Leaving Tracks of My Thinking

My 2nd graders have been so busy practicing their reading strategies, and I am so proud of them.  It is so exciting to see them THINK while they are reading.  This year we have been utilizing The Comprehension Toolkit by Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis, and the results are truly amazing.

Recently as we worked on leaving tracks of our thinking, we focused on making text-to-text connections.  My team and I also wanted to challenge our budding readers to compare and contrast two different genres of text, so we read a fiction story on one day and then a poem on the next day.  For this reading experience, the key to picking out the poem was to choose one that had story elements.  It worked out perfectly and we were able to reinforce the elements of a poem at the same time.  Score!

On each day, we filled out this page where we did some parts together, some parts in pairs and the rest individually:

Then on the third day, we used each page above (previously filled out) to complete the page below as we compared (similarities) and contrasted (differences).  Again, we did one similarity and difference for each together as a whole class, one in pairs and then they tackled one on their own.  It completely stretched their thinking and they LOVED it!  I forced them to think of similarities and differences that were somehow related.  That's what made it challenging and a lot of fun.

In the rounded rectangles in the "Story" area is where I asked them to draw and color a picture of their favorite part of that story/poem.  In the shaded "My Connection" area is where they made a self-to-text connection for that story/poem.

I was blown away by some of the ideas my kiddos generated and I can't wait to do this again!!

Roll-a-Word {freebie}

OK, friends...let's be honest here.  We've made it 100 days!  Our mid-year assessments have been completed or we are hopeful they will be finished very, very soon.  We are counting the days to Spring Break, not because we want a week off (but let's face it...by then, sometimes we desperately need it), but because we get to break out our super cute spring outfits.

And it's at this time of the year that our kiddos might be getting a little restless.  OK, "might" is a little mild.  I know in my classroom, my little baby bears are showing signs of academic unrest with some of our routines.  So, I decided to create this fake game activity which might help spice up their Work with Words life.

Hopefully, this will keep them on their toes as they practice their spelling words.  Used individually or maybe working with a partner, I can envision this being used in a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th grade classroom.  If you have some firsties (first graders) who need a more rigorous spelling practice, then perhaps this will meet their needs.  The only materials you would need to provide besides this printable are two number cubes.  Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!  Enjoy!

Today's Number {freebie}

One of the math routines in 2nd grade is Today's Number where our kiddos compose and decompose numbers in various ways.  At the beginning of the year, we spend a lot of time doing this routine together and working through the different ways that we can show Today's Number.

About this time of year, my students are getting really good with this routine and can apply many ways to show Today's Number on their own.  It's so exciting and makes me such a proud math mama!

This handy dandy little card can be included in an interactive math notebook so that when your students are doing this math routine, they can easily reference the different ways they can show Today's Number.  (There are two on a page so you can save a tree.)  :)

If you need something to show parents or to take a grade on, here are a couple of options for something to use outside of a notebook:

This one has two boxes labeled "equation" allowing students to use any operation.

This one has one box labeled "equation using addition" and one box labeled "equation using subtraction." 

I hope your little math monkeys enjoy doing Today's Number as much as mine do.  I allow my kiddos to choose their own two-digit numbers, and for some students, I encourage them to use three-digit numbers.  (For any that do three-digit numbers, I tell them to show only the tens and ones for the tally marks.)

Enjoy!

Pegs to Hang Ideas On...freebies!

"All words are pegs to hang ideas on."  This was said by Henry Ward Beecher, a 19th Century minister, author, and lecturer.  His older sister just so happened to be Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin.  I heard his wise words about a month ago at a science conference, and they've been ruminating in my mind ever since.

With my lack of blogging this fall...winter...ok, first semester, I decided to compile a mega blog post of vocabulary resources that you can customize.  I tried to make them self-explanatory and easy to use in Word or PowerPoint.  You can use them by opening the document, adding whatever text you need/want in whichever areas you deem necessary, then print.  Yes, many times we ask our students to create their own foldables from start to finish.  I have found especially with my little second graders, that sometimes with just a little bit of it already filled in, they are more focused on what I want them to remember...THE MEANING!!!  (It is also less intimidating to them if I don't hand them a blank piece of paper and say, "OK, make a foldable with these 6 new words.  Good luck!")

