Once a week, second graders start their day journaling in their writing notebooks. The very first entry in each student’s journal is a heart map. A heart map is a visual reminder of the most meaningful things for each second grader. The map helps students to think broadly about what really matters to them. In doing so, students move away from writing about superficial topics and travel to a deeper place inside themselves.

Sometimes we use our writing notebooks for more directed lessons. For example, one lesson focused on using Venn diagrams to compare and contrast dogs and cats. Discussing and writing about similarities and differences is a skill that can be applied to many future writing assignments.

Today, students enjoyed a song study. First, they listened to a musical piece and responded to it in writing, sharing what instruments they thought they heard in the piece. They also wrote descriptive words about how the piece made them feel. Then, students later watched a reveal of the amazing marble machine that played the catchy tunes that had everyone completely amazed!  Click this link: Musical Marble Machine