We are Bloggers!

We have made our first blog posts and written comments to each other. Talk about a quiet classroom! Please check out their posts and add your own comments. There will be more soon.

http://kidblog.org/BartinBunch/

 

Blogging Practice

 Last week we talked about all of the different kinds of writing people can do, and we definitely mentioned blogging. When I told the students that kids can have blogs, they were very excited. We looked at many different examples of blogs for different purposes, including this blog, my family blog, a food blog, etc. We talked about the audience for each blog and how the writer has to think about his or her audience.

Then we practiced writing our first blog post on paper. Each student wrote an introductory blog post describing him or herself and talking about things they enjoying doing. Everyone worked hard and took this assignment seriously.

The following day we talked about the importance of commenting on blogs. We watched a video made by a second grade class at a different school about how to comment. We then made a list of comment starters and talked about what makes the best comments. Then I gave students a stack of sticky notes and told them they would be commenting on each other's blog posts by writing on the sticky notes.

It was amazing! It was silent in the room for 15 minutes while students read their classmates' paper blog posts and wrote comments to each other. They did not want to stop, even though it was time for recess. Students later went back to their blogs and read their comments and we talked about what comments could lead to further conversation. Many students wanted more time so they could respond to questions others had asked them. It was amazing to see them communicating with each other in writing, and being so excited about it.

Madeline and Wyatt read blog posts and write comments.

Sydney and Allison write meaningful comments for their classmates.

An example of a blog post with comments

Another blog post with comments- The long string of sticky notes means a conversation was going on about the same idea.

Stay tuned... next week we begin blogging on kidblog.org.

Mayor McDonnell Visit

Kirkwood Mayor Art McDonnell visited with all of the second grade students on Friday. Several students made a presentation to him about composting, and the students asked him how we could get composting started in Kirkwood.

Mr. McDonnell told us about his job as mayor, and students got to ask him many questions. It was a very informative visit!

Mayor Art McDonnell speaks to the students.

Several students made a presentation to the mayor.

Mayor McDonnell poses with second grade students.

The Importance of Voting

Believe it or not, we have been learning about things other than composting. We have been learning about civics and the election process in the past few weeks. Students have developed a great understanding of the importance of voting to have a say in the government. Last week students wrote about what they would do if they were president. Their answers included lowering gas prices, giving money to the poor, giving out free ice cream, and fining people if they don't compost and recycle. Stop by and see our bulletin board with everyone's comments.

On Monday we participated in a school-wide mock election. Students filled out voter registration cards ahead of time, and we talked more about the election process. A few students expressed concern that they were unsure who to vote for. We talked about the candidates generally, and the morning announcements included a few facts about each candidate, but we did not talk a lot about the political views of each candidate. One student commented that she was torn because "responsible citizens vote, so I need to vote, but it is also important to be an educated voter." I love that second graders can understand the importance of voting.

Students wait their turn to vote, while fourth-grade leaders help us out.

Olivia casts her vote.

Gus shows off his voter registration card.

Second Grade Leaders Bring BIG Results

I could not be more proud of our second grade students. Their leadership with our school-wide composting initiative has been one of the coolest things I have seen in my 11 years of teaching. They have been so passionate and invested in this project, and their excitement has spread. Last week, second-grade students appeared on the announcements every day to tell the school about composting. Here are Gus and Sydney with an important message:

Last week our second grade students taught every class in the school about composting and recycling. They prepared a presentation, including interactive sorting activities, to teach every single student at Keysor how to sort their lunch leftovers into landfill, composting, and recycling bins. The Bartin Bunch personally taught all of the fifth grade students, as well as Mrs. Jansen's kindergarten class.
Some students led a presentation at the ActivBoard, while others led sorting activities with groups of students or a whole-class sorting practice. All of our students were great leaders in these presentations.

Sarah and Max teach some kindergarten students how to sort their trash.

Marin and Alexis lead an activity.

Trevor and Maya are patient as they teach younger students.

Wyatt, Madeline, and Marin led our presentation on the ActivBoard.

Kira, Zachary, and Pete teach fifth-grade students about composting.

Our hard work has paid off. On Monday, we kicked off our school-wide cafeteria program. We went from about 12 bags of trash a day, to only 2 bags of trash for the landfill. That is amazing! When I showed the students a picture of the trash that Dr. Painter sent at the end of the day, they all cheered. They were so proud of themselves and our school, as they should be. They even wanted to set a goal of making only one bag of trash on Wednesday. I love showing our students that their hard work has been worth it, and that kids can make a difference.

This picture says it all. The difference in the amount we are sending to the landfill is, and will continue to be, HUGE!

Our class made this pictograph to show the amount of trash we were sending to the landfill before. We will update it with the after amounts.