Holiday Cookie Hop 2015

Hello! Today's blog post is a fun one!! Some of the bloggers from the CTR collaborative blog are taking a break from teaching and sharing their favorite holiday cookie recipes! Grab a cup of coffee, get cozy, and click through all of the linked up blogs that are involved! I promise that you'll find some goodies to make this holiday season! 

I'm actually sharing my cookie recipe more for the "crafty" idea! I hope that's okay! I had this idea for awhile, displaying handwritten recipes in my kitchen, so when we moved into our new house this past May and I finally have my DREAM kitchen, I decided to get busy! The framed handwritten recipes that I have displayed come from my grandma and also my great-great-grandma. (As you will see, it says "Great" grandma on the recipe, but this was written by my grandma and found in her recipe box, so I'm guessing this comes from my great-great grandmother...if not a little further back!) 

I always collect frames that I like and reflect the style and decor that I'm "trying for" in my house. This gold frame actually had the perfect backing already in it when purchased, so I just slipped the recipe card inside! 

For the larger frame with three recipes, I took out the frame inserts and wrapped the cardboard backing of the frame with burlap ribbon. It was slightly difficult to slide back into the frame, but once it was in, it fits nicely and won't budge or slide. {Also displayed is my grandma's rolling pin.}

Click on the picture below to download a printable copy.

For a special treat, click below for a freebie! (A little teaching fun included!)

An InLinkz Link-up

#2getherwearebetter Linky: Christmas Traditions in the Classroom

I joined some other teacher bloggers today in this fun LINKY about Holiday Traditions! I've added my GRINCH DAY post to the linky, which I had just shared yesterday on my blog! If you haven't read that post yet, I'm posting it again below, but don't forget to check out everyone else's holiday traditions that they have LINKED UP at the bottom of this post!

My favorite tradition to do in my classroom is Grinch Day. I have so much fun with it and I'm sad that I won't be in my classroom this year to continue this tradition. I'll be doing it next year for sure though! Here are some pictures from last year!

 I've also listed other blog posts from other bloggers that gave me inspiration!!

Grinch Tags by The Teaching Tree

Click here

Grinch Templates Click Here 

and here 

Other teachers' Grinch Days that I used for inspiration:

A Cupcake for the Teacher

The First Grade Parade

Primary Graffiti 

Step into 2nd with Mrs. Lemons

Don't forget to see the other great TRADITION ideas below because

TOGETHER ARE ARE BETTER!

An InLinkz Link-up

Back to School Book Favorites {Freebie Linky}

I did a post earlier about my favorite back to school books, but I wanted to tell you more about A Bad Case of Tattle Tongue! {Plus there are some other blogging buddies linking up to this that will tell you about their favorite back to school books too!}

I just discovered this book this past school year when I asked for recommendations on my Facebook page and a few teachers recommended it. I ordered it right away on Amazon and ended up loving it! It's a book that you might want to revisit a few times through the school year, or just revisit the topic and remind the kids of "tattle tongues." They will remember what you are talking about! I even find myself saying it at home, then realizing that I haven't read it to my own kids yet! LOL

The book goes over rules of when you should and should not tattle. For example, if someone is in danger, you should tell someone immediately. But, if someone is not in danger and what they are doing has nothing to do with you, you shouldn't tattle. It's fun to give the kids examples after reading the book and see if they can transfer what they learned in the book into "real life" (even though it's on paper!) Then as the year goes on, you will find out if they can transfer the rules to real life too. If they start to have trouble, read it again!! 

This year, I'd like to give my students this quick "check for understanding" after reading and discussing the book. If you'd like your own copy for free, click on the picture below. Don't forget to leave feedback and then click on the others in this linky below for more ideas for back to school books to read!

An InLinkz Link-up

Scheduling...How do you fit it all in!?

Well, I have been asked by two AMAZING teacher-bloggers to join them in this #2getherwearebetter LINKY PARTY! Some linky parties are definitely better than others (in my opinion). This linky is going to be a very informative read for you! 

