Camp Compliments

 

I've seen this before and apologize that I don't know who the original genius behind this was.  I told the kids at the beginning of the year that for each compliment they get (from another teacher or administrator) , we will add a link to our chain.  When the chain hits the ground we will have a class party!  They are doing AWESOME, we're almost there.  I'm not a huge fan of external motivation, I would rather it be intrinsic.  I am a huge fan of positive praise however, and this is a great way to celebrate compliments and positive praise.  It also makes the class have to work together as a team in order to earn compliments, I'm all about that!

Bucket Filling Display

It has been WAY too long since I have blogged!  Planning a wedding and teaching has proved to keep me rather busy, much more busy than I would like to be.  I'm so excited to be marrying my best friend in December though!

This year our school theme is "bucket filling".  We love that it focuses so much on the positive!  Kids are trying to be bucket fillers instead of bucket dippers.  We have little pieces of paper that we give them with drops on them that they earn when they are being a bucket filler.  There are then bucket fillers from each class recognized weekly. 

We have our class bucket (courtesy of the principal) hanging on the wall in our classroom.  This is where they put all the drops they earn.  At the beginning on the year when I introduced the theme I had the students write on their own bucket what they would do to be a bucket filler this year and then sign it.  I hung those up around the bucket that they put their drops in.  It makes for a cute display. 

Some Summer Organization

It has been WAY too long!  It has been great to have summer to relax and rejuvenate.  The highlight of the summer was definitely getting engaged to my best friend!  The big day is in December!  Now that I am headed back to work in a few days my mind is on school and I thought I would share a couple organizational ideas from this summer.

My hundreds, tens, and ones blocks used to be in a huge bucket and I would divvy them out each time we needed to use them in math.  In second grade we use these often (addition, subtraction, place value, double and triple digit addition and subtraction) and I decided that I wanted an easier way to pass these out.  Tupperware containers proved to be my perfect solution.  Now I will be able to easily pass out the Tupperware containers when we need to use the hundreds, tens, and ones blocks.  Not only that, but the students will be able to put pack them up and put them away easily. 

My students have pencil boxes in their desks with the things we use on a daily basis, including crayons for when they need to color.  For some projects however colored pencils are better and the students get excited about using markers every once in a while.  Since we don't use colored pencils and markers every day (or even close to every day), I created a basket with colored pencils and pencil sharpeners and a cup with markers for each table group.  When we need colored pencils or markers someone from each table group will be able to go get them (I like having in the cubbies pictured above because the kids can reach them and therefore get them and put them away).

Those are a couple of my organization projects from this summer.  It is nice to be teaching second grade for the fourth year! I can focus a little more on organization and other things that may help the year to run a little more smoothly. 

Good luck to all you teachers out there with the beginning of your school years!

Marker Management

Ever have that time when you get to the board and intend on writing on it, but there are no markers there?  Since my kids have whiteboards and we use them quite often, on occasion my markers from the front board go missing.  Last year I saw a beautiful colorful pack of expo markers.  I decided that this would be a perfect solution to my missing marker mystery.  My school provides black, blue, green, and red markers, therefore those are my "student markers".  The rest of the colorful markers are my "teacher markers", off limits to the students. 

 

 

I keep my "teacher markers" in this pink magnetic container on my whiteboard that I got for a dollar at Dollar Tree.  The kids also know that the marker in the pink container are mine : ) 

 

 

This is my solution to the Missing Marker Mystery.

 

I hope that this will be helpful to someone else!

 

Miss Paul

Money Management and Duck Tape Wallets

This past school year was the first year that we used the math common core.  Money is no longer taught in first grade with the common core.  This makes money a big deal in second grade.  That being said I have decided to use a money management system next year to give the students increased exposure to money. I think it will also be very motivating for them.  I hope that it will not only increase motivation but responsibility as well!

Students will earn money for things such as setting a good example, working hard, doing an exceptional job on an assignment, helping a fellow student, helping me, cleaning or organizing without being asked, following directions perfectly, etc. 

As far as behavior goes students who are misbehaving will first receive a warning.  If they do not comply after a warning they will owe me 25 cents.  Following the fine if they still do not comply they will owe me another 25 cents and will fill out a "think sheet" that will then be sent home to be signed.  Following a "think sheet" there is another 25 cent fine and a missed recess.  If students are still misbehaving there will be a phone call home accompanied by another 25 cent fine.  

