How Should You Wash Your Hands to Kill Germs AND Help Save Water?
Ask a Second Grader!
Posters will be featured in select locations around Venable, but reappear to relaunch our clean campaign in the fall! Below, you see our latest garden of bacteria! Thank you to Dr. Bricker for sending in the materials for us to see where bacteria lives that we touch and breath. Your kiddos have heard that bacteria can be very helpful in our world, but we need to wash our hands well so we can keep the bad bacteria away.
Capacity & Hand Washing!
Our final project in capacity involves hand washing! And, if we are going to study hand washing, we all have to admit bacteria becomes involved... Kiddo set up a somewhat controlled experiment around hand washing after UVA volunteer Dani took the girls and I took the boys for some unannounced hand washing.
After every kiddo washed we discussed our observations as well as the amount of time kids washed. Check those out below:
5, 12, 12, 12, 14, 15, 18, 18, 20, 21
Seconds girls washed their hands:
9. 10, 11, 11, 13, 13, 13, 14, 21
We then set up a more formal experiment based on three methods of washing:
After every kiddo washed we discussed our observations as well as the amount of time kids washed. Check those out below:
- Rinse only
- Wet, soap, rub, wet, rub, rinse
- wet, soap, rub, rinse
- soap, rub, rinse
- wet, rub, soap
- soap, rinse
5, 12, 12, 12, 14, 15, 18, 18, 20, 21
Seconds girls washed their hands:
9. 10, 11, 11, 13, 13, 13, 14, 21
We then set up a more formal experiment based on three methods of washing:
Benchmarks, The Ten Gallon Gang and A Cup Fills UP!
2nd graders found it was hard to find benchmarks for customary capacity with the containers we use today! While the United States still holds on to standard measures, the rest of the world focuses on metric and our containers reflect that! Over break, we'd appreciate families staying on the lookout for containers that hit the standard units of capacity exactly!
For a snazzy little video on capacity, you can watch The Three Gallon Gang challenge, then sing along with your 2nd grade mathematician to A Cup Fills Up! at http://viewpure.com/E4UC_StFhAk?start=0&end=0. Have a great spring break!
For a snazzy little video on capacity, you can watch The Three Gallon Gang challenge, then sing along with your 2nd grade mathematician to A Cup Fills Up! at http://viewpure.com/E4UC_StFhAk?start=0&end=0. Have a great spring break!
What's the best way to develop your 2nd grader's understanding of capacity?
Practice Measuring!
Over the last couple of weeks, 2nd graders have measured bird seed, water, dirt, sand and grit! After estimating the number of cups that would fill different containers, the kids began measuring! Fabulous conversations around fractions emerged!
Bravo to the many kiddos that organized materials (and friends), measured "pourable" materials and cleaned up within 20 minutes!!!! I believe the group is ready for an upcoming investigation.... Details coming soon!
Bravo to the many kiddos that organized materials (and friends), measured "pourable" materials and cleaned up within 20 minutes!!!! I believe the group is ready for an upcoming investigation.... Details coming soon!
Today's Head Scratcher!
If you had a 5 quart and a 2 quart container, how could you get exactly 3 quarts into the 5 quart container? The containers have no markings, and all you have is a tub that is filled with water.
Kiddos tackled this problem today to deepen their thinking about ways to solve problems as well as why we use marked standard unit measuring cups and spoons. This week, we've focused on units of measurement. The concept of units has proven a little confusing for many, especially the idea that a 1/2 cup is the same unit as one cup. As second graders, they are shifting between unstandardized, or comparative units, and standardized ones. Join us in discussing why it's helpful to have smaller cups or measuring spoons and not just whole units.
Below are pictures from last week when kids were thinking about how capacity measures things we pour. In the garden area, they measured bird seed, sand and tiny rocks. The day before, we measured with water!
Kiddos tackled this problem today to deepen their thinking about ways to solve problems as well as why we use marked standard unit measuring cups and spoons. This week, we've focused on units of measurement. The concept of units has proven a little confusing for many, especially the idea that a 1/2 cup is the same unit as one cup. As second graders, they are shifting between unstandardized, or comparative units, and standardized ones. Join us in discussing why it's helpful to have smaller cups or measuring spoons and not just whole units.
Below are pictures from last week when kids were thinking about how capacity measures things we pour. In the garden area, they measured bird seed, sand and tiny rocks. The day before, we measured with water!
How Can Mathematicians Communicate More Effectively?
Feedback!
2nd grade kiddos are using feedback to improve how they communicate their math thinking. In their classrooms, these mathematicians have worked with the Communication section of the Exemplar rubric.
In the Quest room, our process started with kids going back and improving their work based on my feedback. Next, kiddos assessed themselves before revising their work. Our third phase involved giving feedback to, and receiving feedback from, another student before revising.
