Together We Are Better Linky!

I am so excited to be linking up with Ashley and Angie, as well as, some awesome bloggers this month. We are starting this month linky off strong with the topic of ....

First and foremost, a general schedule is so important to establish starting on the first day of school. Kids love to know what is going to be happening throughout the day. I always post our specific agenda on the board each day. I also have a general agenda posted by the door. 

Here is an example:

1. OPENING: 

This is when the kids turn in their homework, eat breakfast (yes, this is served by the teacher, in the classroom) and work on their warm up. Their warm up consistent of various activities as the year goes on. I get these resources from TpT. I use the second grade morning work packet from Second Store Window. I also use close reading passages later in the year from Primarily Speaking and Lucky to Be in First.  My students have a folder in their desk with the warm up for the week. They know to do the next page in their packet. After warm-up time, we review and go over the answers together.

2. LANGUAGE ARTS: 

The rest of the morning is devoted to our language arts program. We are mandated by our district to use our scripted program California Treasures. I definitely pick a choose the components I will spend more and less time on depending on the level of my class each year. I also HEAVILY supplement with TpT materials I have created and found online. 

3. WRITING/GRAMMAR/SMALL GROUP TIME:

Depending on the lessons for the week, this sometimes gets pushed to the afternoon. But it is a good time for us to use our reading and language interactive notebooks. I also get time to pull students for fluency checks and an intervention that is needed. This time period flies by fast, so it needs to be well planned out. It is the perfect amount of time to have a short directed lesson for writing. And then it gives the students an opportunity to practice the skill on their own.

4.MATH:

We come in from lunch and have a 5 minute "rest" time. The lights are off and I play lullaby music for the kids. This gives them time to calm down from the craziness of lunch before they must focus on our math lesson. Our district math series is Envision. I follow our district pacing plan and HEAVILY supplement it, as well. I use math centers I have created to supplement the lessons. I also love using task cards to review skills with the kids. Once or twice a week, we also work in our interactive notebooks.

5. SOCIAL STUDIES/SCIENCE: (usually 2-3 times a week)

On many days, this gets integrated into our language arts time. On the days we have P.E,, art, music etc. I don't usually get to a formal lesson. For science, we are supplied with FOSS kits and we have a social studies series that I don't rely one because there is no text for each student to use. So again, I HEAVILY supplement, thanks to TpT.

The rest of the day is review and closing the day. We go over homework and pack up. Ta-dah! What does your schedule look like? Make sure to link up and share it with all of us too!

An InLinkz Link-up

NEW Fifty Nifty States

Last week, my oldest son came home a little mopey after school. I asked him why the long face. He was upset because he was going to have to spend his Spring Break learning all the states and capitals for a test they would have when they got back to school. 

Flash backs started immediately! I remember fifth grade and we HAD to learn all the state and capitals too! I got a little giddy actually. I LOVE geography! I am not an expert in it by any means, but I love me a map! I can't read a road map to safe my life, but ask me about the states and I am down! 

It was time for me to turn my son's frown upside down! I immediately went to work on creating VISUAL flash cards for him. 

Here is what I LOVE about these flash cards: 

The FRONT side has a map of the United States with one state highlighted. This allows for kids to visualize and see where the state is located on a map. When my son saw this he said, "This is awesome! It will make labeling my map so much easier." 

The BACK side of each flash card has the state name, capital, and an enlarged picture of each state. This feature helps them to learn the spellings and match correct states and capitals together. 

My son took these cards to school to start studying and his friends went crazy for them! Now your students can too!

To make learning about the states a bit more interesting and interactive, I also included travel brochure templates for students to gather more specific information about each of the states.

 Writing the traditional state report is important for establishing research and writing skills. But these travel brochure are a fun way for them to gather their information AND they look awesome on display. There are sections in each brochure for students to write about the state bird, flower, flag, interesting facts, places to visit, and what the state is best known for. Each of theses sections has a space to draw a picture or add pictures from the internet.  Maps of each state are included on the front of each brochure or students can use a the blank template and draw their own map. 

This Fifty Nifty States packet is all you need to get your kids excited to learn about the 50 States! Enjoy!

{DON'T FORGET IT! PIN IT!}

Five For Friday Fun + A Giveaway Surprise!

Can it be? Is it so?....Is Friday FINALLY here! I don't know about you, but this seemed like the L-O-N-G-E-S-T week E-V-E-R!!! I woke up Wednesday morning thinking it was Thursday...womp, womp. I hate it when that happens!!! I also had parent conferences this week, so that doesn't help make the week go by quickly either. However, we did manage to squeeze in some St. Patty's day activities and have a weeeee bit o' fun in second grade. 