You may have to play around with your printer for any that require printing on both sides.  For my printers at home and school (both HP), I print one side, turn the printed side over so that the blank side then faces up, place that stack in the bypass tray (blank side up), and then print the second side.  Voila...it works!  Play around with yours, and I hope it works for you on the first try!  [fingers crossed]

So, here are some free goodies for you, and I hope you are able to use them and adjust them for your students.  Many of these foldables can be glued into your students' interactive notebooks so they can be used as resources later on.

Oh, one more thing...what you see below are screen shots, but I've hyperlinked everything for you because I love you.  They are all editable documents that you can download for free...again, because I love you.  :)

WARNING:  Sometimes, when you see these documents in Google docs, they look like a hot mess!  In the top right corner, look for DOWNLOAD ORIGINAL.  When you open them in their respective programs, they are totally fine and normal and calm like your students moments after your principal leaves your classroom from doing an observation or walk-through.  If you have any problems, just email me and I'll hook you up...because I love you. :)

Vocabulary Flip Flap Book Title on Top
*print page one first; then print page two on the back of page one
*fold the page in half and cut along each line to create flaps that open up revealing definitions
*you can do without the title
*I made this one with my kiddos, and I scanned a finished product into my computer which I don't have access to right now.  As soon as I get access to it, I'll upload it.   

 Vocabulary Flip Flap Book Title on Side

*Print page one first; then print page two on the back of page one.
*Fold the page in half and cut along each line to create flaps that open up revealing definitions.

Vocabulary 3 Door Flip Flap Book
*Cut on dotted lines and fold flaps in towards middle.
*The solid lines in the middle do not really serve a purpose since anything that is written would be written on the reverse side of the text you see.  However, they would be faintly seen and could serve as a guide for students.  You can also have students fold on those lines so that fold lines are created which would then create more evident boxes for students to write in.
*Definitions can be written (by students) on the inside "flaps" or areas.
*There are two different page orientations for you to choose from.

 
Vocabulary 4 Door Flip Flap Book
*Cut on dotted lines and fold flaps in towards middle.
*The solid lines in the middle do not really serve a purpose since anything that is written would be written on the reverse side of the text you see.  However, they would be faintly seen and could serve as a guide for students.  You can also have students fold on those lines so that fold lines are created which would then create more evident boxes for students to write in. 
*Definitions can be written (by students) on the inside "flaps" or areas.
*There are two different page orientations for you to choose from.

Four Corner Mini Book
*This is so versatile!
*This is another one where you will print on page one, flip it and print on page two.
*Or you can add text to the corner triangles (on page one) and have your students add their ideas to the inside squares/diamonds (on page two).
*Just fold in half and half again first; open up.
*Then just fold your corners down.
*The orientation of this flip book can be more like a diamond...just rotate it so that the corners are at the top and sides.

 Word Family Foldable
* I just love word families especially for primary students, struggling readers/spellers and ELLs

Four-Square Foldable
*I've used this type of foldable for many things.  The Frayer Model is how I've used it mainly, but it can be used in many ways.

Well, I hope I've shared something that you can use to help your kiddos hang ideas on!

Create-an-Animal & Create-a-Plant {freebie}

With the craziness that this school year has brought, my blogging goal for October was to post at least twice this month.  Well, I have just a little more than 24 hours to meet my goal, so mission accomplished.  Yea, me!

One of the objectives in 2nd grade is to identify the basic needs of plants and animals.  And if you've been following me for a while, you know that I am not the type of teacher who likes kids to regurgitate information in the format of a worksheet.  So I designed an activity where my students could apply their learning of the basic needs of plants and animals while being creative.  I also wanted them to include what we've been noticing in nonfiction texts...all of those awesome text features.  Just click on any of the images below to get the free download for this activity.

The border I used came from a freebie from www.traceeorman.com.

Here are just a couple of examples of what my little zoologists and botanists created....

The name of my plant is the Double Bubble.  My plant needs are sun, water and air.  My plant lives in Australia. 

The name of my plant is the polka-dotted plant.  It is found where the oak tree {lives}.  My plants needs water, sunlight, and air.

Snap-a-doodle doesn't need a shelter to live.  But, they have snap mouths to protect themselves.  And that's why they call it a snap-a-doodle.

My kids LOVED creating their plants and animals!  In fact, several of them asked for another blank diorama to create another one!!