To increase responsibility there will also be fines for the following:

Leaving your desk messy -10 cents

Turning in homework late or not turning it in -10 cents

Not turning in your reading calendar - 10 cents

Not having the required minutes on reading calendar -10 cents

Talking or running in the halls - 10 cents

Stealing someone else’s money: ALL YOUR MONEY

As I was working on the management plan the other day I decided that it would be cool to make the students duck tape wallets to keep their money in!  They will keep the wallets in their pencil boxes.

I easily found a YouTube video done by a young girl that taught me how to make them.  You can check it out:

Here are my supplies:

I made two different styles.  One for boys and one for girls:

Here are the insides:

Here are the tickets that I will print on red paper and laminate.  I will then place them on students desks or hand them to them.  They will then come and pay me when they are doing independent seat work, so as to not disrupt the class during a lesson.  

How to use money management for small groups:

I assign table group points for the table who is in listening position first or to table groups who are all working hard.  Tables who have their books out first or tables who are all cleaned up also get points on occasion.  I keep track of the points on the board.  At the end of the week the students at the table with the most points will each receive a quarter.  

How to use money management with whole class:

When the whole class is being good or when they receive compliments in the hall I will award them money.  We will keep track of it on the board.  I will also take away from it when the class as a whole is not behaving.  At the end of each quarter when we are able to buy prizes (I will divide the amount of class money equally among the students and distribute it).

We will see how it works.  I think that the students will respond very well!  

Sudent Number Sticks

When I started making these both of my younger sister said "NO, don't make those!" and then proceeded to tell me exactly which of their teachers had used these and how nervous and uncomfortable it made them. 

Classroom environment and making sure my students feel safe and comfortable are extremely important to me.  That is why I do not plan on using these for calling on a student to answer a certain question I ask during a lesson (not at the beginning of the year at least). 

I do however plan on using these when everyone in the class wants to help me with something, answer a question, or be the line leader etc. and they are all being good so I really could call on any one of them.  This way I will ensure that everybody gets a turn.

I put class numbers on the sticks as opposed to names because this way I can use them year after year without having to make new sets each summer.  I made 28 just to make sure I was covered. 

A little closer view.

Here is the jar that I put them in.  I put the question mark on the front because who knows whose number

I will pull out.

The bottoms are painted so that I know who I still need to pick.  I will flip them over when I choose them : )

Another summer project completed!  Can't wait to use them with the kids in the fall!

Classroom!

I have been out of town for a lot of the summer but I am back in town and have been working on my room a lot the past few days!  

I've got a long way to go but here are some pictures of what I've got so far:

Welcome to Miss Paul's room!

When you walk in towards the back of the room there is the "second grade road".  Next to it is a sign with a bunch of things we will be learning this year!  This little display may just be one of my favorite things in the whole room!  I saw the idea written about somewhere, expect for the signs were all along the road.  I changed mine up a little :)  The stick that the signs are on is a bolt from fabric.

This is my carpet area!  Calendar, morning meeting, read aloud, story sharing, lessons, etc, it's all going to go down right here : )

On the stand next to my chair I have my compliments and concern jars.  Students can write compliments and or concerns that are distributed or discussed at our weekly class meetings.

Mountain Language will go up on this bulletin board.  Above the bulletin board is my birthday train!  It says "All aboard the Birthday Express".  I put the kids names along with the day that they were born on strips above the car with the month in which they were born.

I decorated above some of the cabinets with things from around the world.  I've got a travel theme going on if you haven't picked up on that yet.

Bookshelf. Still need to do a little organizing.

This is my wolf.  He is from Mexico.  I have the students put him on their desk when they go to the bathroom.  This way only one person is out at a time and I can always see who is out. 

This is a combo of two quotes that I found on Pinterest of course.  I painted it.  A little inspiration for my kiddos!

Rules, consequences, rewards.

My bookshelf.  Done Jars and Warm Fuzzy jar are both there!

"Paul Airlines - were learning takes flight"  I found the tag line somewhere and painted it on the airplane that I found at Hobby Lobby.  I just couldn't pass that plane up!

George!  Actually, I don't know what his name will be this year.  I let the kids brainstorm names and then vote on the first day of school.  He goes home with one student each weekend.  They take him home, play with him to their hearts content, write about it all, and then bring him back in his suitcase on Tuesday and share about their weeked with the class.  

