Fraction Fun and Adjectives

This past week we have been working on fractions which my kiddos always seem to do really well with. We made these fraction kites. You can get it free {HERE}

We also made these cute fraction pizzas. I kept seeing them all over Pinterest for sale but why buy and make copies of what your kids can make? I gave them something to trace the circles with and then let them pick how many pieces to divide their pizza into. Next they cut out their toppings and decided which pieces to put which toppings on. 

They had to write the fraction for each topping they chose to use on an index card and glue inside.

We made these tab it books in small group. They came from Simply Skilled in Second.

In ELA we covered adjectives. My favorite thing we do each year with this topic is popcorn adjectives. This was something I bought (I think). I only found the copies in my files but more than likely it came from TPT. You can always do this without templates though and just have the kids draw popcorn pieces and boxes.

First, we brainstormed adjectives for our big popcorn pieces.

Next, they got to eat popcorn while writing their own adjectives using their senses,

Have a great night!

Daily 5 Spring Cleaning

I am a HUGE fan of Daily 5. Not only does it save me hours of preparing centers but the kids love it and they get so much time to just read. Towards the end of the year though I start feeling like there needs to be some changes to bring back that first of the year excitement that is slowly dwindling away.

I am linking up with Deirdre from A Burst of First for a Daily Five linky. Each week you will be able to find great tips on how to spruce up your Daily Five routine. This week we'll be focusing on Word Word. 

Since this is the first week I want to show you how my kids Daily 5 items are organized. 

These are our Daily 5 bookmarks. I used the colors of my groups and they each have one in their book box. If I say go to the 2nd square on your bookmark they know right where to go. I just go in order (1st square, 2nd square, etc.) throughout the week and start back with the 1st. 

I found the idea of how to print them on another blog but this is what I did:
1-Find a set of daily 5 posters on TPT {there are tons of free ones}The ones I used came from {HERE}. 
2. Click print and change pages per sheet to custom 1 by 5.
3. Check the bubble that lets you select the page numbers to print. Enter the page numbers in the order you want your bookmark separated by commas. For example your first bookmark might be 1,2,3,4,5. If you slide the bar under the preview picture it will show you what your bookmark will look like. 
4. Now just print however many you want with that choice on top. 
5. Change the order of the pages printed so a new choice will rotate to the top. For example, now you might put 2,3,4,5,1. 
6. Slide the bar and preview then print again. 
7. Continue doing this until you have all the bookmarks you need. 

Super simple. Attach to construction paper and laminate!

Here are our book boxes. Each one has the student's number and on the wall behind is a piece of masking tape with their number so they will know where to put their box when we clean up.

So on to word work. I put over the word work table each week a copy of the vocabulary words with definitions and our spelling words. I get copies of these {HERE}. If you use the Wonders reading series this site is AWESOME! They have other spelling and word work pages for each week of the Wonders series that I will sometimes include at the word work table. The students have to always make flash cards with their vocabulary words first then they can move on to working with spelling words. I rotate my word work choices about every 2 weeks. I just have a big box under the table with all of my word work items. Some things you would find in this box are stamps, play dough, toothpicks, beans, craft poms, stencils, magnetic boards and letters, letters they can string on a necklace, and different spelling word choice cards. When it gets warm I'll prop the door open and let them write them with sidewalk chalk outside. 

Make sure you read my previous post {HERE} to find out how to get an item of your choice from my shop for free plus enter to win $50 in Educents credit.

Now go stop by A Burst of First for more Word Word ideas! 

Educents Store Launch Plus a HUGE April Freebie

Have you ever visited Educents and seen some of the amazing deals they have going on daily? Well now you not only can browse these deals but seller's have started opening shops on Educents as well. Over 500 sellers have already opened stores and there are more to come.

Right now you can enter to win a $50 credit with Educents now through April 12 by entering the giveaway at the bottom of this post.

Each seller is offering a freebie in our shop to give you a preview of the quality of our work. My freebie is going to be HUGE so make sure you stop by and pick it up. I love having themed centers in my classroom so with this being April I am offering my "Here Comes Peter Cottontail" math centers for FREE. Now this is not just some little few page freebie. This sucker is 152 pages and is loaded with adorable spring clipart. 

