Character Traits, Double Digit Subtraction, Acrylic Arctic Landscapes, and Design Thinking!

Reminders: Book orders came home today. If you wish to place an order please do so online or send in your order and cheque by next week Friday March 6th. 

Reminder: Next week Thursday March 5th at 6pm is our CELEBRATION OF LEARNING. This is a chance to share with you some of our learning and big ideas in Grade 2! We really hope that you can come! 


Character Traits

This week in literacy we have been focusing on Character Traits. 

We have been practicing reading books and using the evidence to determine what our Character's physical (outside) traits are and what we think they personalities are like based on their thoughts, actions, words and feelings.


Double Digit Subtraction

This week we were challenged to answer a multi-step word problem. We were encouraged to use CUBES to figure out what the problem was asking us and how to solve:

After solving we self-assessed using red, yellow and green. We noticed that a common problem we had was slowing down and ensuring the we had used CUBES before trying to draw or solve anything!

We also noticed that on question number 2 we needed to slow down and re-read to realize that part of the information that we needed in order to solve we had to go back and get from our answer to question number 1!

We also realized that subtraction is a different process when using our t-charts and base ten blocks.

We will continue to practice subtraction all next week using this strategy. 

We also continue to practise using number bonds/decomposing as another strategy for solving double digit addition equations and as a way to double check our own work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFjHid8Hgek

Practice this strategy at home using dice to come up with your double digit numbers!!

Acrylic Arctic Landscapes

This week we studied a Canadian artist, Jason Carter who does Canadian Landscapes and animals using Canvas and Vivid colours. 

http://www.jasoncarter.ca/paintings

We practiced drawing our Arctic animal and then after thinking about where our animal spends most of the time we drew that kind of a landscape, emulating Jason Carter's style of big simple lines.

Tomorrow we will use acrylic paint and choose 3 or 4 vibrant and complimentary colours to paint our Arctic Landscape. 

We are including no pictures of our work on this blog as we want to surprise you with our beautiful art at our upcoming Celebration of Learning!

Design Thinking 

After reading many articles and stories, watching some videos, having an Environmental Scientist Presentation, and exploring the Arctic we have come up with some important problems facing the Arctic due to Climate Change and shifting weather patterns. 


Today we got into groups about a problem that interested us and brainstormed what this problem actually is and how this problem effects the people and the animals of the arctic. 

We defined the problem and empathized about it. We will continue this tomorrow and create a mini representation of the problem using clay, cardboard, paper, and other small building materials. 

This will also be shared with you at our upcoming Celebration of Learning next week. 

Big Questions, Inquiry and an Environmental Science Visit, Adding Double Digits on a Number Line, and Robotics!

Big Questions

Through our Social Studies and Science Inquiry into Hot and Cold Temperatures and the Canadian Arctic we have been learning about some problems in the Arctic. We have been looking through the lens of an Environmental Scientist and beginning to ask questions about problems we see due to Heat in the Arctic:

We were fortunate to have an Environmental Scientist come and speak to us on Tuesday. He offered some insight into what an Environmental Scientist does, specifically in the Arctic. His job is to make sure old oil sights are clean and that the environment is returned back to the way it was prior to oil excavation:

Mr. Yoon travels to the Arctic to do his work. He shared with us some information about the land, the animals, and the transportation. 

He talked to us about the melting permafrost, more frequent storm surges, and coastal erosion that is happening faster in the Arctic due to climate change. 

In class we read an article about Permafrost and why it melting matters:

We talked about how these changes might affect people and also how they affect the animals of the Arctic.

We visited the World Wildlife Federation website to learn more about the animals:

https://arcticwwf.org/work/climate/

Next week we will be looking at a particular problem and coming up with some ideas about solutions and what we might create in order to solve some of these problems. Through the Design Thinking Process we will attempt to think outside of the box and come up with some innovations for the future! 

Adding Double Digits on an Open Number Line:

https://www.google.com/search?q=adding+double+digits+on+an+open+number+line+grade+2&oq=adding+double+digits+on+an+open+number+line+grade+2&aqs=chrome..69i57j33l3.9075j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&ssui=on#kpvalbx=_N5NOXtqFJrG-0PEP7OGD-As29

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW12gQKypW0

We practiced on whiteboards and in our math books:

We then practiced double checking  our work by using the stacking strategy and seeing if we got the same answer:

https://www.splashlearn.com/addition-games-for-2nd-graders

http://www.hbschool.com/activity/numberline1_5_04/

Robotics!!

We have been doing challenges with the Robots in order to learn how to code them to move, turn, blink, talk etc. Next week we will be doing a math challenge with our Robots in order to make a repeating or a growing pattern. We will record it and then upload our successful code to IRIS. Ask me what I enjoy about using the Robots? 

Special Visit!
Today we had a presentation about teeth and oral health. We got to participate in many stations to learn about cleaning our teeth and keeping them extra healthy! 

We also brought home a goody bag. Ask me to show you my dental swag!!!

