Looking Toward 2014

I don't know if I mention this enough, but I do happen to work at one of the most remarkable schools around; a school that allows students and teachers incredible opportunities. For example, my grade has been given the opportunity this year to re-imagine the curriculum to reflect our students' needs and interests. This has resulted in some VERY cool, custom units (including one on the anatomy of the five senses). I can't wait to post about these different units and get them up on TpT, but I have to put them through a proper trial first. So ... I guess what I am saying is that, this year has been/is going to continue to be exhilarating and innovative - one that keeps me very busy and makes it challenging to post as often as I would like. But I will be sure share the new info as soon as I can. Stay tuned in 2014 ... exciting things to come!

Holiday Craft

This year I wanted the kids to create a gift for their parents that was meaningful and affordable. So we made coasters (pictures below)! It was super-fun and easy, and I have gotten GREAT feedback from parents. All you need is:

• a box of plain white tiles (I got a box of 100 tiles for $13 at Home Depot)
• a bottle of Mod Podge (you can get it at any craft store like Hobby Lobby, but I just asked our art teacher and she happened to have plenty to spare)
• a bottle of spray sealant (again, craft stores like Hobby Lobby have it)
• small felt pads with adhesive on the back
• medium-sized paint brushes for applying the Mod Podge (again, I borrowed these from the art teacher)
• ribbon or yarn
• colored pencils
• newspaper to lay underneath the projects while applying/drying Mod Podge and sealant
• blank paper (or you can click HERE for the template we used)

Plan of Action: We happened to be studying main idea/details that week, so I had the kids pick a theme (or "main idea") for their coasters that they could represent with "details" (the individual pictures/coasters). My kids each created a set of four coasters - but I have a small class and there were plenty of tiles for them to each do four, so you might choose to have your kids do a set of two coasters if your class size is larger. 

1. Create Images We did a class brainstorm of possible themes (holiday, family, pets, happiness, the four seasons, geometric designs, etc). Then they chose a theme for their coasters. The only rule was that their four pictures had to represent the theme they chose. Kids with more than one household split them up evenly (two to one household, two to the other). In my opinion, the holiday theme was great because it was seasonally appropriate. Some kids chose to do only Christmas or Hanukkah images, while other kids did four separate holidays throughout the year. After they chose their theme, they used colored pencil (best for sealant purposes) to illustrate four separate scenes (again, you can do this on small blank pieces of paper, or click on the the template above).
2. Adhere Images to Tiles Once they illustrated, they cut out their images and attached them to the tile. They did this by using the paint brush to apply a layer of Mod Podge to each tile. Then they laid each image onto a tile and let it dry. Once it was dry, they applied one more layer of Mod Podge over the image and let it dry. (Be careful of bubbles under the paper. Kids can use their fingers to push the bubbles out.)
3. Seal Tiles so They're Waterproof Once the tiles were dry, I had to haul the tiles home to apply two layers of acrylic sealant in my garage. Don't do this at school, as the fumes are strong. Be sure to lay a piece of newspaper under the tiles and give at least 15 minutes of dry time between coats. Note: While the tiles were dry enough to return to school the morning after I sprayed them, it takes several days for them to be dry enough that they don't feel "tacky" anymore.
4. Add Felt Pads Once the acrylic sealant was dry, I took them back to school and passed out small felt pads to each kid to attach to the bottom of their tiles to create a barrier from the tile and whatever surface it's going to be used on (four per tile).
5. Finalize with Ribbon Finally, the kids tied a ribbon (or yarn, in our case) around the coaster set and added a homemade card. See pics below.

Holiday Theme

Family Theme

The Four Seasons Theme

Final Coaster Sets Waiting for Ribbons

Final Gift for Parents

Holiday Activities

Hi all! Be sure to check out my holiday pack on TpT. It is a multicultural pack and includes lessons on Diwali, Christmas, Kwanzaa and Hanukkah. Many of the activities are also just general "winter" themed and do not represent a specific holiday. Click HERE to access it. It includes:

• A word work centers pack (contractions, plural endings, nouns/verbs/adjectives)
• A writing pack (“holiday” and “celebrate” acrostic poems, letter templates to write a holiday wish to family and a *mini-book with response for how students spend their holidays)
• Reading comprehension centers (fact and opinion, cause and effect and a multi-tradition *mini-book that discusses Diwali, Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa)
• Math centers (matching numbers to number words, mixed money review including counting change and counting sets of money, *mini-book that tells a story and pauses to ask questions about elapsed time, a.m./p.m. and calendar)
• Plus, there are blank templates for all center activities so you can add your own words if you’d like
• *Note there is only one mini-book, but it serves multiple cross-curricular purposes

The pack is also split up and sold separately. Click HERE for word work, HERE for reading comprehension and writing and HERE for math.

