Mystery Reader #12: Twin Mom!

1) I like to go camping.
2) I work in Rochester.
3) I have 4 children.

Although all of these clues fit this student's mom, he was convinced it couldn't be her because his twin brother had been our reader the day before.  This was a great way to fool him, and he was very excited to take the seat again next to his mom as our Mystery Reader!  Thank you so much for reading to us!

Mystery Reader #11: Twin Brother Visit!

1) I like to play softball.
2) I have 2 brothers and 1 sister.
3) My favorite color is pink.

This twin brother didn't hesitate to predict his brother would be visiting us today as a Mystery Reader!  He was right!  He had been waiting and hoping his twin from the class next door would be one of our Mystery Readers.  It's not often that we have the chance to have another 2nd grader as a Mystery Reader.  We enjoyed it!

A Surprise Visit

During our math stations we had two 7th grade visitors stop in to share a song they are practicing for an upcoming event.  What a surprise! The song they performed was so beautiful.  I had one of these girls in this very classroom as a first and second grader, and I've been lucky to watch both of them grow throughout the years.  I'm so proud of you girls for all of your hard work!  Thank you for sharing your gift with us today!

Mystery Reader #10: A Favorite Familiar Face

1) I had a paper route in junior high and high school.
2) I used to have a pet rabbit.
3) I have straight hair.

Mrs. Stocker remained a true mystery until she walked into our classroom this morning.  The class guessed a few moms who have straight hair.  We couldn't have been happier to see Mrs. Stocker's smiling face!  We are so lucky that Mrs. Stocker volunteers in our classroom every Wednesday, and today she surprised us as a Mystery Reader!  She read one of her favorites to us: "Harry the Dirty Dog."  We love you Mrs. Stocker!

Force and Motion Science Unit

We recently finished up our science unit on Force and Motion.  We started our unit by learning that a force is needed to make an object move, change speed, or change direction.  We explored this concept through an interesting obstacle course.  The students had to push or pull a bowling ball with a broom through our course and keep it in the boundaries.  The students found that the direction they pushed or pulled with the broom was the direction the ball went.  The students found that it wasn't as easy as it looked!

Another concept that we explored was friction.  We questioned whether the type of surface on each ramp would affect how quickly or slowly a small car would go down a ramp.  We measured this by how far the car traveled from the ramp.  In our investigation, the plain wooden ramp had the least amount of friction and the rubber material on another ramp provided the most amount of friction. 

Mystery Reader #9: A Grandma with a Sweet Easter Treat

1) I am related to someone in this class.
2) I live on a farm and sometimes have sledding parties at my place.
3) I like to grow giant watermelons and pumpkins.

The class wasn't exactly sure who our Mystery Reader was today, but this student was so proud and happy to see his grandma arrive with not only books, but Easter cupcakes.  We enjoyed both the Easter books and treats!  Thank you so much for reading to us today!

Poetry Books

In the month of March we learned about 4 different types of poems: acrostic, portrait, haiku, and 2 words on a line poem.  The students wrote several of each type of poem and chose their favorite of each type to publish.  To publish our poems we typed them and added unique artwork to each.  We also included a page about the author.  After finishing up our books, we invited the first grade class into our room to share our poems with.  Since then our books have been on the rug in a basket.  The students love reading each other's poems.  They are beautiful booklets!