Conversation Task Cards

I have ten days left before I meet my new group of kids.  I'm soaking in every last minute of summer while keeping a part of my mind on planning out those first few days of school.  In years past I've done various ice breaker activities but this year I thought I would do something a little different and get the kids talking to each other.  I want them to have meaningful getting to know you conversations. I plan on using these Conversation Task Cards to get the conversations flowing.

My students are seated in groups of 4 so I will put a stack in the center of their group.  After modeling a few times, they can take turns (such an important concept for them) speaking, listening, and asking each other questions.   These conversation cards can then be used at a later time as a writing center activity.  I will put them on a binder ring and students who visit the writing center can choose a question and respond. 

A little planning ahead

It is not like me to plan so far ahead but today's post is about Mother's Day.  ???  Let me explain... Every year our grade level does a beautiful and memorable Mother's Day Tea.  You can read my post about last year's tea here.  I won't get into the specifics of it again but this year I created Monthly Themed Journal Pages to use for my Mother's Day Gift.  This requires some planning ahead because each month (starting in September) I take the student's picture and put it in the book.  The students also write each month about things they did with mom.  This month I took a picture of the students on the first day of school to put into the frame and tomorrow I will have them write about some memories they shared with mom in September.  I love seeing the mom's faces when they see how much their child is grown in the monthly pictures.  Even more shocking is to see how much the students grow in their writing. I don't edit or help them with the writing in any way so to see them go from a couple of words or a few misspelled sentences to one or more well constructed paragraphs is satisfying.

As I was making these themed Journal Pages, I decided not to limit the journal pages to only the school year but included all the months of the year.  You can find these in my Teachers Pay Teachers store or by clicking the image below. 

How would you use these in your classroom? I'd love to hear your ideas in the comments below. 

It wouldn't be September without a little Johnny Appleseed.

Every year I like to spend a few days on this American Pioneer, Johnny Appleseed.  He is a historical figure that the students LOVE to learn about. I think it's because he walks such a fine line somewhere between one of America's pioneers and the tooth fairy.  We read both the biography of John Chapman and the Tall Tales of Johnny Appleseed and I know all the kids want to believe that he really does sleep with bears and wrestle giant fish.
Last year we focused on Johnny Appleseed, the story teller. We wrote some tall tales of our own. This was a lot of fun and you can read all about it by clicking here. 
This year I'm focusing on Johnny Appleseed but exploring the true history behind him.  I have a great set of biographies that are at the perfect reading level for second grade. I ordered them from Scholastic a couple of years ago and they have been so useful (especially later in the year when we write cereal box biography reports).  

Here is our set of biographies.  There are six of each so I will do the reading part of this activity in guided reading groups.

After reading the biography the students complete these four pages. The first page is where the students draw a picture of our dear old Johnny.  The next three pages is where they answer, who?what? and where? There is just enough space for two or three sentence answers which is all I think many of the newly second graders can handle this early in the year.  

You can download my Johnny Appleseed Stand Up Writing Project by visiting my TpT Store.

What are some of your fun Johnny Appleseed activities? I would love to hear in the comments below :)

Should we make something new for Back To School Night?

Every year it seems I tend to do similar things for back to school night to spruce up the classroom. This year, Back To School Night is less than a week after school begins so time is not plentiful for large, elaborate (yet beautiful) crafts.
No problem! I came up with this little three dimensional writing craft that will add a little liveliness to the student's desks for when the parents make their visit. Instead of having the students draw a picture of themselves I am going to glue down a photo of them. This will also be helpful to the parents when they walk in to find their child's desk.  All they have to do is look for his/her picture.

It is a perfect start of the school year activity as well because it helps kids focus on a goal they have and some of their favorite things about being in school.  Plus, 3D anything is a bonus!!

I know that sometimes at the beginning of the school year, students are on all different levels of learning so I also included unlined schoolhouses for students to draw pictures instead of writing.  

Whenever we do any writing projects in the beginning of the year, I always brainstorm words we might need and write them on the board. To help out the little writers a bit, I included a "words you might need" list right on the page.  

You can visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store and download one to use in your classroom. 

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Thinking Ahead of Schedule

Today I am thinking ahead of schedule.  I think it was my stroll down the school supply aisle (which is already showcased in all the stores) that got me thinking about September and Back To School.  I couldn't resist picking up some classroom supplies when I came across a 24 box of crayons for 25 cents or 77 cents for a box of markers!! Whether I will hand them out the first day or keep them as a back up supply for mid year when the students are scribbling with broken crayons, I'm not sure?? I also don't know how many of these fresh boxes of markers, crayons, and pencils will make it past my two little girlies who LOVE to color????

Today I created a little "My First Day" booklet for the students to work on.  It's a good way to assess writing/reading skills.  I'm sure I will have students breeze through it no problem as well as students who will struggle with the first page.  I will use this as my first unofficial tool of "figuring out" who is who.

Here is a preview of my Back To School Booklet.  You can download it from my TPT Store. 

There is still a lot of summer left to enjoy but I'm all about baby steps toward getting myself ready for the new year. 

