Google Earth

Check this out! Google Earth shows the amount of pollution across the country by light bulbs.

Invention Research Paragraph Rubric

Students will be assessed based on the following rubric for their invention project:

Invention Project

1. Pick one invention to research. Please let me know what invention you choose to research.
2. Research your invention. Make sure you site your source!
3. Go to Wordle and write a paragraph about your invention.
4. Use Inspiration to plan your paragraph (see picture below for example)
5. Create a presentation using Prezi.

Helpful Links:

http://www.encyclopedia.com (This is helpful to research your invention)

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors (This is helpful to research your invention)

http://www.factmonster.com/people.html (This will be helpful in researching your inventor)

http://www.wordle.net

http://prezi.com/index/

Invention Unit Standards

What students are expected to demonstrate during the inventions unit:

History Standard: The student uses a working knowledge and understanding of significant individuals, groups, ideas, events, eras, and developments in the history of Kansas, the United States, and the world, utilizing essential analytical and research skills.

Benchmark 1: The student understands the significance of important individuals and major developments in history.

Indicators:

The student: 

1.(A) compares various forms of transportation in Kansas past and

present (e.g., the horse, steamboat, trains, airplanes, cars). 

2.(A) compares and contrasts the ways people communicate with

each other past and present.

3.(A) identifies important innovations made in the past that influence

today (e.g., Wright Brothers – airplane; Henry Ford – automobile; Ancient China – irrigation, paper; Inca – highways to connect cities).

Standard 1 - Writing: The student writes effectively for a variety of audiences, purposes, and contexts.

Benchmark 2: The student writes expository text using the writing process.

Indicators: 

The student... 

1.Chooses and writes several sentences about one clear idea.

(Ideas and Content: prewriting, drafting, revising: N,E,T)

 2.Develops one clear main idea with supporting details.

(Ideas and Content: prewriting, drafting, revising: N,E,T) 

 4.Expresses information in own words using complete sentences. (Ideas and Content: prewriting, drafting, revising: N,E,T) 

8. Begins to use a variety of prewriting strategies (e.g. webbing,

brainstorming, listing). (Organization: prewriting, drafting, revising: N,E,T) 

10. Writes a simple paragraph(s) about one idea. (Organization: prewriting, drafting, revising: N,E,T) 

17. Recognizes an incomplete thought. (Sentence Fluency: prewriting, drafting, revising: N,E,T)

18. Uses correct spacing between words. (Conventions: prewriting, drafting, revising: N,E,T)

19. Capitalizes the beginning of a sentence using correct punctuation. (Conventions: prewriting, drafting, revising: N,E,T)

Note to Parents

Dear Parents,

Thank you for viewing the Second Grade Blog! We are planning to study some exciting things this year! To start off the semester, we will be working on an inventions unit in Social Studies. Students will be studying various inventions that have impacted the United States and the world. Many pieces of technology  and other subjects will be integrated into this unit. We are also going to be focusing on the structure and steps to writing a paragraph. This will be demonstrated through various projects throughout the inventions unit. You can view the rubrics for these projects as well as information about these projects through this blog.


Please continue to check this blog to see the different activities we are working on. Feel free to explore, or if you are a blog user yourself subscribe to this blog! It is going to be a very interesting and exciting unit! Please let me know if you have any questions! Thank you!

Ashley Pfenninger

2nd Grade Teacher