Blog #21- November 29, 2019 🥼🧪

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Grade 2- Blog #21- November 25- 29th
Yuto demonstrates how the force of air can suspend a Styrofoam ball in the air!
LOOKING BACK
Happy Science Week! We really rolled up our scientists' sleeves this week! As part of Science Week, students engaged in many experiments, explorations and observations, many of which connected to Sharing the Planet. One day, our class partnered with the Kinder class to observe and recreate an oil spill with oil and water. Students used many tools to try and remove the oil from the water and from the furry creatures that live in the water. Bottom line: it was tough work, and students agreed it would be much better if oil spills just didn't happen at all! 
Jack and his kinder buddy attempt to remove the oil.
Grade 2 and Kinder work together to fight the oil spill!
Grade 2 and Kinder Science Activity
Students also got to visit the special science lab in the library one day, where they investigated physics projects, microscopes, and even  a Rubik's Cube solving robot!
Making an earthquake-resistant structure.
Will the robot solve the Rubik's Cube??
Creating static electricity
In addition, our class worked together to make and design our recycling bin as part of the recycling bin decoration contest.
Yua adds the finishing touches to our recycling bin.


Recycling bin contest
Working as a team to decorate our class bin!
Finally, we enjoyed visiting the Science Fair today, where different grades had set up all sorts of different models, experiments, displays and just cool things in general!
Making new paper from old scraps and water.
Kyle explores another oil spill!
Elsewhere in UOI, students were hard at work finishing their summative projects! Each student chose a conflict that is still happening, then planned a response to that conflict. Some students chose to organize a march for peace in the park. Other students made re-usable bags to stop wasting so many plastic bags. Another  group started planning a new anti-bullying police team to help prevent bullying at school. It was a nice way to take some meaningful action at the end our Sharing the Planet unit!
Marching for peace at Horie park
Peace March
Aika makes an anti-bullying poster
Aiya creates an event for volunteering to clean up the park.
Kaname and Riko make reusable bags to use instead of plastic bags.
In English, students transferred their persuasive writing skills to writing about characters and people. We brainstormed as many character trait words as we could, then students picked a person they wanted to write about (real or fictional) and wrote about WHY that person is _____ (clever, caring, sneaky, lazy, etc).

In math, we continued forward with fractions, learning how to add fractions together to create a whole, to compare fractions and see which is bigger, and to find the fraction of a group of objects.


                                                                VIP OF THE WEEK
This week Yuto was our VIP, and he brought a big drawing of himself, as well as tons of information about people and events of the past! (Yuto's favorite subject is History). He also shared a book that features children from all around the world, as well as a science book with a big poster of the Periodic Table of the Elements!  Finally, he shared an interesting game that he enjoys playing at his house.



LOOKING AHEAD
We will get ready to start new units in all subject areas! After wrapping up peace and conflict, we will begin our How We Express Ourselves unit, which in Grade 2 will be all about stories and storytelling!

In math, we'll finish with fractions, then use that knowledge of fractions to discover likelihood and probability.

In English, we will finish writing our latest opinion paragraphs, then get ready to move on to our next unit: fictional stories!

LOOK OUT
(Announcements and Important Dates)
*Grade 2 Term 2 Field Trip: Wednesday, December 4th
*Friday, December 20th: (Talent Show-- Students Only) AND Last Day of Term 2!
*Monday, December 23- Friday, January 3rd: Winter Break, No School

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