Elf on the Shelf: Adventures in the Classroom

Last year a parent let me borrow an Elf on the Shelf for the holiday season. I had never heard of this before, so I had to do a little research. Unfortunately for my class last year our elf was a little bit of a slacker... This year I vowed to find a better elf!

 It is my honor to introduce Sparkles our class elf! 

Sparkles was a few days late to our classroom...but to keep us from worrying she sent us LOTS of fun surprises! The first day we walked into the classroom to find a brand new Christmas tree, a Nativity, a postcard from Texas and a LOT of glitter! Sparkles was in Texas on top secret Santa business.

The second day we got a postcard from Atlanta, Sparkles was on her way to visit our classroom, but she made a stop at the World of Coca Cola! She brought each student a special jingle bell from Santa's sleigh (and promised to bring Miss P her favorite book "The Polar Express") 

When Sparkles finally arrived the kids were very excited...and boy did Sparkles have some fun plans up her sleeves! Most days she left us a detailed note telling the kids how they were the day before, explaining her newest hiding spot, or telling us about Santa. I think the kids favorite day was when Sparkles built her own Zip Line! The kids each wrote Sparkles an individual letter for her to read.

One day the kids had not been on their best behavior, so Sparkles was not very pleased. She had to BEG Santa to let her stay in the classroom. Lucky for the kids Santa was in a forgiving mood, but Sparkles did not have time to reply to the letters right away...and she caught a little cold!

Do not worry! Sparkles recovered from a quiet day in the classroom and was able to write EACH student back! One of my favorite letters to a student from Sparkles...

Sparkles really bonded with our Jungle friends during her stay! The students had a hard time finding Sparkles this morning! She did a great job hiding! 

Sparkles did not just watch the students, but she brought them projects! Mrs. Claus accidentally shrunk Santa's suit and Sparkles needed the classes help in designing a new suit! Sparkles brought us the story of what happened, as well as a letter from Mrs. Claus HERSELF! The students had to design a new suit and then write a SEVEN sentence paragraph explaining their choices. (These second graders BLEW me out of the water with their writing!) 

During the last few days of school Sparkles got extra silly! One morning we came in to find her drinking a concoction of Sprite and Glitter! (Sparkles favorite color is GLITTER) 

The last day of school was the most fun. Sparkles found my wrapping paper and had a little too much fun with it. To the kids surprise she brought us BRAND new markers and crayons (she had heard some arguing students and wanted to solve that problem!) 

Overall, I think Sparkles had a GREAT stay in the jungle and I do not think my wild things scared her off! I had so much fun having this little visitor for the month of December! 

Teacher Survival Kit

One of my favorite things about being a teacher, is the fact that so many of my good friends are also teachers! It provides me with many outlets to discuss new ideas, to vent about a long day, and gives me people that understand the "teacher life!" 

One of my absolute best friends just started her first year teaching 5th grade! She had taught previously in Oklahoma, but it has been a couple year since teaching. I decided to surprise her with a Teacher Survival Kit. I had seen several ideas on Pinterest, and one kind teacher at my school made me one when I first arrived, so I had lots of help. 

 I found the box at Michaels and found the stickers there as well. They have so many options, that picking the right ones can be a challenge! I loved the contrast between the bright letters and the cardboard ones!

So what did I deem essential for this survival kit? 

1. Mini Toothbrushes (How many times have you been wishing you had this after a lunch?)

2. Advil...need I explain?

3. Notepad and Post Its (for all those little reminder notes!) 

4. Fancy Flower Pen (make writing those notes a little more fun)

5. Stickers (kids will do anything for a sticker...and these ones are giant!) 

6. Kleenex (Classrooms are germy...you will probably get a cold!)

7. Shout To Go (For those rushed mornings where you spill something!)

8. Deodrant (another rushed morning essential!)

9. Protein Bar (for the day you forget to pack a lunch!) 

10. Apple Timer 

11. Airborne 

12. Stamps

13. Hall Defense Vitamin C Drops

There are so many different things you can put in your own Teacher Survival Kit. I loved this box because it was HUGE and allowed me to fit everything in it! 

