A Closer Look at a Second Grader

Peter, a second grader in Middletown, RI, is the youngest of four children in his family. He and his siblings are relatively close in age and they enjoy playing together. Peter’s interests include hockey, soccer, and basketball. He can always be found out at recess playing soccer with his friends. If he is not playing soccer, he is playing right wing for The Newport Whalers. And if he is not showing his athletic strengths, Peter can be found in a second grade classroom absorbing as much knowledge as he possibly can.

Based on the writing and responses in Peter’s science notebook, science is the subject in which he is most interested. Just about every page in his science notebook includes what Fran Blaess, his second grade teacher, believes all good scientists should include in their science notebooks – facts, observations, labeled diagrams, and questions. Peter consistently provides a very detailed account of the experiment or observation conducted that day. He uses descriptive and scientific terms to explain what he observes.

 Peter is not only exceptionally bright in Science, but he is also very strong in Reading and Writing. He is currently reading above grade level and he enjoys retelling a story in his own words. He will give you a page-by-page description of what he has read. In Writing, he enjoys writing about the members of his family, family vacations, and memorable moments. He takes his time to think about words he does not know how to spell and circle them to go back and correct during the revising and editing process. Peter uses descriptive language and makes his sentences flow from one to the other.

Peter is a bright second grader who will take an assignment and soar. Peter is a very intelligent student and it is expected that he will continue to produce great work in the future.

Jennifer M. Morin
Student teacher in Fran Blaess’ classroom
Senior at Salve Regina University – Early Childhood Education major/Psychology minor