Second Grade Class Summaries |
February
Heroes in Science
This has been a great unit with wonderful activities and experiments! The second graders study Heroes in their regular classroom, an IB theme. So in the Science Lab, each day we've focused on a new heroic scientist. The students participated in an experiment related to the hero's work.
Heroes in Science
This has been a great unit with wonderful activities and experiments! The second graders study Heroes in their regular classroom, an IB theme. So in the Science Lab, each day we've focused on a new heroic scientist. The students participated in an experiment related to the hero's work.
- George Washington Carver - sampling peanuts and learning how to grow and harvest real peanuts.
- Alfred Wegener - look for their take-home lab sheet. He first proposed the theory of plate tectonics. The second graders each peeled a hard boiled egg that represented the three layers of the earth. Crust - shell. Egg white - mantle. Yolk - core.
- Marie Curie - How to celebrate a woman who discovered three elements? With a Bingo Game using the Periodic Table of the Elements as our bingo board!
December 11
Rocks and Soils
Today's experiment included three soil samples and water to compare absorbency.
The second graders added water a dropper-ful at a time and noted the changes in the clay, in the gardening soil and in the sand.
In our next session, they will continue in with the topic and record the results of our test.
For more photos from this experiment, click on the orange button above for the second grade photo gallery.
Rocks and Soils
Today's experiment included three soil samples and water to compare absorbency.
The second graders added water a dropper-ful at a time and noted the changes in the clay, in the gardening soil and in the sand.
In our next session, they will continue in with the topic and record the results of our test.
For more photos from this experiment, click on the orange button above for the second grade photo gallery.
November 6
Session #6
Our mealworms are growing! We still don't have any who have morphed into the pupal stage of their life cycle. These jumbo variety often take longer. But, boy are they eating! And these larva are getting longer and thicker by the week!
Session #6
Our mealworms are growing! We still don't have any who have morphed into the pupal stage of their life cycle. These jumbo variety often take longer. But, boy are they eating! And these larva are getting longer and thicker by the week!
October 18
Session #5
As if on cue, the pupa located on the milkweed just outside our science lab started to darken! An adult monarch butterfly is just about to hatch!
The second grade scientists created a life cycle wheel of the butterfly and added it to their science journals. Most likely, our little mascot, the pupa in residence, will emerge while we are on break. The students will have the opportunity to study the encasing with magnification when they return in November.
Session #5
As if on cue, the pupa located on the milkweed just outside our science lab started to darken! An adult monarch butterfly is just about to hatch!
The second grade scientists created a life cycle wheel of the butterfly and added it to their science journals. Most likely, our little mascot, the pupa in residence, will emerge while we are on break. The students will have the opportunity to study the encasing with magnification when they return in November.
October 9
Session #4
Ladybugs or ladybird beetles have a similar life cycle to butterflies. Students learned the terms LARVA and PUPA and recorded their definitions in their science notebooks.
egg - larva (think caterpillar) - pupa (think cocoon) - adult (think butterfly)
The scientific process
Our second grade scientists recorded their hypotheses about what the mealworms will grown into. Other questions arose, too, like what is the life cycle of the bee and how many legs to larva have.
Session #4
Ladybugs or ladybird beetles have a similar life cycle to butterflies. Students learned the terms LARVA and PUPA and recorded their definitions in their science notebooks.
egg - larva (think caterpillar) - pupa (think cocoon) - adult (think butterfly)
The scientific process
Our second grade scientists recorded their hypotheses about what the mealworms will grown into. Other questions arose, too, like what is the life cycle of the bee and how many legs to larva have.
September 18
Session #2
Second grade scientists heard a story about how science is everywhere, even under a rock in the yard. Please ask them what they like to find as they explore under rocks.
They included a rock (made out of paper) in their science notebook as well as a drawing of the many varied creatures encountered there.
Session #2
Second grade scientists heard a story about how science is everywhere, even under a rock in the yard. Please ask them what they like to find as they explore under rocks.
They included a rock (made out of paper) in their science notebook as well as a drawing of the many varied creatures encountered there.
September 11
Session #1
The second graders are seasoned scientists. They learned so much with Mrs. Wright in first grade and Kindergarten science and are ready for new topics including life cycles, rocks and minerals, and matter.
Today, they wrote in their first entry in their interactive science journal: what they enjoy learning about in science. Responses ranged from how helicopters work to deep sea animals to diamonds. So great to read such a range of interests.
Session #1
The second graders are seasoned scientists. They learned so much with Mrs. Wright in first grade and Kindergarten science and are ready for new topics including life cycles, rocks and minerals, and matter.
Today, they wrote in their first entry in their interactive science journal: what they enjoy learning about in science. Responses ranged from how helicopters work to deep sea animals to diamonds. So great to read such a range of interests.