Math Talks, Manipulatives, and Freebies... Oh My!

I have to be completely honest, last year I really struggled with making math engaging and fun for my students. I would try every so often to pull out the manipulatives, but in my mind it just took too much time/effort to use them (terrible I know)! This year my amazing school started the year with a Common Core Math training for every teacher. We spent two days learning, and observing a veteran teacher...and WOW! After that everything kind of clicked for me. I have been doing hands on math for the past week and a half, and my kids have been loving it! The woman training us came into our classroom and taught a lesson for us to observe. That was probably my favorite part of the training. I was able to observe four lessons in all, and I have already implemented a few of them in my classroom! 

using ipads during Math Centers (still a work in progress) 

One of the best things I took from the two day trainings was called "Math Talks"(it comes from Number Talks, check out their website here)  It is all about having the kids explain their thinking as they solve problems. We sit on the floor and I will write a simple math problem (7+9) on the board and let the kids go! When they have one answer they hold a thumbs up to their chest. It gives the kids an opportunity to share their thinking process, and hear their classmates. I explained to the kids that being able to explain math using words is a super skill! We will be working on this new super skill using Math Talks and Interactive Notebooks (more to come on that later!). 

Math Scoot! (find it here)

Besides the Math Talks, I have been trying to avoid the book. That may sound bad, but currently we are reviewing first grade skills and the majority of my kids do not need to be doing the math book pages. Instead I have found some hands on activities that allow me to assess their knowledge, while still covering the skills found in the textbook. 

My new favorite thing ever? Part Part Whole Mats. I think I used these in a variety of ways every day last week! (Find a download of the part part whole mats I created at the end of this post!) This way we used Part Part Whole Mats was as seen above. Each pair of students received a bag with 7 counters. They took turn tossing the counters. The yellow counters represented one part, the red counters the other part. The students were able to find all the different ways to make 7! 

This picture is from the same activity, but we used a different Part Part Whole Mat the next day. It had a few things filled in and the students had to use their minds to fill out the Part Part Whole Mat. Then came the tricky part...they had to create the Fact Family that went with it! 

My favorite part about this style of teaching? One day a student said "but we didn't do math today?" My response, "Yes! We did, we did Math Talks and used our Part Part Whole Mats." The students were surprised that this was considered math. I am loving it because it gives them a little bit of independence to learn things on their own, while at the same time giving me a chance to informally assess them on their understanding! 

Grab some of the Part Part Whole Pages I made for my students FREE here...I hope you can use them in your classroom!

Also...if you are hunting for SUPER Cute Apple Themed Math Centers...please check out Miss Amanda's new product! I love it, it is perfect for Fall and has everything covered. Perfect for getting a quick and easy start with hands on math lessons! You can check it out here!
 

Silent "E" Scavenger Hunt

So...I have to admit, I am a major Teacher Pay Teacher's addict. It is seriously a dangerous thing. I could spend hours searching through all the amazing products. If you are a fellow TPT user, than you will understand the excitement felt when you find an awesome product that is FREE! 

Our skill for the week was silent E, so I logged into TPT and searched for some fun activities to do with my Wild Things, and I stumbled onto this activity.  I changed the use of it a little, by turning it into a scavenger hunt. 

The kids loved getting to use their clipboards and search the room for hidden words. The used their silent "e" magnifying glasses to change the words! My quick finishers were instructed to practice writing sentences using these new words. I also loved this scavenger hunt, because it allowed me to circulate and talk with the kids, an informal assessment on their understanding of the skill. 

