Thanksgiving Week Study

Our class Elf on the Shelf, Elfaba, pulled another trick today! The students walked into the classroom to a change of desks! She must have been busy this weekend - she's awfully small to move 20 heavy desks! Maybe she had some help. ;)

We are studying Pilgrims, Native Americans, and the Mayflower this week of Thanksgiving! We started the day out with our RAN Chart, on which students list the things they know about a topic (Native Americans today, Pilgrims tomorrow, the Mayflower on Wednesday). They are also able to wonder about things (ask questions). As the week goes on and we study the different topics, we will move the sticky notes from "What We Think We Know" to "Yes, We Were Right!" or "Misconceptions" and answer their Wonderings by doing some more research. We will also record some new learning. Check out some of their responses about Native Americans today. What a bunch of second grade smarties!

 

 

Today, we learned a little about how the Native Americans make clay pots and bowls. The students had a lot of fun making their own clay bowls. They will paint them tomorrow with the Native American symbols they used to storytell with today!

 

 

 Happy Monday!

Standard Practice - CCSS RF.2.3a-d

As the first trimester comes to a close, I find myself looking very closely at the standards we are working hard on in our 2nd grade classroom. In order to give my students an abundance of practice on the standards they are struggling with the most, I've created some items geared toward a deep understanding of these skills.

The first of these items is a game that gives practice with Common Core State Standard RF.2.3a-d. This is a fun game in which my students move to a space and read the words that are in the row on that letter. For example, if a student rolls a 4 and lands on the letter B, they must read all of the words in the "B" column on one of the two included word pages in the pack. If they do not read every one of the 10 words correctly, it's back to their original space they go. If they read all 10 words correctly, they can stay on the spot. The first player to hop to Freddy the Frog is the winner! This is an awesome game for those struggling readers to get an abundance of practice reading words over and over! Snag yours here in my TPT store or by clicking the picture below!

 

Another game I've been working on deals with all 1,000 sight words! More to come on that in the next few days!

Happy frog jumping!

 

Elfaba Returns

Well, even though it's pre-Thanksgiving, our classroom tree went up today with a little help from our class elf. Yes, Elfaba made her comeback today, after quietly putting our Christmas tree up while the kiddos were in music. Of course, she had to be sneaky - no one knew it was Elfaba until later in the day, which turned into a fun little "who put the tree up" guessing game for my students. I heard them talking about it as they were lining up for recess. Was it Miss Ell's fiance? After all, he did have the day off of work. Was it the other second grade teachers? Or was it (my favorite) a ninja? 

Then, while the students were at lunch, Elfaba finished decorating the tree  with ornaments and garland, and she placed her Elf on the Shelf book, DVD, certificate of adoption, a note from Santa, and a note from her under the tree. She proceeded to position herself at the top of the tree, conveniently out of reach of those little second grade hands! What a thinker! 

 

 

She even wrote us a note, which we found on the tree after lunch. 

 

What a trickster! Can't wait to see where she hides out next, and what tricks she pulls in our classroom!

Managing Listen to Reading

My students FINALLY got to do Listen to Reading today because "Miss Ell FINALLY got some headphones"! Last year, my students loved this Daily 5 rotation, but I had a hard time managing it's pieces. This year I've done some things to make it run more smoothly.

I have all six sets in individual bins with labels. Each bin contains: an MP3 player, the books they need, and headphones. 

 

The top cover of each bin lists the books that are included. Each of my six bins has different books.

 

The inside of each cover gives step-by-step instructions about how to use the MP3 player inside of the bin.

 

They sit together on a shelf, so they don't take up too much space. 

 

My main problem was that the headphones were always getting tangled, so I made these beauties this weekend! It is just a piece of fabric sewn together and slipped over the cord. They are flexible, but the kiddos are unable to twist it and tie it in knots. Hopefully this will result in less frustration for the kiddos and less time for me spent untangling things!

