Before our surprise break, students were introduced to Synonyms and Antonyms. Today we reviewed the meanings for these words and worked together to come up with different synonyms and antonyms for a given word.

Each student was given a word and they were tasked with identifying either the synonym OR the antonym for that word (not both). Then, they crumpled up their papers (creating a snowball) and threw their snowball across the room! (My favorite response to this direction: “Wait… are you for real, Mrs. Keller?!” Ha!)

Then everyone retrieved a new snowball and identified either the synonym or the antonym, depending on what the person before them chose to fill out)

The students did this two more times, either adding more synonyms/antonyms or offering a more accurate synonym/antonym each time. This activity also helped students discover the art of “word choice”, meaning that when replacing aword with a synonym or antonym, some words are better to use than others. For example, when giving an antonym for “beautiful”, words such as “ugly” or “hideous” would be better choices than “weird” or “funny-looking”.

“1… 2… 3! BOO-YA!”

Yesterday we started our very first writing assignment of 2018! Second graders were tasked with writing instructions on how to make hot chocolate. As we have learned, the first step of the writing process is the Prewrite, or gathering ideas on a topic. What better way to brainstorm ideas on this topic than to make hot chocolate ourselves?!

First, the second graders worked as a T.E.A.M. to teach Mrs. Keller how to make hot chocolate. They learned very quickly how important it was for them to not skip any steps and to give detailed instructions. For example, after you pour the hot chocolate mix into the hot water, you don’t want to forget to mix it before you drink it! Another example would be to specify where to place the whipped cream or marshmallows, rather than just say, “Now grab the whipped cream, aim and fire!” (Mrs. Keller aimed the can at her mouth and fired, ha!) When the second graders realized that Mrs. Keller would do exactly what they instructed (literally), their directions became much more detailed, specific, and were careful not to skip any more steps!

Afterwards, the second graders got to walk through the steps themselves to make their very own cup of hot chocolate. With the rain, it couldn’t have been a more perfect day for hot chocolate!

Finally, we went back to class and continued the writing process by beginning our first drafts. I can’t wait to see their detailed instructions come alive on paper!