Phonics Chants {free printable}

Ok, ok, ok....so it's been over a month since I've posted here.  Believe me, I know!  The start of this school year threw my team and me an unbelievable curve ball, and we are just now starting to come up for air.

So, here's a little something I threw together tonight for all of my incredibly faithful followers, my tremendously wonderful friends who have continued check my blog and leave such sweet comments.  I'm so sorry that I have been incognito.  I literally have been working nonstop on "school business," church stuff and training for my marathon since August 15.  Today was the first day that I took a nap, and even though it lasted for only one hour, it was GLORIOUS!

My freebie for you today is a set of 16 cards that can be used anytime you want your kids to chant words.  In 2nd grade, we have some "phonics charts" or word charts that contain rows of words that follow a phonics rule of the week.  There are about 5 words on a row and 4-5 rows on a chart.  We usually display one chart via the projector each day, and we ask our kiddos to choral read the words.  And that's all fine and dandy, but come on now.  Let's make that a little more fun.  So, some of these chants are my original ideas and some of them are ideas that I've tweaked from traditional word wall chants that I found from other websites and blogs.  So {here} ya go...enjoy!  Happy reading!  Oh, and if you have more ideas to add, please leave a comment and I'll make more cards to add to this set. 

Shifting Gears and Putting On My Running Shoes

This is my teaching blog.  So many of you read my posts hoping to gain a teaching tool, a lesson idea, or a quick tip to make your life a little easier in the classroom.  Thank you all for reading my posts and leaving me such encouraging comments.  I know you don't even know me, and yet you so faithfully check in here as you strive to become an even better teacher.  Well, today, I want to shift gears a little.  I want to share something very near and dear to my heart.  I hope you all know that I just want to see cancer annihilated.  My dad lost his battle to cancer in 2007, and since then I've been running with The Leukemia & Lymphoma's Society Team In Training as a way to help others who are in the same situation that my dad was in.  You can read more about my sweet daddy and his story here.  Please allow me to take my teaching shoes off and my running shoes on...

Yesterday was an exciting day for me!  My devotion to helping to fight cancer in memory of my dad was reaffirmed, and my dedication to training for my fifth marathon was reignited.  Why?  My running buddies with Team In Training met for our first run at the lake, and this little guy's mom is in my pace group.  May I please introduce one of the cutest little itty-bitties ever...Bennett!

Oh my goodness!  What a cutie pa-tutie!

Bennett is 18 months old.  He is A.DOR.ABLE!  He is a future Longhorn.  He has leukemia.  Of course, if you ask his mom, Kirsa, you'd never guess that he's in his 5th month of treatment watching him scramble around with that precious smile on his face.  On April 9, 2011, Bennett was diagnosed with high risk B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).  As Kirsa and I were running, we were talking about how he was diagnosed.  Unbelievably, Kirsa told me that just five days before his diagnosis, he had passed his one-year check-up  with flying colors.  Over the past several months, Bennett's parents have had to witness him endure countless pokes to his body, blood transfusions, lumbar punctures, bone marrow aspirations, several rounds of chemotherapy, associated side effects, treatment for blood infections, and many nights in the hospital.

Bennett is "pole-surfing" while his body receives his current protocol of chemotherapy.

Bennett's treatments will conclude on July 28, 2014.  He will be four and a half years old.  He will have gone from baby to toddler to little boy, all while fighting cancer.  I can't even imagine the celebration his family will be having on that glorious day!  Please pray specifically that Bennett's body will remain strong through the next 60-day protocol.  According to Bennett's doctors, this next protocol will be a tough one.

You can make a difference in Bennett's and all of the other patients' lives who are fighting against this horrific disease by making a donation.  The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society uses your dollars to help find cures and better treatments for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma. With your support, LLS can help improve the quality of life for Bennett, other patients just like him, and their families as well.

Kirsa, Jessica (my other running buddy whose story I will share next time), and I will continue to train as a way to do SOMETHING in the fight against cancer.  While we do the training, we will be praying for healing, comfort, peace and that His love would invade the hearts of those who hear our stories.  May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace as you trust in Him, so you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

Kirsa, me, and Jessica...a force to be reckoned with!

So what are you waiting for?  Click here.  Make a difference.  Save a life. 

Thanks so much and keep on keepin' on!