A Teacher's Journey in Second Grade

Such a cute story.  I'm still laughing.  Go check out this story at Sunny Days in Second Grade, because I think everyone can use a laugh ;)


Sunny Days in Second Grade: Spring, mascara and free napkins: Hey Friends! I did a little bit of spring decorating, inspired (of course) by Pinterest. What the heck did I do before Pinterest? I have a ...

Check out the new blog Lesson Plans and Lollipops.

I just opened up a store on Teachers Notebook.  Now I am going to spend some time this week making new items to put on my store.  Check back soon to see what I add to my store.

I have been really busy this school year organizing my classroom and files.  I hope to share some pictures soon of what I am doing.  It may help other visual learners out there get their classroom more organized. 

I have been on a quest all year to get organized more in my classroom to help save time.  This week I decided to organize my grading materials.  I took a hanging file organizer such as this

and I labeled each section.  One section is labeled "Need Grade."  This is where I stick all the papers that I need to grade at the end of the day.  Since I can only fit in a stack that is an inch or 2 thick, I must get things graded in a timely manner.  Next, I labeled a pocket with "Needs Recorded" for those moments when I do not have time to record the grade right away.  I labeled the another section with "Needs Returned."  This let's me know that I have graded and recorded these papers already so I don't have to double check.  I labeled one pocket with "Rubrics and Forms" so I have them on hand while I am grading if they are needed.  Then I decided to label a pocket with "Grade Sheets."  I keep a supply of grade sheets printed off so I can quickly record a grade and hand the paper out.  Then all I have to do is take the grade sheet to the computer to enter the grade.  This also allows me to quickly see who has missing work and I can get them a new copy if needed.  The last pocket is labeled "Supplies."  This is where I keep my EZGrader, stickers, and markers to check papers with. 

Since I have been using this system, I have not had to search for my EZGrader or a pen to grade with.  Everything is in one place and the file is portable so I can take it home if needed.  I hope I have helped out some of you on your journey to becoming better organized.

This week, I was complemented on a lesson that I did during my reading block.  The students had read the story Ronald Morgan Goes to Bat from our Scott Foresman Reading Street series, and the poem Spaceball.  I put a Venn diagram on the whiteboard and students drew one on a blank sheet of paper.  Together we compared Ronald Morgan Goes to Bat to Spaceballs.  The students really got into this lesson and someone from the board office happened to walk in while we were doing this.  They went and bragged about my lesson to the P. 

If you would like to join this linky party, hop on over to Clutter-Free Classroom. 

I have added a new product to my Teachers Pay Teachers account.  I have been working on a contractions station for my second graders to use during guided reading.  The packet contains a matching game, a game board, word cards, a word sort, a weeksheet on contractions, and bonus items, such as, a bookmark, certificate, and blank word cards.  This packet has a frog theme and contains 13 pages.  Check it out here.

Here is a small peek.

I finally decided to try out Teachers Pay Teachers.  I have uploaded a free lesson on fact families.  You can access it here.  I have also uploaded a packet to teach place value.  This packet is 14 pages.  It contains 3 lessons, 3 stations/centers, 12 task cards, and all the printables that are needed to complete the lesson.  The packet even has base ten blocks that can be printed for classrooms that may not have access to these.  You can check out my place value packet here.

Here is sampling of what my place value packet looks like.

Yesterday, I decided to look for some math lessons to use with a small group of students during our guided math time.  I remembered finding a great lesson once on Thinkfinity, so I decided to search there for some lesson ideas.  I came across this lesson that uses macaroni to help students understand fact families.  I really think this lesson will help some of my students.  The lesson is only one lesson in a unit titled, Macaroni Math.  I may use more of the lessons during with some of my students this week.  Go check out the site.  You might find something you like.
This is the link for the lesson I am going to use: http://illuminations.nctm.org/LessonDetail.aspx?ID=L120#.TpjbAmmuhGs.favorites
This is the link for the Thinkfinity website:  http://www.thinkfinity.org/

Enjoy!

I love all of the word work ideas on One Extra Degree's blog. She has tons of ideas listed here.
One Extra Degree: Word Work Center etc.: Whew! It's been a crazy-hectic day! I spent a ton of time in the classroom labeling books, laminating, setting up centers, and completing ...

I found sight word ideas on the Growing Kinders blog. I really like how she put sight word chants on Popsicle sticks. I am going to try some of these chants with my word wall this week. Check it out.
Growing Kinders: Sight Words {and} Chants: Every week, I introduce the kids to two new sight words. I have a sign on the outside of my door that looks like this: Sorry – it’s not...

