Bulking Up on Research Skills

So for me, blogging and preparing for the holidays are not tremendously compatible.  My posts for the past two weeks and probably the next two will be a bit less elaborative.  Hopefully things will settle down after that.


The second grade SAGE students have been working on their research skills the past several weeks.  We have reviewed and confirmed our ability to locate a topic in alphabetical order with the help of guide words.  The students have knowledge of how to use the table of contents and index as well headings and sub-headings to locate a specific topic or information.  We have also learned how a traditional, bound encyclopedia is organized and when and why it might be necessary to cross-reference a topic with the index.  We have discussed the importance of using current sources as well as a variety of sources when  researching a topic.


Additionally, the students completed a pretest on goal setting.  Over the next few SAGE days, we will be discussing the importance of goal setting, learning to evaluate a goal to be sure it is realistic, creating a plan of action and discovering how our effort impacts our success.


This past week, the students finished their snowman cards and wrote the final draft of their winter poems.  They made a second copy of their poem for you.  I will send them home right before winter break.   


All of our cards were mailed out this week.  We ended up making and mailing 62 cards.  Thank you so much for your donations of stamps to assist us with the postage costs.  We have received 21 cards so far.  It is kind of exciting to check my box in the office now.  


Today, we opened some of the cards we have received from other schools including ones in Pennsylvania, Michigan, West Virginia, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Kansas, Arizona, Florida and Ontario, Canada.  Many more will arrive in the days ahead.  We used a map of North America to locate the states and their relative direction and distance from Kansas City.   


The students have recorded the grade levels, number of students in each class and the average high temperature for December 15th in each town/city.  They will be using this data to create graphs to help us compare the schools participating in our groups.  We were able to discuss the difference between degrees Fahrenheit and Celsius and what a negative number means.  (Ontario's average high temperature for December 15th is -11 degrees Celsius.)


Last week, in the computer lab, the students were introduced to Google Earth and the features that allow us to zoom into a map to the point of virtually standing in front of the schools.  They were very observant and noted differences and similarities in each town/cities geographical location, proximity to the ocean, lakes or rivers, rural and urban areas, the physical size of the schools and even surrounding plant life.  As we were recording the average high temperatures today, by looking at the map of North America, the students began to infer (fairly accurately) what they believed the temperature was going to be based of its north/south location.  They even noted a large discrepancy in the estimated temperature of one North Carolina city as it compared to three others that were fairly close.  Without a doubt, they were making positive use of their higher level thinking abilities.


At recess today, I introduced the students to the game, Blokus.  It is a strategy board game that challenges spatial thinking and it a lot of fun for all ages.   If your family likes board games, it is a great one!

In the afternoon, the students continued our discussion on endangered animals in preparation of our research unit.  They completed their pretest this past week.  Today, they went to www.arkive.org to learn more about the threats that are bringing some species near the point of extinction.  If your child has the time, encourage him/her to explore some of the video and  photos to become more aware of the variety of animals that are endangered.


We ended our day today, working in our individual, exploratory areas.


Have a great week!