 

No Name, No Grade!  This is where no name papers are going this year.  I am going to attach a pen to it with a string so that students can write their name on their paper and turn it back in if their paper does happen to end up here.  Students will be responsible for checking for no name papers.

That's all for now folks!  It's coming along slowly but surely! 

Recipe to Success!

I came up with this idea towards the beginning of the summer and am really excited about doing this lesson sometime during the first week of school.  One thing that I LOVE to do is to dress up for lessons!  The look in the kids eyes is priceless and they listen really well too : )  

The objective of this lesson is for my new class and I to come up with a "Recipe to Success" for Second Grade!  I will begin by dressing up as a chef/baker. Luckily I dressed up as a baker for Halloween a few years back so this part will be easy.

I will come in and have the kids brainstorm things that a baker or a chef would need.  They will brainstorm in table groups and then I will call on some students to share.  Hopefully they will come up with "recipe", if they don't then I will lead them to it.  We will come up with ideas on why a recipe might be important and why we need to use a recipe. 

I will then tell them that we are going to come up with a Recipe on how we can make Second Grade a great year.  I have a letter that my class from last year wrote to my incoming class, we will read that and pull some ideas from that.  I will then have the students share things that they did last year in first grade that made first grade great.  We may add some of those.  Following this I will have students think about rules and procedures and different things that I have told them about my class. 

As I write our ideas on our BIG RECIPE CARD (that we will display in he classroom near our rules and consequences) the students will write some of their favorite ones on THIS small recipe cad.  I found the free download on Pinterest, you can type on the recipe card to personalize it to your class.

When we are done with the lesson I will take the students recipe cards and laminate them.  I will then give them back to them and let them use them as a bookmark.  They can serve as a good reminder throughout the year.   

That's a wrap.  Recipe to Success Lesson.

Nice Notes

Something that I think is very important and greatly influences the relationship I have with the students and the classroom environment is focusing on the positive.  I try to always point out the positive behaviors and work habits that I see.  Not only is it important to me to be verbal in the classroom about the great things I see, but there is power in writing it down and sending it home with the students.  Last year I tried to send nice notes home with my students, I was much better at the beginning of the year than I was at the end.  When those notes did make it into my students cubbies and home  it made me so happy to see how happy the notes made the students.  I think that it did help improve my relationship with each of my students because I was taking time to show my students that I notice and appreciate them and the work and things they are doing in class.

In order to keep myself on track next year and to make sure that my nice notes home don't drop off the face of the earth at the end of next year I made a chart.  Here I can record the names of the students under the day that I sent a nice note home with them.  It will be easy for me to see who has gotten one and who needs one.  Seeing the chart will also be a good reminder for me to write some every day.

 Grab a copy of the chart HERE

Another thing that helps me to stay on track is to keep a stack of nice note papers right next to my computer where I will see them and remember to write on them.

HERE is a copy of  my nice notes.  I just make a few copies of these and then slice them up and I am ready to go!

What are some of your favorite things to do to create good relationhips with your students and a positive environment in your classroom?

Tickets and Rewards

Along with my travel theme I decided that I would try using "tickets" as positive reinforcement next year.  When I see students exhibiting excellent behavior or working hard and making progress they will earn a ticket.  I will give each student a plastic bag to keep in their pencil box where they can keep their tickets.

Different amounts of tickets will buy different rewards!  None of them involve sugar and almost none of them will cost me a cent! (the best types of rewards)  I'm hoping that the kids will get really excited about some of these rewards and work hard to earn tickets and save them for rewards. 

Here are some of the rewards:

10 tickets

make up and do a secret handshake with the teacher

get an explorer dollar

50 tickets

get a white piece of paper to draw a picture on

be the line leader on the way to lunch

pick a new pencil

be the line leader on the way to specials

tell a joke or story to the class

line up the class for lunch

100 tickets

use a teacher chair for the day

draw a picture on the board that gets to stay up all day

be the line leader for the whole day

use a pen for the day

pick the music that the class listens to during handwriting

read a favorite book to the class during read aloud

150 tickets

sit at the teachers desk for the day

move your desk anywhere you want for the day

have lunch with the teacher

5 minutes extra recess

bring a stuffed animal and keep it at your desk with you for the day

We will see how it goes!

Opps, I didn't turn in my homework!

Download a copy HERE!

