Our Second Grade Wax Museum

Conducting research, using multiple sources, presenting information orally and biographies are all important second grade concepts identified either by the new Common Core Standards or Ohio's new Social Studies Standards.  To teach these concepts in my classroom, I started by bringing in a wide variety of biographies at roughly a second grade reading level from my local library.  My students had a lot of fun choosing a person to learn more about.

I gave the class a week to read the book and complete a basic biography book report on what they read.  The following week, we went to the computer lab where each student used information from an electronic source to complete a "website review" of 3 new facts they learned about their person (most were able to use the encyclopedia found on Yahoo Kids).  After finishing our initial research, each student used their information to write a brief speech as though they were the person that they studied.  As a culminating activity, we dressed like that person and hosted a "wax museum."  Parents and other students were invited to come "push our buttons" and learn more about the life of a famous person. 

While teaching children this young how to conduct research is challenging, I am very proud of the end result.  The class did a great job and it was some of the best oral reading and writing I have seen my students do all year.  In my second year as a primary grades teacher, I have been surprised at the passion children have for nonfiction.  They were so excited to read to gain new information and their passion for learning has been evident in their work.

Printable Fiction/Nonfiction Posters

My second graders have a hard time remembering the difference between fiction and nonfiction.  The tendency for many of them is to say that a story is nonfiction when it is "not real."  Using "Google images" I made these posters to help them tell the difference.  Hopefully seeing the picture of a real mouse next to the word nonfiction will help them to remember that nonfiction stories are "real" or "true."

Literature Circles for Second Grade

Over the last two weeks, I tried my first literature circles as a second grade teacher.  This can be a daunting task with younger kids, but with some research and pre-planning, I thought that it went pretty well.  One of the keys to its success was that I had kids practice all of the "jobs" beforehand with shorter stories in our reading series before tackling a chapter book in small groups.   With my small class of nine, I allowed the students to choose between two pre-selected Magic Tree House books. These worked great because they are short and were high interest reads.  I divided the tasks of the literature circles into five jobs which rotated on a daily basis.  My adorable models are showing off the necklaces I made to identify who had each job for the day. The jobs I assigned are as follows:

Word Wizard: I chose two words from each daily reading assignment and the Word Wizard had to use the dictionary to define the words.

Summarizer:  It was the job of this student to write a brief summary of the daily reading assignment.

Discussion Director: It was the job of this student to write down at least three interesting questions about the chapter to discuss within the reading group.  I found that at this age level, it was difficult for them to come up with more probing questions beyond, "what was the setting, characters, etc."  Next time, I will provide a list of sample questions to engage the students in deeper thinking.

Story Connector: This student had to think of how that chapter relates to something else they have read or done.  The purpose of this job is to connect what we are reading to other literature or real life experiences.  This was the only worksheet that I made myself and you are free to print it for your own personal use.  All other resources that I use come from copyrighted teaching resources.

Lastly, it was the job of the illustrator to draw a picture of what they think the selection might have looked like.

After the first night, I assigned two chapters per day.  I gave students plenty of time in class to finish their job.  The next day each student shared their work in the order listed above and was assigned a new task.  Before completing a job, the student had to read the daily assignment at least twice.  I had a copy of one of the books on CD and placed my struggling readers in this group. Over time, there is probably a lot of tweaking I will do to improve my literature circles, but the class had a great time with it and I feel it was a successful first attempt.

How to Trap a Leprechaun

 It should come as no surprise that I am a fan of Saint Patrick's Day.  My classroom is notorious for having strange things happen around this time in March. This year my students used their creativity to write expository pieces on how to catch a leprechaun.  They had to use the words first, next, then and last to start each new step.  We then illustrated our projects with the cute leprechaun design I found on another blogger's site.


 I have one "enrichment" period a week and we used this time to set up our own "trap".  Much to my class's amazement the next morning they found the trap was destroyed and the leprechaun had left a messy path around the classroom (he even shaving creamed a desk).  Our tricky leprechaun even left a scavenger hunt of clues leading to a golden snack of donuts and juice.  The clues that the leprechaun leaves are always difficult enough that they require some critical thinking and group problem solving.  While the activity is mostly fun, it is a great way to work on reading comprehension and teamwork.  I have a lot of fun with this activity every year but by far my favorite quote from a student as I was passing out cups for juice was, "this cup smells like leprechaun."  It is truly a joy to work with children at the peak of their imagination.      

Flower "chart" for telling time

I recently found the idea for this "flower" on Pinterest and it has been very useful in helping my second graders to learn how to tell time. The longer leaf has the word "minute" on it to remind students that the long hand is the minute hand and the short leaf reminds students that the hour hand is the short one. I have really enjoyed adding pieces like this to my classroom to make every part of the classroom environment a learning experience.

Homemade Magnetic "Boggle" Board: An Anytime Word Work Center

I have seen a lot of great ideas on Pinterest for homemade "Boggle" boards and repurposed cookie sheets.  I decided to combine the ideas to create my own magnetic set.  I had a parent donate a well-used cookie sheet and I spray painted it with glossy paint.  I made my own set of letters and reinforced the backs with cardstock.  After laminating the letters, I fastened a small square of magnetic tape to the back of each one.  I fastened the cookie sheet to a metal storage cabinet in my classroom using 4 strong magnets.  When a student wants to complete the center, they may either sit next to the cabinet to write down the words they find on their "Boggle Answer Sheet," or they may take the board to their desk to complete.  At the beginning of each week, I mix up the letters so that a new game can be played.  This is the second week I have used the board in my classroom and so far, my second graders really enjoy it.    

