Second Grade Perks: July 2014

Pages

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Summer Lovin' Sale Day 4

Today is the last day! 


Here is what's on sale for day 4, the final day of our big sale.


The first item is A Word A Day Vocabulary. I have to tell you I used this product the last two years with my 2nd graders and it went fantastically! I was so pleased with how they remembered the meanings to these words weeks even months after we had learned and tested on them. The idea is you introduce one word a day and discuss its part of speech, synonyms, antonyms, practice making sentences, etc. By Friday they have 4 words to be tested on. During the week you will send home a homework page on Tuesday that covers Mon. and Tues. word of the day and then another homework page on Thursday that covers Wed. and Thurs. word of the day. There are even review pages you can throw in to have them practice previous words. Click on the picture below to go to this item in my shop. Can we say great word work activity for my fellow daily fivers out there!


Here are some samples of what all is included.







The next product on sale today is my Morning Work Basket Bundle. I also used this with my class the last two years. There is a different set for each month of the school year. Students will set up a morning work notebook (basically numbering pages in a spiral) and you will make a few copies at the beginning of each month and you're all set. This has been one of my favorite items to use with my class.


 I have blogged about this product in the past so if you have already heard this explanation I apologize.  First, every table in my class has their own morning work basket with a number on in.



Inside of the baskets are all of the materials they will need for the whole week. (We rotate baskets each week). These materials are a ring with 5 morning work task cards all aligned to CCSS, books, morning work sheets, and a bag with their name for unfinished morning work.



 When the kiddos first get to the room they have their basket already on their table. They pick a card from the basket and get to work. Some cards may ask them to read a book from their basket and complete a task and others may ask them to get a morning work sheet to complete. All of this work is done in their morning work notebook. The pages are numbered in their notebook so they know what page to complete each task on (makes easier for grading). The cards are simple enough that they can complete one card each morning. At the end of the week, I take up the notebooks and baskets and grade them. On each page I either put a check or I circle the number if they need to go back and look at it again. I might even put a note as to why it was circled. Most of the time it is because they did not follow all of the directions on the card such as color your picture.






 On the inside of their notebook I put the date and the grade they got for the week. As you can see in the picture the first time we did these I waited and graded at the end of the month of August (we had only been in school 2 weeks) and the girl missed 10. After that they start to get the hang of it and do much better.



I mentioned above that each kid has a bag in their basket. Some days students just don't get finished with a card and if they need to they can put the card and any materials they were using in their bag. That way the next morning nobody gets their card before they get to class.

 Now why do I LOVE this routine so much? Several reasons. One, it is aligned to CCSS and increases in difficulty through the year. Two, I can get grades from it each week. Three, the kids know what to do all year long without me having to explain it. And the biggest reason of all is because at the beginning of each month all that is required of me is to print and laminate the cards (which I didn't have to do this past year since I already prepared the cards the year before) and make a few copies of the required morning work sheets to put in their baskets. After I take care of that I am finished preparing morning work for the entire month. 

Click on the picture to be taken to the bundle and get it while it's on sale. 

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Morning-Basket-Work-Bundle-August-May-698850


Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Summer Lovin' Sale Day 3

So we are already at day 3 of our Summer Lovin' Sale sale. I have to say I am having so much fun picking out my favorite items to put on sale for you each day. 





Here are today's items: Daily Common Core Warm Ups. There is a language version and a math version and both are 20% off today! There are 3 questions per day to go over with your class. The questions may be skills you have covered and it may be skills you have not gotten to yet. The great thing is if you have already covered the skill it gives great review and if you have not it gives a great introduction for the future. The main thing I was looking for when I created this was repeated exposure to important common core skills for better retention with my students and that is exactly what I got last year by using these. You can click on the pictures to download a preview and read more about each one.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Daily-Common-Core-Language-Warm-Up-320369


The way I use these with my class is by putting them up on the projector and my students write their answers on their desk with a dry erase marker. 


That's not the only option though. Students can write answers on paper or you can print the questions and make copies. I use them to start my language and math lessons daily. This is a set for the whole school year. It is divided into 4 nine week periods and provides 3 questions per day (that you will repeat for better understanding) that are aligned to the common core standards.  Whether you have covered the skill or not, these daily warm-ups make for a great review of old skills or introduction to new skills. You can also use them to assess what your students know.

Here are the direct links to both:

Daily Common Core Language Warm Up

Daily Common Core Math Warm-Up


Don't forget as always to check these sales out as well!