 

Creation Sunday

Pumpkin Spice Latte and sticky notes in hand...that's a dangerous combination for me. It's a planning and creating kind of day!

To do list:

- Sew fabric to manage headphone cords in my Listen to Reading bins

- Plan lessons for Italy and France Holidays Around the World

- Prepare materials to teach 100 students about Italy and France

 

Happy Sunday!

/ai/ and /ay/ Word Games

I've been busy at work this weekend creating things for this week's word sort of /ai/ and /ay/ words. I came up with a pack of 6 different word games that allows students to sort the words, read the words, and define the words. I'll be using this in the Word Work bins in my classroom and during small group time during Daily 5.

Games included are:

-BINGO (6 unique BINGO cards and calling cards)
-Word Sort (word sorting cards and sorting game board)
-Saving Tom Turkey Board Game (unique game board and word cards)
-Climb the Word Steps (two game boards to complete)
-Word Match (word cards with pictures)
-Definition Match (word cards and definition cards)

Because Thanksgiving is near, there's a "Saving Tom Turkey" game that I came up with. After all, my kiddos just saved Tom Turkey by disguising him! Grab your copy of this pack by clicking on any of the pictures or the link below the pictures.

 

 

 

 Check this game pack out in my TPT store!

Happy sorting!

What a bunch of turkeys!

My name is Tom Turkey.

I'm scared as can be!

I'm wearing my disguise

So you can't catch me!

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, our second graders are saving the turkeys from becoming Thanksgiving dinner! They each disguised a turkey so no one would know it's a turkey. We have one dressed as a student's mom, Santa, a police officer, a snowman, a pirate, a clown, a cheerleader and more! They're currently hiding out in our 2nd grade hallway! How cute!

 

 

 

 

 

And here's my personal favorite. It's name is "TurkeyELLa". Yes, that is my face, cut and pasted on the turkey's body. Beak and all. This student's mom told me they really had to "hunt" me down like a turkey to find a picture for her project. HA!

Hats Off to Hannah

Today was inspirational!

All week, we have been promoting today's cause. This afternoon, our whole school showed support for one of our 3rd graders who is battling cancer, and it was truly breathtaking. 

Each grade in our K-5 school chose a theme to support Hannah (Hugs for Hannah, Hats for Hannah, etc.), and each grade chose a basket to fill with items. Students and staff donated items for their grade level's basket, which will be delivered to Hannah one at a time for several weeks. Students donated activities, books, and warm, snuggly things to cuddle with while she is away from school.

The 2nd grade theme is "Hats Off to Hannah"! Each student and their family decorated a hat card and wrote a special note on the back to let Hannah know they are thinking about her. Check out some of the creative minds I have in my classroom!

 

 

 

 

 

Going along with our 2nd grade theme, today was hat day in our grade level, and all 2nd grade students were encouraged to bring a 50 cent donation in exchange for wearing their hat throughout the day. With the funds each 2nd grade classroom raised, we will purchase hats to add to Hannah's basket. That's on my to-do list tonight! 

This afternoon, Katy Perry's "Roar" rang out over the intercom as students in all grades marched around the school in a big parade. The "March for Hannah" was led around the outside of the school as well. Students in each classroom made signs to hold during the march. Below are some things my cuties came up with. The students chanted Hannah's name along with other inspirational cheers. After the 3rd grade students finished their march around the inside and outside of the school, they each let a balloon go in the air. How generous of these kids to send so many well-wishes to their classmate, and how emotional it was for the rest of us!

 

 

Each grade level in the school recorded a message/cheer for Hannah. The march was recorded as well. Students and staff were also invited to record a personal message for her. The cheers, march and messages will be put together with still photos of the parade in a video, which will be given to Hannah to let her know we're thinking about her. I'm so excited to watch the video (although I know I'll be crying like a baby)!

Just thinking about the generosity and outpouring of love that has occurred this year for Hannah brings tears to my eyes. How lucky we are to be surrounded by great friends, peers, and loved ones who would do such amazing things such as this for us!

