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Oct 31, 2013

iPad Projects

Slowly, we have been making time to complete some iPad projects. We learned how to use Educreations today to make a quick "book report."


We used the expository text that we read this week in Reading Wonders. This was the first time we had done one of these projects, so I tried to keep it simple. Cover page (simple: cover of the book!), three facts from text, and an author page. For the first time doing it in my room (some had used the program in 1st grade) they did pretty well! 

 
Students worked with their partner to take pictures of the photographs they wanted to share, typed the facts, then recorded a narration of their slide show/report.  


 


The projects turned out really well and I wish there was a way to share one without student names. I'll have to have someone make one without names so that I can share with you all!!
 

I also taught (reminded) my kids today about how to use ScreenChomp. We practiced taking pictures of fluency passages, recording ourselves reading them, then listening back to them. It didn't end up going perfectly today, but I truly just wanted to remind them how to use the app so we can use it again very soon! 
 Overall, a good iPad day. I plan to try to have them out and make time to use them again. The kids get really creative on them and there are so many ways to use them to help the kids show off their creativity.

We are also working on a class book called Our Favorite Books in Evernote, one of my new favorites. I'm teaching the kids how to use it slowly through making this book together, then I'm hoping they may be able to complete their own projects on their own! (Eventually!)

 
 


Oct 25, 2013

Friday Fall Freebie #4

 
Here we are...the last Friday of the month! How many freebies have you scored through this October hop? Wow! Awesome!!

I've shared my Halloween fun with you & some of my Thanksgiving centers that I use in my classroom. This week I'm sharing some general fall stuff that can be used in October and November!
 
And here is my FREEBIE! :)

Enjoy!

 
What the heck...I might as well give one more freebie since this has been so fun!



Don't forget to go over to Abbie's TPT store!!! Abbie is my teaching neighbor. She teaches 1st grade and is always having tons-of-fun in there! Check this out!

 
 
To continue on our Friday Fall Freebie Hop, click on the picture below!
 
 


 

Oct 19, 2013

Fall Break

Heading to Florida for fall break. Catching up with a great friend and her new baby! We used to teach in Florida together, my first teaching job. Thought I'd update you on some more recent happenings in 2nd grade.

We love using all the of the new Reading Wonders materials, and although you may think I am biased, I just love using the Reading Wonders resources that I've created! It's so nice to just pull them out every week. I've been trying to stay ahead of myself on them by having them printed, laminated, cut out and ready to go. It's amazing to think that next year they really will all be ready for me, no prep needed! What will I do then? Oh,I'm sure ill have other ideas that I will be excited to try out!


Here is my vocabulary center area. I have a vocabulary match, vocabulary puzzles, vocabulary maps, and a place on the pocket chart where students can work wait the vocabulary words. In my professional opinion, this center is great because it doesn't CHANGE!!! I don't have to research it each week. I just put the new words in, along with new copies of the a accountability sheets. Easy as that. 



In my fluency center, I have two students listening to a leveled reading passage on cd, then practicing to read the passage fluently with a partner. While those two students (who are the same level) practice that, the other student practices fluency with my Super Reader Fluency Phrase cards. They love those and it's a good way to practice phrasing when it comes to fluency.  





Another thing that we have been working on a ton the past few weeks is how to write a response r literature/constructed response type of answer. We use the RAPP strategy.


We have been practicing hard and it has taken some time, but most of my students are finally starting to get there. We worked on it some during our unit test and I used a lot of explicit modeling to show them specific test taking skills, then practicing answering written response questions. The hardest part for my kids is starting out their answer, the restating the question part. It just really took them awhile to grasp what I was trying to tell them. We are now doing at least one written response weekly in their small groups after reading the leveled readers and my higher kids are also doing one on their own during workstation/center time. Practice makes perfect!

My next test taking skill that I hope to tackle next week (which maybe I should have done before this one, but I'm just realizing they don't already have this skill!!) is highlighting answers in the text when trying to find the answer to multiple choice type questions. Hopefully later this will turn into highlighting as they read. I'm trying to teach them the whole concept of looking back into the text to find the answers and understanding that if they take the time to look, the answers are there! I bought a set of Fall passages from Kayla Parker on TPT to work on this skill and I can't wait to use them! They look so cute and seem like they will go along great with the things we are working on this month!! I'll update this with some pictures later because I am also trying my own little strategy of copying the one page passage and questions side by side on 11x17 paper so that students can see the passage very easily and won't have to flip back and forth to see the passage. I'm hoping that if the passage is RIGHT THERE, they won't forget about it?!?!?! LOL

 
That's all for now, enjoying my time in Florida. Maybe more on the trip back!!!!






