It's been too long...

It's been quite a while since I last posted something on here, and tonight I got to thinking that it was high time I got back at it.  It's been a busy start up to the year in Grade 2 but I love all my kiddos and we are having a great time learning together.  This month we have been studying bats and how they grow and change.  Its a good way to sneak in a study that is relevant to the time of year, but not offend any of those who don't celebrate Hallowe'en.  We read a lot of books and did some sequencing activities, but my favourite part is by far the end.  Check out my Bat Tree...

I didn't really have this idea in mind when I started putting them on the board, but it bugged me that they were just upside down on the bulletin board in mid air.  

So, I got creative with some tissue paper and VOILA!  Below the bats are our pumpkin glyphs, and the leaves at the bottom have a string of lights in them too.  

The best part about the whole thing was the kids reaction when they came back from lunch and found this!  It was a great feeling!

That's all for now, but I am making it my goal to keep things better updated on here.  Hopefully  it will help me remember things from year to year as well!

Happy Sunday Night!!

Shake It Up, Baby!!

I started using The Daily 5 in my Grade 3 class last autumn, and although I loved it, there was a fair amount of prep work to get started on it.  When it came to the word work activities I followed the suggestions of others online and in the school, and was basically pleased with how most of it worked.  Now that I have a bit more time on my hands and some experience using the program, I know that one of the areas that I really want to make some changes to is the my Shake-It bottles.  Last year the kids had fun with them, but they were basically just searching for a list of words in the bottle.  I wanted to incorporate more written work with this, so I went on a hunt!  I was not disappointed when I came across the Springtime Compound Word shaker bottle at Sunny Days in Second Grade.  I didn't waste time putting it (and her synonym and antonym bottles) together, and tested them out in a friends class.  They were a hit, the kids loved them and they actual showed evidence of learning!  Be sure to check out the Sunny Days site, its jam packed with easy to create ideas!

The ideas I got from there inspired me to create two more Shake-It activities to be introduced during the new school year.  The first was a Back to School Shake-It and I'm very happy with how it came out.  I'm blessed with 2 testers of just the right age in my own home to try things out before they go LIVE at school, and they have given it a thumbs up!

Since I plan to use this with The Daily 5 program, and Word Work is the last area I introduce, I kept it simple.  The kids will only have a week or so to work with it, and since it is the first they will be doing this sort of activity, I wanted to keep it fun and engaging.  So, the words in the bottle are the words they need to find on a Back to School Word Search.

My second Shake-It idea of the day was sparked by a fellow teacher who was complaining that she needed to instruct a small group of her students on identifying verbs and adverbs.  However, because of the range of abilities in her class, she simply didn't have time to waste on a full lesson that they wouldn't all be engaged in.  So, I thought to myself...we need a Shake-It for that!  From there, the Add an Adverb bottle was born.  The bottle itself has 10 adverbs in it and the worksheet has 8 verbs.  Students need to decide which adverb to pair with the verb and then draw a picture to illustrate it.  Some of the ideas my daughter came up with were "accidentally swimming" and "sadly sleeping".  She spent a good chunk of pre-dinner time giggling to herself as she created her illustrations, and giggles are always a good sign!

If you think you can use them, both these activities are available for purchase in my TPT store.  I plan to keep creating so I can keep rotating them in and out during the school year, so stay tuned for more!

Opportunities Abound!

Exciting news today!  

Debbie Diller is coming to Winnipeg to talk about setting up Math Workstations in your classroom!  It all relates to the information in her book by the same title.  Using work stations in math that operate similar to the Daily 5 has been on my wishlist of things to do for a while, but I could never find a good resource for how to achieve them.  Given the reviews from other teachers, I think this may be the answer I've been looking for.  I purchased the e-book version of her book so that I can go to the session in August fully armed!  

BUT!  That's not all!  The school I am working at has been using the ideas from the Reading Power books as a school wide literacy initiative.  The lessons work great and the kids really respond to the methods, but the original program centres on Fiction books.  So, imagine how excited I was to discover that Adrienne Gear (the author) is also coming to Winnipeg to do a Session on NONFICTION Reading Power!

My summer reading list is piling up and it's only May! 

Getting started!

Friday was a thrilling day at our house!  First (and foremost) my firstborn turned 10 years old!  He was waiting all week for Friday and the day did not disappoint him when he opened his present from Mum and Dad and found his very own tablet!  He was thrilled!

Second, at 9:20 am on Friday morning I received the phone call I had been waiting for all week from Human Resources "officially" offering me the grade 2 position.  I had already heard from the principal that my name had been forwarded as the preferred candidate, but nothing is guaranteed until that phone call.  It was a nail-biter of a week while I waited to hear, but all is now well!

After an evening celebrating with the family, I began planning for the fall!  I know it's early, and I know I'm crazy, but I love, love, LOVE to plan for school!  Having never taught Grade 2 before I began with the curriculum, but lets face it...there's nothing fun about that.  During some Google searches I happened across an amazing FREE resource that I simply cannot believe I have never found before.

The site has been put together from an Ontario teacher and has full science units that meet the curriculum in Western Canada as well, and everything is provided free of charge.  He includes descriptions of each lesson, the handouts, pictures, web links, book suggestions, quizzes, tests, parent letters and more!  Plus he has also scanned in his actual lesson notes so you can see his suggestions and additions as well as a breakdown of how long each lesson took.  It truly is amazing, and again, did I mention FREE??  All he asks is that you click on some of the sponsor links that help provide funding to keep the site running without cost!  The website can be found by visiting Mr. Collinson's Class.

After finding his site I promptly printed everything out and put the units in their own binders.  They are currently hanging out on my desk at home waiting to find their spot in my new classroom.  I can't wait to use them with the kids!

I have always been a fan of creating booklets that contain all the handouts students will need for the current unit in Social Studies and Science.  That way you can complete them in class and send them home to use as review for the test.  Keeps everything neat and tidy, plus it means parents have to buy one less duotang or notebook at the beginning of the year.  So, in addition to the lessons the website provides I designed my own Workbook Title Pages for the kids to decorate and personalize.  They are available as free downloads on my TPT page.