LINKY=We are all posting about the same TOPIC this month and after you read mine (informative or not), you can look at the bottom of my post at the LINKY and find all of the LINKS that other bloggers that are part of this have added and you can easily hop over to their blogs to see what THEY have to say about this same topic. TOGETHER WE ARE BETTER! :) #2getherwearebetter

The topics that these two ladies have scheduled are to help all of us! TOGETHER WE ARE BETTER!!! Collaborating about important teaching topics from state to state and across the country, what could be better!? Well, I suppose we are even doing it AROUND the world! Let me know where you are from in the comments. I would love to hear how far away people are reading my blog posts!

Thank you Angie and Ashley for putting this together and letting us collaborate about SCHEDULES this month! Also, thank you for inviting me to a part of something so awesome! I'm honored!

        

I'll start by just showing you my overall schedule for the day! Keep in mind that I teach in the biggest district in Indiana and a lot of my schedule is not very flexible and determined by the district. When it comes to the length of blocks and intervention, it's district mandated. Then when it comes to the placement of those blocks, that is determined by our school. This is important so they can schedule para-pros to be in our room during our reading block, etc. 

Intervention Block

Our intervention block is a time that the reading and math interventionists (sometimes ELL too) come and pull groups of second graders from all of the second grade classrooms to work on skills. We also have a small high ability group that is pulled at that time.  Depending on the class, that sometimes leaves just a few kids in the classroom. Other times, that may leave a huge group, so depending on the time of the year, I do different things during that block. It’s always some kind of enrichment for the kids that are left with me in the classroom.  I say “depending on the time of the year” because at the beginning of this year, I had a lot pulled out, but now that they are learning and succeeding in the intervention some of the kids have graduated from intervention and now I don’t have as many pulled at this time of the year. So, depending on how many kids are still there, that makes my decision on the kinds of activities that they do.  Usually, I have students doing either math games or reading/literacy games. Right now, we are working on money, so I use every chance I can get to give them a few extra minutes of practice with coins!

 Reading Block

We use the Reading Wonders reading series. This is our second year using it. I have a more in depth blog post about how I use Reading Wonders and my “thoughts after one year of using it.” Our basic reading block schedule is 30 minutes of whole group reading, 60 minutes of literacy workstations/small groups. This year, I have four small groups and I do 20 minutes with each group. I meet with Groups 1 & 2 everyday (lowest), then I alternate meeting with 3 & 4 each day. I also have many posts about how I do workstations in my classroom! My workstations are differentiated and each student has a work plan that indicates which stations to visit, based on their readiness level. 

Math Block

I spend a lot of time on math in my room! My district uses Envisions Math. In my opinion, it doesn’t have enough included with it for the kids to really gain a solid understanding, so I have added many other things in. I have a detailed post on how I do my math centers/rotations that I recently posted. I start my math block with some kind of activity on the kids’ desks when they get back from lunch. This gets them busy right away and lets me have a few kids at a time do a quick bathroom break. Usually, it’s one of my monthly problem solving activities that they glue in their math notebooks and complete. Other times, it might be an interactive notebook page (From LuckyLittle Learners) that they know to cut, paste, and complete the activity in their math notebooks. All of these routines are taught at the beginning, so whatever is on their desk, they know what to do. I give them 15 minutes to complete this (along w/ bathroom!)

   

Then, we do whole group. (Approx 15 minutes) The kids come down the carpet with their white boards and dry erase markers. We use Envisions, so at that point we do the “Technology Bridge” video. I’m going to be honest and admit that at first (like the first three years!), I didn’t like those videos. I tried them, got bored with them myself and had decided I could teach it better. It wasn’t until this year that I really started to see the value in the videos because I started having the kids LEAVE THEIR DESKS, come down in front of the screen and interact with the video on their white boards. (Also, I’ve gone to math rotations after the video, so then I feel better that I can teach them anything they didn’t understand in the technology bridge when they are in my small group!) If you are teaching Envisions and get frustrated with the videos, I’d love to hear if we are on the same page. Like I said, it took me awhile and I had to give them a chance again this year. Also, it’s all about the logistics of it. I have a laptop that is always hooked up and ready to show the video. In the past, I had to move my laptop, hook it up to the projector every day during math time and honestly, I didn’t have time for that!

