Classroom Reveal (Ehh...Months Late)

Okay, let's be real.  Once those yellow buses hit the road and school supplies were scattered across the store shelves, I dropped off the blogging planet…. and now we are in Quarter Two of the school year with no posting proof of my teaching existence. But, let me reassure you, this school year has been top notch.  Like, REALLY, REALLY, TOP NOTCH.

  

Can we say it's been a let-me-keep-this-job-forever-and-ever-amen kind of year. I've been beyond blessed with the little lives that have walked into my heart this year… THEY MELT MY HEART.  

Between the, "I don't like the weekends, because I just want to be in school all the time because I miss you!"  and  "I'll do anything for MY teacher." Like, really… I'm not even paying these huggable kiddos to say these things! 

(And hey, I do get the "It's not fair." and "Can't we just take a nap instead?" cards as well, so it's not all perfect in teacher heaven! But, gee… we're close!) 

So, I never did a "Teacher Classroom Reveal" Post at the start of the year… was it because I was trying to wrap my mind around teaching 32 seven year olds?  Might have been.  But that is neither here or there, for hired another teacher and now I'm a mother hen to just 24 ducklings.  

Here's a sneak peak into my classroom on the night before school started… it looks pretty much the same… perhaps just a little more lived in-- okay, a lot more lived in… but that just makes it prettier, if you ask me!  

WELCOME TO ROOM 116!  

When you walk into my classroom, this is what you see!  Special things to note: 1) Yep, those are good ol' chalk boards!  Obviously a favorite.  2) DUCK TAPE.  If you're not using duck tape lines in your classroom, you're missing out.  Perfect. Straight. Lines. Every. Dang. Time.  This year, I decided to do a boy line and girl line, instead of one giant line that lingers through the entire hallway.  #bestdecisionever  I'm never looking back.  3) See those crates under the Calendar?  Those hold my Reading Wonder Series Books and Clip Boards… Each crate is color coded with a row on the rug.  Genius. 

Love my word wall?  Yep, me too.  The plan is to put up high frequency words… yep, that's the plan.  (note: add to the to-do list)  That white board now houses our math center and reading center rotations.  (not shown)  I stepped away from the ever-so-popular clip chart this year and decided to do the AMAZING "Super Improver Wall." (from Whole Brain Teaching)  **WINNER** !  I seriously feel like I've won the jack-pot on this one!  My sweet darlings are tearing up their goals and we can't get enough of celebrating our friends once they complete a level.  Need a positive change in your classroom?  THIS. IS. IT.

My little desk… oh, it will never be this clean again.  I blogged about that Math Calendar in a previous post and have a student companion book in my shop if you're interested!  It's a great way to practice and master those HUGE number sense standards. 

THAT RUG.  I love it SOOO MUCH.  My teammate from last year moved and left me that.  Best gift ever.  Personal space is so easily defined!  Each one of my students have their own space, so there is NEVER ever arguing.  I also *LOVE* that shelf in the middle of the room.  We house our table trash cans and extra group supplies there.  It's so convent to have everything at our fingertips!  You'll also notice our light green "table boxes" in the middle of each group.  We store extra pencils, erasers, highlighters, sticky notes, pens, scissors, and glue in these boxes.  I was using little table crates, but everything kept falling out of them… this was the PERFECT solution. 

This is our reading focus wall.  We reference it EVERYDAY.  Many of those anchor charts you can find in my store.  Even though we use the Reading Wonders Series, I also implement some CAFE reading strategies in… really, they go hand-in-hand…  

Do you spy what I ended up doing with my little table crates?  They now are the home of our place value blocks!  I found the idea on Pinterest!  

And we'll complete the tour with a picture of the back of the room. :)  Those blue mail boxes are another addition to my classroom this year.  SOOOO NICE.   I hold my small groups for math and reading at the back table.  I also hold intervention groups and writing conferences there.  It's really my "desk" through the day!  Behind the table you'll find that I gridded the cabinets with washi tape to make a word bank for our vocabulary words.  We reference them often, and my kids just light up when they use one of our "Smart 2nd Grade Words" or if they find one in a book!  

