St. James has a special celebration for Veterans Day. After our regular chapel, we participated in a recognition ceremony for special veterans we invited to the service. The second grade students recited a poem they learned to honor veterans during the chapel service this week. The students studied about the meaning of the poppy flower, and proudly wore one on their uniform. The second graders also wrote thank you letters to military members serving overseas. We talked a lot about what it means to be a veteran and the importance of this holiday.
The second graders have been doing a unit study in Science over solids, liquids, and gases. We celebrated with a final experiment of making root beer floats. We discussed the 3 stages of matter as we created our floats. The kids were excited to use their knowledge from our lesson while enjoying a delicious treat as well!
The second grade has been studying the country of India in Social Studies. At the conclusion of this unit, they took a virtual tour of India. They were amazed by what they saw! Through the use of technology, they were able to see all kinds of buildings, landforms, monuments, and even the people they studied about. Some of their favorites were the Taj Mahal and the Himalayan Mountains. What a fun way to end a unit of study!
The 2nd graders had a wonderful time creating vocabulary squares. This was a great team building activity that helped the students to get a better sense of new words, which will help them to become better readers. The students were put into groups and had to determine which child would do one of four different jobs. Working in groups helps children better understand how other people learn. It also helps them develop and practice using important social skills. The creative elements of this activity included studying new words through art, associating memory with pictures, developing individual learning strategies. This hands-on activity is a great way for students to be involved and express their thinking.
Good afternoon,
Second grade has been studying Plants and Animals over the past few weeks. We planted sunflower seeds one afternoon and discussed the parts of a plant. We are anxious to see their progress over the next few weeks! We received our caterpillars in the mail and we’ve been observing their changes over the past week. They are getting ready to pupate. Next, they will stay in the pupa stage for 7-10 days before emerging into beautiful butterflies. We are so excited to see all of our projects emerge over the next few weeks!! Stay tuned for more information and pictures.
