May 12 - 16, 2014...Chocolate Fever

I always forget how hectic the end of school is and this year I am SOO happy I decided to end it with a novel study. Thank you Step into Second Grade for your awesome unit!!!

We have been busy reading Chocolate Fever, watching our butterflies and reviewing math to prepare for 3rd grade! We have also experimented a little more with flipped workstations. I have decided Phonics and Vocabulary are the best to introduce flipped internal learning. This week we also worked with Storybird to encourage writing and retelling of stories.

Until next week...

May 5 - 9, 2014 - Cinco de Mayo & More

This week started off with a Cinco de Mayo celebration presented by the ELL Department. We learned about the holiday and wrote facts inside of tacos. The class helped decorate the door...and we won. YES!!!

We also had a field trip to the YMCA for pool safety and swimming lessons. It was a blast!!!

We reviewed story structure and time this week.  We also watched our butterflies as they entered their chrysalis stage.

We continued our ABC Countdown with the following.

F is for finger paint day

G is for game day

H is for happiness day

I is for ice cream day

J is for jump rope day

Only 16 days of school left...holy cow!!!

Ed Tech Update #2...Google & Guided Reading

I'm sort of an old school teacher when it comes to reading, specifically Guided Reading. I think Guided Reading is AWESOME but tracking each student's progress and each group's progress can be daunting. So I created google forms to help me. I have one to track guided reading level throughout the year. I have another to track what we work on during small group time as well as one more to track CAFE strategies practiced. 

I love Google forms because it drops all of you information into a nice, neat spreadsheet. 

I'm sure I saw something similar to this on a blog or on twitter, just can't remember where. Sorry!

I know there are many other ways to use Google Docs but this works for me and my students.

Have a great day!

Ed Tech Update #1

So, I'm not a big blogger or writer but a friend convinced me to blog about how I use tech in the classroom. Here goes nothing!

First, I love coding and second graders love coding. Since we do not have a BYOD policy and are not 1:1, this is how we roll! We use Daisy the Dino & I give them tasks such as "Make Daisy moonwalk." The students then figure it out using their critical thinking caps... or trial & error. Once it's figured out they record it in their journals. They also love to assign tasks to each other.We do this as whole group or in small groups depending on the time we have available.

We have experimented with Hopscotch and a few of my kids are successful at Hopscotch, but Daisy the Dino works the best.

Below is a picture of us working on coding as whole group as well as a picture of a journal in progress.

April 28 - May 2, 2014...Ladybugs & Butterflies

This week we started our butterfly unit by ordering caterpillars from Insect Lore to watch them become butterflies. We started by learning about the life cycle as well as some key terms...aka vocabulary words! We then made our first observation of them as caterpillars.

We started the week by reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar. We also used popplet to create a visual organizer of the items eaten during the week. We also read many other butterfly books.

In math we have been rocking fractions. We sorted fractions, then made a flip flap chart and the kids are excelling at fractions. YES!!!

I also attended a professional development about coding in the classroom. I feel like everyone does what I do in the classroom, but I was proven wrong again this week. My students love Daisy the Dino. I give them task such as, " Make Daisy walk backwards to the sun. Then touch the sun and walk back forwards." We then record our program code in our journals, since you cannot save them. I love coding, even in 2nd grade. All of my students have shown success in coding.

We started our ABC Countdown to the end of school. This week we celebrated A Day with a butterfly art project. Then B Day was bubbles. C Day was Career Exploration using The Career Zoo website. D Day was donuts and E Day was a Science experiment with mentos and diet coke. I cannot wait until next week!

April 21-25, 2014 - Earth Day & Arbor Day

This week we are studying drawing conclusions, measurement as well as Earth Day and Arbor Day.
 We read Ira Sleeps Over to discuss drawing conclusion. We also made a popplet to review the story structure of this book.

There was a huge push on vocabulary this week, so we worked with partners and by our selves to practice ways to remember the meaning of our vocab words. We also worked hard on identifying synonyms and antonyms.

In Math we are still working on measurement. We made Gallon Man which was a huge hit.

We learned about the 3 Rs of Earth Day, which are reduce, reuse and recycle. We also made a cute craft to help us remember the 3 Rs.

Next week we are studying making judgements, fractions and butterflies and ladybugs. We also start our ABC Countdown. I cannot believe we are in the last 26 days of school!!!

April 14 - 18, 2014 - Easter & Field Trip Fun

This week we learned about problem and solution, measurement and bunnies. We read some great books this week including, There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Chick, The Cow That Laid an Egg, The Easter Egg and many more.

We made problem & solution kites in reading. 

 In math we made these super easy perimeter flip books as well as area robots. Thanks Step Into Second Grade for some awesome ideas. My teaching team follows your blog and we all adore it! 

 We also wrote about bunnies and our field trip.

 Speaking of field trip...we took a field trip to the Oklahoma Heritage Gaylord-Pickens Museum and loved it. The kids were amazing and we enjoyed lunch outside. It was a beautiful day!

 Next week we will be studying drawing conclusions, more measurement and chickens!

April 7-11, 2014 - It's Cloudy!

This week we studied main idea, number patterns and weather!

We started off reading Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. We were looking at identifying main idea and details but... we also looked at characters & the setting.

While reading our story of the week, we also discussed new vocabulary words with our group. 

We used GoNoodle's BodySpell to review spelling words. We also played Sparkle to make sure we aced our spelling test this week!

In math we learned about number patterns as well as number rules. We even made our own patterns & rules(& I did not take any pictures!)

In Science, we looked at clouds, the sun & rain. We wrote about what we like to do in sunny weather as well as what we like to do in rainy weather.

Friday, of course, brought out our EdCamp234. We participated in activities & had a blast! 

Next week we will be studying problem  & solution in reading, measurements in math & Easter! See y'all next week!!!

EdCamp234

Everyone who knows me, knows I'm obsessed with  the EdCamp movement. Basically it's teachers teaching teachers. So, I decided to bring it to 2nd grade. My students  brainstormed ideas for centers & identified locations for these activities. Students then chose where they wanted to learn & created a schedule.

My class is AWESOME. Some of the activities included Puzzlemania, All About Biscuit books, Dr. Seuss Read Alouds, technology as well as Math Whiteboard Test Each Other. 

Needless to say it was a hit. Afterwards we debriefed about what went well & what we could make better. The students are full of great ideas. After voting, this will take place again... They LOVED it!

March 31 - April 4, 2014 - Plantspalooza

This week we studied main idea, shapes and plants.

In reading we read Gus Grows a Plant. This was an easy read to introduce main idea and supporting details. We then worked with partners to complete a graphic organizer. We also used popplet to create a graphic organizer using an ipad and SMART board.

We also read Rosie Sprout's Time to Shine to review main idea. It also was a great book to go along with our Great Expectations which we discuss every morning! 

In math we studied 2D & 3D shapes as well as shape patterns. We started out the week identifying the attributes of 2D & 3D shapes. Then we had to create our own shapes using the attributes. For 2D shapes, we created shape monsters and then wrote about our shape monsters. The students loved this assignment, espcially naming their shape monsters!

We started out the week learning about the parts of plants and then we moved into the plant life cycle. We concluded the week by planting lima beans in baggies so we could observe the life cycle of the lima bean. Follow our blog for our lima bean updates!

We also experimented with an EdCamp type learning day on Friday. It was a blast & deserves a blog of its own. Look for that blog early next week!!!

Next week we continue our main idea study with Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. We will also study weather and number patterns. Have a great week!