Math Masters!

Well, this is by far the most exciting thing I've implemented so far this year! After my students finish their math work, they're allowed to pick from a variety of math centers to work on quietly.

I'm amazed that with all of the choices they're given, most of my kids continue to pick math facts. 

They are absolutely loving becoming "Math Masters!" In a previous post, I showed you the envelopes I stapled together, labeled "Know like a Pro," and "A Ways to Go." Welll...they love them! For every 10 facts they can state fluently they get a star punch on their "Math Master" card. Once all 10 spots on the card are filled in they can turn it in for a prize - as well as their next, more difficult, set of math facts (and a new card!).

My intention was to have them earn the title of "Math Master" upon completing the entire card. However, they are so excited to call themselves a math master upon receiving each new star that I'm just going with it. Whatever works, right!? They're actually disappointed when math is over because they haven't gotten to get through all of their facts or had a chance to have a teacher quiz them.

I love seeing them so motivated!

It's That Time Again!

It's that time again! In a few short days my soon-to-be second graders will come walking through the doors full of excitement, and maybe even a little bit of fear. I'm so excited for the upcoming school year and can't wait to get to know my new kids! This year's theme?! Owls!!! :-)

Welcome Back!

Tip, Tap, Type!

Word Work is always a favorite activity in my classroom. I like to give my students a variety of options to choose from each day, so that they are taking ownership of their learning and are more engaged in their work.  One Word Work choice I introduced last year was Tip, Tap, Type!

For Tip, Tap, Type, students use keyboards to work on their words. They can take a keyboard anywhere in the room, along with their word list and writing sheet. They say the word they are working on, type it on the keyboard, and then write it down on their recording sheet. 

The first few times they used the keyboards there were a few students who spent more time play typing than actually building their words. But once the newness wore off they were hard at work! My students love feeling like little grownups at their keyboards, and it's now a classroom favorite!

Know Those Math Facts!

One thing second graders have to be good at is their math facts! I came across a great post on Pinterest that utilizes a folder for students to work on their facts. I knew I wanted to do something like this in my own classroom, but wasn't quite sure how I wanted to go about it. I did know that I didn't want to go buy 30 folders and chop them in half, so what could I do instead?!

Well...instead of using folders, I've started making math facts sets for each of my students using envelopes. I took two envelopes and stapled them back to back along the sides and bottom. On one side I wrote "Know like a Pro", and on the other side, "A ways to go." I found a FREE mini set of facts flash cards  at Apples4theteacher.com and printed them on colored paper. I then wrote the answer on the back of each card and printed them double sided so I wouldn't have to go back through them all later.

I used them today with my students during summer session and they loved it! Once I get my class list for the fall I will put each students name on their own set and secure with a binder clip at the top. I'm also going to create punch cards to give each student to keep track of their progress. Once they've mastered an entire set they will get a whole punch on their card. Once the whole card is punched they will earn a prize. This should be a great motivator and I know they'll love it!

Once I'm done making the envelope sets I'll be on to the punch cards. Stay tuned! 

Utilize Your Space!

There never seems to be enough space for all of the things I want to do! After rearranging my classroom furniture for the umpteenth time, I came up with a great way to utilize my space that would also be fun for my students.

I decided I would move the cubbies into a rectangle, creating a sort of room for the kids to go into to put their things away in the morning. This meant that the backs of the cubbies were showing....which meant......WALL SPACE!!! 

So I went to Home Depot and bought some magnetic paint. I only needed one small container and was able to put on four coats of paint. If you decide to do this, I would recommend doing it over the summer if you can - or at least over the weekend. The smell is intense! 

The final result turned out great! My students love using this magnetic wall for word work. They even use it during recess to build words and sentences! If a magnetic board isn't your thing, they make dry erase paint and chalk paint, too. 

If you have the space, I can guarantee, your kids will love it!

Bloom's Taxonomy in the Classroom

I want to ensure that my students are reaching deeper when it comes to comprehension. In doing Daily 5, it's also important to help my students become more independent in the classroom. Next year, my students will each have a ring of Bloom's Taxonomy questions that they will keep in their book bins. The cards are color coded and placed on a ring so that the kids can flip through them easily. Now when they need to write a written response to the text or are discussing a story with their book buddy, there will be no, "I don't know what to write about!". We'll also be able to better track which style of thinking best applies to each student, and where we need to continue to focus. I'm excited to start using these in the classroom!

Achievement Badges!

During a recent Pinterest scour, I came across these great Achievement Badges at The Life of a Third Grade Teacher. I love this idea! What a great way to recognize students daily for their accomplishments, both behaviorally and academically! Students will love being recognized by their peers and other teachers in the building for their greatness. I can't wait to use these this year!

If you're interested in checking out my other pins, you can find them here!

Summer Session

Summer session has officially begun! The amount of growth that takes place in second grade really is astounding! So much so that you almost forget how young they are when they come in on the first day of school.

This summer we decided to do things differently. Instead of working with my second graders who are moving on to third grade, I'm working with the incoming second graders. At first- I'll be honest- I was disappointed. I was really looking forward to working with my kids again! That two week break between the last day of school and summer session felt more like months! And, I knew it would have been easy to pick up right where we had left off. I thought to myself, "But they've already built up so much stamina! We already know each other! It's comfortable! It's familiar! It's far less challenging!" I mean...this is suppose to be summer break, after all!

But what fun is that!?

It has only been two days, and now that we're in it, I'm thankful. I'm really enjoying having this time to get to know my new students before the school year starts. No, they can't sit and read for 27 minutes independently. No, they don't know where books belong in the library or where to even find the pencils. But, they do know that I care about them being successful.

All of the work we're doing now is going to be so worth it in the long run. And even though they may be annoyed that they have to come to summer session now, they're going to feel like rock stars come September when their peers are looking to them as the leaders. They'll already know what to do, and they'll be loving every minute of it. So as it turns out, it all worked out for the best, and I'm looking forward to seeing how much progress we can make over the next five weeks!

Books, Books, and More Books!

A few months ago I was fortunate to attend a Daily 5 and CAFE conference presented by the Two Sisters (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser). At this conference we learned that classroom libraries should have at least 1,000 books. ONE THOUSAND BOOKS I said!?! How will I ever come up with 1,000 books for my kiddos? Well...all is possible!

This summer I have taken it upon myself to really vamp up my classroom library. I have had really great luck at garage sales. People love helping teachers, so I've been able to get even bigger discounts! Sometimes they even just give me things for free! It's wonderful! I've found that our local libraries have had some book sales, too, which have been great! My other latest addiction is eBay. I have found some amazing deals and it's definitely worth checking out. I won a lot of 65 books for 99 cents. At first I thought it was a joke - there is no way they're going to send me these. But they did, and I was beyond excited!

Another great resource to try is DonorsChoose.org. What an amazing organization! I was introduced to this company by a colleague and immediately fell in love. After selecting items for your classroom and providing a write-up as to why your students would benefit from these items, people are able to donate to your cause. This could be family members, friends, or even complete strangers. DonorsChoose was so amazing they even matched every donation I received for the first week! I requested a large set of second grade exemplar texts for my classroom library, and was able to raise all of the money for the books in less than two days! I can't wait to receive these books this fall. I know my students are going to be so excited!

Since I've attended the Daily 5 and CAFE conference I've been able to collect probably 500 or so books. I'm almost to my goal and can't wait to see the looks on my kids faces come September!

What are some things you do to help build your classroom library!?

Hello!

Hello! Thank you for visiting my page! Here I will be sharing what we're doing in my second grade classroom - unit ideas, student projects, class books, and more! I hope you enjoy my day-to-day as much as I do! :)