April 30 in Room 11

• Gum Chewer names unveiled! Riley, Trinity, Teron, Spencer, Jacob, Ryan, Logan, Zoe, Jonathan, Zack, Meagan, Samantha, Dylan, Kelsey and Tawnie!
• The journal prompt, "Who's an important person in your life and why?" elicited fascinating responses, especially from Trinity, Monica, Dylan and Garrett (especially Garrett, who feels the teacher is one of the most wonderful people on earth. Good job, Garrett!)
• In conjunction with the studies on plant life, the students watched a video about a plant's life cycle.
• The class did not have computers today because the older kids are taking State Tests in the computer lab. Good luck to them!
• Students played a lively game of Charades by drawing a verb from a basket and silently acting it out. This room is full of hams!
• The SmartBoard came in handy for practicing telling time. The children took turns writing the correct time on the board next to the clock.
• Library today
• Students are still working on their Mothers' Day gifts.
• Many of the second graders are learning about tornadoes. They are taking a Senteo computer test on this subject by sending answers remotely to the computer as the computer asks questions.

April 29 in Room 11

• Putting twenty-five words in ABC order is tough but these almost-third-graders can do it!
• There was a pre-spelling test today, but the gum-chewer names have not beet released as yet.
• In P.E. most of the students are learning the rudiments of basketball. Of course, several of the students are already approaching N.B.A. draft status.
• Winn-Dixie continues....
• Students worked on counting by fives as they learned to count minutes and tell time on a face clock. They learned that counting the hour is always counted in ones. They practiced making five minute interval times on their personal clocks, then reading the time on the teacher's clock. Later, they finished a review paper.
• Several students gave their speeches to the class today.
• Room 11-ers began to write a paragraph in their journals about what they learned in Science class yesterday during their experiment with O.I.M.B.'s Oil on the Beach lesson.

April 28 in Room 11

• Music
• Science observation # 4--All plants have sprouted, but it was noted that the ones in the window are much greener than the one in the closet. Hmmm...
• The second graders began learning more about telling time. Today they looked at the parts of a clock: minute hand, hour hand, and face. They noted that the hands touch the numbers in order, creating a "clockwise" circle. They worked on how to tell what time it is if it's on the hour or 1/2 hour.
• After watching pictures of oily beaches and oily birds in distress, students grouped in teams to experiment with beach clean-up of oil on water. It was a messy, quite fun experiment. Students predicted, then attempted to discover which material soaked oi from the water the best. Additional discussion on this topic will continue tomorrow.

April 23 in Room 11

• The class earned a popcorn party, so they played Volcanic Cash and ate popcorn this morning.
• Most of the students finished their personal narratives.
• Mrs. Craig read Winn-Dixie; the issues become more thoughtful and involved...
• Library
• Students in Room 11 are getting old enough to sort their own work, insert paper in silver folders, pack up returned work and organize announcements. This chore was completed this afternoon, so check the backpacks.
• Plan to attend the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology's open house Tuesday evening at 5:00 PM. It's really worthwhile.
• During art everyone worked on Mothers Day presents. Not telling!
• Neither regular classroom teacher in room 11 will be at school on Monday. Their sub will be Mrs. Hutcherson. There will be no blog on Monday.

• Mr Griffin was the substitute teacher for the morning. Mrs. Craig was sick.
• The class had P.E.
• During Reading time, students worked on the narrative they are writing. They shared their stories with each other and offered suggestions for improvement. Their final draft will be written tomorrow.
• Second graders had and assessment paper on counting money.
• Several more children gave their speeches. Interest in these speeches runs high among classmates.

April 21 in Room 11

• The day began with Music.
• Logan's hands were cold because he rode on a motorcycle to school today.
• Students watched a video about taking care of the Earth and completed a fill-in the blank paper about the video.
• There is no "Walk-to-Read" this week. Instead, students are remaining in their classrooms and receiving extra instructions about writing. Each student will go through the steps in the writing process (idea, jotting words, organizing, title, topic and conclusion, rewrite...) to complete a finished personal narrative by Thursday.
• Anticipation for the next round of speeches is building. Students were still talking about yesterday's talks this morning.
• The sunflowers are sprouting!
• In math, students did a worksheet with the teacher on counting back change. Then they played "Volcano Cash."
• The children wrote in their journals using their foursquare from last week about the life cycle of trees.
• Mr. Dunn came in with five different types of marine worms. Students moved from station to station observing the worms and recording information about each worm. They kinds of worms brought in by the science teacher were Spaghetti Worm, Peanut Worm, Ribbon Worm, Sand Worm and Pile Worm.
• It was hard to tell on some worms where the head was.
• Dylan says the Pile Worm moves in "eses."

