Submitted by various authors
The second graders are busy at work! Below is a glimpse of three of their current units in social studies; science and health and wellness.
Studying the Community:
How do you spell D-E? C-O-M-M-U-N-I-T-Y!
Our second graders are hard at work learning all about the very special community that we have here at Dwight-Englewood school. After touring our school campus and watching the video that celebrated D-E’s 125th anniversary during the 2013-14 school year, the students brainstormed the many people, places and things that make up our school. For the past few weeks, we have been focusing our attention more specifically on the Lower School community. Our discussions have included the spaces in Drapkin Hall, the students and adults who learn and work in Drapkin Hall each day, and the large variety of tools we use for learning each and every day.
In the next few weeks, the students will be conducting interviews of the adults who work in the Lower School. The students will be generating questions, conducting individual meetings with people that work in Drapkin Hall, writing a full interview as well as completing a portrait of the person that they interview. Please be on the lookout for these gorgeous works of art and interviews displayed in the second-grade wing very soon.
Science:
A yearly event for the second-grade classes is to adopt a tree. This year the students are particularly excited about their trees! After they choose their tree, the children spend some time getting to know their tree through scientific drawings and observations. Next they research their tree to discover the kind of tree they have adopted. They also search the ground around their tree for “gifts” that the tree gives them. These gifts are collected and used as samples in their nature journal and evidence to help them discover the type of tree they have. They will continue to connect with this tree periodically throughout the year and observe changes that take place through the seasons. It has been my experience that students remember their trees even when they get to the Middle and Upper schools.
We have also taken a tour of the Upper School garden outside the Hajjar STEM Center. The second graders took great pride in helping to organize tools, dig potatoes and harvest cherry tomatoes.
Health and Wellness:
During our Health and Wellness sessions, second graders have been discovering how to safely move and work together. We have been doing activities, tag games and challenges that include some very important skills such as following directions, decision making, risk-taking and cooperation. Second graders are now starting to incorporate physical fitness activities and games in class. We are also beginning our fall sports units on flag football and soccer.