Becoming Independent Researchers

We started our day by finishing a Squiggle for Creative Problem Solving.  Our first grade basic academic vocabulary includes:

• brainstorming

• fluency

• flexibility

• originality

• elaboration

These lessons are fun, but they have an academic purpose as well.  Students that are "fluent" in their thinking are successful problem solvers because they are able to think of many solutions to a problem.   With practice, they become more "flexible" in their thinking enabling them to approach problems from a new or different angle.  When students get better at flexibility, they find unusual, "original" themes for their Squiggles.  This can transfer to original, unique topics and perspective when they are given a writing prompt.  Finally, "elaboration" is about adding details.  Whether in their artwork, projects or creative writing, an understanding of the purpose of elaboration allows them to extend their writing by using a richer vocabulary.  They are able to focus on a quality product by adding more detailed illustrations, models and projects.  Ask your child to share their Squiggle with you.

In the computer lab, the students explored Microsoft Power Point.  They learned to insert shapes, resize them, and move them around the slide.  They also learned to use the "arrange" tools to bring objects forward or to send them backward.  Next, the boys and girls learned to fill a shape with textures, patterns and gradient colors.  They did a great job!

Our 2nd grade, basic academic vocabulary includes:

• knowledge
• comprehension
• research
• independent
• plagiarism 

After lunch, the students worked with a partner to highlight a digital article from World Book Encyclopedia Online.  The article, "Endangered Species" has important information they will need to answer questions in our research packet.  They will need to prove their answers by by showing us where they located their information.  While  schema or background knowledge is very important, in this case, they can only record what they can prove out in their resources.  I want the students to understand this kind of research is about using quality, current informational sources, accuracy in their note taking, avoiding plagiarism and documenting their sources with a bibliography.  

We were very pleased with their focus, effort and ability to work cooperatively.  

Bravo A Day 2nd Graders!

Our First Brown Bag Luncheon

The second grade students have been learning important research skills the past few weeks.  We have learned to locate information in print sources such as encyclopedias, atlases and informational (non-fiction) texts.  They have learned to use an index, table of contents and glossary to locate information.

This month, we began a group study on endangered animals.  The boys and girls took a KWL pretest to show what they know about endangered animals and to make a list of questions they would like to learn.

Last week, we continued to practice how to take research notes.  The students learned to use bullets for their notes and to capture important phrases that will remind them of the information they were hearing. The students have taken notes during the oral reading of a book and then while watching a video on endangered animals.  We combined the notes the students made and I typed them up for the class.  This week, they will work with a partner to record notes from an online encyclopedia article.  They will be using a highlighter to focus in on key facts.


In the computer lab, we have continued learning more about Power Point.  Once everyone had a slide presentation open, we reviewed/learned how to insert a text box, move it on the slide and how to save our work.  The students also reviewed how to format a text box for font style, size, color, bold, underline and italics.  Next, they learned to insert shapes and format them for fill color, size and position on the page. 


Understanding the basic tools and functions of this program will transfer in the application of other Microsoft products and web based slide show applications.  Power Point is a good slide show program, but it is also great for digital story telling, book reports, posters, and even holiday cards.  Primary students soak up the functions with minimal instruction.  When my own children lost their "computer gaming privileges" for one offense or another, they would always say, "But can we still do Power Point?"

If you have Power Point available on a home computer, consider allowing your child to practice.

At lunch Thursday, we had our first Brown Bag Luncheon.  Several parents joined us for lunch.  Detective Ron Hunter brought is drug interdiction dog, Bennett to Briarcliff to tell us about his job and how his dog locates illegal narcotics.   Bennett was a beautiful and lively black lab.  We even had the chance to hide a jar of marijuana in the room, and Bennett was able to quickly locate it.  Ask your child to tell you what they learned from Detective Hunter.

We ended our day working at our Exploratory areas.  Several students have finished their first center and have chosen a second.  Ask your child about his/her current Exploratory task.

Have a great week!