After the technology bridge video is finished (we have interacted and I have stopped the video throughout to show things to them on my own white board, etc.), we break into our groups and rotations. Each group/rotation is about 10-12 minutes. I don’t set a timer for it anymore. I take the time I need with each group. The first group that comes to me has the highest need, so they take a few minutes longer. The last group that comes to me is my highest math group, so if I have to cut that one short, I can! I have an entire blog post on how I do my math rotations in more detail! My centers each day are: Teacher Table (my small group where I teach the concept in more detail!), Computers, Math Games, and Seat Work. Students always go to seat work after they meet with me. They complete whatever we started in small group! They always go to computers after seat work because that way, if their seat work isn’t done, they can skip computers. The rotation schedule that I have works PERFECTLY for me. I am completely in love with it!

After math rotations/groups, I do the Envisions Quick Check that is included with each lesson as an actual grade and check for understanding. This can help me determine what needs to be worked on the next day in small group and if we are ready to move on in small groups. 

Science/Social Studies/Health

These are subjects that I have always had an extremely hard time fitting in! I don’t have much advice on this and I know that a lot of teachers have gone to completely integrating these subjects. The good news is that I have come up with an answer for myself now that I have moved to a new school. The great thing about the new school is that we have FOUR second grade teachers and they already had a plan! (Better for me, right!?)

Here is what we do:
4 teachers/4 subjects/4 days/4 quarters

(The 4^th subject is something extra that we need to cover, could be another science unit, a monthly unit, a needed unit like “Character” and/or anti-bullying.)

Here’s how it works. The last twenty minutes of each day, the TEACHERS switch classrooms. We each have a subject assigned to us for the entire quarter. We teach our own class on Mondays, then we switch Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays. We don’t switch on Fridays. So, for example: I’m teaching Science right now. I teach my class on Mondays, class B on Tuesdays, class C on Wednesdays, class D on Thursdays. Then while I’m teaching science to them, my kids have a rotation each day of social studies, health, and an “extra” subject. 

I’m not sure if my schedule can help others, but I hope it can give you some ideas! Please feel free to leave comments, suggestions, and ideas that you’d like to share!

TOGETHER WE ARE BETTER!

Where are you from? {Comment below in the comments section!}

An InLinkz Link-up

2015 Teacher Tool Gift Exchange

This past weekend I went back to French Lick, Indiana for the 2nd Spring Teacher Blogger Meet-Up! What a blast! There were twice as many bloggers there this year and we had so much fun. Today I'm going to share the teacher tool that I received in the gift exchange. So much fun!

I really loved the view that I had because INSPIRATION was right behind these bloggers. :)

Flair Pens are a huge hit with teachers and I sure was glad that I got a set because that's what I gave as my Teacher Tool gift too! So funny! 

Thoughtful Liz Wimp from Mrs. Wimp's Firsties was the genius behind making sure I got more Flair Pens!!! :)

Be sure to check out her blog too when you have time! 

Here is our small group after exchanging gifts! We had four groups like this throughout the room exchanging, so I can't wait to see what everyone else got through this linky! Head over to Miss DeCarbo's blog below to see everyone else that is participating!!

P.S. Yes, I did get to MEET Christina DeCarbo! Love her products and love her!! :) 

An InLinkz Link-up

The Real Teachers of Blog County #1

This month's "The Real Teachers of BLOG County" post is all about JUNK DRAWERS! Yes, even in our Pinterest inspired, perfect looking classroom, we all seem to have a junk drawer, maybe two....and they are actually file cabinet drawers! Eeek! Everything I could ever need is in here. It started out organized, but stuff keeps piling up! When my assistant needs something from in there, I kind of cringe when she opens it. She probably thinks I'm a hoarder! 

