I hope you are still enjoying your Summer and if you are back at work,
well I wish you an A-W-E-S-O-M-E year ahead!!!!!
I just wanted to pop in and tell you a bit about my Comprehension Coloring Pack. It's so much fun and we had a great time with it last year. I actually had a really difficult group and this was one of the activities where they were most engaged and well behaved!
It's pretty simple. The name of the pack says it all! The students read the text and color accordingly. Here is a peek at my Comprehension Coloring Pack!
I like to ask the kiddies to highlight or underline important words (i.e. under, over, left, right, etc...). Many of the pages also include extra activities (i.e. adding to the picture, writing words or numbers, answering questions, etc...). I have also included vocabulary, we learn new words with each page!
We have so much fun and I get to check their understanding!
I actually set aside a period for this activity, but it can easily be done as morning work and/or early finisher work. I sent it to printing and made it into a booklet, but my colleague liked printing off a few pages at a time. It can be used in a variety of ways!
Here are some more pictures...
They are such great artists!
You can check out my Comprehension Coloring Pack HERE!
Don't forget to download the preview for some sample pages!
I've teamed up with some AWESOME Second Grade Bloggers to share some great
Back to School Tips with all of you!
What a fun way to get some quick and easy ideas for your classroom!
My first STAR idea is one that I use almost everyday. It's a quick and easy way to keep track of student progress. I like to know who is "getting it" and who needs extra help so I can challenge and meet with the students in question. I walk around with a clipboard and my Quick Assessment Sheet and I simply jot down the names of the students in the correct boxes. I do this for a variety of activities, from math concepts to specific areas of reading response and writing.
This particular photo depicts a math concept. When assessing reading response and writing, I usually pick a specific area for that particular piece. For example, I may just look at voice or structure for one piece of writing. I don't always assess all areas for every piece. The same goes for reading response, I may only look at meaning for one piece and connections the next time!
You can grab a free copy of this sheet (also included are sheets for Writer's Workshop and Reading Response) or you can create a template for your own that best suits your needs!
I don't know about your kiddies but every year I have a few that cannot get organized! Even though I am SUPER DUPER organized and make sure everything has a "home," these little sweethearts just can't seem to keep up! My second STAR is about helping kiddies get organized. Here is what I do! I help them organize their desk and/or locker (usually both!). We do this together. Then we take a photo of the organized area and we stick it in that place. Every time the student opens his/her desk or locker, he/she sees the picture and is reminded of how to keep it in order! I also tend to do spot checks and give little rewards when it's well organized.
I work in an inner city school and we have many struggling students. In turn, my students often come to me as emergent readers My goal this year is to put more focus on letter/sounds at the very beginning of the school year. I often move too quickly and just review them by pointing at the sound charts each day. This year I want to delve deeper into this instruction with ALL students (I tend to only focus on that with my weaker readers). To accomplish this WISH I created a fun little pack that I call:
For more great ideas from over 40 different bloggers, please browse through the link-up below and choose a topic that interests you. Thanks for visiting!
O.M.G. my cousin got me tickets for Bruno Mars this week and he was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!!! I can't even begin to explain it! This dude is the REAL DEAL! By far, one of the best performances I have ever seen in my life!
I. LOVE. HIM.
2. Spending Time with the Pups
He's not actually a puppy, he's 9 years old, but he thinks he's a puppy and that's fine with me! He is my very best running partner and is a great frisbee player!
3. Getting my Tan on
I love friends who have pools! HEHE!
I've been doing what I like to call Pool Hopping and it's AWESOME!
4. Baking
When you have a pool, I bake for you! These came out great and they were delicious!
I cannot wait to use my Magic Crayons Pack at the beginning of this school year! I've even purchased crayons to give as gifts. They will be MAGIC crayons (of course) and will be used for special activities!
I am soooo excited to tell you about my Students in Disguise Pack. We had sooooooo much fun with it last year. It was such a great way to begin the school year!
I also have a sweet little freebie for you! I bought moustache chocolate molds from Michael's and made each student a moustache chocolate! Made for a great first day picture!
I hope you are all enjoying your day so far! I just wanted to write up a quick post about some things I use in my classroom to keep students engaged! There are thousands upon thousands of fun ways to get the kiddies motivated and I can't wait to share more with you, but these were the only things I actually had at home! The rest is all back at school (so more of these fun posts to come in the near future)!
The number one thing that keeps my kiddies motivated, every year, is movement. Especially my little active boys, who can't sit still! There are so many variations of brain breaks out there, from YouTube videos, to task cards, to actual mini-workouts for kids! I love all of these fun options! They are great ways to give the kiddies a break and get them back on the right track.
This is my all time favorite video! My colleague introduced it to me and the kids can't get enough of it. In fact, I GO BANANAS too! It's so much fun!
This dude is a riot!
There are also fun ways to incorporate movement during academic lessons!
Here are some of the fun "PROPS" we use to have fun!
1. Clipboards
Oh, how kids love clipboards. We usually use them for Read/Write the room or taking surveys, but last year, I have to say, I just handed them out for random activities.
All of a sudden Ms. Nicole was like,
"Today, we are going to review subtraction. Grab a clipboard and get started!" You can pick them up at any Dollar Store and they last forever! I also love how serious and official the kiddies look when carrying them around!
2. Magnifying Glasses
When people ask me what I would do if I hadn't chosen the best professional in the world, I answer: A Detective. AND... I'm kinda serious! I love that stuff! Guess what! So do the students! I use magnifying glasses all the time, especially during centers. The easiest way is to use teeny, tiny fonts! One fun activity is to type your theme words in a small font and have students use the magnifying glasses to decipher the words. You can also hide words in a picture and have them search for them.
SO. MUCH. FUN!
3. Binoculars
What better way to go searching for words, than using binoculars. A colleague sent some over for me and the kiddies just love it! They go on little missions and find as many words as they can! I usually give them some instructions (find words with the "bl" blend or "s" sound).
4. Funny Glasses
My students always want to go to the reading corner. They love to read and what's more, they love to wear funny glasses while doing it! The Dollar Store tends to have a great selection and I also have a giant clown pair that I use when applying band-aids! Basically, it goes like this. They come crying and I take out my giant glasses and say: "MMMMMM, let me see if I can find your cut!" This seems to stop the crying right away and put a big smile on their faces!
5. Stamps
Now, I know how we don't like messes. TRUST ME, I know! I'm the queen of OCD and a class full of 7 year olds often puts me in what I call "AHHHHH!" situations! I do, however, get out of my cleanliness comfort zone because I love the kiddos and well, trust me it's all worth it! PLUS, once you train them, they get pretty good at keeping things clean and organized. Stamps are fun because the kiddies just love them. We use them to stamp words and we even use them in math to stamp out answers or patterns. Of course, I do not suggest giving all 24 kids stamps at once!
I would probably faint!
6. Highlighters & Pointers
Nothing like spicing up a shared reading lesson with some funny pointers and highlighters. The students love to use "Witchy Fingers" and other pointers when reading along. They also love to highlight important words in the text. I usually have them highlight theme words or even words with the sounds we are working on at that time.
All of these "PROPS" can be found at the Dollar Store and are quite inexpensive.
Simply put, they are quick and fun ways to spruce up learning!
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