Inferencing Bottles

We talk a lot about making inferences in second grade so I decided to make some inference bottles.  I spray painted glass lemonade bottles black and spray painted the lids gold and then used a sharpie to write the numbers 1-4 on the top.  I put different things in each bottle.  In one I put paper clips, in another I put pens, in the third I put water and in the last one I put plastic coins (all things found in my classroom). 

We talked about what an inference is and about how we don't just make a random guess but we use the information and clues we have to make a decision about something. 

I gave each table a recording sheet where they had to write down each bottle number, their inference of what was in the bottle, and three reasons for their inference.  I started each table with a bottle and then when they had made their inferences we rotated the bottles so that each table go to make an inference for each bottle. 

They did surprisingly well!  And they came up with great reasons for the inference they had made!

The students loved this activity and it was a great way to reinforce that we can't make random guesses, that we have to have reasons when we are making an inference. 

Here are some pictures of the before and after of the bottles:

 

Fortune Teller Antonym Practice

Growing up in the 90's fortune tellers folded from paper were all the rage.  As I was trying to come up with a fun way for my students to practice antonyms they came back to mind. 

Monday my students will get to put 8 different antonyms in these fortune tellers.  They will then practice away!

Here is what it might sound like:

Student 1: Give me a number
Student 2: 7
Student 1: (moves the fortune teller back and forth on their fingers 7 times) 1, 3, 5, or 7 (I numbered the words so that they could pick the word without saying it)
Student 2: 3
Student 1:  What is the antonym of happy?
Student 2: Sad

This would also work great with synonyms!  I hope that you can put this idea to use in your own class!

Summer Projects!

One thing I love about summer is that I have so much time to work on projects for my classroom!  It seems that when school gets out I have this sudden energy and excitement and I am able to get a lot done.  I have to run with it while t lasts, because I know that it won't last all summer.  School has been out for a week and a half now.  Here is what I have accomplished:

- I moved my classroom (I am moving to a room that is bigger).  I organized everything as I went so everything in my new room is super organized which is great!  I even labeled cupboards and drawers so I can stay organized throughout the year.  I also got rid of stuff that I haven't been using or that had been thrashed by the kids.

- I made a homework binder that the kids will sing each week if they have not done their homework.  It is organized by week (we have 30 weeks worth of homework packets).  This will be an easy way for me to notice who is not turning in homework and allow me to contact home. I also have plastic sleeves in the back so that I can keep a black line of each weeks homework in the binder so that it is easy to make additional copies if needed.

- I updated my "teacher binder" I created a few new forms for it and put it in a new binder.  My one from last year was completely falling apart.  To read about what I have in my teacher binder click here. 

- I created my sharp and dull pencil jars.  Due to the fact that my kids always break my pencil sharpeners (without fail), I will be the only one sharpening pencils next year.  They can put their dull ones in and take a sharp one and then at the end of the day I will sharpen all the pencils that need to be sharpened. I got the ins for 1.00 each at target : )

 I created class journals!  I plan on using these as fast finishers.  When students are done with assigned work they can respond in one of the class journals.  Each journal has a prompt on the front and some ideas of what types of things to include in the journal entry.  Student can latter go back and see how their classmates responses to the journals.  I got this great idea here. 

If you are interested in using my prompts you can download them here.

- I made my math Guess That Number game using an old Guess Who game.  Read about it here.

- I made a jar for Box Tops using an old Ragu jar

- I made some new signs to go by our calendar.  These ill be laminated so that the kids can write on them each morning as we do calendar. 

- I made up some "Fast Finisher" signs that I can put up on the boars (a few at a time) so that students know what their options are should they finish early with an assignment.  I got this great idea here.

- I made some glitter clips to use to hang up "World Class Work" in my classroom.  These were super easy an I love how they look! Got the idea here. I made 12 of them : )

- I cut scraps of old t-shirts for my students to use as whiteboard erasers.  I made a T-shirt quilt last summer and saved the scraps so that Icould use them for this very reason.  I still have a ton of t-shirt scraps left.  It will last me for years to come : )

- I printed out these keyboards that I found here for my students to practice typing their spelling words on for word work. 