For more teachers involved in this "Real Teachers of Blog County" project, head over to:

Once you see that all of these others bloggers are REAL teachers, you will feel much better about your own classroom! :) I sure did!!! 

Loved That Lesson Linky- January

Today I have joined The Teacher Studio in a Loved That Lesson Linky!

 I am reposting my favorite lesson this school year, Close Reading with Oreos, from November!

What a fun day! My team and I heard about this awesome OREO cookie lesson from the third grade teachers at our school and of course, since it involved OREOs, we had to try it!! It was just one of those awesome lessons, better than I thought it would be. It made my whole day! (Even if the kids had been eating Oreos!)


Here is the actual lesson that I found online: Close Reading Activity: An Introduction to Close Reading

Here is how it went in my room today!!!

First, I passed out one cookie to each student. I did it in kind of a rushed way (on purpose) and told them to eat it AS SOON AS THEY GET IT. ("What!? Eat it before everyone else has one? This is weird...." All real comments.) By the time I was done passing them out, a few kids had finished their cookies. My plan was working perfectly. I encouraged a few kids to "Hurry, finish it up, we have to move on."

After some weird looks from the kids (Did I mention this was at 9:45 in the morning?) I had them all take out a Post-It note and a pencil. I asked them to write down what they just ate. ("Uh...okay...Mrs. Stuckey is losing it..." again, real comments.) A lot of the kids looked at me like I was asking a trick question, they were trying to write a complete sentence and use capitals and periods just to tell me they ate an Oreo. It was actually comical. Then I asked them to share with me what they ate, here were the responses:

Obviously, their responses were Oreo cookie, oreo, and one kid actually said Vanilla Wafer (gotta love it!) I didn't record that on the anchor chart because she was so embarrassed that she wrote that. But later, her mistake would be perfect for teaching the lesson.

Next, I passed out ANOTHER Oreo (could it be true!?), but I told them this time they could NOT eat the Oreo! I had them come down to the carpet with their Oreo cookie and I explained to them what they were going to do next.

• Look at the cookie carefully.
• Smell the cookie.
• Think about the cookie.
• Eat the cookie VERY slowly with your eyes closed, thinking about every bite you take.
• Think about the texture and the taste of the cookie while you are eating.

What happened next was quite comical because they were literally SAVORING these cookies. I took a few pictures of them eating them with their eyes closed and I SO wish I could share them with you, but I won't.

When they finished, we did our "second read" of the Oreo. I had the categories in red written on the anchor chart (while they were eating). I asked them to describe all of the parts listed. They couldn't stop talking! Look at how much they had to say after their "second read" of the Oreo!


The lesson that we all learned: It's okay to read through something fast the first time (like their first Oreo cookie), but if you do, you can only recall minimal information about it. If you reread it a second time and THINK while you are reading, you can recall a lot more! In fact, it might be smarter to do that the FIRST time!

My little lady that said she ate a Vanilla Wafer...perfect opportunity for my lesson! Sometimes we read through something so fast and with so little thinking that we literally DO NOT KNOW what we read! Right? She ate an Oreo and when she was done, had no idea what she had just eaten...just like our reading sometimes! 

They loved it! I loved it! They were excited about Oreos in the morning and asking if we could please do more reading lessons like this one! Ha. I was excited to show them a concrete example of how to Close Read! The rest of the day, we referred to our reading as our "first Oreo" or a "second Oreo." For example: Wait a minute, I didn't understand that. Let me REREAD and think about my Oreo (the text) one more time.

Try it tomorrow! You will love it too! So glad that this activity was introduced to me by some of the other amazing teachers at my school and I just couldn't wait to share it with you all!


Here are some other fun lessons that have joined this linky!!! Thank you to The Teacher Studio for organizing this!

An InLinkz Link-up