Week 2 in Review ~ Chrysanthemum, Math, "Me" Projects, and Reading CAFE

Well I think it's safe to say everyone is feeling comfortable and right at home in room 8!  I love to see new and old relationships blossom as the students work hard and have fun together.   This week we have definitely started to press on the gas peddle just a bit as we have been busy bees!  Here is our week in review...

 Our anchor text this week has been Chrysanthemum, by Kevin Henkes.  We have used this sweet book for several lessons including, story structure and story retelling.  I planned to do a syllable sort, and make posters charting what makes us wilt and bloom, but we didn't quite get that far ( I have to remind myself it's only day 7 ;), I also planned to snap pictures of the kiddos work to show you...but...I  forgot.  Thank goodness for tomorrows!

In math we have been building on many foundational skills.  We have been working with the hundred number chart, telling time to the hour, attributes of pattern blocks, repeating patterns, and word problems.  We even had our first math test AND our first round of math centers!

I am completely enjoying learning all about my new room 8 family!  This week the kiddos shared their All About Me posters, made their own special name book, created adorable self portraits, and wrote a paragraph telling all about themselves.  Can't wait for you to see their work at Back to School Night on the 11th.

We have officially launched our Reading CAFE!  And I think we are all super excited about it!  Something I love about second graders is how hungry they are to become skilled readers.  CAFE is an acronym for Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency, and Expand Vocabulary.   I will be systematically and explicitly teaching the students many important strategies needed to be a skilled reader, we will set goals, and practice, practice, practice!  We have done three lessons so far, Check for Understanding (comprehension), Go Back and Reread (comprehension), and Voracious Reading (fluency).  We have also been learning how we do "Read to Self" in our classroom.  Our reading stamina is already up to 11 minutes and 40 seconds!

Thanks for hanging in there for such a long post!  I have been talking (writing in this case) so much these days, there is just so much information to get out there these first dew weeks.

Here is this week's FLIP.

Happy Sunday!

First Week is in the Books!

Oh my word what a fantastic week we have had!  I have been so enjoying getting to know each one of the sweet students in our class.  They are such kind, hard working, responsible kiddos, which makes my days kinda dreamy. ;)  Here is how our first fun-filled week went down...

We started out the week by reading one of my favorite books, First Day Jitters.  It was so cute to see the students faces when they found out the main character (who was full of first day jitters) was actually the teacher!  Then we read a sweet poem about Jitter Juice and of course drank our own Jitter Juice to help calm all our first day jitters (I definitely poured a glass for me too!).  When asked if the Jitter Juice was working, one second grader said, "I had an army of butterflies in my tummy and they all flew away."  Sounds like it worked! Yay!

Next we got busy writing!  We have written a few journal entries telling about our first days, and about what the kiddos were up to all summer as I was waiting for them in room 8. :)  Ask your little one to tell you all about how I was waiting, and waiting... and now they are FINALLY here!  We also made this adorable banner telling about some of the things we plan to do in second grade.   We are going to feed our brains, create sharp work, and share bright ideas!

So many of the materials I use in the classroom have been created by other talented teachers.  This craftivity is from Reagan Tunstall.

We kicked off our year in math by creating these cutie-patootie mathematicians while discussing and writing about the wonderful things mathematicians do.  We came to the conclusion that we are all mathematicians!  Then we made a class promise to work hard, try our best, and never give up!

Later we had a super fun time figuring out these collaborative SILENT math puzzles.  Yep, the students worked as a team using only eye contact and gestures to solve their challenge.  Everyone did fantastic!  The students realized how valuable it is to work together as a team. 

Special thanks to the super fantastic Amy Lemons for these great lesson ideas!

