The Road to Research

Second graders have started learning how to implement the research process to write a report on a person who has made a significant contribution to society.  We call this process 'The Road to Research'.  Your child should know all the stops and be able to explain them to you.  To practice for the Biography Tea, we are working together on the steps of the Road to Research by researching Molly Brown.  Here are some pictures of them in action.

Stop 1:  Read!  The students read the book at least two times.  Our motto is:  You can NEVER read the book too many times!

Stop 2:  Highlighting.  Students use sticky notes to indicate important events on each page.  They write a code on the sticky note that corresponds with the category the fact belongs in.

Stop 3:  Note taking.  Students look at the facts they've highlighted and write that information in their own words.  

Once the fact has been written on a note card, it is placed into the envelope that corresponds with the correct category.

Stop Four:  Ordering.  Once all the notes are taken, students use the book to help them put each of the facts in the correct order.

Once the facts are in order, students write numbers on the cards in case they get out of order.

Stop Five:  Drafting/Writing.  Students use the facts on the note cards to create a cohesive paragraph about each category.

New Table Names!

I hope you are all as curious as I am to find out what the new table groups will name themselves.  After a long discussion about compromising, giving in, being kind, and using inside voices, the students had great conversations about how to create a table name they all agreed upon.  Without further ado... meet the new tables!

The Cheesy Mammoths

The Magnificent Ponies

The Golden Snails

The Prehistoric Dalmations

Valentines with our Buddies

On Monday, our 6th grade buddies visited for some Valentine's Day fun.  We exchanged Valentines, got to know each other a little better, and worked together on creating a bag for collecting Valentines on Friday.  Here are some pictures of the kids hard at work!

Journeys Practice Book

Happy Friday!  You will notice that the Journeys Practice Book has come home in your child's backpack today.  Many of the pages were not completed in class because they were not assigned.  If you'd like extra work for your child, he or she has the skills necessary to complete any of the pages in the book.  It does not need to be returned to me.  Please let me know if you have any questions!