It contains 12 centers (3 for each of the math CCSS subtopics including geometry, measurement and data, numbers and operations in base ten, and algebraic thinking). Some of the centers even come with an easier and harder version. Each center will contain a task card, the center activity, an assignment page, and a fabulous math facts game for students to practice addition and subtraction. These centers are based on 2nd grade CCSS but could easily be adapted to fit 1st or 3rd grade standards as well. 

Click {HERE} or on any of the pictures above to grab this freebie.

There is one more fabulous thing I want to share with you. Educents is having a contest to see who can get the most followers. If you will click {HERE} to go to my shop and click on the heart at the top to follow me I will give you a product of your choice up to $5.00 for free. Just email me with the product you want along with your Educents username as well as the number follower you are when you click the heart.  secondgradeperks@gmail.com 

Now don't forget to enter the giveaway below for your $50 Educents credit!

Educents Marketplace $50 in Edubucks Giveaway #3 - Second Grade Stores

Wonders Reading Series

Do you use the Wonders Reading Series? If so, then this product is just what you need. I created this product when my school got a new principal and she wanted our skills for the day/week posted in the room. I decided to take each weekly skill from the Wonders reading series and make cute, colorful mini posters to display on my reading focus wall.

Each Monday I go over with the class what we will be learning during the week and we reference this board several times throughout the week as a reminder of what we are learning.

***NOTE*** The following images are from the 2nd grade preview so the images and specific number of posters listed on each will vary for each grade level. Also, not all grade levels have the same type of posters depending on what your grade's Wonder series covers***

The first thing we go ever each Monday is the essential question of the week so the kids know what topic we will be reading about in whole and small group.

The next thing is the genre for the week. The poster defines it and has a picture to match. The genre posters come in two options.

We then discuss the vocabulary strategy that we will cover. The word is also defined on these posters.

 Next, we see what we will learn as far as our comprehension strategy and comprehension skill.

These cards get used a lot during the week. These are the phonics skills cards. The skill is at the top with a few sample words underneath. They come four to a page.

We also use this time to go over our weekly grammar skill(s).

The packet also includes full size posters of the weekly spelling words and half size posters of the weekly vocabulary and high frequency words.

 There are several options to choose for your header cards. I chose the blues ones for my room.

If you think you would like to start your own reading focus wall for the Wonders series then check out your grade level by clicking on the picture below. I have packets for 1st-5th at this time. And I will be putting them on sale the rest of this week and this weekend. They will be marked down to only $7.00 for around 200 pages worth of material. If you purchase please feel free to email me pictures of your completed Wonders Focus Wall that I can show on my facebook page (secondgradeperks@gmail.com)

FarFaria Reading App

Have you heard of the reading app Farfaria? It is a wonderful app that has over 900 books with five new stories every week for kids ranging from ages 1-9. It has tons of educational books plus classics such as Snow White and Wizard of Oz.

The best thing about this app is that it allows the child to read it independently or there is a feature that will read it to them. Also, each book is leveled. There are common core aligned reading level badges on each book cover. There is also a read along option with highlighted text.

When you first log on you can explore the island. The island looks like this and allows you to pick what theme you want to read from such as make believe, preschool playground, fable hills and more. There is even sing along city, one of my favorites, where you can sing along with the song.

Once you pick your island you have a choice of which book you want to read that will look like this. There are so many choices on every island. I really like that you can see the book level on this page before you pick a book.

When you pick your book this is when you have the option to read it alone or have it read to you. To turn the pages you simply slide your finger across the screen. When you finish you will have the option to save the book in your favorites if you wish.

This is such an amazing way to help students gain a love for reading. You will soon be able to get a year subscription for 50% off. For just $19.99 you'll have access to hundreds of books. Just click on the picture below.

Best Classroom Read Aloud

This month the Weekend Warriors are bringing you posts about our favorite classroom books.
Last year my reading instructional coach came to my class to talk to my students about what it means to be a fluent reader. She brought this book to read and after the first page I was sold. I had never heard of it before but it is called "Wolf" by Becky Bloom.

It is about a wolf that goes to a farm and sees all of the animals reading. He then decides to learn to read but first he reads way too slow. Next, he reads way too fast. The last time he reads it is the perfect speed and all of the animals want him to keep reading. SO CUTE!! The kids just got it after hearing the book. They knew exactly what was meant by fluent reader. It was amazing to see the little light bulbs going off in their heads. Since then this has been by far my favorite classroom book.

Each Weekend Warrior is hosting a giveaway for a $10 TPT gift card. Enter the rafflecopter below for your chance to win.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

InLinkz.com