Family Fun Night

2nd Grade Bloggers!!

     2nd Graders in 2W and 2B have been blogging and loving it! We are using a platform called kidblogs that is free and very easy to use. Students login with a code, create a username and password and off they go! kidblogs is a closed system, so these blogs cannot be viewed by the general public. All posts and comments are moderated by me. This creates a safe and secure online platform for students to write, post photos and comment on others posts. Having this digital presence is very motivating for these students. Many students even blog from home just for fun!

      I can already see that they have become good typers, way before formal typing instruction begins! They are also practicing digital citizenship, an important skill they will need in later years.

If you are a second grade parent and would like to have a look at our blog, please let me know and I will provide a code for you to login with.



Check out kidblogs

Craft Time in the LMC!

SES students in grades 4,5 and 6 can choose to join a fun recess time craft groupon Thursdays run by myself and Heather Richards from the Sunderland Public Library. The goal of the group is to encourage SES kids to visit the Sunderland Public Library. We have been making book related crafts out of fun, colorful duct tape!

See the many wonderful offerings at the Sunderland Public Library

Research help!




Help with internet searches
Use reliable sources of information like those listed on Mrs. Kidders library webpage. It is a good idea to get information from more than one source and compare them. Remember to cite each and every source you use like we learned in class!

If you do a google search, try these tricks to increase you google-fu!


google-fu
google-fu
Function: noun
Etymology: google.com (search website) gOngfu skill, art
Date: 2003
: the ability to quickly answer any given question using internet resources, such as a search engine

Example: "My google-fu is strong this morning."
From The Urban Dictionary, 2003



Use the Site: operator to ask the search engine to limit results to website that are .org, .gov or .edu. This helps limit the amount of results that have nothing to do with what you are looking for. .Gov and .Edu sites are usually fairly reliable because they are government or educational institutions.
For example type this search query into your favorite search engine;
jaguars. What do you get? Cars, sports teams, clothing with Jaguars on it and stuffed animals, right?
Try this;

site: gov jaguars You should get results that focus on the animal jaguar and not shopping sites for the Jaguar car or Jaguar stuffed animals.
Now try this search query to narrow down your results to only animals. Think of the - symbol as a hyphen, not a minus. You are asking the search engine to only give you results that are animals.
jaguars-animals

When on a page, use control + F command and type in a keyword. Maybe you are looking for the habitat of the Jaguar. Type habitat into the find on page box and that word will be highlighted on the document, saving you tons of time!

And one more important one,
adding kids to your search query will pull up sites that are specifically for kids and at a more manageable reading level. You can also change the reading level in google advanced search. Most kids will struggle with a college level text! Use these tricks to quickly find the information you need!

Informational text features! These features can help you understand what you are reading and help you find the important information quickly. Students in second grade went on an informational text feature scavenger hunt!