Learning Important Life Lessons

This week, the students had a chance to try the same problem a second time.   We usually do not have time to do this, but I wanted the students to recognize that they learn from their experiences and have the ability to improve with practice.  You would think they would know this and, in most situations, they do but most gifted children are not used to struggling or failing at a task.  When they face a new and very challenging problem they can't master on the first or second try, they want to quit.  They appear to only want to do tasks or activities where they are successful.  In reality, they are doubting their ability to overcome the obstacles.  They are afraid they can't or won't be successful.  They just haven't had enough experience with struggling, feeling frustrated and failing. This is where I see our children as "developmentally delayed." They are learning (hopefully) a crucial lesson other children learn between the ages of 3-5 years old.

For bright children, learning to be a "risk taker" and learning perseverance takes more than just practice.  They also need encouragement and support as they build their confidence and recognize they can find success on a task at which they once failed.  For most students, they need an opportunity to build success with increasingly more complicated challenges.  In the child's eyes, the more important the task- the more difficult it will be for him or her to accept the learning curve necessary for mastery.

 
In the computer lab, the boys and girls were introduced to using Microsoft Word.  This week, they learned to open a new document, save it in their SAGE- shared drive file, and to format their text for size, style, color, bold, Italics and underlining.  They also learned to justify their text left, right and center.  

After lunch, the students had their first Spanish lesson with Senora Gates.  Each child had an opportunity to select a Spanish name.  Today they practiced greetings and how to introduce themselves.  We will have a 30 minute Spanish lesson each week.

This week, as a part of our Affective Studies unit, we read The Popcorn Dragon, by Jane Thayer.  
Dexter was ordinarily a well-behaved young dragon.  You could hardly blame him for showing off when he suddenly found that he could make clouds of smoke. The temptation is irresistible, but Dexter's bragging quickly becomes a problem.  First he watches his own reflection in the river in order to admire the smoke. Then he puffs it in the faces of his friends: the zebra, the giraffe, and the elephant. He even blows smoke rings around his own tail to prove how clever he is.

Soon Dexter has no friends left. He is a very lonely dragon indeed, until quite by accident he discovers a way his talent can be used to win back his playmates.


We had a great class discussion about bragging and how it is perceived by others.  Then a few students acted out a situation where they were bragging in front of their peers.  We discussed why we might want to share our accomplishments and the difference between bragging and showing our pride.  The students wrote about their feels and observations as the group witnessing our actors bragging.



We learned

Pride” comes with an extra responsibility-

You need to think about the feelings of others.

When you accomplish something and you want to tell others about it, consider “why” you want to share it, -especially with people beyond your immediate family.

•Is it to get others to pay more attention to you?

•Or do you honestly just want to share the news?

•Is the person you are telling someone you are sure will share your pride?

The students then made a list of the people that care about them and would be interested in celebrating their accomplishments with them.  This is another important lesson that can be difficult for young children to learn, but with support and practice, they will get there.

Have a great week!

Building Our Research Skills & Challenging Our Creativity & Frustration Levels

The past two weeks we have really focused on our research skills.  The students worked on their ABC order skills to better prepare them for locating information in the index of reference books.  Once they showed us they could alphabetize to the fourth letter, we knew they were ready.

We looked at the organization and arrangement of traditional encyclopedias.  We discussed how to use guide words, the table of contents and the index.  We also discussed how captions, headings, subheadings, key words, charts and images can help us locate specific information in an article.  The students then practiced locating different topics in the World Book Encyclopedia.

We also introduced the students to using a traditional US and world atlas.  After learning the parts of a grid and how to locate a point by its coordinates, the students practiced their skills.  They located a given city in the index, recorded the page number and coordinates and then found the city on the map.  Understanding how to use a traditional map helps students understand how a GPS system also finds a specific location.

We have also been exploring our creativity, flexibility of thought and ability to handle stress and frustration.  To do this, we completed our first "hands-on" problem solving challenge. Using only one pair scissors, two paper clips, a 9 x 12 inch sheet of paper, two drinking straws, and three folder labels the students had to create the tallest, free standing structure possible.  

They began with five minutes to brainstorm designs for their tower on their planning form.  They were then given twenty minutes to actually construct their tower.  It is fun to see the room go completely silent as each student's brain is fully engaged in the task. The students used a variety of designs for their towers.  Some were successful, while others struggled to overcome design obstacles.  They ended the task by evaluating their designs, construction and finished structure on their hands-on planning form.