This was a great TPT find, that allowed me to make learning the skill for the week a little more fun! Plus the kids loved getting to keep their brand new magnifying glasses! :) 

Safari Explorer Craftivity

Going along with the jungle theme, my students spent this morning crafting their very own Safari Explorers. I purchased the template from Teachers Pay Teachers...and it was worth every penny. This was most of the students first time completing this much cutting...it was definitely a process. I had many students finish quickly, while others took all morning finishing with Explorers missing a few fingers (I joked that maybe their explorer ventured to close to some lions!) Once I hung them all up in the hallway I was very pleased with how they turned out. My kids LOVED hearing compliments from all the other teachers has they spotted our explorers. I really loved this product, because it included the template for the explorer as well as several writing activities! I modified it a little and had my students write about one thing they were looking forward to this year. Get your copy of the template HERE. 

Like I said this project required a LOT of cutting...which for some new second graders was a little tough! Luckily I have some awesome parents who have already volunteered to help cut for future projects like this one. I think that will save us all some time. 

I let the kids use the floor to assemble their explorers. Most of their desks were completely covered in scraps of paper so the floor was the PERFECT workspace. 

My favorite part of this project? How much fun the kids had completing it. Yes, it did take us an ENTIRE morning to finish, but it is still the beginning of the school year. I let my kids "Squeak like a mouse" (which means whisper voices) while they work, and I loved hearing them socialize with one another! It also warmed my heart seeing my early finishers help their classmates put their explorers together! 

What fun beginning of the year projects are you doing with your class? 

Back to School Plans

The first week of school is over, and I am absolutely loving my class of "Wild Things!" This first week of school, is generally spent going over rules and getting to know one another. I wanted to find a lot of really fun activities that got the kids up and moving around the classroom!

I purchased a packet from Teacher Pay Teachers, Super in Second by Babbling Abby, that had a ton of wonderful resources that made planning for the first week extra easy. One of my very favorite activities in this packet was "Find a Friend." This was an first week of school activity I remembered doing all the way through college. In college it was lame...but to a second grader it is the most exciting thing ever! They got to get up out of their seats and talk to their friends without getting into trouble!

 Another activity in the packet was a "New Friend Interview" I paired the class up into partners and gave them a place to sit on the floor. They did a great job interviewing and illustrating their classmates. My favorite part was hearing the students introduce their new friend to the class. This activity was also extra helpful for the two new students to our school!

My school is currently working towards adopting the Common Core standards, which place a big emphasis on writing. I have decided to start from the beginning with a lot of writing. This packet had several activities that gave the students an opportunity to write...providing me with a great beginning of the year writing example.

Writing activity number one was very simple. The students finished the sentence "Second grade is going to be super because..." I loved reading the sweet answers the students gave. 

The next writing activity had the students writing three sentences with a little help from me! I broke it down using transition works "First, Next, Last" It was really interesting to read what the students remembered from the night before second grade! 

 Miss Amanda did this writing prompt with her first graders, so I borrowed this and had my students share about their summer. I gave the students an opportunity to share with their classmates.

 The last activity was not in this packet...and I am having a hard time finding the link for it! If I can find it I will add later. This activity went along with the book "What if Everybody Did That?" by Ellen Javernick. My favorite page discussed what would happen if everyone in the class shouted out! It was funny to watch my "blurters" really think about this issue! 

After reading the story, the students were given a scenario and a blank story page. They had to come up with the "then" part of the story. This was one of my favorites!

All in all we had a fabulous first week of school, and my "Wild Things" have really impressed me with their ability to follow directions! It makes my job a lot easier, once the class understands the rules and procedures for the class! 

Wishing all my teacher friends a WONDERFUL start to the school year! Good luck with your group of "Wild Things!" 

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Digital Book Talks: Connecting Literature and Technology

Going along with the title of this blog, I figured I would share a little technology project that is PERFECT for upper grades! This was a college assignment we completed for a technology class. I think the Digital Book Talk is a great way for students to share book recommendations with their classmates. There are so many things you can do with the Digital Book Talk, mine is very simple. The basic idea behind a Digital Book Talk is that you read a few pages of the book, and it with several questions that cause the viewer to predict what will happen, and encourage the viewer to read the book. I think it would be so awesome to have students complete these over the summer and share them with their classmates when they come back to school!