This week we reviewed the concepts of main idea and details. We made our little leprechauns and flap books to go along with our story Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato. The kids had a blast and I love how each of them shows the kids' different personalities. This craft and writing ideas comes from my St. Patrick's Day Craftivity and Writing Prompts packet.

How adorable is this? This is an incredible freebie from the Teacher Wife. We discussed the saying, "Who is worth more to you than gold?" Then, the kids got creative and meaningful ideas down on their pots of gold. Melt my heart!

We wrapped up our money unit this week with this little craft. Each student got a "piggy" band and a different word problem. They had to solve the word problem AND show their thinking on their bank. The kids nailed this concept! I am one proud teacher! 

A SAD day this week was when my beloved classroom laminator bit the dust (cue sobbing sounds). I am so lost without it. Time to upgrade and get a new one. But let me tell you, this was not a good way to start my week. Enough of my sob story, let's end this post with something fun, exciting, and upbeat....(drum roll, please)

My SUPER girls over at Primary Powers are hosting an incredible SPRING GIVEAWAY! There are tons of prizes and resources to win from all the Primary Powers ladies. And... if you love using task cards, you could win a set of mine during the giveaway! Click on the picture above to take you to the giveaway so you can enter and hopefully be one of the LUCKY winners!

Head over to Doodle Bugs Teaching and link up your week too!

Five For Friday {February 27, 2015}

Earlier this week, my classroom door opened and this little pencil was delivered to me. There is a very special story behind this pencil....This pencil belonged to my mom when she was teaching at my school. She taught 2nd grade in room C. My mom has been retired for a few years now and the pencil was discovered in a file cabinet in our main office. Why was it delivered to me??? My mom's name is not on it. Know one would know it belonged to her... Well.... I teach 2nd grade in room C now! Yes, I am teaching in the same room my mother taught in years ago. Same grade. Same room. Now the pencil is hanging back in its proper place! 

We worked on learning some more about Chinese New Year. We wrote 3 things we learned about Chinese New Year, two facts, and asked a question about something we still wanted to learn. 

This came in handy this week! I had my tax appointment and was well prepared because I saved every single silly receipt. This fabulous idea came from Learning in Wonderland. Click HERE for her blog post about the Tax Tub and get an editable download to make your own too!

We are getting ready for Read Across America week, which is literally around the corner. We made these festive cupcakes and wrote about our favorite Dr. Seuss books. This is an activity I do every year with my kiddos thanks to the talented Linda Kamp! 

I got my Scholastic book order this week. During Read Across America week I always give my kiddos new books. We also honor a very special teacher from our school who entered heaven too early. The books have a sticker inside them honoring her love of learning and reading! I will forever carry this tradition on as long as I am teaching at my school. 

Hope you all had a fantastic week! Head on over to Doodle Bugs Teaching and link up!

Weekend Warriors: Favorite Read Alouds + a GIVEAWAY

My Weekend Warrior gals and I have joined forces this month to bring you some exciting read aloud favorites AND amazing giveaways! 

I love Read Across America week! We celebrate the love of literacy the first week of March every year at my school. We get crazy and goofy all week! One activity I just love is having each child take a picture with our red frame and red and white striped inspired hat. They each pick their favorite book to hold up too. The kids love taking these home at the end of the week.

We also have a read around one day during the week. Each teacher picks their favorite 10-15 minute read aloud book. Then, the teachers rotate to the different classrooms and share their story with the different grade levels. We pair K-2 and 3-5 together for this activity. The kids LOVE having the different teachers come into the room to read. This year I plan on reading:

I LOVE reading A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon! This book is awesome to show cause and effect to children. The illustrations are captivating and the story is simply entertaining. I think all 6 and 7 year olds can relate to this store in one way or another. I usually have many cause and effect follow up activities with this book. I won't have time during the read around, but I will do them with my kiddos later on. 

And now, let's get to most anticipated part of this post:

My Weekend Warrior gals and I want to spread the love of literacy too! We are EACH hosting a giveaway for a $10 TpT gift card. All you have to do is enter through the Rafflecopter below. This giveaway is fast! It ends Tuesday night. So, make sure to enter for your chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure to hop on over to these gals for your chance to win also AND get some great read aloud ideas while you are there!

The Tutu Teacher	Bright Concepts 4 Teachers	A Burst of First	Sailing Into Second
Lucky To Be In First	Crayons and Whimsy	Creative Lesson Cafe	Second Grade Perks
First Grade Smiles	A Sunny Day In First Grade

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