What are you thankful for?

Let me say first thing: I did not tell my students to say they were thankful for me! You will hear several in the video say they were thankful for their teacher. I HAD however, fed them several delicious items that may or may not have caused them to think more favorably of me.
(The videos are stored in Evernote and I have provided a link for you so you will be able to access the video without having to sign in to Evernote. You will click on the link to video 1 and you will see a screen for Evernote with the movie clip. Click on the video and it will load on your computer. You will be able to open it with Windows Movie Maker.)

Video 1

Video two: the first student is Kellan. I think her name was cut off when the video had to be cut don due to size.

Video 2

Last but not least:

Video 3

Class Totem Poles

This week each student chose an animal to create that represented them. The animals were combined to make class totem poles. Students used construction paper and paint samples to create these amazing totem poles. FYI: My local hardware store was SUPER generous and donated a large box of paint samples for us to use!

 

 

 

 

 

And here is our bulletin board with the individual student totem poles.

 

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Totem Pole Project

One area of focus for the Social Studies standards for Second grade is understanding "cultural contributions" made by people within the United States. Students are also expected to understand how traditions are passed down from one generation to another and understand these traditions will continue over time.

During our recent studies of Native Americans students learned the role of Native Americans and the customs and traditions of different tribes. Students were given the assignment to create a Totem Pole with three symbols and a picture sharing with others more about them, their family, and their heritage.

As students presented so many shared their excitement and surprise as they discovered where they came from. One student told me she had no idea she had so many people in her family.

I loved reading Juliana's paragraph where she wrote that her mothers family were Coal Miners from the mountains of Kentucky. Hannah chose a whale as one of her symbols. In her paragraph she wrote, "My dad is in the Army. When he was away I had to be brave and that is the symbol of the whale."

Edward explained that he chose the rattlesnake jaw as one of his symbols because it stood for strength. He said,"My family has strength because we always work together." Natalie told us about her families tradition of going to her Grandmothers house every Christmas morning.

Trevor explained that he and his twin brother Tyler worked with their Grandfather to create their Totem Poles. It was so heartwarming to hear how they worked together to create a totem pole that represented their family, customs, and traditions.

I was so proud of my students and loved hearing their amazing stories! We learned so much about each other, our families, traditions, and heritage.

Juliana

 

Edward

Chrissa

 

Elliott

 

Kole

 

Ally

 

Hannah

Trevor: front view of Totem Pole

Side view: actual branch used for Totem Pole!

 

Kellan

 

Allena

Jeremiah

 

Adriyana

Caitlin

 

Jake

Natalie

Kristopher Michael

Henslee

Grant

 

Jacob

 

Luke

 

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Thanks for caring about us!

Today we received a box of 25 seat sacks that were donated to our classroom through a Grant funded with Donors Choose. I wish I had videotaped my students! They were sooooo excited to open these and immediately put them to use. When the box came, I knew immediately what they were. I gathered the students around me and opened the box to reveal what was inside. They went nuts! I immediately heard, "Oh Yea", "We will never have to pick up our things AGAIN", "Man these things are awesome", and "I am so glad we got these. These things are going to make my life so much easier."

I knew our seat sacks were stretched out and I knew they were an issue; this is exactly why I wrote the grant. What I didn't realize was just how much of an issue they were for my students. I am so grateful to the six donors for supporting our classroom and helping us receive these amazing resources! I bought the original seat sacks and it is true, you get what you pay for! I didn't get a good deal after all.

Why seat sacks? Well, we've been very blessed through Donors Choose and have gotten dry erase boards, erasers and markers for every student. Through another grant, every student has their own dictionary to keep at their desk to help them with their writing. The dictionaries have lines for students to write their own words for later use. This allows a dictionary to truly meet students needs. These materials are used everyday and need to be easily accessible for students.

The new seat sacks hold Everything WITHOUT sagging, tipping, or sliding off. Just look at their faces! It felt like Christmas and they were so grateful!

The seat sacks seem like such a small thing, but it makes such a difference in our room!

 

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They need a raise!

Because of testing last week we didn't have pay day until this week. At the end of the month, students not only get paid but they get to go shopping in the class store. Today as we were discussing our new jobs, I reminded students not to turn in an application for a job if they didn't think it was the right job for them.
So many times we have discussed the importance of performing a job without having to be reminded. This has made a huge impact when students are waiting on someone else because they didn't take care of their responsibilities.
The beautiful thing that has happened in these situations is the students that have stepped up and carried the load. As a teacher it's awesome to see the initiative in so many students.
Today I asked students to consider whether someone needed a raise for going above and beyond their duties. Their notes are precious and I wanted to share them with you.

Trevor's job is the caboose and he should be the last to line up. So many times others have tried to tell him to line up, but he never says anything to them. He is very respectful and just shakes his head.

I cannot tell you how many times students have walked out of the room going to lunch without their lunch box. The lunch boxes even sit on the floor right by the door! Allena ALWAYS picks up someone else's lunch box and sweetly hands it to them.

Kole's job is to be on vacation. He worked so hard in September, he got a break for October. Yet, he really has stepped up on a daily basis to carry the load.

I love the fact that they recognize what others have done! This is something I haven't done before, but I am so grateful I asked them to share their thoughts. I will give the notes to the students to keep so they can see what others thought about them.

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