Have a great Family Day Long Weekend

Reminders
There is NO school Tomorrow Thursday February 13th or Friday February 14th due to Teacher's Convention. There is also no school Monday February 17th due to Family Day. Enjoy your extra long weekend! 

Literacy

Questioning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2fWZHaNugc

We are continuing to practice the strategy of asking questions Before, During, and After reading in order to improve our understanding of the text.

There is no new Home Reading this week due to books being switched on Thursday's and there being no school Thursday this week. Please re-read your home reading books and practice asking and answering questions before, during, and after you read. If you have already returned your Home Reading books then practice this with a book of choice from home or your library book. 


Math Gallery Walk and Sharing

This week we practiced getting a total for 3 orders of t-shirts for our T-Shirt factories. We worked in groups to practice using the stacking strategy by drawing a t-chart, drawing our double and sometimes triple digit numbers using base ten and numbers, and solving using regrouping as needed. 

We also practiced double and triple checking our accuracy by solving the same problem another way such as by using number line, number bonds (triangle math) or base ten. 


We then particpated in a Gallery Walk where we gave constructive and useful feedback to other groups in order to have them think about their work and possibly add, change or improve something within their work

Ask me what my group decided to improve or change for next time?

For homework a double sided sheet of math addition problems came home in your child's Home Communication Folder. Please complete these and return back to school by Tuesday February 18th. 


Science Flex Grouping

This week we finished our Flex Grouping across the 5 Grade Two classes where each day we had an hour long lesson/experiment on:

Heat, Measuring Temperature, Conducting Head, Heat Transfer, and Insulating Materials. 

You will get to learn more about these important concepts and how we investigated the at our Upcoming Celebration of Learning on March 5th. 




Arctic Story Board Mapping

This week we began creating our story board so that we can organize all of our ideas and then write our own Arctic Stories. Through learning about the Canadian Arctic and the People and unique culture of this part of Canada we have gained important knowledge to help us create our own Arctic Story. 

This week we looked specifically at brainstoming our Characters and their Character Traits as well as our Setting. 

Ask me about my plans for my Arctic Story so far? 

A BUSY WEEK!

Literacy
QUESTIONING

For the next few weeks we will be learning about and practicing asking good questions when we read.

Some quetions are easy to answer. Some questions are more difficult and don't necesarily have a right or a wrong answer or only one answer. These quesstions are THICK questions and help us think deeply about what we are reading:

Heat Conduction

This week we have been focusing on WHAT is HEAT and WHAT is TEMPERATURE. We made a mind map of things that have different heat and we brainstormed things that we would want to either know the temperature of or measure the temperature of. For example we are all very interested in knowing the temperature of our bodies, the temperautre of the sun, and the temperature of the core of our earth, the temperatue of icebergs and glaciers, and sea ice. We are excited to measure our body temperatures. 

Interactive Thermometer:
https://www.mathsisfun.com/measure/thermometer.html


We have been talking about Heat Conduction. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_IbPRNZ6ho

We did an experiment where we had to make a hypothesis about which materials would conduct heat better? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ry8yXhCxclA

We also brainstormed why it would be important to know what materials are GOOD conductors of heat and what materials are POOR conductors of heat. Ask me what I think? 

Collecting DATA for a Line Graph

This week we have been observing the temperature in Calgary, Alberta as well as in Iqaluit, Nunavut. We are comparing the daily temperatures in these two distinct Canadian Cities. Once we have collected our data for 7 days we will then plot this information on a line graph. 

https://www.google.com/search?q=making+a+line+graph+grade+2&oq=making+a+line+graph+grade+2&aqs=chrome..69i57j33l7.5310j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&ssui=on#kpvalbx=_K2o9XreXLfOx0PEP5eyQgAE37

As a class we have predicted that the daily temperature in Iqaluit will be colder than in Calgary. We also think thhat they will have more preciipitation. We will see if our predictions are correct. We will be collecting this date until Feb 12 and then making our very own line graphs.  A line graph will show us changes in the weather over time. 

You can explore the daily weather and weekly forecast to:

https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/weather/alberta/calgary

In math we have been adding past 100 and seeing what happens when we have ten 10's! We have been totalling inventory for our T-Shirt Factories so that when orders start coming into our store and we start selling our T-shirts we can keep track of how many we have left. 

We have also been practicing adding 3 numbers together instead of only two. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ht13xu5kXCY

Proof Drawings using Place Value/Base Ten Blocks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKLv4JO2Q7g

Adding multiple 2-Digit numbers:

https://www.mathbrix.com/2nd-grade/add-four-2-digit-numbers-regrouping

https://www.mathbrix.com/2nd-grade/grouping-make-a-100-by-circling

Triple Digit Addition Fun:

https://www.mathbrix.com/2nd-grade/add-two-3-digit-numbers-regrouping

SOAPSTONE CARVING

We were so lucky to welcome Teacher's Pet into our classroom this week to get some instruction practicing carving soapstone. Soapstone carving is a traditional Inuit Art. We praticed sanding, rasping, smoothing, curving, and finally oiling our creation. Ask me what the hardest part was?