Wednesday, March 19, 2014

WONDER WEDNESDAY - Asking and Answering the W Questions

Happy Wonder Wednesday!

One of the Common Core Standards we have worked on all year in second grade is:
RI.2.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.  

This is a standard for both informational and literary text.  We have worked on asking and answering our own questions during read alouds, independent reading, while reading poetry, and while reading informational text.  Another great resource we've used to work with this standard is Wonderopolis.

Yesterday's Wonder of the Day was #1188 How Do Crickets Talk?  It was a perfect Wonder to use to continue modeling and practicing our work with this standard.  Students had a lot of background knowledge about the Wonder which helped them answer the questions and write about their thinking in their Wonder Journals before going over the Wonder.  Many had misconceptions about how crickets talk which was cleared up when we read the Wonder. 

My students write their thinking or answer to the question before going over the Wonder and then write new learning after reading together as a class.  Here is an example of a student's thinking and then new learning.

After reading over the Wonder together, I had students write in their journals who, what, where, when, why, and how and leave spaces.  We discussed what we learned and even went back into the text to clarify (yes, I did use that word with my second graders) some of the information we were confused about.  

Here is a student example of the who, what, where, when, why and how of the Wonder.  I took this opportunity to talk about and use highlighters.


I worked with students who are still struggling with the who, what, where, when, why and how.  Here is what we came up with together.

Every Wonder of the Day at Wonderopolis would be great for asking and answering questions.  Here are some additional Wonders that you may want to try:
#129 Why Are School Buses Yellow?
#227 How Hot is Lava?
#274 Who Made the American Flag?
#295 Why Is It Called "Old Faithful"?
#323 How Do You Hula?
#730 What Makes a Ball Super?
#852 Why Do Zebras Have Stripes?
#937 Why Do We Need Trees?
#1146 How Are Pop-Up Books Made?
#1184 Why Do Bats Sleep Upside Down?

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Wonder Wednesday - Ways to Wonder Video

This week I am taking a break from my normal Wonder Wednesday format to share a special WONDER video.  I'm sharing today because the main child in the video is my daughter Betsy (my proud mom moment).  I'm also excited to share the video on this Wonder Wednesday because all of the other children in the video are from my school, Monroe Elementary and my classroom is featured in the video (my proud teacher moment).  I love that Wonderopolis used real, authentic users of their website to star in the video.  I also love that the new video shares natural ways that you can wonder as family or with your students in your classroom from a kid's perspective.



After watching the video, I leave you with these questions:  
  • How do you WONDER? 
  • How do you share your WONDER with others?
  • Why do believe WONDER is an important component of learning?
Happy WONDERing!

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Wonder Wednesday - Wondering About Flying

This week's #WonderWednesday inspiration comes from flying across the country yesterday.


Some wondering I have about flying:

  • How many airports are there in the United States?
  • How many flights fly everyday?
  • How many people fly those flights everyday?
  • When and where did the first commercial flight fly?
  • What affects does flying have on your body?
  • How much luggage is lost daily?
Related Wonders from Wonderopolis:
#59 Who Was the Most Famous Female Aviator?
#75 Who Were the Wright Brothers?
#265 Why Do Airplanes Leave Tracks In the Sky?
#809 Does My Luggage Travel First Class?
#886 How Do You Prepare for Takeoff?

What are you wondering about on the is #WonderWednesday?

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Wonder Wednesday - Wondering About Ice Skating

This week's #WonderWednesday inspiration comes from ice skating.  


Some wondering I had about ice skating this week:
  • Is it harder to skate on indoor ice, or outdoor ice?
  • How is indoor ice made?
  • How much water is used to make an indoor ice rink?
  • How have ice skates evolved over the years?
Related Wonders from Wonderopolis: