Magnet Centers!

Comparing China and the United States

The second grade students did some comparisons between China and the United States.  Here are some of their comparison statements.

The capital city of China is Beijing, while the capital city of the United States is Washington D.C.   Mia

China celebrates the New Year with fireworks, similar to the United States celebrating the Fourth of July.  Bryan

In China they use chopsticks to eat, similar to the United States using silverware to eat meals.  Destiny

China has the Great Wall and on the other hand the United States has Mt. Rushmore as a site to see. Hector

China has the Yangtzee River and on the other hand North America has the Mississippi River. Perry

The Great Wall of China has a lot of steps and a lot of people, however the United States has monuments of presidents.  Shirley

The United States language is English while China's language is Chinese.  Chris

In the United States, we use silverware to eat while China eats with chopsticks. Brian

The United States is similar to China because they both celebrate a New Years.  Emily

The capital city of the United States is Washington D.C., while the capital city of China is Beijing. Bianca

Dominoes are a dice game in China, although the United States plays checkers.  Carter

The Chinese New Year is when the Chinese people celebrate, and likewise the Fourth of July is when the United States celebrates the flag.  Angel

North America is similar to China because they are about the same size.  Abigail
In China, they eat a lot of rice, however in the United States, we eat a lot of pizza.  Sidney
China, as well as the United States, has bikes used for transportation.  Donarie
China is similar to the United States because they both like farming.  Eric
China is in the Asian continent while the United States is located in the North American continent. Zion
In the United States, a food we eat is pizza, while in China, a food they eat is rice.  Anahi
The bald eagle is the United States national bird, and on the other hand the Giant panda is the animal in China living in the mountains.  Melissa
China and the United States are alike because they both use fireworks to celebrate traditions.  Yu Sandar
China has farming to harvest food like the United States farming to grow crops.  Leslie
China has Giant pandas that eat bamboo but on the other hand the United States has the bald eagle that eat worms.  Bailey
It is important to discover things that are different and the same for China and the United States.  2-S

Teeth Truth

      The Schmidt's Stars have completed the Dental Health unit and are now learning how to grow healthy with proper nutrition.  As you can see from these pictures, the students worked together to edit their dental health paragraphs about one of four subjects:  Parts of a Tooth, Types of Teeth, Healthy Teeth, and Dental Helpers.  These paragraphs have since been rewritten and placed in their Growing Healthy/Science binders in their desks.  The Growing Healthy PWIM unit will be sent home with skills checklists in January.  It will be fun to reflect about the different vocabulary, sentences, and writings for each component of this unit and reread to reinforce their background knowledge.  Enjoy the pictures!! 

Emily and Destiny

Angel and Perry

Chris and Hector

Brian and Melissa

Bailey and Crosby

Sidney and Bryan

Yu Sandar and Mia

Eric and Zion

Shirley and Carter

Anahi and Abigail

Bianca and Leslie

Growing Healthy by learning about our eyes!

The Schmidt's Stars have been learning about the parts of the eye and the important functions of each part.  Diagramming and labeling of eye parts have been an integral part in this learning process.  Students have been interacting with each other in activities created for our Smartboards in the classroom.  There are many nonfiction books that have been written with information about eyes.  By studying how some authors share eye information with their audiences, the students are creating their own paragraphs about important eye facts.  Student generated illustrations will enhance the display as we publish these in our school hallways.  The final culminating experience with this unit will be to dissect a cow's eye, and then write about observations and surprises during the dissection.  We look forward to sharing our thoughts with you.

       Melissa and Destiny are excited about touching the cornea on the cow's eye! 

          Mrs. Lane helped with our eye dissection.  She is a former second grade teacher at West Elementary.   This was one of her favorite activities.

   Crosby, Carter, Bailey, and Yu Sandar observe the cow's eye.

     Eric, Leslie, Bianca, and Emily are intent on watching every part.

         Zion, Perry, Emily, and Bianca notice the pupil as an opening in the eye.

        Bryan and Mia pass around the iris from the cow's eye.

     Chris participates by touching the cow's eye parts.

    Sidney and Perry review the cornea and aqueous humor.

      Abigail and Melissa watch closely as Mrs. Lane dissects.

                                                                                                       

First Stars Report

Hey, Second grade team and parents!
     We are blogging about how great this new way of communicating is going to be between our team and our parents.  This is awesome and very informative.  You will read about our classroom activities and curriculum by logging into this site.  Feel free to comment and ask questions as you wish.  Thank you for taking the time to read and learn along with us.
Schmidt's Stars