The second graders have learned about a different local bird each week during the “Bird of the Week” segment of class. Students learn to identify a bird by looking at pictures of it during class time, listening to its call on the Cornell School of Ornithology website and by keeping a lookout for the bird outside of class. So far this year we have learned about: Northern Cardinals, Mallard Ducks, Great Blue Herons, Great Horned Owls, Blue Jays and Eastern Bluebirds.
Students have also been introduced to the Linx building system. This system provides a safe way for students to do simple and safe wood working. Students create structures that can be used to explore many areas of science. In third grade for example, students will create an electric powered car. Their job this year, in second grade, is to learn the ins and outs of using the equipment. Each second grader will create a battery powered lantern. Making a “blueprint”, measuring, cutting, and gluing wood pieces together is the stage that we are at. Check out some pictures below!
A few weeks ago, when students were learning about how pendulums were used in clocks, we decided to fashion a pendulum of our own in the classroom using a screwdriver and some tape. It wasn’t quite as spectacular as the one at Boston’s Museum of Science, but students got the idea! Watching the “pendulum” create patterns in the sand is always interesting.