Since I work with second graders, I would have to modify this project a little bit...because lets be honest this would be QUITE the project for second graders! :) Last year, my kids did fantastic jobs making their own books using Book Creator. This year I am planning on having them make a Digital Book Talk with their fourth grade buddy. It will be very beneficial to have each student paired with an older student!

Here is an example of a pretty basic Digital Book Talk I made in college...and can you guess what book I used?? :) I used iMovie to create this, and it was very easy to do!!

Have your students created a Digital Book Talk before?? I would love to hear how it went!

Let the Wild Rumpus Start: Classroom Tour

And the new school year has started! Well, classes officially start tomorrow, but I got to meet my fabulous group of "Wild Things" this morning!

The classroom was definitely set up to welcome my "Wild Things" to the Jungle where they would be learning for the year. I spent a lot of time and effort getting my classroom to look perfect! It definitely helped that I had an expert teaching me her ways! Seriously, everyone take a second to check out Miss Amanda's blog Let's Get Fancy in First! She is AMAZING!All of her wonderful ideas helped me put my room all together. It also helps having a group of dedicated/inspired teachers working to get their rooms looking amazing! My good friends Katie (4th) and Laura (5th) spent many hours in my room helping me out! :)

 My "new" reading corner was definitely a hit at Meet the Teacher today! All of my kiddos from last year were bummed they didn't get to enjoy it! So where did this marvelous reading corner come from?? The beautiful bookshelf was courtesy of Miss Amanda, and Laura, 5th Grade, took my WORD WALL CHART and turned it into a rug...I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE IT!

Reading is something I enjoy doing in my free time, and I think (or I hope) my love of reading rubs off on my "Wild Things:! If it doesn't, I am hoping I can capture their competitive sides with this A.R. Board! Each "Wild Thing" has a monkey that will swing from vine to vine as they take A.R. Quizzes!  

 I can't wait to start moving their little monkey clips across the vines! I had several ask me what happened if they went over the 100+ limit! I definitely love that enthusiasm!

 My little welcome board! I really loved this kit because it went with my Jungle theme, but it also incorporated lots of bright colors, allowing me to tie in the lime and teal colors!

 Everyone says you learn from your mistakes, and I definitely learned that I needed to display a Daily Schedule last year! At least once a day I had a student asking "What are we doing next?" or "When is Lunch?"  I am hoping the Daily Schedule will help solve this problem!

 My re-decorated filing cabinet was made with scrapbook paper (blue), duct tape (green) and washi tape (zebra!) It was one of the EASIEST projects to complete, and it made the filing cabinet really pop. I also added some paper to my cabinets for a little extra color. This is where I have my clip-chart and rules. I am using the Whole Brain Teaching rules, and I found so many wonderful options on Pinterest!

A close up of my clip chart...made by the fabulous Miss Amanda (seriously can you imagine what my classroom would look like without her help??) You can find this clip chart in her Teachers Pay Teachers store! (she has lots of other awesome things too)

 

Labeling EVERYTHING in my room was extra easy with FREE editable zebra labels from TPT! Find them here  I actually used these to make the name tags for my desks, because I was tired of the GIANT name tags taking up so much space!!

 Another awesome TPT addition to the classroom, my writing center! I really like this because I was able to put it up by my writing center, and it has everything my "Wild Things" will need when writing! A Checklist, Lists of Words, Topics to write about, plus examples of different types of writing! Oh and did I mention it comes with writing paper for each style of writing?

 Yet again, another piece of my room inspired by Miss Amanda! She did this border with tissue paper in her room and I was obsessed! It looks super difficult, but I found it very easy. You have to go into it knowing it will not be perfect! This board is where I am going to write the homework and display our Common Core I CAN Statements!

Well I hope you enjoyed getting a little peak into my Jungle! Get ready for lots of posts on all the fun things my "Wild Things" and I do this year!!