April 20 in Room 11

• Lots of writin' goin' on. Students worked on ideas for writing a narrative. They jotted down words and ideas, then discussed with a neighbor which story they should tell. subjects ranged from Easter egg hunts to getting bitten by a dog.
• The class did a worksheet on money,
• Several students gave speeches on their personal collections. There are some enthusiastic speakers with a wide variety of fascinating interests in Room 11!

April 17 in Room 11

• Music today.
• The teacher read aloud, The Life Cycle of a Sunflower. Then students colored, cut, and assembled in correct order, the stages of plant life growth, making a flip book they are proud of.
• So far, no sunflowers have poked little green heads from the soil, but the teacher's hibiscus has been blooming shouting-loud pink blossoms for three weeks!
• Final Spelling test!
• Those who ordered Spring school pictures should have brought them home today. If anyone wishes to order, use the enclosed and send the completed form with the correct payment by April 26. If you don't, we still need the sample picture back.
• For math, the class watched a video about how money is made.
• After the video, students wrote a four-square preliminary writing paper about money and what it means to them.
• In the halls at Hillcrest are two really fascinating aquariums put there by the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
• Students each drew a picture of themselves giving their Collection speech.
• John, Logan, Meagan and Samantha will be giving their speeches on Monday.

April 16 in Room 11

• Students wrote about their favorite types of weather in their journals.
• The class has a small sunflower garden in the corner of the classroom. Each child planted a seed
• At computers, the class explored a wonderful web-site for Math and Literary games. It's a bbc site and can be accessed by googling "BBC Kids' Games Bitesize."
• There is a Coins for Cancer bucket set up in Room 11. The proceeds will go to Dornbecker's Kids With Cancer Program. Families are asked to contribute spare change to help kids just like Hillcrest students who happen to have cancer. Its a good opportunity to develop generous and thoughtful spirits.
• Mad Minute--adding 7's, 8's and 9's is tough. Practice at home! Flash cards work well. So do math games on -line.
• Math Magician on-line is a good math game. Go to "timed facts."
• Students started their Mother's Day gifts during Art. Its a secret!
• The teacher covered names on writings in journals and put them under the document camera. In an effort to point out easy-to-correct mistakes, she talked about what was good in some of them and what was missing. The point-of-view in their journal writings is really fun to read--in all of them!
• Library today...yay! New books!

April 15 in Room 11

• Bellwork was a word sort.
• After listening to Winn-Dixie, the students will be taking quizzes. Today was quiz # 1.
• The spelling pre-test produced gum chewers John, Samantha, Jonathan, Kelsey, Riley, Trinity, Teron, and Logan. Happy chewing, friends.
• In the book, Winn-Dixie, Opal is beginning to make friends in her new town of Naomi, Florida.
• Students worked in teams for math today. The teacher wrote a monetary amount on the Smart Board, and the students drew their coins on whiteboards at their desks. They were to use the least number of coins to get to the correct total. Good teamwork.
• In P.E. students played a game with scooter boards and a huge blow-up ball.
• The children wrote paragraphs about the Hillcrest marathon.

April 14 in Room 11

• This playful, enthusiastic, creative, singingest class received Hill Bills in music this morning!
• Verbs: Action words
• All this week's spelling words are verbs.
• The class discussed the meaning of the word "verb," and made a list of verbs on the Smart Board.
• In another step toward maturely taking charge of their own learning, students self-corrected their math papers.
• Students practiced making change and using the fewest number of coins for a given amount. They did a paper on this subject as well. If they finished, they played "Volcano Cash."
• Each student received a tooth care kit to keep this afternoon. The teacher demonstrated the best way to brush and floss teeth. Then the children practiced. It is not easy and takes some work, but second graders can do it and their smiles are worth it!
• Young scientists observed beach hoppers (also called "sand fleas" or amphipods) today. Some hoppers were very small and hard to see because they had dug themselves into the sand. Others were quite large. Then the students labeled hopper body parts on a diagram.