To be successful, students must be fluent, flexible thinkers.  They need a steady stream of ideas and they must be able to adapt and change direction or strategy as new problems arise.  These tasks develop the skills needed to solve real world problems and provide wonderful opportunities for affective conversations.  We discussed how individuals handle frustration and challenge, why some students quit and others persevere and how their classmates that struggle academically might feel each day.  For some it is the "Ah Ha!" moment that enables them to empathize with their peers and avoid hurtful bragging.  Having said that, it takes a great deal of maturity and wisdom for an individual to celebrate their academic success in a way that does not make someone else feel less and so, the conversation continues...

Next "A" day, the students will try this same exercise again.  This will give them an opportunity to piggy-back on ideas they saw as they redesign and improve on their original structures.  Ask your child to share their "hands-on" design form with you and tell you about their structure and their challenges.

The students also worked in the Exploratory Centers and on their math problem solving skills.  More on this work in our next blog post.

A Little Academic Frustration, Creative Challenge and a New "Friend"

We started our day by meeting, Rosie.  Rosie is a Chilean Rose or Rose-hair tarantula, Grammostola rose, donated to our class by the family of a former student, Samantha.  Samantha knew that in the past, I had two tarantulas as class pets.  When her great Uncle decided to reduce his collection, she suggested we might make good caretakers for one of his tarantulas.   I'm glad she thought of us!  Rosie is definitely an exciting addition to our classes.  Ask your child to tell you a little about what he/she learned about tarantulas today.  If you or your child would like to learn more about Rosie, check out this link on tarantulas.

This week, our math problem solving strategy was “Use Logical Reasoning.”  We have introduced this strategy before, but this week's format was different and very challenging for most of us!  

Here is a challenge problem for your child to try at home with you.  Your child can earn an extra star by bringing in the correct answer next week. :)

The SAGE students love to show what they have learned.  One day, 12 students altogether were working on the computer during exploratory.   6 students all together were creating posters during exploratory.  Four students were doing both by creating posters ON the computer.  How many students were in this day's SAGE class?   

Next, the students worked in the individual Exploratory areas.  Alejandro is showing us what he knows about microscopes on his Comprehension worksheet.  Caleb has begun making models of the three kinds of volcanoes our of Model Magic.  Emily completed a survey on Favorite Colors.  She is ready to now graph her results.  Camila made a model of a cheetah and is researching information for a report on cheetahs.  Abby finished her Comprehension worksheet on insects and is beginning to make a model of a lightning bug.  Kelly completed the Comprehension worksheet on Gertrude Chandler Warner and the Box Car Children.  Kate worked on designing her clown, rod puppet.  Cora is designing a mobile about one of Eric Carle's books, Hank finished the Comprehension worksheet on the Titanic.  

One of our basic academic vocabulary terms for second grade is independent.  We have discussed what it means to be an independent worker and learner.  Each week we encourage the students to push themselves to be as independent in their work as possible.  Learning to edit, self-evaluate, self-pace and thoughtfully complete project work are goals of our Exploratory Center time.  It is exciting to watch the students as they are engaged in their own center tasks.  

We ended our day working on our second Creative Problem Solving lesson.  This week, the students were given 20 minutes to complete the "squiggle" below.

In this task, students are asked to create a single, cohesive picture that includes all of the given squiggle figures and lines.  This exercise focuses on the students' flexibility and elaboration.

Flexibility is the ability to change your way of thinking about a problem or situation.  It is the ability to think of alternative ideas and to adapt to different situations  

• You are flexible in your thinking when you approach a complicated math problem you missed in a different way.
• You are flexible in your thinking when you can think of indoor games to play when your birthday swim party is rained out.

Elaboration is the process of expanding an idea by adding detail.  To elaborate, you must understand the original idea and see a way to clarify or improve it by adding specific details.  

• You are elaborating when you add to, enlarge, enrich, or expand descriptions, designs, drawings, explanations, instructions, reports or  stories. 
• You are using elaboration when you edit your stories and add more descriptive vocabulary and more details.