Happy Holidays!

Conference Notes Freebie

Click HERE for a free template for keeping track of student strengths and goals throughout the quarter. This tool comes in handy when it comes time to conference with parents and includes a space to write conference notes.

Thanksgiving Activities

Hi all! I love this time of year! I have some fun Thanksgiving/fall-themed activities for the next couple of weeks. I have a Thanksgiving-themed unit for sale that includes writing activities, word work and math (elapsed time, counting coins and logic). Click HERE to check it out. Here is what is in the unit (answer sheets are included):

• 24 Thanksgiving words for a word wall that doubles as an ABC order center and common vs. proper noun center
• an individual Thanksgiving word list for kids should you choose not to do the ABC order and common vs. proper noun as a center
• an ABC order worksheet
• a common vs. proper noun worksheet
• a worksheet to make as many words as possible with the letters in "Thanksgiving"
• an “All the Ways I am Thankful” book for students
• a noun, verb and adjective activity to act as a brainstorm for the “Thanksgiving is …” poem
• a rough copy sheet and final copy sheet for “Thanksgiving is …” noun, verb and adjective poem
• a “Thankful” acrostic poem
• a “Pilgrim” acrostic poem
• a coin counting activity where students count the money in a coin set to determine if there is enough money there to buy popular Thanksgiving food items
• an elapsed time activity and mini-book where students use clues to help plan Thanksgiving Day for a fictitious family
• a logic problems worksheet where students have to determine the ordering of items based on clues

I also sell the math, writing and word work separately if you do not need all three.

Enjoy!

Bats, Bats, Bats!

In the spirit of the Halloween season, our class just did a mini-unit on bats. I created a bat book that uses QR codes to explore bats (songs, videos full of information, sounds, etc). Each page has a different QR code for kids to scan (they can use any device with a scanning app on it), and then answer questions based on what they learned. It covers a wide range of learning objectives and the kids loved it because it naturally differentiates (some kids re-watched videos when they didn't catch information the first time, others who finished everything early went back and listened to some of the songs they really loved). It is now for sale in my TpT store. Click HERE to check it out!

Book Review: 75+ Reading Strategies

Have you ever read a book that gives you more ideas than what are contained within its pages? As a teacher I find that the most inspirational texts I read are those that influence/spark new ideas in my own mind. 75+ Reading Strategies by Danny Brassell is that book. It is full of strategies to help reading come alive in a classroom. Some strategies are more traditional and, I assume, are strategies most teachers currently use (Reader's Theater, partner reading, mad libs, using environmental print), and others are fresh ideas that teachers could adapt to their own room (The People's Court for solving conflicts and practicing oral language skills, having kids act as Hollywood publicists to determine the main idea in a story, and a bunch of ways to use beach balls in the classroom). So, if you're like me and love books that ignite great ideas for your classroom, this is a must-read. I will hang on to this one and reference it any time I need language arts inspiration. Click HERE to find it on Amazon.

Book Review: Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire

This summer I read Rafe Esquith's book Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire. I want to give a quick re-cap of my top three take-aways from this particular book. First, I think it's full of great strategies (especially for older elementary students) that can be used across all subjects, but here are those that I most excited to implement in my second grade class (I won't give step-by-step details, as you'll have to read the book for those).

1. "Being constantly dependable is the best way to build up trust. ... Once the kids see you as unfair, you've lost them." The author discusses trust exercises he does from the very first day of school. He makes the point that teachers have to follow through on every promise - no matter how small. This made me reminisce to past promises I broke ("We will finish this activity later" - but then we ran out of time, etc). This seems like such a given when it comes to working with children, but honestly ask yourself how many times you have not followed through on small promises you've made because you ran out of time or resources throughout the day/week.
2. "The Six Levels ... are the glue that hold [the class] together. ... [They are] the building blocks that help my kids grow as both students and people." Esquith introduces Lawrence Kohlberg's Six Levels of Moral Development to his students to show them what motivates us. In his kid-friendly terms: 1) I don't want to get in trouble, 2) I want a reward, 3) I want to please somebody, 4) I follow the rules, 5) I am considerate of other people and 6) I have a personal code of behavior and I follow it. Throughout the year, he references these different levels as students demonstrate moral behavior. Students should have the personal goal to progress throughout the hierarchy of what is motivating them. It is a goal of mine to make a class poster of these to reference in my room.
3. The many, many, many very cool activities he details including his Buzz game to help mental math, his take on asking students to act like "test writers" to identify all the answers a test writer might give on a multiple-choice test to try to trick them, how he incorporates art, music and movies ... and most of all, how his focus really seems to focus on depth over breadth.