April 13 in Room 11

• The class listened to the week's Reading story, Thunder Cake, and previewed the vocabulary words.
• Current P.E. hit? Underwater Freeze Tag!
• The teacher taught a lesson on base words and endings (sit+ ting= sitting, pin+ned = pinned).
• Many of the spelling words for the week are base word and ending combinations.
• The math facts in Mad Minute are getting harder.
• Students still need work on money counting. They were asked to show two different ways to make the same amount of money. For example, sixty seven cents can be six dimes and seven pennies as well as two quarters, a dime, a nickle and two pennies.
• Second graders will be giving "formal" speeches beginning next week. They haven't realized it, but "Show and Tell," and their description of their Space Communication Satellite in front of the class were both "speeches." Students have papers to take home with the directions of what is expected for their speech project so that their parents can suggest and encourage their children at home.
• The teacher went over the writing scoring guide for the class. The children are very interested in how they got their scores and why. The class will be working on more writing, so everyone will catch on in time.
• Tomorrow the class will be writing a paragraph about the marathon program at Hillcrest, using the foursquare they did on Friday.
• Also tomorrow: Beach hopper study!

April 10 in Room 11

• There were so many gum-chewers in reading class today, it was hard to do oral reading! I That's actually a pretty good thing.
• Room 11-ers had music in the morning.
• Some of the fourth-graders made a short animated video to advertise the carnival. The second graders viewed it and thought it was pretty cool. Can't wait to get to fourth grade!
• Money counting is still a topic during math.
• Addition and subtraction facts are taking a front seat in math, too. Some students are really beginning to stand out for their ability to finish their mad minute facts both quickly and accurately. They should be proud of themselves.
• Speaking of pride, Devin has been running like Phidippides at lunch recess. He runs close to three miles each lunch period and will have his third marathon very soon. It's another reason to be proud.
• Students wrote a four-square organizational paper about the marathon program at Hillcrest. Next week they will write a paragraph using their notes from their four-square paper.
• The children made paper bag bunnies this afternoon.

April 9 in Room 11

• Mrs. Craig is reading a chapter book called Because of Winn-Dixie to the class. It is about a child, Opal, whose father is a preacher. Opal's mother has left the family, and Opal wants to adopt a dog, Winn-Dixie. The subject matter if this book is really making the children think and has resulted in fascinating discussions.
• Students are working on Easter crossword puzzles.
• The second graders are still working with money, counting, adding and subtracting. It is important when counting money to begin with the largest amount coins first.
• The class went to computers and library today.
• In art, they are practicing concentrating on what they really see, and on following directions. These skills will evolve into learning how to draw specific things, as well as stimulate imaginations for individual, personal works.

April 8 in Room 11

• As the teacher reads Because of Winn-Dixie, the students are keeping related activities in folders they have created.
• Students took a math assessment on how much they have learned about money so far.
• Students practiced their ABC order in spelling
• The spelling test produced gum-chewers Samantha, Zoe, Kelsey, Jacob, Colby, Riley, Garrett, Adolfo, Zack, Tawnie, Dylan, Ryan, and John
• Sometimes not getting 100% on a test can be a good thing. It gives a person an understanding of those who try and try and never get 100%. Can you imagine that? Getting a less-than-perfect score can be a way for a person's "loving heart" to grow.
• In P.E. the students played dodge ball. A group of sixth grade students came to Room 11 to present a book they created, called The ABC's of Geography.
• Students were released two hours early so that teachers could meet, plan and do a better job of teaching!

