Language Arts Walk and Ocean Study

Last year, my second graders conducted a survey that asked all Lower School students to respond to some pressing questions about school.  We wanted unflinching honesty:  what school subject was most popular?  What did students like best about The Woods?  What could we do to improve as a school?


I was disheartened, but not surprised, to find out that language arts fell to lowly last place in terms of a favorite subject.  Math and science were vying for the popular vote, with social studies falling way behind.  Barely one student responded with a positive affirmation for language arts.


Individual voices do, in fact, matter:  those survey results made me reflect so much as a second grade teacher.  They made me brainstorm ways in which I could somehow hoist up language arts in terms of preference and esteem.  I realized that we somehow had to start having more fun as we were conducting daily grammar practice, learning how to write persuasively or informatively, and determining the differences between a verb and an adjective.


A tall order, to say the least.



Luckily, this year, the kids basically breathe enthusiasm.  They are eager, and up for, any sort of challenge that I present to them.  Instead of sitting around to learn about nouns, we decided to take it to the fields.

Conferring as we attempt to list as many nouns, verbs, and adjectives that we see.

Go Skyler Go!

Taking a language arts pit stop

Learning some pretty dry - but essential - material was actually fun.  The kids tried to one-up each other by finding the most interesting adjectives that they could.




I've also been very inspired by the work produced during our introductory science unit on oceans.  Last week, when informed that they would be asked to write a 4 paragraph report, 14 sets of eyes were the size of full moons.  She's joking, they thought.  We're seven, they thought.  Surely she means 4 sentences rather than 4 paragraphs....



What a difference a week makes.



This week, we open our writing folders with the cool confidence.   We read tucked away in corners or fully focused at desks.  We use our graphic organizers to map and to plot our drafts.  We find new facts and we use our own words in retelling them for an audience.  We get to work.

Daniel puts the finishing touches on his seahorse report

Griffin is motivated and focused!

Ana-Sofia is constantly smiling in the face of hard work!