K-Nex Rollercoaster

by Sam L. and Sydney

We are building a K-nex rollercoaster that is going to be very big.  It is made out small K-nex. K-nex are little multicolored pieces of plastic that you can stick together. We are making it by putting the pieces together.  It even has a motor to move the balls along the track.   Different people in our class are working together to build the rollercoaster.  Alex, Josie T., Charlie,  Sam L. and Sydney have worked on it the most during Choice Time and Open Door.

There are twenty steps that we are following to help us build. We are on steps four and five, and we are connecting steps and walls made out of K-nex. We have built the end of the rollercoaster. It takes about a couple of days to finish a step. Each step is very different. Not all steps are alike. Some steps are hard, some steps are easy and some steps are in the middle.

We are making a long pole. Sadly we don’t know yet what it used for.  We have to do a lot of work on the K-nex rollercoaster.  We have to work hard, cooperate with each other and pay attention to build it the right way.  It has been a lot of fun. WE CAN’T WAIT TO FINISH IT!!!!

About Gooney Bird Greene

by Finnley and Charlie

Gooney Bird Greene, by Lois Lowry, is the most hilarious character of all the books that the class has read.  It is about a girl who is in second grade and moves to a new school. She only tells “absolutely true” stories. She has a cat named Catman who gets consumed by a cow. He follows the cow around because he likes what she does and is “consumed” by his love for her.

Now here is a different story she told. Gooney  Bird and Catman went on a “flying carpet” ride. Gooney Bird, her mom, dad, and Catman were in the car. Catman went inside the carpet and Gooney Bird went after him to get him out. The carpet “flew” out of the car. News reporters came to talk to Gooney Bird about her “flying carpet”ride.  

...So they all hugged and kissed.

The End

DR. Martin Luther King JR.

was against segregation in U.S.A. He was one of our black leaders. Martin grew up in Atlanta, Georgia.

Martin was disappointed when he saw white only

signs. Martin graduated from high school 2 years early and was 15 when he started college. He decided to be a minister.

He lead lots of protests

all over the world. He did

one of his biggest speeches:I HAVE A DREAM

“I HAVE A DREAM THAT MY FOUR CHILDREN WILL ONE DAY LIVE IN A NATION WHERE THEY ARE NOT JUDGED BY THE COLOR OF THEIR SKIN BUT BY THE CONTENT OF THEIR CHARACTER.”

In April 1986, he was shot by a rifle and died an hour later. Martin was shot by James Earl Ray  who went to jail and died there.

Martin taught us that it does not matter what color your skin is. He fought for Freedom and Equality.

by:Mia and Tommy

   LET IT SNOW POSTER

On the day of the big snowstorm in  early January, we made a LET IT SNOW poster…

It was a collage made out of construction paper. We put on some Mountains, Snowy Trees, snowmen, snowflakes, people iceskating, igloos, snowball fights, a house covered in snow, a train covered in snow, a cardinal, Santa’s sled, stars, ornaments , a moose in a cave, a snowgirl angel, a moon, and a snow pile.

It was a really fun project.  While we were working, the snow fell all day.  We found out before we left that school was cancelled for the next day.  We stood up and did a snow dance and a cheer.

By Sammy J. and Zoe

First Original Post Created by Second Graders Posted on Blog!!

Josie T. and Nate worked independently during writing to create this week's blog post and art work.  Congratulations!  All children will be writing their own posts soon.  Stay tuned.

"What Causes Day and Night?"  by Josie T. and Nate

What Causes Day and Night

Written (and typed) and Illustrated by Nate and Josie T.

On December 12th 2013,  Ms. Burgay told us about what makes the Day and Night. The spinning Earth and the Sun make Day and Night. The Earth spins and when America is pointing to the Sun it is day. When America is not pointing to the Sun it is night. We did a fun experiment to see if it was true. We took Jared, the birthday boy, to do it first. All the other kids were sitting on the rug. Ms. Burgay put a lamp on a chair and Jared stood in front of it. He also had a map around his stomach with an alien to show where we live. We turned the lamp on and it was our night because the alien was pointing away from the lamp. As Jared turned counterclockwise just like the Earth it became sunrise because the Earth was moving towards the Sun light. As the Earth keeps spinning it becomes day and then sunset and then back to night.  We really enjoy learning about the Earth and Sun.

Mexico Maps

"We made maps of Mexico and we got to use sand on the deserts.  We used tissue paper for the mountains and beads for the rain forests.  We used felt for the plateau.  We used glitter for the coastal plain, and it was lots of fun."  Van

"I liked the project, because it helped me understand things about Mexico that I didn't understand before.  It was also a really fun art project!"  Zoe

"We finished our fall poems with our buddies.  They are in the 5th grade class across the hall.  My buddy's name is Matthew.  We typed our poems on the computer.  At first our printer didn't work, but then it did."  Max

 "I like that our buddies are right across the hall from us.  I love doing all of the projects.  My buddy is Natanya.  Mr. Costello uses the Smart Board which is really interesting, especially when he uses the rainbow pen."  Josie T.

"I have two buddies.  They are very nice.  They are very thoughtful.  It was fun writing the poem with my buddies."  Jared

 "This is a picture of me and Amelia.  I like to take breaks with her.  She likes to sing and jump.  I am glad we are friends."  Theo