- I also came up with a book report form and a missing poster that students can choose to fill out as a fast finisher.  I used a lot if ideas from here free download of a book report.

- I made a reading bingo board to hand out to parents in the fall, you can read about it here.

- I made some question cubes for Guided Reading.  Different colors are for different reading levels.  I got the foam dice in a 2-pack at the dollar store.  They will be great because they will not be loud on my guided reading table and will therefore not distract my class : )

I have also managed to hang out with friends, go to the movies, exercise, make a scrapbook of all my love notes from my kids this past year, go on a camp-out, blog a bit, go to the pool, eat my first snow cone of the season, and find a place to live next year!  Next project here I come!

Dr. Seuss Birthday Celebration

Theodor Seuss Geisel (aka Dr.Seuss) was born on March 2nd 1904.  We will be celebrating his birthday in school this up coming Friday!  Last year I did not do too much for Dr. Seuss's birthday, so I am excited to be celebrating with my kiddos this year!  We will be having a read-a-thon, but since we all know that most Second Graders do not have the capability of sitting and reading for extended periods of time without becoming restless (especially when 2/3 of your class is boys), I am mixing some other things in.  Here are some of the things we will be doing:

When the kids come in in the morning I am going to have a bookmark on their desk with a Dr. Seuss quote on it.  They will get to decorate it or color it however they would like.  My roommate did this last year with her class and I thought it as a great idea.  The bookmark I came up with is very simple, it can be downloaded HERE if you would like a copy:

Of course the students will be bringing pillows and blankets and any books from home that they would like to read during our read-a-thon.

My kids LOVE buddy reading this year.  They are always asking if they can buddy read.  I will allot some of our read-a-thon time to reading alone an some of the time to buddy reading.   

I will be reading some Dr. Seuss stories to them from the books pictured above.  Since one of their favorite tings is laying down during read aloud (I allow them to when they have been really good all day)  maybe I will let hem lie down with their pillows and blankets and listen. 

I have also found some short videos of some of Dr. Seuss's books on YouTube.  We might watch one or two of these:

There are some interviews done by Reading Rockets with Audrey Geisel (Dr Seuss's wife) They are broken up into short 1-2 minute segments.  Some of them could be fun to show to the class.  My favorite is "I've Got It"  It talks a little bit about the process that Dr. Seuss went through as he wrote.  HERE is a link to the interviews

I think it would be fun to have the students interview each other about their favorite Dr. Seuss books.  This way, beyond just reading, they will be thinking about the books a little bit.  They will be held accountable for comprehension.  Each child will fill out the interview sheet for their Favorite Dr. Seuss book.  They will then get with a partner and they will ask each other the questions and respond to them.

This can also be downloaded for free by clicking the link above for the bookmarks. 

I found a FREE app for my iPad that lets you record your voice.  You can then play it back,e-mail it, save it, convert it to an MP4 file etc.  I think it would be great to have the kids practice reading a Dr. Seuss book or a portion of it for fluency.  After they have read through it a few times I can record it and then play it back for them so that they can hear how they are doing with speed, accuracy, and expression.  

I will pull individuals (lower readers) and groups of kids (grade level or higher) to the Guided Reading table and do this with them during our read-a-thon time.  I will probably pull back the kids who are seeming a little restless first. 

If you would like to download the app an play around with it it is called Voice Record Pro.  Here is a picture and description.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!  Thank you for giving us a reason to celebrate literacy and reading!

