Diary of a...

Mrs. Kelleher's class had an exciting time during their writing period. Students modeled their own writing after reading the book Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin.

The focus trait in this writing assignment is idea development; students specifically worked on putting learned facts into their own words as they created their own diary entries. The support trait in this assignment is voice.

Diary of a Fish by Will    PDF

Three Days of a Cat by Sean     PDF

A Day in the Life of a Cat by Piper     PDF

A Diary of Winnie by Kai     PDF

A Spider’s Diary by Maya   PDF

A Year in the Life of Lucy the Guinea Pig by Justin     PDF

Diary of a Guinea Pig by Julia     PDF

Diary of Gus-Gus by Grady     PDF

Diary of Pet Pomeranian Dog by Stella     PDF

Diary of a Mouse by Riley    PDF

Diary of a Poet by Maguire     PDF

Diary of a Puppy by Madison     PDF

Diary of a Spider by Matthew     PDF

Gorillas by Christopher     PDF

Keep Out by Kate     PDF

My First Few Days by Max     PDF

The Great and Powerful Brutus by  Maddie     PDF

Diary of an Ape     PDF

Option 1 digital device:
Click on the title, download, and Open either in Book Creator or iBooks on a digital device.

Option 2 PDF:
Click on the title.

Written and Illustrated by...

Guest Blogger:  Mrs. Matthews

"My students have explored non-fiction text features (labels, maps, table of contents, glossary, etc.). They have learned the purposes of the various non-fiction text features and have applied them to their non-fiction reading to locate information with efficiency. The children have internalized that non-fiction reading is reading to learn and nonfiction writing is writing to teach. The children learned that non-fiction writers are passionate about their subjects. They also learned non-fiction writing contains accurate information. In addition, the students learned that non-fiction writers are specialists in their subject areas. The boys and girls created their own specialist topic lists and from their lists they decided on the topic they were most passionate about. They then created their own specialist topic books and incorporated non-fiction text features. The children enjoyed publishing their books on the app Book Creator. We hope you enjoy reading their books!"

Mrs. Matthews

All About Ballet       PDF

All About Cats     PDF

Legos     PDF

Surfing     PDF

All About Cheerleading      PDF

Cool Spiders      PDF

Facts About Math      PDF

All About Horses      PDF

Option 1: Click on the title, download, and Open either in Book Creator or iBooks on a digital device.

Option 2: Click on PDF and Open as a pdf.  The sound will not work in a pdf format.

Famous People

A Second Grade reading and writing curriculum area is the study of biographies. Students read and research about a Famous Person who has made a difference. The project begins during library class where Mrs. DeFrank displays all the biographies for the students.  It is an exciting time watching the selection process. This year Mrs. Madden's Class decided to take their new knowledge and create a digital project to share. After researching and writing their report, students then wrote a short script from the first person perspective of their famous person. Costumes were discussed and students practiced and practiced before filming in front of the big green screen.   Famous People from Mrs. Klipfel on Vimeo.
Mrs. McCarthy's Class also added a digital component to their learning.  Her students created a paper version of their famous person.  Each student then wrote a first person script for their famous person and practiced for fluency.

This is also a green screen project but this time the paper famous person was in front to the green screen.  Can you see the green stick holding him in place?  Do you know why it is green?

Using the app Green Screen by Doink the paper version was transported to a different time and place.

Can you guess why this famous person was recorded in front of a red screen?

Hint:  Look at the color of her dress.

  Mrs McCarthy Presents Famous People from Mrs. McCarthy on Vimeo.

What is Your Super Power?

What will a cape and mask bring out in you? First Graders in Mrs. Dunn's Class discovered their inner Super Powers.  As part of the first grade writing curriculum in April students are working on opinion writing pieces.  We then took this super writing and first turned it into a Movie Trailer and then an iMovie. Here is the iMovie Trailer for Mrs. Dunn's Super Class! \ Super Class from Mrs. Klipfel on Vimeo.




This is the full length version of Supper Class!

  My Superpower from Mrs. Klipfel on Vimeo.

Touring the Midwest with Team Murphy

I took a trip on the Team Murphy bus this week.  We traveled from the Northeast region of the United States to the Midwest region.

Here is how we planned for this trip:

It all began with an email from Mrs. Murphy inviting me to take a trip with her class.  I love to travel so of course I agreed.

Before we packed our bags, students used the iPads and their text books to research facts about the state they were assigned.  

Using these notes the students then wrote their scripts.

Conferencing with Mrs. Murphy helped to narrow down which facts to include in the final script.

Working with their partner it was time to practice.  Students were challenged to memorize their script for the final production.

On Filming Day the big green screen was set up. "Quiet on the Set!"

Mrs. Klipfel and Mrs. Murphy having fun filming.

After the recording we used the app Green Screen by Doink.

Students sat and discussed which pictures worked for their backgrounds.  These images were saved to the camera roll before adding them to Green screen.

Click the picture below and come along on Team Murphy's bus as we take a vacation to the Midwest.

4.18. Learning Standards: Regions of the United States: Identify the states, state capitals, and major cities in each region. (G) 60 

4.19. Learning Standards: Regions of the United States: Describe the climate, major physical features, and major natural resources in each region. (G) 60 

4.20. Learning Standards: Regions of the United States: Identify and describe unique features of the United States (e.g., the Everglades, the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, the Redwood Forest, Yellowstone National Park, and Yosemite National Park). (G) 16