We also made a beautiful art project showing how we are each beautiful and unique, but together we are a masterpiece.  <3 

Phew!  What an awesome week!  There is so much more that happened, these are just a few of our highlights.   We of course have been going over rules, procedures, and how to have the HEART of an Eagle.  But man-o-man our class sure knows how to have courage, be responsible, do their best, show respect, and be a good friend.  Room 8 most definitely has the HEART of an Eagle. <3

One more highlight I have to share is how AMAZING you all are!  I sat down this afternoon to check homework folders and the 10,000 forms that needed to be signed and returned by you all.  ;)  Parents and students all completed their week 1 homework.  Hooray for you!  Thank you for making my job so smooth by being so on top of it.  I really appreciate how quickly you all took care of business.  Thanks for being AWESOME!

Here is a little FLIP of our first week.

Enjoy the long weekend friends, I'm off to take a nap. ;)

Our Sweet Home Away From Home

Well...it's finally time to show off our space!  I have been having such a great time putting all the finishing touches together in our classroom this week.  Here are a few photos of our happy room.  :)  Although I am enjoying how super clean it is at the moment, (Take a good look, it surely won't look this clean again till Open House! Ha!) I really just can't wait for it to come to life with student work.

With no further ado, come on in!  Welcome to our sweet home away from home. <3

Our front door.

Drop station as you enter the room.  This important table is where papers that are ready to be returned
 are filed, Wednesday folders are stashed, homework folders get filled and checked, school library
books are stored, and students turn in their best effort work!

The view as you enter.  So very thankful for the awesome parent who donated our comfy colorful rug! Love it!

Cute little Table 1 

Our Reading CAFE board.  So excited to get this baby up and running!

Many hands make light work. :)

Along the back wall we store math manipulatives, and lots of supplies.  I love our journeys map.
My students created it years ago and it has become such a valuable resource to our curriculum.
(Gotta get some work up quick to cover that jagged seam, eek!)

This is our school mascot that I use in my bald eagle lesson to show the eagle's awesome wingspan.
I decided to hang him up this year so the kiddos can add a feather with their name on it each time they earn the HEART of an Eagle.  I expect "Matey" will be soaring high with wings full of feathers very soon!

Ta-Da! Just might be my favorite spot in the room, our library.  It's still a work in progress, but little by little, it's getting very organized.  Wouldn't you like to curl up with a good book here!?

I made a huge dent organizing books this summer.  Some day in the near future, each and every book will have a
label and a corresponding tub.  Any fellow organizers out there want to help me finish up? :)

Clip chart and "In This Class" poster.

One more poster I just had to make.  I love the things that take place in our class everyday.  <3

Hope you enjoyed the tour!  In the coming days it will really come to life.

I am so excited to document our 2014-2015 second grade joys!


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I'm So Excited!

...And I just can't hide it! :) I've been M.I.A. on here all summer, but I am back and ready to kick off a great school year! Tomorrow I meet my 21 new kiddos and their families!  I just can't wait to see everyone's smiling faces at the Back-to-School Bash! To make tomorrow's festivities extra special I made stuck a sweet label on these fun welcome snacks. Welcome to second grade friends, I can't wait to meet you!

Father's Day

I just remembered I didn't get a chance to share about our sweet Father's Day cards.  My students had so much fun creating them and they were just so very thoughtful in their work.  I hope all the Dads were super blessed!
Our theme was Super Dad!  To start out I wrote, "My Dad is a Super Dad because..." in the center of the white board then I wrote down all the kiddos adorable and heartfelt responses.  We completely filled the board and they could have shared more if we had more space.  With this front loading in place the students were able to write a great deal about their unique and special Super Dads.  Then they drew a picture together with their Dad and created a cover.   I was so impressed with the level of effort that each one put into their work I decided to go ahead and laminate them to make them even more special.  Here's how they turned out!

 Anyone who knows me well knows I am always changing things up till I am completely satisfied (then I change my mind about it completely).  I guess you can say I am CRAZY thoughtful. :)  So... I have already made some tweaks to this Super Dad project to make it better than ever for next year.  The new theme is "My Super Hero."  Be sure to check back to see the new version!

Good Listeners Shine!