You can see your child's finished squiggle on display during our conferences.

Have a wonderful weekend!

What No Pictures???

Let me start by thanking you for attending our Fall Open House last night.  We had a great turn out and everyone seemed to enjoy and celebrate the students' efforts and work.

I'm not quite sure how we missed this today, but our class camera never came out of my bag...  So this will have to be my short and sweet, text-only blog post.  The exciting digital media will have to wait for another week.  

We spent most of our morning working at individual Exploratory centers.  This allowed for flexibility as some of the students were arriving late to allow for Cognitive Abilities (CogAT) testing.  Ask your child what they learned at their center today?  Most students have begun the Comprehension Level task at this point.  A few are already working on a project of their choosing at Application, Analysis, Synthesis or Evaluation Level.

In the afternoon, the students were introduced to our latest Problem Solver strategy; Use or Make a Table.  We completed one together as a class and then they had an opportunity to try the strategy on a problem, on their own.  Next, they continued their individual work in the TOPS Math program.

In our Basic Research Skills unit today we discussed how researchers need to ask questions.  The more challenging the question, the more you learn.  We talked about “thick” and “thin” questions:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, we showed the students a picture and asked them to write one "Thin Question" and one "Thick Question" about it.  When we become better at asking "Thick Questions," we improve the quality of our research.  (There! I found a graphic to use!  LOL)

Have a great week!

Learning to Share Our Thoughts & Post Our Comments

The Rotation A Day students had a busy day. We worked in the Problem Solver program and today's strategy focused on making an organized list to solve mathematical problems. The students were also introduced the the Logic Links program. This is an individualized program that allows students to progress at their own pace as they strengthen and exercise their logical thinking skills. You will have a chance to see how they solve these logic problems at our Fall Open House next Tuesday evening. 

After lunch and recess, we discussed our SAGE Class Rules. 

1. There is no such thing as a dumb question or answer.
2. This is a safe place to try new things.
3. It’s okay to say, “I don’t know.”
4. If you don’t understand, ask.
5. If you still don’t understand, ask again.
6. Be respectful of other peoples’ feelings and ideas.
7. It’s okay to disagree– try explaining your ideas.
8. It’s okay to be yourself, originality is in!
9. None of us are perfect.
10. This is a safe place to make mistakes- jump in a give it a try!

I am confident the boys and girls will find success with these rules.

 In the computer lab, the students had a chance to read and respond to the comments written by our Quadblogging partners. We have gotten 10 or 12 comments posted from the partner schools/students already this week.   That has been fun, but our A day students have each published a comment to respond to the questions the partner students have asked. 

The students analyzed the comments and noted misunderstandings, unfamiliar vocabulary and raised questions when the partners discussed something for which they were unfamiliar.  They even inferred from subtle details the students wrote, such as some of the schools wear uniforms, one of the schools does not make hot lunches and New Zealand is in a very different season from Missouri.  --Great Ah Ha moments! 

The students' comments have been wonderful (keep in mind, in most cases, this is their first attempt.)  They are beginning to understand how to use a greeting, compliment the writers, add additional new information, end with a question (to encourage further dialog) and close their comment appropriately.  They are so excited about it (and so am I!)

Next we learned the importance of having strong research skills.  We discussed and defined our 2nd grade Academic Vocabulary words: knowledge, comprehension, research and independent.  We are encouraging the boys and girls to be as independent as possible in their work.

 










We ended our day working at our individual Exploratory Centers.  Ask your child what he or she learned today.

Beginning Our First Exploratoy Center of the Year

At the start of our SAGE day, the last of the boys and girls finished writing the rough draft of their "Take a Closer Look at Me" poem.  Next, they took turns typing them on their own.  Their projects are great!  They will be display at our Oct. 2nd Fall Open House.

 

 During our morning, we discussed Bloom's Levels of Thinking and what each level might look like.  I introduced our Exploratory centers and the procedures we follow to select and complete a center.  The students had an opportunity to look through the choices and list their top three picks.  The boys and girls met with me individually to be sure their first choice center is a good fit for them.  We have students studying coordinates on a grid, wild dogs, Eric Carle, Claude Monet, Volcanoes, Puppets, The Boxcar Children, wild cats and more!  Ask your child which center he/she chose and what drew him/her to that center.