Thanks for taking a visit our room.  (And reading this LOOOONNGGGG post)  You deserve a pat on the back or high-five, seriously!  :)  

Let's Count!

This BACK2SCHOOL season has got my brain juice pumping! :)

I've had this little *GEM* in my brain for awhile… and it's FINALLY DONE! 

Say Hello to "LET'S COUNT!  Counting to 1,000 by 1s, 2s, 5s, 10s, and 100s"

I know, don't you love those little monsters!!

So, what's included?
-2 Different Hundreds Charts
-1 Blank "You Fill It In" Hundreds Chart
-5 Practice Pages--- (1s, 2s, 5s, 10s, 100s)
-4 Mini Books--- (1s, 2s, 5s, 10s)

The *GEM* in this product is the "mini books." I've made 4 mini books that have your kids write the numbers to 1,000 counting by 1s, 2s, 5s, and 10s. The books are two per page and black/white to save you on ink! 
I've included guide numbers and the "start" and "stop" number on each page of the mini books so that students can easily check to see if they are counting correctly. And you'll also notice that the pages are off center so that the staples don't cover any of the charts. :)

Here's a closer look at the mini books: 

Won't your students be so excited to color this cover page? 

Check out these guide numbers and then the "start" and "stop" numbers at the bottom of the chart! 

You'll also notice the charts are off center-- I did this on purpose!  Now your staples won't cover any of the image! (You're Welcome!)

And here is the mini book all ready to go! 

I do suggest using these mini books across multiple days (or weeks!)-- no child will want to count to 1,000 by ones ALL DAY LONG-- but as a "one-page-a-day math warm-up", YES PLEASE! 

 You could also use them as morning work, at math center, or even "I'm done" work.

Have I got your brain juices pumping now?  

Check them out here---> CLICK ME! 

And let me know if you have questions :)

AND PSSSSST…. I'm giving away a copy on Facebook!  So check out my page-- Second Grade Sprouts

CLOSE READING: Notice & Note, PLUS A GIVEAWAY!

It's…. BACK TO SCHOOL time!

I am EXCITED and have that feeling of HIDE-ME-UNDER-THE-TABLE-SUMMER-IS-SO-NOT-OVER.  You too? Humf :) This summer went LIGHTNING fast and I've been avoiding looking at my school email just incase my principal has sent me that "ALL CLEAR" to work in our classrooms before school starts. (Because isn't it a constant fight between wanting to get prepared for the upcoming school year AND to savor EVERY. LAST. MOMENT. of summer freedom? CONSTANT BATTLE I TELL YOU!) 

As the school year ended (ALL THE WAY BACK IN JUNE), I made some lists and goals I wanted to conquer this coming fall.  One of those goals was to learn more about CLOSE READING. 

Have you read "Notice & Note, Strategies for Close Reading"?  

The authors, Beer & Probst, have done an excellent job of writing up six practical strategies for close reading that can be used in the classroom.  YEP, SIX.  Not overwhelming at all, right? :) 

The book notes example lessons, anchor charts, & the ideas behind these strategies.  If you want to know more, I've read many book study posts from other teacher authors that are helpful AND I've found this pdf link with an **awesome** sample of the book that will get you wanting more! 

Notice & Note Sample Copy 

The book was so inspiring, that I made a set of ADORABLE, colorful, and kid friendly "Notice & Note" Anchor Charts and Bookmarks that you can find in my store. 

Click HERE to check out this product!  

AND I WANT TO GIVE ONE AWAY TO YOU! 

How do you enter?  

Simply leave a COMMENT below with your EMAIL and ANSWER this question:

HOW ARE YOU GOING TO SAVOR YOUR LAST DAYS OF SUMMER?

