Multi-digit Addition Strategies

Our second graders have been diving into multi-digit addition and practicing several addition strategies. First up, we worked through decomposition/break apart strategy using place value. To use this strategy, students break apart (or decompose) their numbers into their place value. This is a great way to teach addition where regrouping is already worked in and students use mental math to solve. We also worked on the standard algorithm and the compensation model, which was a bit tricky since it required students to have a strong number sense.

Some games we've incorporated into math centers to practice these strategies have been: 

• Roll a Number Sentence: The students rolled two or three numbers and used them to make different 2 to 3-digit numbers (largest number possible and smallest number possible). Then, they added those numbers together. 
• Spin a Number Sentence: Students used spinners and cards to build number sentences of 2 to 3-digit numbers and checked them with a calculator. 
• 5 in a Row: Students rolled two or three number cubes to build a number sentence. Then they solved each problem to try and get 5 correct in a row.

Students have been really excited about our classroom's new student tables. Our school had them made with this wipe on/wipe off frosted glass material. Also, it can be pulled apart to easily make new table reconfigurations. 

love the new student tables and stools that can be pushed under the table and completely hidden

practicing addition using math games that are bookmarked and saved on various tabs for students to access

Expressing Our Emotions Through Poetry

Our second grade classes have been using ideas from their 'Emotions Book' to write poetry.

First we chose an emotion and had to answer these questions:

• What colour is the emotion? 
• What does the emotion taste like? 
• What does the emotion smell like? 
• What does the emotion look like? 
• What does the emotion sound like? 
• What does the emotion look like? 

Here are some examples of our notes at the planning stage:

Below are some of the students' finished poems (their spelling mistakes were kept as is for this post):

Angry
Angry is burning red,
It tastes like bitter squishy ice-cream,
And smells like three month old un refridgerated pie,
Angry looks like an earthquake,
The sounds of booming canons,
Feels like soft velvet turning into a burn.

Disgusted
Disgusted is like turquoise and brown,
Disgusted tastes like an old trash can,
Smells like old fish,
Looks like a fly eating rubbish,
Sounds like flies buzzing around,
Feels slimy.

Happy
Happy is pale yellow,
It tastes like Red Velvet cake,
It smells like a bonfire,
Happy looks like floating embers,
It sounds like a fast, yellow, American sports car,
It feels like the sun shining on me.

Upset 
Upset is dark grey,
It tastes like worms with spaghetti and dirt,
And smells like a cake with whipped cream on top that has been left for nine days,
Upset looks like a dark leaf outside and a storm,
It sounds like fire burning the tree and grass,
It feels like a sword through your heart.

Disgusted
Disgusted is dark, dark yellow,
Tastes like bitter, hot soup,
Smells like mould old bread,
Sounds like cutting worms,
Feels like eating black dark rocks.

So, what do you think of our poems? Amazing that this kind of work comes from second graders!

Online Student Portfolios

My second graders have begun to create an online presence in the form of a digital portfolio. We've been using the school's Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) platform to do this. They will be including learning pieces that show their learning journey in their UOI (unit of inquiry), literacy, math, and their Learner Profile and Attitudes. 

we have computer lab time once a week for students to post their learning

When we have student-led conferences, students will be using what is posted on their online portfolios as the starting point of their conversation with families. Allowing students to have some choice in what they post is important as it empowers the students and involves them in their own learning.

Also, having it online means students’ thoughts and learning can not only be read, but responded to as well. Students have relished the feedback from even a simple comment, whether it is from a classmate, a parent, or someone they have never met. 

Besides posting their learning, students have been learning to reply with a "good" comment. This has been a challenge for students to go from comments such as "Cool!" or :) to "Dear__, I really liked hearing your funny story about house games. I liked the sponge toss too. What else did you like about the house games?" 

A simple format I have used with my students to encourage good comments include:

1. Saying something nice. What specifically did you like about the post? What made you smile?
2. Making a connection. What did it remind you of? Does it make you think of something you know or have done? Something you saw in a book or on a video? 
3. Ask a question. What do you wonder? What did the writer not include in their post that you wish had been? 
4. Re-reading your comment. Students are realizing how often they need to change something they had written to make it better.

My teammate created this nifty organizer to help our students to remember the comment format. 

blog commenting etiquette organizer for students

Does your school utilize online student portfolios?