttery popcorn!  I love that it is a time for the kids to kick back and enjoy a good book - something that we just don't get enough of in my opinion. 

 Here's to Friday afternoons, popcorn, and a good book!

School by Allison

School is super fun.  We have been learning lots of stuff.  We have been having lots of fun in 2nd grade.  We really like school with Mrs. Heath.  We have so many funny books.  It is so much fun to be in this class.  We use tickets if you do something good.

Our MVP David

I have been to the Storm Chasers game.  I brought my baseball glove to the game because I wanted to catch a foul ball.  I wanted to catch a ball, but I didn't catch a ball.

This is the song of the Storm Chasers game. 
Take me out to the ball game, take me out to the crowd.  Buy me some peanuts and crackerjacks, I don't care if I ever get back.  Root, Root, Root for the home team.  If they don't win it's a shame!  There's only 1, 2, 3 strikes you're out at the old ball game!  PLAY BALL!

Social Studies Fun!

In social studies we are learning all about how people across the world are the same and different - from customs, traditions, cultures, and holidays.  Of course we spend a great deal of time talking about our American culture and what makes it unique and special!  This past week we finished up learning about national symbols and learned about national holidays.  The students had to stretch their brains a bit to do a matching activity for national symbols.  It is easy to match two things but harder when you have to match three!