 

Idiom Class Book

Oh lovely idioms.  We use idioms all the time, some idioms are so commonly used that it is easy to forget that they are idioms.  I truly feel bad for anyone trying to learn this crazy language.  Can you lend me a hand?  Kill two birds with one stone.  Butter fingers.  On the ball.  The straw that broke the camels back.  Literally speaking, the words we are saying make no sense.  Kids often have a hard time with idioms.  This week we are making an idioms class book!  I had the kids draw pictures of the literal interpretation of  idioms (each student got a different one).  This is an idea that I got from a training two summers ago.  Tomorrow they will share their pictures with the class and then we will talk about them and they will write the actual meaning at the bottom of the page.  Some of the pictures were really cute!  Here are a few for you to enjoy:

     One of my personal favorites

yes...tht is a drinking straw

Here is also a PDF file of the idiom class book if you are interested in doing this activity with your class or in using it as a center or a fast finisher activity.

Thanks for stopping by my blog! Enjoy!

Describing Fish!

I wanted to do something really fun with describing sentences this week!  I saw a link on Pinterest that showed a bunch of different things you could do with a paper plate.  One of them was to make a fish.  I thought it would be great to have my students make a fish and then use descriptive sentences to describe the eyes, teeth, body, and tail of the fish.  My students LOVED this activity.  They had so much fun making their fish and then describing them.  While they were working on their fish I overhead one of my students saying "this is like the best activity ever", to which another student replied "yeah it is".  Score!  Having a blast and learning too, how can you beat that?

Lovin' life in Second Grade!

Beginning of the Year Read Alouds

Are there any other exhausted teachers out there?  I think I have the best job in the world, I am so lucky to spend my days with 27 amazing second graders and to have the opportunity to teach them. 

Who doesn't love a job where you get things like this?

One of my favorite parts of the day is Read Aloud!  I absolutely LOVE to read to my kids.  It's a time where I don't have to worry about using proximity so that a student will stop fiddling with a pencil during a lesson.  I don't have to tell the whole class that I love how "suzzie" has nothing in her hands,is folding her arms, and looking at me (so that the rest of the class will comply).  I don't have to give out tickets or warm fuzzies (even thought those are good things and it is a pleasure to give them to the students who are being good).  I don't have to give warnings or take away tickets.  I get to read and my kids sit quietly, listen, smile and laugh.  Read Aloud is always something to look forward to right at the end of the day before we go home : )  

The first book I read to my class this year was The Hundred Dresses.  It is a short book and we read it in just under a week.  I didn't read it last year, but I love the message in it and decided that it would be good for the beginning of the year this year.  The book gave us the opportunity to talk about the importance of being kind to everybody and also what we should do if we see bullying.  I think that most of my kids enjoyed the book.  One of my boys even said "Yeah, that was a really good book."

Since our first book was a little more on the serious side I decided that we needed a fun book for our next read aloud book.  I decided on The Twits by Roald Dahl.  I read this book last year and my kids loved it!  I love this book because there is great voice.  The book really allows yo to model for the kids how to read with expression.  You know you have chosen a good book when the you tell the class that we will be stopping or today and they all say "awwww".  To those classes next to me who may have heard me yelling or speaking very loudly, I apologize. We were just having a grand old time reading and listening to The Twits!  

Some of my other favorite read alouds include: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Summer of the Monkeys, and Boxcar Children Books

I am also excited to read Flat Stanley with my class this year and to do the project that goes with it. 

What are some of your favorite read aloud books?

Details Mini Lesson - Russia Inspired

My brother has been in Russia for two years serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  Missions for the church last two years.  Since he has finished his two years my family came to Russia to pick him up (Yes, I am writing this post from Russia and yes, that is why it has been a while).  Thus far we have had a great trip!  We have seen a lot and enjoyed spending time together as a family!  You can't go to Russia with out seeing (and buying) a matroyshka.  As we were walking through the markets looking at hundreds of matroyshkas set up I couldn't help but think "How could I use one of these in my classroom?"  My classroom has a travel theme so naturally I could just have one in my classroom as decoration, but I wanted to use it beyond that.  I came up with the idea of using it to teach a lesson on details.  If you have or can get your hands on a Matroyshka here is how it goes:

Start by showing the class just the smallest doll.  Ask them to tell you one thing about it. When one student has given you a word that describes the doll put it in a sentence. 

