Tangible Examples of Finding Evidence

As we read in 2nd grade, we will spend a lot of time discussing evidence in stories that support different statements.

To start the year off with some concrete examples of finding evidence, students did the following 2 activities.

First, I set out 7 items from my purse (keys, Purel, kleenex, headphones, gum,  sunglasses, and a foldable reusable bag).  Next, I told the students I was going on a walk at a nearby park and I could only take 3 of the items.  I asked them to work in pairs to pick the 3 items that would be most important and explain why.  They had a choice of the app they used, Strip Design and Educreations being the most common choices.  Students had the option of photographing the items I had set out, which to me seemed the obvious choice, but almost none of the groups did that.  Those that chose Educreations all searched for photos within the app and the groups that chose Strip Design primarily drew pictures of paper or in Drawing Pad and then imported.  I always find it interesting when I leave things open-ended what my students select.

important things for a walk

Next, I created 2 backpacks.  The first backpack had Minion stickers, shin guards, a soccer ball, a Z bark, and a juice box.  The other backpack had a phone, 2 large math books, a computer, water bottle, and keys.  Pairs of students had to determine who owned each backpack and explain why they reached that conclusion.

backpacks