Oct 18, 2013

Fall Freebie Friday #3


Here we go, Week #3! How are you liking the hop so far?? I'm so happy to have been asked to be part of this. Great teachers, great blogs, great ideas, plus FREEBIES!

First of all, just go to my store, FOLLOW me for future *FUN* things. I'm always trying to think of some new freebies to post!! Here is the link to the freebies I already have in my store: Stuckey in Second FREEBIES

My kids are loving my October/Halloween centers right now. But I need to start digging out my Thanksgiving stuff! They are almost ready for the change!

Check out these Thanksgiving Centers in my store!






 
 
 
 
Here is my FREEBIE!!!
 
 
Don't forget to check out my friend Abbie's store too! Here is an adorable Thanksgiving freebie!

Thanksgiving Nonsense Words
 
 
To head to the next stop on our HOP, click on the picture below!!! Have fun!!!

Oct 11, 2013

Fall Freebie Friday #2

It's Friday Freebie time again!!! Did you have fun last week!? I think this is awesome and so glad to be part of it!!!

Are you following me on Facebook? Stuckey in Second

Check out some fun things in my store for October. My kids love these centers! It's so fun to switch things up each month. They get so excited! I had a blast making these:

 



And here is my FREEBIE!!!
 
Did you check out my teaching neighbor Abbie Jinnings last week? She has GREAT freebies!!

Here is her Sight Word Scare!
Follow her TPT store while you are there because she is always adding THE CUTEST stuff!

 
 
 
Click the picture below to head to the next stop on our HOP!


 
 

Oct 10, 2013

Read Aloud Rehab!

I've made a promise to myself in the last week or two to MAKE myself do more read alouds in my classroom. With all of the things going on at school lately, common core, new reading series, trying so hard to fit everything in, especially when I had 34 kids up until 2 weeks ago, somehow READ ALOUDS were lost in my classroom!!! Horribly sad. I realized this a few weeks ago and was ashamed. I decided to make a promise to myself....to my 2nd graders...that I would find time to do a read aloud every single day, no matter what. I think the thought came to my mind when I read them Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day to jumpstart a writing lesson last week and we had SO MUCH FUN! We all LOVED reading it (even though most had heard it before!) That day, I decided that I need to get back into the "love" of teaching. Even if I don't have a read aloud "planned", I WILL fit one in... I can pull any comprehension skill, writing skill, etc out of any read aloud. The point is, KIDS NEED TO HEAR ME READING! I sure hope that others out there are going through the same thing!?!? I mentioned this to my teaching neighbor, first grade teacher, Abbie and she said that I took the words out of her mouth because she had been thinking the same exact thing lately. She started making a chart for the month of October and she and her students are charting all of the books they read, fiction and non-fiction.

It's only October 10th, here are just some of the read alouds I have done so far! (And if you'd believe it, we have even fit more than one in a day!)








 
 
I have a huge pile of so many more books I want to share with my kids. I can't believe how lost I got in being wrapped up in all of the other "stuff" and forgot how wonderful reading to a classroom of children is! Although I haven't been blogging as much lately, I hope to update you on the read alouds I'm using and I'd love other ideas! :)

Oct 6, 2013

First of the year in photos

Well it's been a busy start to the school year! I've been taking pictures, hoping to share! Here is a quick rundown of the fun we've had so far!!

We are using the new Reading Wonders reading series. It is taking some time to get used to all of the components, but I do like it. What I really love are the resource packets that I've made to go with each week! I feel so organized!!!!

Here is my focus wall:







Small group organization:




Reading centers/workstations using my new Wonders resources!!!












Some other reading centers that the kids love:





Nonfiction Reading Comprehension by the amazing Kayla Parker






NWF practice by the awesome Abbie Jinnings





Butterflies!!!!
(My packet)













Flash card practice! New this year from Pinterest! ;-)






At home:

Lilly is almost 10 months old and is ALL-OVER-THE-PLACE!! Loving it!!