A few weeks ago I saw a "No Homework Binder" on Pinterest.  I decided that I liked the idea but changed it a little bit to work better for my classroom.  We have a homework packet that the students are to turn into the "homework bin" by Friday. I will keep a stack of these slips next to the homework bin and on Friday either one of these slips or the homework packet will be in the homework bin.  I will then send the slips I receive home stapled to the "Week in Review" form pictured bellow.

Download a copy HERE!

Warm Fuzzy Jar

This is something that I am going to do in my class next year! I'm excited to see how it goes! One thing that is really important to me is having a positive classroom environment where students feel safe and loved.  I think this will contribute to such an environment.   

              Here is my Warm Fuzzy Jar! As I see students doing kind thing, serving, helping each other, encouraging each other etc. they will get a piece of paper and a pom pom (warm fuzzy) to put in our Warm Fuzzy Jar!  When the jar is full we will have a class party! The only stipulation is that everyone in the class has to have contributed a Warm Fuzzy in order for us to have the party!  I'm really excited to see how this will contribute to a positive classroom environment where my student will be excited to come and be able to learn to the best of their ability!

Download the sign for your own jar by clicking HERE!

Self Motivated Class

A while back I was talking to my principal. She talked to me about trying to get my class to a point where they are more self managed. In a sense this means trying to get my class to a place where they are good because they want to be good and not because they are going to get a ton of rewards. This is a task easier said than done. I am working on it though!

This week I tried something new with walking in the hallways. I gave the students more responsibility than I ever have before. I asked them if they could lead the way quietly and slowly without me in the front (I just walk beside them). They did it and they were AMAZING!

We did need a little bit of help during centers. I found a metal in my desk drawer and knew that it would be just perfect. I put the metal on someone who starts to work on centers quietly, then throughout centers when I say switch the student who has the medal has to find someone else who is working quietly and give them the medal! The students loved this and they were very quiet : ) We will see how long they can keep it up!



During Silent Reading today I had about four kids at a time go back an sign this card for our principal whose birthday is this weekend. They were so excited to sign the card! And they were so excited to take it down to her after school! Sometimes it is the small things : )




Life is good in Second Grade!

Tis the Season

Tis the season for student to need extra motivation for good behavior and quality work:
Word Class Work! I display assignments that are very well done.

The kids are working hard towards paying for a kids Christmas! Thanks to my roommate Danielle for the great idea!

Tis the season for crushes!
It is very hard not to laugh when a seven year old comes up to you and says "Miss Paul, I don't know how it happened it just did" I replied with "What happened?" t which she said "I have a crush on Andrew!". Oh my, the difficult love life of a seven year old. I guess it is working out for her though because he wrote her a love note and when one of the other kids asked him why he said "I just love her and I don't want to loose her." Guess we are going to have to have a talk about how just being friends is perfect when you are in second grade."

Tis the season for spending hours on pinterest looking for holiday teaching ideas!Some of the ideas:

Sequencing - Make a reindeer by tracing a foot and two hands then add eyes, a nose, and a mouth. Have the kids write down the process step by step as they do the project.

Comparing and Contrasting Literature - I made a huge snowman out of paper. On each part of the snowman body I will put a picture of a snowman book. We will read the three books and write about each one on the snowman including the similarities and differences between them.

Writing:
Read the book: Santa Stuck and then do a writing activity on what you would do if Santa got stuck in your chimney.

Make Grinch faces with huge smiles! In the smile write about what you would do to make the Grinch grin : ) You can make puffy paint by mixing shaving cream and elmers glue for the rim of the hat : )

Reindeer puzzle ornaments!

Christmas around the world!

Holiday Read Alouds!I wrapped up Holiday books and I choose one student to unwrap one at read aloud time each day - they LOVE it! Someday I think I will do this with my kids. That is when I have kids : )


(I will post pictures when I have them)

Tis the season to watch cheesy Christmas movies on T.V. while lesson planning! Yes!

Tis the season for hot chocolate for breakfast early every morning : )

Tis the season for Miss Paul to get a break?
I think that one is going to have to wait until December 22nd.

Happy Holidays!

Cornucopia

Here is the cornucopia picture as promised! Students receive a vegetable or fruit for good behavior. They get to write their name and something they are grateful for, then I put it up. Before Thanksgiving they will get to take all of their pieces home : )

Halloween Motivation!

Halloween is coming up so I thought I would use that as a way to make my kids behave in class. I drew this pumpkin. When the whole class is behaving I let a student fill in a square. If they fill them all in before halloween I will let them choose and vote on what I should dress up as for halloween!