The results? Each child's overall mathematical thinking has deepened! Kids have very thoughtfully explored what the math problems were asking. They've revised how they showed their thinking. Entertaining other strategies for solving complex problems, proved to be another outcome. Based on all this thinking, second graders have set a problem solving goal!
2nd grade kiddos are using feedback to improve how they communicate their math thinking. In their classrooms, these mathematicians have worked with the Communication section of the Exemplar rubric.
In the Quest room, our process started with kids going back and improving their work based on my feedback. Next, kiddos assessed themselves before revising their work. Our third phase involved giving feedback to, and receiving feedback from, another student before revising.
The results? Each child's overall mathematical thinking has deepened! Kids have very thoughtfully explored what the math problems were asking. They've revised how they showed their thinking. Entertaining other strategies for solving complex problems, proved to be another outcome. Based on all this thinking, second graders have set a problem solving goal!
And the Area of a SpongeBob Squarepants Sleeping Bag Is.....
After a great deal of measuring, folding, discussion, and remeasuring, every measuring team agreed that Ms. Scudder's SpongeBob Squarepants sleeping bags are 16 1/4 square feet! Not only is it groovy that these 2nd graders accurately are findubg the area of an object, they all returned to their work to prove it! They've become so savvy with their measurement work, on Wednesday, they determined the area of a bulletin board using only the length and width. Awesome possum.
This Friday, we'll begin to determine the number of tents our meerkat friends, Dru and Teller, will need when a second grade class visits them from Namibia. (Your children were quite bummed we were not "the second grade group" heading over to the Kalahari Desert....)
Our study of area will now involve using scale models, ordering different shapes based on their area, as well as measuring in square feet, square inches and square centimeters. Wow!
This Friday, we'll begin to determine the number of tents our meerkat friends, Dru and Teller, will need when a second grade class visits them from Namibia. (Your children were quite bummed we were not "the second grade group" heading over to the Kalahari Desert....)
Our study of area will now involve using scale models, ordering different shapes based on their area, as well as measuring in square feet, square inches and square centimeters. Wow!
Find the Area of Sleeping Bags?????
After asking your kiddos to design seat belts for eggs, you are probably not at all surprised that we are estimated and measuring the square footage of sleeping bags!
Using 1 foot by 1 foot brown squares, 2nd graders have estimated and measured one imagined and two real sleeping bags. Their flexible thinking impressed me when I rolled out a non-rectangular bag and they began folding the squares into halves, fourths and eighths! I do believe we have an impressive study of fractions waiting for us!
Using 1 foot by 1 foot brown squares, 2nd graders have estimated and measured one imagined and two real sleeping bags. Their flexible thinking impressed me when I rolled out a non-rectangular bag and they began folding the squares into halves, fourths and eighths! I do believe we have an impressive study of fractions waiting for us!
Egg Seat Belt Tests Were Smashing!
2nd graders are reflecting on their seat belt designs as well as what they've learned about linear measurement this week. After Thanksgiving break, we'll have new exciting areas to explore!
Friday: Seatbelt Testing!
That's right. The big day is almost here. This Friday, all 2nd grade teams who have developed a model of their seat belt design will test them out! Join us at 2 o'clock in the Quest room (105).
Which team will have designed the safest seat belt with just 50 centimeters of materials or less? Join us to watch the excitement as all qualifying* teams will test models of their seat belt designs! Will your 2nd grader's team meets the design criteria? Look for a bright orange qualifying ticket by Wednesday!
Which team will have designed the safest seat belt with just 50 centimeters of materials or less? Join us to watch the excitement as all qualifying* teams will test models of their seat belt designs! Will your 2nd grader's team meets the design criteria? Look for a bright orange qualifying ticket by Wednesday!
Marble Test Crashes? Seat belts for Eggs?
It all sounds a bit silly, but 2nd graders in the Quest room are developing strong understandings of measurement as they experiment with marbles and eggs! Our meerkat friends, Dru and Teller, need help finding out what makes a car safe so we've experimented with the impact of speed evidenced by marbles crashing. Our 2nd grade understandings from the marble test crash work includes:
- When you measure length you need to pay attention to the amount of space on the ruler, not the lines.
- When you measure in inches, there will always be more half-inches than whole inches.
- 1/2 has the same meaning as half.
- The greater the slope, the greater the speed.
- The faster a marble travels, the greater the impact on the second marble.
- The greater the impact, the farther something travels.
- Data is hard to compare when people measure from different starting points.
After we compared our marble test crash experiment data, we began to think about what keeps us safe in a car. So...... we began preparing for seat belt experiments! Our seat belt experiment requires us to measure in centimeters. What we've learned so far includes:
- A centimeter is about the width of your pinkie finger.
- Centimeters are smaller than inches.
- When you write numbers less than one-half in the metric system you use decimal numbers.
- Measuring the circumference can be trickier than measuring a flat length.
- (Most) 2nd graders agree that a measuring tape is the easiest tool for measuring the circumference of an egg.