Setting the tone for success at the beginning of the year is key!  I have found that taking the time initially to explicitly teach positive behaviors and routines greatly pays off in the long run.  Here's a little listening bulletin board I spruced up the other day.  I'm getting so excited to meet my new kiddos in a few weeks!  Before we know it we will be back in the swing of things working on those ever so important classroom behaviors and routines.   What are some of your favorite beginning of the school year routines to set the tone?

The Daily Five and Literacy CAFE

I am so thrilled to be kicking off The Daily Five and Literacy CAFE this school year!  Through a great deal of research, readings, blog posts, and even a couple of webinars I am completely sold on the positive effects The Daily Five and Literacy CAFE can have on students' reading abilities.  A few months back as part of my graduate studies I decided to conduct an action research project on The Daily Five.  My conclusions clearly identified that The Daily Five was definitely born out of research and is in line with best practices of literacy instruction.  Here is an excerpt from the book The Daily Five by "The Sisters" Gail Boushey and Joan Moser illustrating the research base of the system and defining the 5 components of The Daily Five.

Read to Yourself The best way to become a better reader is to practice each day, with books you choose, on your just-right reading level. It soon becomes a habit.

Allington, R. and P. Johnson, 2002. Reading to Learn: Lessons From Exemplary Fourth-Grade Classrooms: New York: Guilford Press.

Morrow, L., L. Gambrell, and M. Pressley, 2003. Best Practices in Literacy Instruction. New York: Guilford Press.

Marshall, J. C. 2000.  Are They Really Reading? Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.

Krashen, S. 2004.  The Power of Reading: Insights from the Research. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Pressley, M., R. Allington, R. Wharton-McDonald, C. Block, and L. Morrow. 2001. Learning to Read: Lessons for Exemplary First-Grade Classrooms. New York: Guilford Press.

Routman, R. 2003. Reading Essentials: The Specifics You Need to Teach Reading Well. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Read to Someone Reading to someone allows for more time to practice strategies, helping you work on fluency and expression, check for understanding, hear your own voice, and share in the learning community.

Allington, R. 2001. What Really Matters for Struggling Readers: Designing Research-Based Programs. New York: Addison-Wesley Longman.

Miller, D. 2002. Reading with Meaning: Teaching Comprehension in the Primary Grades. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.

Work on Writing Just like reading, the best way to become a better writer is to practice writing each day.

Fletcher, R. and J. Portalupi. 2002. Craft Lessons: Teaching Writing K-8. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.

Graves, D. 1985. “All Children Car Write.” Learning Disabilities Focus 1(1), 36-43.

Routman, R. 2005. Writing Essentials. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Listen to Reading We hear examples of good literature and fluent reading. We learn more words, thus expanding our vocabulary and becoming better readers.

Allen, J. 2001. Yellow Brick Roads: Shared and Guided Paths to Independent Reading 4-12. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.

Trelease, J. 2001. The Read-Aloud Handbook. New York: Penguin Books.

Spelling/Word Work Correct spelling allows for more fluent writing, thus speeding up the ability to write and get thinking down on paper.  This is an essential fountain for writers.

Marten, C. 2003. Word Crafting: Teaching Spelling, Grades K-6. Portsmouth, NH Heinemann.

Snowball, D. and F. Bolton. 1999. Spelling K-8: Planning and Teaching. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.

Gentry, R. J. 2004. The Science of Spelling: The Explicit Specifics that Make Great Readers and Writers (and Spellers!) Portmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Stay tuned for more to come on The Daily Five very soon!

Along with my research on The Daily Five I have been digging in to find out all about The Literacy CAFE.  The CAFE system also created by "The Sisters" works hand in hand with the Daily Five and is firmly established in research.  CAFE is an acronym for Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency, and Expand Vocabulary.  I am so excited to build my Literacy CAFE Menu Board and am working away on my reading notebook.  

Please check back soon for more thoughts and pictures.  Meanwhile, do you use Daily 5 and CAFE in your classroom?  I would love to hear about your experiences!  Please share!