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