I'll pick a winner sometime tomorrow afternoon! :)

**UPDATE: Giveaway is closed!  Congratulations to our winners! :) Please check your emails! 

Happy last days of summer! 

March Currently

March!?!  Gee, January and February sped.  My school is getting ready for state testing, and my kiddos are FINALLY getting back into the swing of things.  (Thank goodness!)

These last weeks have been a little WILD with Middle of Year Testing and chilly weather.  My poor kiddos haven't been out for recess FOREVER so we've been doing some extra moving around because these babies are getting a little cabin fever.  

I'm linking up with Farley with March Currently.  Here is what I'm currently doing… 

The last "?????" is a chance for you to guess the question.  My answer is "The Post Office."  

Take a guess!

Off to make a To-do list and get a snack!  :)

Mark Your Calendars!!

Who loves freebies!?!   This Friday the Facebook Free-for-all begins!! Personally, I can't wait! :) 

If you've never participated before, here is the low-down. 

1) Your favorite teacher bloggers have gotten together to share some FREE products!  YIPPIE!

2) To start, you hop from each Teacher's Facebook page, hit "like" to become a fan and then grab their freebie!  REPEAT! 

That's it!

Quality stuff that you can use tomorrow!  

Have you marked your calendar yet? 

:)  See you Friday! 

Monthly Math Calendar Journals!

This January I decided to try something new during our calendar time with my 2nd grade kiddos… Math Calendar Journals!!! And **OH MY** I'm in love!  My dear ones are so involved and can do all the steps independently.  Plus, I can easily check to see if they are "getting it" or not because we are constantly practicing those common core standards.  

Here's a peek! 

The packet comes with a cover page for each month.  Here's January!

I have the kids start on the Calendar Journal while I walk around and check to see how everyone is doing.  Then, as a class, we fill in the missing blanks.  Here is what my board looks like so that the kids know what to fill in.  I call it my "teacher worksheet!" It's laminated so that I can easily get it ready for the next day with a swipe!  I also have a calendar and a wipe-on/wipe-off clock up that they use in their Calendar Journal.  

                  

 

Our first page in the packet is a freebie from Mrs. Unger.  (Find it here. I didn't included it in my packet online because… well, it's not mine!)  On the first day we start the month journal my kiddos fill in the calendar month, year, and days of the week.  Each day we revisit the calendar and write in the new day's number.  Looks like we caught this little one in the middle of her "31." :)  

Next, we do our "Today's Date is…" Page.  As you can see, thanks to the snow and cold we didn't have very many school days in January this year!! :) 

Next, we fill in the Clocks, Patterns (opps! forgot to take a picture of that!), and Money!  In the future I plan to do more "word problem" type prompts with these. 

For the number of the day, we identify the hundreds, tens, and ones place. We also review odd and even, word form, and expanded form.  They LOVE the number sentence where they get to create a problem that equals up to the number of the day.  They get creative!

And then the Math Journal!  Sometimes I put up a "Problem of the day" other times, it's a "Prove how you know" or "Make a list" type prompt.  We don't get to this everyday but I strive for once or twice a week. 

By the end of our Math Calendar time, my "teacher worksheet" looks like this: 

Full to the brim with learning! As I said before, my kiddos are soaring with this Calendar time and I love that we are able to touch on so many Second Grade Common Core Standards in this small block of 10-15 minutes.  

Come Monday, we're on to our February Journal!  The kids are so pumped and are eagerly waiting to see what the new monthly page looks like!

If you'd like your own copy of my Monthly Math Calendar Journal Pack be sure to check out my TPT store! 

Hope you are enjoying the weekend!

Shayla :) 

Hello!

I'm a 4th year teacher with experience in 4th, 3rd, and 2nd (my favorite!).  I love teaching and I love my students.  I'm excited to share what we've been up to and to share some ideas with you as we continue to grow our little sprouts!