After that bring out the next doll.  Cover the small one.  Tell students that since there are now two dolls they need to tell you two things about the doll.  Help the students to put the two ideas together into a complete sentence.

Bring out the third doll, cover the first and second with it and tell the students that since there are now three dolls they have to tell you three things about the doll.  When you have three ideas from the students help them to put the ideas into a sentence. 

Follow the same pattern with the fourth and fifth doll.  Ask the students if they were to be given these dolls would they rather have just the smallest doll or all 5 together? (you can even have them give a thumbs up for one and a thumbs down for the other in order to get a quick response from them)  Talk about how this can relate to writing.  If I am reading about Spongebob I would rather you tell me 5 things about him than just one.  If I am reading about the new bicycle you just got I would rather read five things about it than just one.  Talk about what the benefits are to our reader if we add details and why it might be important for us to be descriptive in our writing. 

I plan on leaving my Matroyshka in the room after the lesson so that I can refer back to it throughout the year if students are not providing enough details in their writing.

I hope that everyone is enjoying the last little bit of summer!

Much love from Russia!

Katrina    

Book about the teacher!

Last summer right before school started Walgreens had a special where you got a free photo book, all you had to do was pay for shipping.  I decided that I would make a book about me to share on the first day of school and then to put in our library.  Here it is:

The book was a hit!  I put pictures and wrote simple sentences about my family, my dog, my friends, the college I went to, and some of my hobbies.  All throughout the year I saw kids reading it.  They loved it so much that the binding started to come undone and pages were falling out.  I took it apart, laminated the pages and am putting it on a ring for next year (unless there is another free deal, then I might just order it again). 

Make a book about yourself to put in your classroom library, your kids will LOVE it!

Spelling Bee!

We finished with our last spelling list two weeks ago but I wanted to keep spelling going through the end of the year, so I decided that we would have a class spelling bee! About two weeks ago I gave students a huge list of all our second grade sight words and some other words that the students use frequently and should know how to spell including some homophones. We have had a count down going in the classroom and the students have been studying at home. Today was the day! Our class spelling bee! I had the students put their desks in a huge semi circle around the outside of the room. We lined up all their chairs in the middle. They sat down and came up in order. When they came up to the front I gave them a word, thy repeted it, spelled it, and the repeated it again. If they got their word right then they returned to their seat, if they got it wrong then they went and sat on their desk on the outside and watched. I kept track of the order in which the students went out. At the end students got to come up (starting with the winner and ending with the first person out) and pick out a prize! The spelling bee was great! My kids had fun with it and so did I! I think that an end of the year spelling bee will have to become a tradition in Miss Paul's Class!

Summer Reading Incentive

This year I have been an intern at my school which means that the past couple of months have involved a lot of resume writing and applying for jobs. Last minute a spot opened up at my school in Second grade (which is where I am this year). I interviewed and today my principal offered me the job! I am SO EXCITED to be staying at my school and to get to teach second grade again next year! On another note,wouldn't it be nice if every good little boy and girl went off for summer vacation and read every day? It would be nice, but it is hardly a reality. A week or so ago I came up with the idea of a summer reading incentive for my current students. The Olympics coming up this summer gave me a little inspiration. I titled the program "Go for the Gold". I made up a chart where students can bubble in a circle for every 20 minutes they read. At 500 minutes they reach bronze, at 1000 minutes they reach silver, and at 1500 minutes (25 hours) they reach gold. If students fill out their chart over the summer and have it signed by a parent they can bring it back to me at the beginning of next school year and get their corresponding prize. The prizes will be simple and inexpensive, but incentive to read none the less. I think my kids will be excited about it, I know I am! Here is what my chart looks like:

I would be happy to e-mail it to anyone interested in having a copy : )