The Magical Minds |
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This lesson began with a collection of images of wattle and daub homes. We discussed how the beams would have been used to create and support the structure of the building. I wanted to model how they might paint the beams on their own buildings, thus I imported pictures of their buildings into the Notability app in the iPad so that I might draw over them.
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I started the year thinking we needed to learn all the US states in our geography lessons. I was concerned, however, that there wasn't enough time to cover each one. How would we study each state?
Suddenly I remembered one of my favorite mantras: "The brain doesn't remember facts. The brain remembers connections." Bouncing ideas back and forth, Mr. H and I struck upon the idea of taking a road trip across the US. Students would learn about at least 10 states as they travel from one coast to the other. Starting at an assigned point A, the Magical Minds research one state at a time. Using the guidesheet below, the kids use the web and atlases to discover nine facts about each state. The challenge is to then incorporate that information into a journal entry. Today we learned how people in the Middle Ages used wattle and daub to create their walls. We are attempting to mimic the look of the homes after the were whitewashed. Thus, today we spent our inquiry lesson painting our buildings white. Next up: a lesson on angles and painting on construction beams.
PS - Our newest Magical Mind, Alex, joined us today. He had the lucky job of helping Lord Glenndelle's paint the stone facade of the castle. After weeks of slaving away at their books, the Magical Minds celebrated their hard work during our first Writing Celebration. Parents and special teachers joined us as each child read their story to the group. Pausing to pan their illustrations to the audience, each child proudly shared their published work. Congratulations! An annual tradition at AVS, No Water Day is our way of honoring water as a precious resource. During “No Water Day” we participate in the following activities designed to increase awareness of the value of water as well as the privilege of having easy access to clean, drinkable water. 1) Water fountains will be shut down for the day. 2) Students wishing to have a drink of water will get a bucket from one end of the hallway and carry the bucket to a table at the other end. A water cooler and small Dixie cups will be available for them to use for drinking water. Once they finish, they will return their bucket to the end of the hall and return to class. 3) There will be a tally sheet in the bathroom. Students should make a tally mark every time the toilet is flushed. While we investigate what it is like to not have easy access to water, we are also raising funds for a Charity Water Campaign. Last year Yasmeen, inspired AVS to help fund a well project in Ethiopia, and this year we strive to meet our goal of $5,000 before the New Year. Inspiring Videos on WaterThis addition game has students calculating the sum of multi-digit numbers using carrying skills.
How to Play (with 3 digit numbers):
If Students are ready for a challenge they can find the difference between their sums and the difference becomes the winner's score. Last Friday we buddied up with the kindergarteners to visit the First Grade Science Fair. Beforehand we brainstormed questions to ask of the presenters as well as questions to ask of our little buddies:
- Why did you pick this project? - What did you learn from your experiment? - Where did you get your idea from? - How did you like that? - What did you find interesting? It was a magical moment to watch these beautiful second graders guide their buddies through this exciting event. They were good listeners, showing patience and generosity.
Soon the Magical Minds will embark on imaginary road trips across the United States. As they travel through different states they will research some of the significant facts about them.
Today we began by investigating facts about California. Mr. H led on a fact hunt, looking for the state bird, flag, population, motto and more. Up next, writing journal entries based on the information we have discovered. The peasants (aka the Magical Minds) have been assigned their plot of land and today they were granted five building units (dimensions yet to be revealed).
The kids set themselves to arranging and rearranging their squares to delineate homes, sheds, workshops and waterwheels. Tomorrow...measuring perimeter and cutting out foundations. |
About the AuthorErin Mahollitz is an international teacher teaching 2nd Grade in San Francisco, CA.
She specializes in inquiry-based instruction, technology integration and social & emotional education. This website is a collection of stories, ideas, resources and lessons from Erin's classrooms. Categories
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