I have decided to teach my students how to clean and organize their desk.  I hate watching a student did through their desk because they can't find something and I really don't like to wait on someone to dig through their desk to get out a book.  So I came up with this solution.  I had the idea in my mind for a while, so I did a Google search and found a desk diagram.  Of course, I redesigned the original poster idea to fit my class needs. 
Diagram of a Clean Desk

I have been thinking about this since summer so I decided to search (again) for ideas on how to run my math stations during guided math.  I came across this site today and I thought I should share it.  Maybe it will help someone else out there who is trying to put together independent games and activities for math. 
http://www.k-5mathteachingresources.com/2nd-grade-number-activities.html
The site has ideas for k-5 so this site will appeal to more than just second grade.  Another site that I really like is www.mathwire.com
Check them out.

So I heard about Planbook.com and I decided to try it out.  They have a free 30 day trial.  The cost after the 30 day trial is only $9.95 for the year.  I love how it color codes my schedule and I can let others view my plans with a link.

Ok, so I haven't been on here for a while because I have been unpacking and setting up my classroom.  The first day of school was last week.  Today, I decided I needed new labels for the baskets in my classroom.  If the clipart belongs to you, let me know and I will give you credit.  This is what I have made so far.  I plan to print them out on cardstock and laminate.

Basket Labels

Summer is almost over.  I have one more week before I officially return to work.  I went to work on my classroom two days this week.  I wanted to go back, but they are waxing the halls.  Since I have moved to a different school, I have tons of things to unpack and organize.  I have been looking at classroom pictures on ProTeacher for hours now.  I am so jealous of some of the really great classrooms out there.  I have found several ideas that I am definitely going to use.  One teacher had a homework hang out.  For this area, she had several of those pocket charts for folders.  What I take from her photo is that the students insert their homework sheet only in their pocket.  Every pocket had a number and the homework could then easily be checked off on a check sheet.  It's a lot faster way to check homework off than what I have been doing.  Some days I get so busy that I forget to even check the homework folders.  This is an area that I need to improve on. 

So here is the link to Ms. Noble's wonderful classroom:  http://msnoblesclass.shutterfly.com/

OK, so I am sitting here reading other teacher blogs, and I am beginning to wonder if I am the only one who hasn't really began to plan for the upcoming school year.  For some reason, this is the first summer that I haven't even thought about planning or creating anything.  I did buy a few more things at the Dollar Tree.  See...

I think the owl on the banner is really cute.  I might hang this beside my classroom door.  I am going to use the stars to label my cabinets so I can easily find what I need.  The blue cone has "superstar" printed across it.  I plan on looking for a student who is displaying good behavior.  I will let them keep it on their desk for a while before selecting someone new.  I hope the scented markers smell good.  I haven't tried them out yet, but I think it will be something the students like.  I took a closer picture of the note cards.  I plan to use these to write thank you notes.

My husband and I decided to become puppy parents.  We took my son to the animal shelter today to pick out a family dog.  When we got there they had a lot of puppies.  Well, we have been looking on Petfinder.com and we found some really cute puppies.  We drove an hour to my grandparents' hometown to see these puppies.  We saw two puppies in the same cage.  We talked about it for a few minutes and we decided to adopt both of them.  We decided that every dog needs a friend to keep them company while the rest of the family is at work and school.  I wouldn't want them to be lonely.  We pick them up tomorrow.  We are really excited, so we had to go to Petsmart.  We bought the puppies matching bowls, and puppy beds.  We bought food and treats for them too.  The fun part was picking out their new toys.  I will have to post a picture after we get them home.

Create, Teach, Share is hosting a Post-It Link Party. I use Post-Its everyday in my classroom. They are great to take write reminders for students. I will write students a note if I am missing an assignment from them. I will stick this to their desktop so they can see what they need to complete and turn-in ASAP. I have also used Post-Its as exit slips. The students answer a question and stick it to the door on the way out of the room. This is great for lining up to go to lunch.
Head on over and check out the Post-It Party blog. Create●Teach●Share: It's a Post-It Party {and Giveaway}: "Giveaway ends Sunday, July 31st. A winner will be announced on the 1st of August"

Little Miss Kindergarten posted on her blog that she found hand pointers at The Dollar Tree. These are the types of pointers that can be used on Smartboards. Check out her blog.

Little Miss Kindergarten - Lessons from the Little Red Schoolhouse!: I Really Can't Contain Myself!: "Well, this day started off like a charm... Up early, one appointment and right around the corner a little store called Dollar Tree. I had to..."