Overall, it's a great read to check out ... especially for upper-elementary teachers who are looking for strategies to make sure theirs is not a class students will soon forget. Click HERE to find it on Amazon.

Privacy Folders

I started using privacy folders in my room this year. First of all, second graders love to have their "personal" space and this helps them do just that. I allow kids to pull out their privacy folders any time they want their private space. It could be during tests, writing time, or any other time they want. The coolest thing, though, is that after a test, I have kids put their test into their privacy folder and turn the whole thing in. This helps keep their tests private while helping me with the occasional kiddo who forgets to put their name on their paper. To make them, I just bought fun file folders and put labels on them. They have really been a hit in my class so far this year.

Teaching Story Elements with Two Bad Ants

Last week I introduced story elements to my second graders (characters, setting, problem, solution) as well as had them break down stories into beginning (setting and characters), middle (problem) and end (solution). They created these cute ants out of construction paper, paint, sponges, googly eyes and pipe cleaner to help them with their sequencing and story elements. It helps that we're also doing an insect unit right now, so they had fun saying "The beginning goes on the head!", "The middle goes on the thorax!" and "The end goes on the abdomen!". They really liked it and I'm hopeful that it will be a good future reference for the visual/spatial learners.

Class Labels Freebie

Click HERE for a freebie I just posted to TpT. They are templates you can use for any class labeling needs. You can hand write on them, add traditional sticky labels, or print them and put them into the paper bypass of your printer for text. I am using them all over my room - including on my door for my "Welcome to 2nd Grade" sign. Enjoy!

Homophones and Multiple Meaning Words

I'm introducing homophones this week with fun activities that I just posted to TpT. There is even a multiple meaning word poster and activity included (I don't know about you ... but I noticed that my students struggled with the difference when I introduced it last year so I wanted to be sure to create a meaningful, clear activity to help them distinguish the difference). Click HERE to check it out. It includes:

• 11 x 81/2 posters defining homophones and multiple meaning words to hang in your classroom.
• a homophone word wall with 20 popular homophone pairs as well as a blank cards to add your own.
• a sheet for students to illustrate homophone pairs (one option with directions at the top and one without in case you want to turn them into a class book of homophones).
• homophone spinners where students spin for two different homophones to use correctly in a sentence (can use pencil and paperclip as actual spinner). This can be a center, partner, group or independent activity.
• a paragraph in which students circle the correct homophone to make the sentences make sense.
• a mini-folder for sorting sentences based on whether they contain homophones or multiple meaning words.

Making Your Own Audio Books

As teachers we know that the best way to help beginning readers learn to read fluently is for them to hear fluent reading. And as much as we'd love to sit and read with each of our kids each day, we often do not get the chance to read with them as much as we'd like. Additionally, struggling readers can become overwhelmed by independent reading thus finding other ways to fill their reading time (whether gazing around the room during reading time, or chatting with other kids). This year I decided to use QR codes to help this issue. Here's how.

Every few weeks we have a new class theme (usually based on the current science or social studies unit). During these units, I have a small pull-out library of themed books for kids to read. Currently, we are studying insects. I have chosen about five or six books from each themed pull-out library and recorded myself reading the books. I then attached a QR code to the inside of those books that connects to the audio file of me reading (which you can simply upload to YouTube). Readers can choose to listen to those books during reading time. This helps them hear fluent reading, as well as allows them to explore these themed texts and gain knowledge - even if they're the type of kid to get overwhelmed or intimidated by reading. I spent time explaining to my students that their eyes must be on the words as they listen to reading, as this is one of the best ways to help them become better readers. Who knows what this could become ... I've even thought of letting students record themselves reading some of my class library books and connecting their audio to a QR code that stays in the book. Why not allow other fluent readers to be the narrators of our class books? And it will be a huge help to me! Here are pics of my most recent library and QR codes.

Word-of-the-Week Vocabulary Booklet

I made a goal this year to incorporate more vocabulary exercises into my class (something more than just introducing story-specific words in whatever text we're reading). I love the "word-of-the-week" format, but was struggling to come up with meaningful ways to really incorporate the new words into their speaking and writing in a permanent way (rather than learning the word one week and moving on). I created this vocabulary mini-booklet to do just this. Click HERE to download it for free on TpT.

A Day with the Big Cats

At the end of last year, one of my students gifted me with a day at the Cedar Cove Feline Sanctuary in Louisburg, Kansas. Now ... I've been to zoos plenty of times before, but I've never had such an up-close-and-personal look at the big cats (which are my favorite). From leopards, to tigers, to lions and panthers ... we truly saw more felines than you could possibly see at a normal zoo. We even stayed for feeding time, which demonstrated the fact that they are overwhelming animals, as well as the fact that at the end of the day, they're all just cats. Many thanks to the fellow cat-loving second grade graduate who gave me such a personalized gift. Pictures below.