Exploratory Excitement on PhotoPeach

The first step in beginning any center is to fill out their Exploratory Contract.  This helps me keep track of their individualized work and it empowers the children to become more independent in their learning.

After filling out their contracts, they had about 40 minutes to begin the reading or video at their chosen center.  Next week, they will have time to continue their center work.  (The Knowledge Level task usually takes 2-3 SAGE days to complete.)

 
In the afternoon, we worked together in the Problem Solver series.  This week's focus was on the strategy, “Use Logical Reasoning.”  Our problems were not very hard, but we will be ready to apply this to more difficult problems soon!

Have a great week!

iLearn Podcasts

Last week, the boys and girls each made a podcast of their iLearn paragraph.  This is a paragraph the second graders wrote on their first day of SAGE to tell about a topic in which they love to learn.

They did a great job on their very first podcast!  Besides the fun of sharing their writing in a personal recording, this experience will also help them learn to speak with inflection, at an appropriate pace and volume, when they are orally presenting their learning, online or in person.

I used Audioboo.fm to embed their podcasts here.  I hope you enjoy hearing them as much as the students enjoyed recording them.

listen to ‘iLearn, Rotation A-1’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘iLearn, Rotation A-2’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘ iLearn, Rotation A-3’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘iLearn, Rotation A-4’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘iLearn, Rotation A-5’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘iLearn, Rotation A-6’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘iLearn, Rotation A-7’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘ iLearn, Rotation A-8’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘iLearn, Rotation A-9’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘iLearn, Rotation A-10’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘iLearn, Rotation A-11’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘iLearn, Rotation A-12’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘ iLearn, Rotation A-13’ on Audioboo

When you have a chance to learn something new, what topics interest you?

Dots Around the World Project- A Celebration of the book, The Dot

Week two, and our returning students are getting back in our routine.  Week two, and our new students are looking less anxious and fearful.  We are pleased to see that!

In the morning, I gave a more detailed tour of our blog with the help of our Smart Board.  We discussed our Blogging Guidelines and the importance of staying safe in our Internet interactions.  
I focused mainly on:

• Always having parent permission when exploring the Internet at home
• Never sharing personal information about yourself or others when on a blog or website
• Always sign blog posts or comments with only a first name
• Rules, responsibility and expectations come with the privilege of participating in our class blog
• This is an academic blog rather than a purely social blog and our interactions, posts and comments should reflect our learning.  (The learning being shared does not have to be exclusively "school learning."  It can be something learned in an activity with friends or family, a trip or even a new skill learned outside of school.)

We also reviewed how to post a quality comment:

Mrs. Yollis' video,  How to Compose a Quality Comment

Next, the boys and girls completed writing the final draft of their paragraph on something about which they love to learn.  They did a nice job on it.

 










In the afternoon, the students learned about International Dot Day and we read the book, The Dot. International Dot Day is a time to celebrate creativity in our children.  More than a half a millions teachers and students are participating in the global project.  Each child is asked to create their own dot image.  The students came up with a diverse  gallery of dots.  Check out their creativity below!

 For anyone who has been afraid to express themselves - from a child in art class to an adult whose fear has shut down a dream, Peter H. Reynolds' book The Dot (Candlewick Press) is there to remind us all to "Make your mark, and see where it takes you."

Today, my surprise was revealed to the students.  We have a new podcasting booth in our room.

 
 

The students also made an audio podcast of their "iLearn" paragraph, but that project will have to come in a later post when I have more time to upload them...

Just a reminder:
                                        Primary SAGE Parent Informational Meeting
                                              Thursday, September 13, 2012
                                                     Briarcliff Media Center
                                                          6:00-7:00 pm

This is an opportunity for you to learn more about the characteristics of gifted children, the SAGE Program, our curriculum and our blog. This meeting is intended for parents new to the program and those with questions about our curriculum this year. 

We hope you can attend!


Have a wonderful week!