Father's Day Writing

We focused so much on Mother's Day that I wanted to do something special with my kids for Dad. Father's Day falls at a very busy time of the year but we were able to sneak in this little writing and craft to create a unique gift for dad.
First the students wrote an organized paragraph on the reasons why their dad is the best dad in the world.  At this point in the school year they are banging out paragraphs left and right complete with openings, closings, and details. I'm amazed at how quickly they are able to organize their thoughts.  I copied lined paper onto a green piece of cardstock for their final copies. Once they wrote their final piece, they turned it over and drew puzzle pieces on the back. I did make a rule that the puzzles couldn't be more than 10 pieces. I had a little one think it would be fun for dad to assemble teeny tiny scraps of paper in order to read his story.

To fancy it up because I'm sure that dads really love fancy ;)  we added some ribbon and a little hand written note. 

Ta Da!

Summer Is Almost Here

Summer is just around the corner.  The heat is really starting to get intense and the students are starting to drift each day that we get closer to summer vacation.  I can't blame them. Pools are open, the beach is near, the boardwalk rides are running. It's no wonder their minds are someplace else.  I came up with this little craft, writing piece to keep the students engaged and make our walls pretty for the last few weeks of school.
We brainstormed all the things we love to do in the summer.  We live at the Jersey Shore so summer days are full of fun for these kiddos.  The kids organized their thoughts into a paragraph. The last step was making these handprint crabs.  My students LOVE dipping their hands in paint. Each month I try to do at least one "handprint art." This is the final one for the year.

Here we are "Pinching" our way toward summer vacation!

Haikus in the "Eyes of a Second Grader"

We are in the midst of our poetry unit.  This week we spent talking about Haikus.  I did a lot of teaching and practicing syllable counting before showing them the 5-7-5 pattern of a Haiku.  

Most of my students need a little inspiration for ideas or topics to write about.  This time their "inspiration" came in the form of a few colored blobs of paint dropped onto a piece of white paper, then folded in half.  

The kids LOVED deciding what their "paint blobs" looked like. I loved watching them turning their papers around in every direction to get the best picture.  

After they decided what their picture looked like, they wrote their Haikus about it.

This one is two bunnies:

A Pinching Crab:

An Eagle:

A Dragonfly:

My favorite,  The Head of a Horse:

Seahorses:

Cereal Box Biography Reports

It's almost the end of the year so everything has to be unique and have an element of fun for my students to be engaged. Cereal Box Reports are always fun to make and the kids like sharing their finished product with the rest of the class.

Last year I was able to order this great set of Biography Books that were on a reading level that all my students can handle.  There are 12 different famous people (even though 6 are showing in this picture). The options are limited but they are exposed to the genre of biographies and truthfully not one of my students complained about the lack of choices. They are so easy going :)

I gave the students a web to help them organize their facts.  The organizer has 4 sections:  

childhood, interesting facts, accomplishments, my opinion. 

Each of these topics about their famous person became a side of the cereal box.

It took us about a week to complete but here they are!!!

Memorial Day...My Hero

For my second graders defining Memorial Day was a bit of a challenge. They weren't totally sure if it was a holiday to celebrate pools and barbecues, the start of summer traffic (the only downfall of living by the shore), or remembering America's Heroes??

This writing activity really helped them to relate the importance of the holiday to their own life.
We began by brainstorming the meaning of the word Hero. The students had to choose someone in their life and write reasons why that person is their hero.

I borrowed a book from our art teacher full of these ideas for handprint crafts. This one was intended for a Fourth of July craft but I liked the idea of fireworks, they are very patriotic. I used a silver glittery paint for the "white" firework.  Next year I will use a light blue background so that the silver really "pops."

Pair of Pears-Homophones

A little fun activity we did this week for homophone practice.
First we defined homophones and "tapped into our prior knowledge" to make a little list.

I handed out homophone cards randomly to the class. The students had to find their matching homophone pair.  They had fun doing this with the added challenge of doing it silently. Together they drew pictures to illustrate the meaning of their word.

Then we made a giant homophone pear poster...

Mother's Day Tea

Mother's Day is so special to me because now that my daughters are in nursery and preschool I am lucky enough to receive gifts of handprints and scribbled "I Love Yous." This may explain how over the top we go in Second Grade to make a very special afternoon for our moms.

It all begins in September...
The students make a book or journal each month of all the special memories they shared with mom. I also take a picture of them and we start building our book month by month.
Here is a picture of our September entry.

I love how each month you can see how they change and grow in both their looks and their writing.  Here is another picture from a January entry.

Here is the cover of our book (laminated and on card stock)

Just before Mother's Day we invite all the moms in for a "Mother's Day Tea."  The preparation for the event is a little time consuming but the outcome of seeing the mom's faces and emotion is so touching.

Our beverage table....

Some of our desserts...(my homemade cupcakes, aren't they fancy? ;)

 The kids are always saying, "Mom makes the best...." so I thought it'd be fun to put together a little cookbook of all the kid's favorite recipes.

Here is how their gifts were presented to mom (on top is a wrapped gift the kids made with our Art teacher).

                      

A little decor for the hallways..

 On the flowerpot the students wrote a little opinion piece which starts out, "My mom is the best mom in the world." (I got a few giggles out of reading these).

                                          

These flowers lined the hallway going up to our classroom. On each petal they wrote words to describe mom.

It was an amazing afternoon for everyone. The kids loved sharing their special gifts and crafts.  Another surprise for the moms is that our music teacher puts together an amazing little performance made up of 6 of the cutest Mother's Day themed songs.

The day was full of lots of smiles, memories, and happy tears.