A Little Outrage Can Be Good for the Learning Process

The boys and girls were enthusiastic learners today! In the computer lab, the students are beginning to apply and synthesize their skills with Microsoft Power Point.  Today, they used basic figures (shapes) and began to create a winter snowman scene. By formatting their figures for color, size and position, they were able to design the background for their picture.  The students learned to format the outer line on a figure for style, thickness and color.  In most cases, for this task, they needed to remove it completely.  They also learned to "lasso" objects to select several at one time and to group them, so they move as one figure.   

We will be using this scene for our winter swirl poems we are writing over the next few SAGE days. If you have Power Point at home, encourage your child to practice and explore some of its possibilities.  

The students completed their first full page "Squiggle" as a part of our creative problem solving.  As they combine the squiggle marks to create a single, cohesive picture, they learn the necessity of taking their time, being flexible in their thinking and to be elaborative in their projects.

In the afternoon, the students were introduced to using a USA and World Atlas.  We discussed the purpose of the table of contents and index and practiced using them to locate a map for a particular city.  Next, we learned to use coordinates on a grid to locate a point on a map.  It's amazing what you can do without a smart phone!  LOL   Ask your child about the activity.

Today, in Spanish with Senora Gates, we learned about:

1.     Greetings.  Hola, Buenos días. 

2.     Names- Me llamo…¿Cómo te llamas? Mucho gusto.

3.     Colors-rojo, azul, blanco, negro, amarillo, verde, anaranjado, rosado, morado,         gris, azul cielo, café o marrón.  

4.     Numbers 1-20 Los números 1 hasta 20

5.     Calendar –El Calendario
6.     Days and Dates-Días y fechas

Our day ended with more than a little personal outrage.  We hung the students' "Squiggle" designs up on the bulletin board along with a name tag at the base of their illustration-- but we mixed up the names and papers to be sure none of the names matched with he appropriate student work.  It took a little while or them to notice, but when they did, they let me know that an error had been made and they didn't like having someone else's name on their own work.

After leading the conversation in a few circles, I pointed out that I believe this must be how authors, illustrators and photographers feel when someone takes their ideas, designs or photographs and uses them in their projects without giving them proper credit.  "Plagiarism" is an academic vocabulary word for our second grade SAGE students. In the end,I think the students gained an understanding of the importance of citing our sources.

Have a great week!