Fractured Fairy Tales

The second grade recently completed a writing unit on Fractured Fairy Tales, traditional fairy tales which have been slightly altered to create a new twist. Traditional stories like The Three Little Pigs may be altered and rewritten to become The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig. We read a number of fractured fairy tales, many of which are quite inventive. We then discussed the many features of these altered tales and took a stab at writing one of our own. We went through the whole writing process before arriving at our finished piece. We shared our inventive tales with first grade and third grade in order to give our work the credit it deserved. Fractured fairy tales such as The Broccoli Man, The Three Little Owls, The Three Big Bad Wolves, and The Three Little Purple Hippos to name a few, were well received and enjoyed by all.

Building Shelters in the Makerspace

As part of our unit on natural resources, 2nd grade worked with Mr. Ross-MacCormack in the makerspace to build shelters. We spent some time in the classroom identifying the natural resources found in our furniture and homes. We then went to the makerspace where we built bricks out of quick drying clay. Once we made a large bounty of bricks we got to work on building some kind of shelter or community building. We created mortar out of glue and sand and used bark, straw and sticks for roofing. Some of us chose to made a school, museum or cafe. It involved lots of creativity and teamwork from all parties involved.

Vivir La Vida!

The second grade students came into music and movement class one day singing a Spanish song Vivir La Vida. We had been learning the Cumbia Dance in movement class and this was a perfect song to choreograph a partner dance to! The students and I were so excited to begin! Our voices began to carry down the hallway to where Senora Brenna’s seventh grade spanish class had also fallen in love with this catchy song and a natural collaboration began! The seventh graders focused on the verses and pronunciation of their Spanish words. The second graders focused on the chorus of the song and on their Cumbia Dance. In only two weeks we were ready to show the school what we had been working on in class! At assembly the second graders came running up to me “Mrs. Kirk, we are missing a student! Now someone will be without a partner!” Getting up on stage with the second and seventh graders was a true joy!

A Visit From A Published Author

The second grade class was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to visit with a published author. Catherine Pakkala, who writes a juvenile fiction chapter book series called Lola, came to talk to us about her writing process. Ms. Pakkala’s visit was perfectly timed as the students were in the process of exploring narrative writing and small moment stories. Ms. Pakkala shared with the students her small moment which led to the creation of the character of Lola and eventually an entire series. She then led us in a creative writing process which guided us in the creation of a group story.

Grades 1 and 2 Learning Together…

Grades 1 and 2 have been spending time together since the holidays sharing projects and practicing skills. Recently we exchanged friendly letters. First graders worked very hard to craft friendly letters to each of the second graders. The grade 2 class was so thrilled to receive their letters that they immediately got to work writing their responses. It was a great way to work on a writing unit. In addition, we have met several times to practice our reading. Each student brings a book and we take turns reading parts of the book to our partner from the other class.

Holiday Traditions in Mexico

The students were delighted to hear about holiday traditions in Mexico from Mrs. Blanchfield, kindergarten and second grade mom. We learned that, for some pretty obvious reasons, Christmas trees are not common in Mexico. Instead Mexicans decorate their homes with colorful cut out banners. Mrs. Blanchfield taught us that besides celebrating with family, many Mexicans enjoy celebrations with their neighbors and that there are often communal gatherings in neighborhoods marking the holiday season with people coming together to make traditional crafts and food. We also learned all about the Pinata and it’s significance during Christmas time. The Pinata is made in the form of a star and is meant to represent the Christmas star. During the holiday gatherings children circle the Pinata Stars and take turns trying to break it open with a stick. Once cracked open, the Pinata Star showers yummy candy on the ground for all of the children to enjoy. Inspired by Mrs. Blanchfield’s visit, we went down to the makerspace to create Pinata Stars of our own!