The Night Sky

Using Nearpod, a fun interactive program, student's will explore the night sky.  They will have the opportunity to test their basic knowledge of the moon, draw the eight phases of the moon, discover new constellations, watch a video clip of the stars, and learn about the North Star (Polaris).

2nd Grade Utah Core Science Standard 2:  Earth and Space Science.  Students will gain an understanding of Earth and Space Science though the study of Earth materials, celestial movement, and weather. Objective 2:  Observe and record recognizable objects and patterns in the night sky.
Ed Tech Standard 6:  Use telecommunications efficiently and effectively to access remote information and to communicate with others in support of direct and independent learning and for the pursuit of personal interest.

Butterfly Life Cycle

The Four Stages of a Butterfly's Life Cycle

I love the slogan of Educreations.  "Educreations is a community where anyone can teach what they know and learn what they don't."  I think this is a great tool for students.  I used this tool for a presentation on the four stages of a butterfly's life cycle.  After students watch and learn about the egg, larva, pupa, and adult stages we will have a short matching worksheet to see how well they remember the information.  They can go back through the presentation or discuss with other students.  I used the information from www.learnaboutnature.com for most of the content of my presentation and for students who want to learn more about butterflies or other insects this is a great resource!  I will post the link to the butterfly website at the bottom of this page.  I also used some of Eric Carle's book "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" which is a great book to help solidify this life cycle and the metamorphosis that takes place.

Utah core Life Science Standard 4:  Students will gain an understanding of Life Science though the study of changes in organisms over time and the nature of living things.  Objective 1:  Tell how external features affect an animals' ability to survive in its environment.

Ed Tech Standard 8:  Use technology resources (e.g., calculators, data collection probes, videos, educational software) for problem-solving, self-directed learning, and extended learning activities.

For more information see: http://www.thebutterflysite.com/life-cycle.shtml#sthash.QkGlao5p.dpuf

Children's Genres

Through out the year we will be reading a wide range of text types.  The different styles of writing we are going to review are:  Picture Books, Picture Storybooks, Traditional Literature (folktales, fairy tales, fables, legends, and myths), Historical Fiction, Modern Fantasy, Realistic Fiction, Non-Fiction, Biographies, and Poetry.  The Google presentation is focused on these writing styles and gives examples of each genre.


Utah Reading Literature Core Standard 5:  Explain major differences between books that tell stories and books that give information, drawing on a wide reading of a range of text types.

Ed Tech Standard 4:  Use general purpose productivity tools and peripherals to support personal productivity, to remediate sill deficits, and to facilitate learning throughout the curriculum.

Figures In Our Nations History

Using bubbl.us (a mind mapping tool) students will have the opportunity to learn more about the figures in our Nations history who highlight honesty, kindness, and responsibility which are the elements of good citizenship.  After viewing the Mind Map I would like students to make a mind map of their own using Thomas Jefferson as the central point for the first mind map and second put their name as the central point and give examples of of qualities that make them a good citizen.

Mind Map

Utah Second Grade Social Studies Core Standard 2 (Citizenship): Students will recognize and practice civic responsibility in the community, state, and nation. Objective 1:Examine civic responsibility and demonstrate good citizenship.  Describe characteristics of being a good citizen through the examples of historic figures.

Ed Tech Standard 5: Use technology tools (e.g., multimedia authoring, presentation, web tools, digital cameras, scanners) for individual and collaborative writing, communication, and publishing activities to create knowledge products for audiences inside and outside the classroom.

Point of View

Using the tool Prezi students will be able to explore First Person point of view in different children's stories.  After reading the excerpts from various stories they will be asked to determine who is telling the story in each one.  The answers follow at the end of the Prezi.


Utah Core Reading Standard 6: Identify who is telling a story at various points in a text.
Ed Tech Standard 6: Use telecommunications efficiently and effectively to access remote information and communicate with others in support of direct and independent learning and for pursuit of personal interests.