We asked one teacher from each grade to share what the kids have been learning about this year. The following post was written by our second grade teacher Miss Farley.
Voyage Academy 2nd Grade has been working hard on their
Bison Expedition!
Bison Expedition!
This started in Early October and will go until Christmas Break.
Many of the 2nd graders had no idea what a bison was when we began this expedition and now they are incredible experts on BISON. The students have learned and studied about their habitat, characteristics, food chain, and life cycle. Our expedition began with bison games, songs, and activities outside as a 2nd Grade. We even changed the words to "Home on the Range" so that instead of saying "Oh give me a home where the BUFFALO roam..." , we said, "Oh give me a home where the BISON roam..." They have learned many interesting facts and are quick to tell you that BISON AND BUFFALO ARE NOT THE SAME! Everyday was focused on memorable activities involving reading, writing, art, etc. to celebrate the wonderful shaggy beast that lives right here in Utah! Plus we focused on why Utah makes a good home for them.
Photo courtesy of Christa Lysager
The 2nd graders participated in rotations with the 2nd grade teachers, each focusing for a week on different learning target focused on Bison. The 2nd graders even made their own bison out of clay and created a habitat to put it in.
In October, the 2nd grade (and many wonderful parents, grandparents, siblings, and awesome helpers) visited Antelope Island. The students were able to observe 600 bison in their habitat. They played games, learned many wonderful facts, and took field work notes detailing what they saw and learned. The most exciting part of the field trip (just ask any 2nd grader) was when we were driving in the bus and we had to stop because a bison was crossing the road. The bus was full of many screams and happy children at that moment!
We had a wonderful guest speaker come, Mr. and Mrs. McFarlane, who help raise Bison and work for the state environment programs. They are the grandparents of one of our wonderful 2nd graders. They brought bison skulls and hides for the children to look at. They answered many of the 2nd Graders questions about bison and were blown away by the knowledge that each child had on bison. We were so grateful that they could come!
Our expedition will end with the students creating a 2nd Grade coloring book full of Bison pictures, facts, and information that will be printed off and sold. All the proceeds will go to Antelope Island in helping preserve good areas for the bison. Parents will be notified soon of when we will have a small little party as a 2nd grade to show their amazing work they've completed (put together in a book for each child) and have some treats. The 2nd Grade sure loves Bison and we appreciate all the hard work that so many people have put into this to make our expedition a wonderful success!
We are lucky to have wonderful second grade teachers; Ms. Farley, Ms. Richardson and Ms. Caldwell do an AMAZING job planning and preparing great learning opportunities for the kids. We also have AMAZING second graders who are smart and eager to learn.
We LOVE our wonderful 2nd grade!