Last Day of Second Grade

A video of our year in Second Grade

Research

Poems

Patriotic Symbols Research

Play Day!

Book Fair Fiesta this Week!

Photocards Comparing Ourselves to Angelina Neatalini

We made Popplets about Kinds of Animals!

Sofia's Dream

Carys created this Keynote retelling 

Sophia's Dream

Research Videos

Alex created this video about Gila Monsters

The Silkworm Life Cycle

Carys created this video about the silkworm:

Yousef created this video about the silkworm:

We used Keynote for our Reseach too!

Here are a few Keynote presentations created by a student about 2 of the animals she researched.

                              Click here for : 

                            Hally's Ladybugs

                         Hally's Porcupine Fish

                  You will need to download the documents from Google Docs

Our Research Products are Awesome!

A few students have completed their first research products.  Follow our class Twitter@MsPricesClass

to see what we done so far!

Here is one sample:

The Great Kapok Tree

In the dense, green Amazon rain forest, a man has come to chop down a great Kapok tree. When he lies down to rest, the creatures that inhabit the tree and the surrounding forest come to whisper in his ear, each in its own fashion begging him to spare their home. "You see, all living things depend on one another," buzzes the bee. A boa constrictor, monkeys, colorful birds, a small tree frog, a jaguar, tree porcupines, anteaters, and a three-toed sloth take their turns, each giving an additional reason for the man to abandon his mission and choose to preserve this unique environment. Finally, a young child of the Yanomamo tribe whispers, "Senior, when you awake, please look upon us all with new eyes." And that is exactly what the man does.

10 Cool Things You Didn’t Know About the Cotton or Kapok Tree

The Ceiba Pentadra aka Cotton or Kapok tree is a tropical tree that is native to Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and Northern South America. Here are ten interesting things about this tree:

1.)    Kapok is the most used common name for the tree and may also refer to the cotton obtained from its seed pods.

2.)   In Maya Mythology, the Ceiba tree is a sacred symbol.

3.)   The tree grows to 200–230 ft tall and has a very substantial trunk up to 10 ft in diameter with buttresses. The trunk and many of the larger branches are often but not always crowded with very large, robust simple thorns.

4.)   Adult trees produce several hundred 15 cm seed pods. The pods contain seeds surrounded by a fluffy, yellowish fibre that is a mix of lignin and cellulose.

5.)  The silky fibers that disperse the seeds are too small for weaving but make great stuffing for bedding and life preservers. Soaps can be made from the oils in the seeds.

6.)   The bark decoction has been used as to treat headaches, as well as type II diabetes.

7.)  The flowers of the tree are an important source of nectar and pollen for honeybees.

8.)  Native tribes along the Amazon River harvest the kapok fibre to wrap around their blowgun darts. The fibres create a seal that allows the pressure to force the dart through the tube.

9.)  The tree is widely spread around the world and occupies an important niche in the ecosystem of a rainforest.

10.)  This majestic tree has many uses for humans. Its wood is lightweight and porous; good for making carvings, coffins and dugout canoes.

Do you know any other interesting fact about this tree? If yes, please comment about it below.

Source: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/book/great-kapok-tree#cart/cleanup and  http://belize-travel-blog.chaacreek.com/2013/01/10-cool-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-cotton-tree/

Dear, Juno

We made several inferences about this text…

Click here to read Dear, Juno

More Insects Arrive This Week

Silkworms

Painted Lady Butterflies

Milkweed Bugs

Living and Nonliving

Fraction Pizzas

This week we will learn about fractions and make fraction pizzas!

Probability Spinner Cowboys

Source: YouTube - Am Crew; 3D animated Math Probability Spinner Video

We were falling in LOVE with reading on Valentine's Day!

Responding to Non-Fiction Text at Home

Here is a document link the students may use at home

to respond to their non-fiction reading.

Click HERE for the link

Happy Valentine's Day!

Source: Bored Shorts TV; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6z7v8v8IaI

MISD College Week

This week is our second MISD College Awareness Week. 

(special dress days below)

Monday: wear a college shirt

Tuesday: wear college apparel

Wednesday: wear college hat/cap

Thursday: wear sunglasses

Friday: wear red and dress like your 100 years old (and wise)

Where do you want to go to college? What will you study in college?

(post your comment below)

Here is an example of a Myth

How Bluebirds and Coyote Got Their Colors 
Native American - Pima Story

   Long ago, Bluebirds did not have the beautiful blue feathers they have now, and Coyote’s coat was bright green.

   One morning two dull Bluebirds were flying and chasing each other. They found a lake they hadn’t seen before. It was like a giant puddle and it was a beautiful blue colour. From up in the sky the water looked so cool and inviting they dived down into it.

   The Bluebirds bathed, splashing and singing “This water is so blue and we are in it. We will be blue too.” They came back to the lake the next three mornings, bathed and sang the song again. On the next morning after that, when they flapped their wings under the water, their dull feathers came loose and dropped out. New shiny blue feathers grew in their place.

   When the Bluebirds came back to the tree they usually rested in, Coyote was dozing under a nearby rock. He was very surprised to see their blue wings. “What have you done to your feathers?” he asked.

   The Bluebirds twittered “We’ve renewed them and they’ll always be blue now.” Coyote wanted his coat to be blue too. “I hate my ugly green coat. How did you make your feathers blue and beautiful?" he said. “I want to be blue too.”

   The birds told Coyote about the blue lake, and how he needed to bathe on four mornings and sing the magic words - “This water is blue and I am in it. I will be blue too.” They said “On the fifth morning your coat will turn blue. Be careful, Coyote. You must follow the rules and bathe each morning.”

   The next morning Coyote went to the lake and bathed. He was impatient. “I want my coat to be blue today” he said. “I’m not going to wait four mornings.” So he jumped back in the water four times that morning.

   On the fifth time, the hairs in Coyote’s coat came loose and floated away, and new blue hairs grew in their place. He was very excited.

He ran out of the water and raced back along the track to show his beautiful new blue coat to the Bluebirds. But he was admiring his coat while he ran and wasn’t looking where he was going. Because his feet were wet, he slipped and fell, rolling over and over in the dust and dirt.

   He got up, shook himself and howled when he looked at his coat. It was no longer blue, but dirt-colored all over.

And that is why Bluebirds have shiny blue feathers and Coyote’s coat is the colour of dirt. He was impatient and didn’t do as he was told.

Source: http://www.planetozkids.com/oban/legends/how-bluebirds-coyote-got-colours.htm

Teamwork…..Let's work together, Let's make connections

Be sure to check the videos posted on the
Classroom Connections page. 

You will find fables, legends and other folktales to watch.

Here is a video about TEAMWORK.



We will discuss how we use TEAMWORK in the classroom and elsewhere.

Goals for 2014

Happy New Year! After the holidays, it's time now to focus and continue our learning. We will begin 2014 by thinking and writing about the following: 

2 new goals I have for this year
0 something I'd like to stop doing
1 new book I want to read
4 things I want to learn