Second Grade Unit 4 Exhibit Night 2024
Wednesday, May 15th
5:45-6:15 Cafeteria | 6:15-6:45 Tour Exhibits
Students blasted off this unit, exploring space science and forces on our earth! Take a peek through their travel journals and look at the photos from our expeditions. Check out students’ Moon Journals home projects. Don’t miss our mixed media art project that corresponds with Eric Carle’s Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me.
Back on Earth, second graders examined force and motion, learning about Isaac Newton and his 3 laws of motion. Students made classtime feel like recess, experimenting with the forces of inertia, gravity, friction, and more! Ask your Explorer to explain how they used all 3 laws of motion to create a rocket propelled by a chemical reaction!
Student Expeditions:
- Fernbank Museum of Natural History “Fantastic Forces”
- Agnes Scott Bradley Observatory
Ask an Explorer:
- Why does the moon look a little different each night?
- What causes the changes in seasons we experience?
- What is one of Newton’s laws of motion?
- Can you explain what friction is? Gravity? Inertia?
To the Moon
For the fourth quarter, second graders collaborated on an Art, Music, and STEM project. In Art, students created mixed media art projects to correspond with Eric Carle’s “Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me.” The story tells of a little girl who wants to play with the moon. Students learned how silhouettes are used in art, added textural and sculptural elements using found objects, and created beautiful starry night backgrounds. In Music, students created sound effects and soundscapes for various aspects of the painting they created in Art. In STEM, the 2nd grade students learned about computer programming and how codes can be used to perform tasks and actions. The students helped code the sounds on the Scratch website and then used the Makey-Makey device to take the code that was created and make it into an interactive soundscape.
I started with a circle and then I made craters using glue. We use these sticks that are very easy to break and I made a ladder. I love my project a lot!
– Emmagene Rollins
Expeditions + Travel Journals
Students took a walk on the wild side exploring force and space! Take a peek through their travel journals and look at the photos from our expeditions.
Investigation Laboratory
In this hands-on exhibit, our Explorers will be the teachers, guiding you through several experiments and experiences we have done throughout this unit. Stop in to our classroom on Exhibit Night for this experience!
Tug-a-war against my classmate was kinda hard. It was hard because I had to put so much pull and force into the rope and I got really tired.
– Kaleb Abiodun
Moon Journals
2nd grade families worked together to facilitate this month-long study observing the moon, sketching what the moon looked like each night and coming to conclusions based on those observations. We also set up sundials to learn about how people can use shadows, their size, and their location throughout the day to tell time.
It was cool to keep a moon journal because we got to see how the moon changes every night.
– Winston Godfrey
Fabulous Forces STEM Recap
Professor Problem Solver's Presents
2nd grade Explorers Squared students tackled the question: how can we become better problem solvers. We were charged with joining Professor Problem Solver in his quest to become the best problem solver and have tried to tackle many problems. First we used a creativity strategy to create a new animal that the world needs. We also learned about a chindogu, an invention that “solves” a problem in a silly or unhelpful way, and then created our own. Finally, the students figured out how to survive on a deserted island with their team.
It is important to be a problem solver because you learn to fail a lot so you can learn to not be disappointed.
– Griffin Sullivan