April 7 in Room 11

• Mrs. Nelson assigned seats in music class. Then the children learned the "Bunny Hop."
• The class divided up into different groups for Readers' Theater presentations. Some groups were more dramatic than others, and Goldilocks and the Three Bears was especially theatrical.
• Students reminded Mrs. Craig that they needed to do their math "Mad Minute" today. Not only are they getting better at math, they are becoming more responsible about their own learning, too!
• The second grade continues to learn more about money. Today they were given choices of things to buy and they had to figure out how much money they needed.
• Mrs. Haney taught about trees in Room 11. She talked about the life cycle of a tree, taking students on a journey through the stages of a tree's life: seed, sprout, sapling, adult, old growth, snag, fallen log and dirt, good rich dirt in which a seed can grow...
• The class wrote an "eight-square" summary of the life cycle of a tree, beginning with a title and topic sentence, then adding the stages as details.
• As everyone prepared to go home, the class played a game of adding up coins. If the person called on had the right answer, he/she got a Hill Bill!
• Most of the enrichment groups have finished studying Dr. Martin Luther King in the Weekly Reader and taking a Senteo test on the information. A Senteo test is given by posting questions on the Smart Board and having students equipped with "clickers" register their answers remotely.

April 6 in Room 11

• This week's story is "Carousel." The class read and listened to the story and will be working on the story and vocabulary all week.
• There was a fire drill during P.E. this morning. Because this is an unusual time for a fire drill, some students had trouble finding where to line up outside, which necessitated a discussion about waiting for the teacher's directions.
• The class had their hard-earned free time today and are now working toward a popcorn party.
• Today was the last day for collecting items for the second grade arts and crafts basket to be donated to the carnival. (Carnival--3:00 PM, Saturday, April 11, at North Bend Middle School)
• Mrs. Stebbins invited Room 11 and their families to the Easter egg hunt they have at their house each year. This year it is at 1:30 on Sunday. Bring your bags for collecting eggs.
• In order to keep adding and subtracting skills honed and sharp, students will be taking a "Mad Minute" test every day through the end of the year. The object is to answer as many math facts correctly in one minute. Congratulations to Logan on his great score today!
• The class did two review worksheets this afternoon. One was on what to eat for healthy teeth. The other had a list of items to buy, and asked what coins should be used to purchase these items.
• Students were asked to write about what it would be like to be, or to help the Easter Bunny. A writing rubric will be used to score these pieces. There are some really fine imaginations in this class!

April 3 in Room 11

• The second graders will not forget how to regroup as they add or subtract if Mrs. Craig and Mrs. Stebbins can help it. They had more review for bellwork first thing in the morning.
• Next, they had music.
• After that came a spelling test on contractions, which was hard!
• Students did a worksheet on counting money.
• The rest of the day was spent on finishing and catching up projects:
• Finished the scientific drawing of an animal
• Displayed the Spring cinquains written earlier this week.
• The Favorite Place in the School Project got final added details and pasted on words.
• Several students took Accelerated Reader tests and did well. This classroom is bursting with good readers!

April 3 in Room 11

April 2 in Room 11

• The class did math re-grouping practice for bellwork.
• Everyone finished up the final write of Spring cinquains.
• Students created biocubes of Dr. Seuss at the read/write/think website in computer lab.
• Teacher began to read Because of Winn-Dixie aloud.
• Teacher discussed reader's theater, which will begin tomorrow
• The class learned how to play a coin counting game called "Volcanic Cash."
• Monday is the final day for the collection of art supplies for the carnival.
• In art, the class began learning some new vocabulary, techniques and methods of art production.
• Rainy-day recesses much of the day...
• HillBill store today!
• Library, too!

April Fool's Day in Room 11

• Picture Day!!! Appropriatly for April Fool's Day, after taking several shots of the class and dismissing them, it was discovered that two children were missing from the picture, so everyone had to be collected and led back to wait for a second go at the class picture.
• April Fool's Day is a perfect day for second graders. There was a lot of "There's a bug on your neck!" and "Your shoe is untied," going on. Hardy-har-har. Then two children toppled over each other when one of them really did step on untied shoelaces!
• April Fool's Day is even more fun when it's one of the teachers' birthday. It's time to make birthday cards instead of doing bellwork.
• This afternoon, a neighbor's chickens got out and were wandering around the parking lot at recess time. Three youngsters spent their entire playtime watching the chickens through the fence.
• P.E. couldn't be held in the gym, so the class played "Heads-up-7-up" during P.E. time.
• Young bankers are learning how to order coins from greatest quarters, dimes, nickles, pennies) to least, then count up the total. Most of them seem to enjoy the money activity...they may be running the country's banks some day!
• Everyone participated in a review of adding with carrying and subtracting with borrowing.

April Fool's Day in Room 11