MATH Workshop

One of my favorite things (and one of my students' favorite things) to do each day is MATH Workshop! It's a relaxing time to work with students and for students to work on their own individual math skills. I have a board set up at the back of the classroom (photos to come at a later date), which let students know what rotation they are going to and which group they are in. My students rotate to each station for about 15 minutes each morning.

Rotations are:

Math facts

At your seat

Teacher time

Hands-on

At Math Facts, students write math facts in their Interactive Math Notebooks. They can choose from a variety of flash cards, fact boards, or binder rings full of word problems. During At Your Seat, students work  on their daily calendar math. Teacher Time is my time to work with small groups. Hands-On is when they get to choose out of the standards bins, which are pictured below!

HANDS-ON

Each bin is labeled with a standard we work towards during 2nd grade (Addition/Subtraction, Word Problems, Place Value, Money, etc.). There are numerous games in each bin. Students are able to choose a game from one of the standard bins they are working on. Every time we take an assessment my students graph their score, so they are constantly working towards a goal in one or more of the math standards. They use their graphs to make the decision about which bin to take out of each day. The students LOVE these games! The games are able to be played alone or with a partner, which is nice for those cuties who just can't handle working with someone all the time. I've compiled all of the games in the bins from Pinterest and TPT, and I've made some myself.

Hope this is helpful for you and your students as well! More to come on MATH Workshop in the future!

Math Bag Freebie

It's Tuesday!

Last year, on Tuesday's, I sent home a weekly math bag with my students. I packaged a plastic Ziploc bag for each of my students. The bag included:

- a math game that was individualized for each student's ability and skill

- all materials the students would need to play the game

- directions for how to play the game 

- documentation sheet, which I printed on a bright yellow sheet of paper so no one could miss it (you can find it in my TPT store for FREE)

Students were to bring the bag home, play the game at least once with their family, and have their family member fill out the documentation sheet. Then, students brought the bag back on or before the next Monday so I could get it ready for Tuesday's take-home day. 

This was a great resource for me for several reasons:

- I could monitor students' progress by how their families ranked the difficulty.

- Each student worked on a different skill they needed practice with.

- Each student worked on the skills with their families.

- I could monitor whether or not the students were doing their homework.

Hope you can find this resource useful as well!

Veteran's Day Highlight!

Happy Veteran's Day!

What an inspiring day to be an American! Veteran's Day is well-deserved way to honor the men and women who proudly serve our country. Though many schools are not in session today, teachers all across America are still celebrating and learning about Veteran's Day with their students tomorrow. One of my favorite activities to use to learn about this special day comes from Miller's Flip Flops. This activity helps students understand the important vocabulary tied to this holiday, and the pack is FREE! Click on the picture below or the link below the picture to snag it for your classroom.

Click the link above or find the Veteran's Day pack here!

Thanks so much to those who serve our country so my students and I can be free!

Welcome to Blog-land!

Greetings,

Well, I gave in. Today is the day to start a blog. This is where I will link my Teachers Pay Teachers ideas as well as Pinterest ideas and classroom projects. This weekend has been a TPT-filled weekend, but I picked just one of my favorites to share. It's something I've used in my classroom for over a year, and it's my most popular TPT seller. I've also included my new MATH Workshop pack for those of you who aren't into the rainbow-colored theme.

MATH Workshop is made up of four rotations, and it's an effective way to manage groups and work with students. Enclosed in this rainbow pack are: photos of how to set up the workshop, all printables you'll need for the workshop, directions on how to set it up, and ideas for each rotation. Click on the picture or the links below to see these items in my TPT store.

 Click here to get the pictured product from my TPT store!

If you're more of a blue and green person, click here for my newest MATH Workshop product!

My super second grade students enjoy using this wall each day, and I'm sure your students will too! The great thing is that no matter what grade students are in, this product can work for them. It's simple and easy to use for students and teachers!

Click away!