White Tiger

 

Jaguar

 

 

  

Black Panther

 

 

Siberian Tiger Mix (they're brothers)

 

 

 

 

 Lion

 

  

 

 

Citizenship Words Activities

I make it a point to spend quite a bit of time on character education, discussing what good citizenship is, the importance of uniqueness and working together, and the behavior necessary to form and maintain relationships (we call these "friend boosters" in my class). It is in our curriculum to teach six key citizenship words specifically: fairness, honesty, responsibility, respect, caring and courage. This year, I decided to make some materials to go with these lessons which are now for sale on TpT. Click HERE to view. This bundle includes posters for your classroom, practice scenarios, a student reflection booklet and certificates that can come from other students or the teacher. Enjoy!

Lesson Plan Template Download

I thought I'd share my lesson plan template (click HERE to download a completely editable version for free). This format allows you to be specific in your daily lesson plans and shows you how I structure my plans (objective, activity and assessment). I type my daily plans directly into each subject-specific box and save it for future reference. I am always sure to keep a blank template saved to the desktop that I use to create my new plans for each week. Below is a picture of what a day looks like. I hope you find it helpful!

Back to School

I can't believe it's back-to-school time! As I'm preparing for the kids to return, I've put together several getting-to-know-each-other activities for students to do in the first few days of school and have posted them to my TpT store (click here to access). Here's what it includes:

• “I am” fill-in-the-blank worksheet with space for illustration
• Welcome interview for students to give each other
• Human bingo
• “School Rules” worksheet for correcting sentences while learning rules
• Compare and contrast Venn Diagram to go with the book First Day Jitters
• Math scavenger hunt to get kids thinking about numbers
• “School Days” ABC order
• Autobiographical puzzle worksheet
• Time capsule to be completed now (saved) and completed again at the end of the year for comparison
• Family album sheet (each kid completes and you add it to a 3-ring-binder that becomes a class “family album”)
• Smarty take-home (sent with a Smartie candy attached on the first day of school)

I'm still deciding which ones I want to use as first-day activities and which I will use as morning work throughout the first week of school. They're fun, flexible activities for kids. Most can be done in any elementary classroom, but they're definitely geared more for second or third graders. I hope you find them useful!

Sea Animal Adventures

Last week I went to Seattle with my husband and his family. While we were there we visited the Seattle Aquarium and saw some incredible sea creatures. I made sure to take lots of photos and videos to share with my students this year (being in a landlocked state, we don't see many sea creatures around here). I'm considering doing a unit on sea animals this year - my second graders would love it! Click on the photos below to see video of some of my favorite animals in the aquarium.

Me with my sister-in-law, Alyssa, after visiting the aquarium.

Octopus

Octopus 2

Jellyfish

Hawaiian Fish

Hawaiian Fish 2

Sea Otters

Seal

Spelling to Start the Year

Have you ever found that by following your school’s spelling program (whatever it may be) your students can spell words like “deceit” and “portion” on the Friday test, but misspell much simpler words in their daily writing? In my classroom, I start the year by testing kids on their knowledge of core words - high-frequency words that will be most common in their second-grade writing. It is based on the 135 core words that spelling curriculum developer Rebecca Sitton focuses on in her second grade spelling units. I use several activities to help students learn the core words they are having trouble spelling. Click here for a freebie I recently posted to TpT that includes the materials I created to help kids with these high-frequency words. There's an introduction included in the material explaining how I use it in my classroom, but it's very flexible and can be incorporated in many different ways.

A Great Read Aloud to Start the Year

As I'm preparing to go back into the classroom in a few weeks, I'm sifting through my read aloud books to decide which I should start the year with. One book that I love reading to kids of any age is Odd Velvet by Mary Whitcomb (author) and Tara Callahan King (illustrator). The story is about a young girl whose classmates think she is odd because her clothes, lunches, interests and name are so different from their own. As the story progresses, they take the time to get to know her and find they really like her for what makes her unique.

I use this as a start to the character education I do in my classroom by teaching why your oddities and peculiarities make you interesting, setting the stage that we will spend the year celebrating our differences. My kids have requested to hear this book time and time again, and will even ask me to read it when we have visiting classes come in for read aloud. It can be difficult to find in bookstores, so click here to find it on Amazon.

Fun side note ... I first became introduced to this book because my mom's name is Velvet and the character is a lot like her (physically and behaviorally). A client of hers brought it to her as a gift several years ago, and for a while she wondered if the author had known her in her childhood because the similarities were uncanny.