Conversation Station: An Anytime Oral Language Activity

 I am always looking for new centers and activities that my students can use any time they need extra work.  Recently, I tweaked an idea from my reading series and made a "conversation station".  The center is meant for two students to complete together to build oral language skills.  

The container is an empty wipes canister that I covered with fancy duct tape. Inside, I made 50 laminated conversation cards with questions from Gregory Stock's The Kid's Book of Questions.  Each question is meant to require more than a one word answer and generally requires some critical thinking, (ie "what would you do if everyone in your family forgot your birthday?").




When completing the center, students should take turns asking and answering the questions.  It is not meant to be completed in one sitting, but students can work together as long as they want (provided that all of their other work is finished).  The beuaty of this center is that it can be repeated multiple times and still be a new experience every time the child has a new partner. I have been using it for two weeks now and it is a big hit because kids always love the chance to talk in class.

This idea could be easily adapted to become a creative writing station.

Our First Live Video Chat

My class with Ms. Fenny

In one of our recent Weekly Reader articles, my class learned about the celebrations and traditions of Chinese New Year. Fenny, one of my very dear friends and a Chinese-Indonesian, celebrates this holiday. Using Skype, we were able to chat with her from her home in Springboro, Ohio and learn more about how her family celebrates. 

Ms. Fenny on Skype

Prior to the chat, each student wrote two questions that they wanted to ask Ms. Fenny. Some of them were specifically about Chinese New Year, while others were about what life was like growing up in Indonesia. We learned about the foods, they like to eat and she even showed us red envelopes used to pass out money as gifts; just like ones in the article.

My favorite part of talking with Fenny is that she does such a great job of sending the message to kids not to take for granted all of the freedoms and opportunity that we have as citizens of the United States. After the chat we worked together to complete a Venn diagram to compare life in Indonesia to life in the United States. Each student then wrote a paragraph with the sentence starter, "If I went to Indonesia I would...".
I love finding new ways to connect reading to live people and events. I have learned so much from having Fenny as a friend and I was really glad that I had the opportunity to share that with my students. 

Solomon Lutheran 2nd Grade: The Ten Commandments

I am so proud of my class and the wonderful job they did leading the worship service on Wednesday! These young people read about the Ten Commandments and then acted them out in their own words. This class is a great example of what can be accomplished with teamwork and a positive attitude. Well done second graders!

Classroom Management for Creative Writing

I recently discovered this pencil on Pinterest and after making my own, it has been a real help in tracking where each of my students are in the writing process.  Even with a very small class, students tend to finish projects at very different speeds.

I usually help my second graders with revisions and often found that kids were coming up to me with a lot of mistakes that they should be able to find after proofreading on their own. The pencil gave me the idea to create a simple checklist that my class can use for each writing assignment. Hanging next to the pencil on the opposite wall, I keep a folder of laminated checklists. Next to the checklists is a container of wet erase markers. The same checklists can be used over and over again with a simple wet wipe. Now, before a student edits or revises with me, they have to show me the completed checklist. My class is still getting used to this new routine but I am hoping that over time, it will reduce the amount of capitalization and punctuation mistakes they bring to me so I can help them improve upon content rather than mechanics. 

 

Expository Writing: How to Build a Snowman

 Last week we practiced expository writing.   Our topic was "How to Build a Snowman".  Prior to formal writing, we did some journaling about the parts of a snowman and what would be needed to make one.  Together, we read the book Snowmen At Night .  Since not all students had built a snowman before, we looked at pictures of real snowmen and listened to the experiences of our classmates with prior expertise. 

I divided the writing into a four step process "First, Next, Then and Finally".  Students had to complete a rough draft using these words as sentence starters.  Before students could publish their work, they had to read their rough draft to me.  While they were reading, I drew a picture of what they were explaining.  They had to look at my picture and identify any missing parts.

Once a student's writing was published, they had to read their own description and "build" a snowman out of paper to match the description they had written.

Teaching Tips: Signage, Penguins and Clothesline

Update from original post: Here is a better picture of the lettering on the sign.  Again, the "is cool" is removable so that the sign can be used for additional projects.

Last week my class made the Pinterest inspired footprint pengiuns as an enrichment activity following a long reading test.  I thought that they turned out really cute!  Not everyone likes having the teacher paint their foot, so I made participation optional.  I also had a bucket of warm water and paper towels ready after each print.  Overall, I thought that the children did a nice job of keeping the room clean.

I currently have a broken window in my classroom, so I tried to make it more attractive by adding a cute sign (this photo doesn't show the cute polka dot lettering very well).  "Mrs. O'Brien's Class" is laminated onto the poster and the "Is Cool" is taped over top.  This way I can change the class motto to go with a new theme and do not have to create an entirely new poster.

I also found a clothesline tucked away in my classroom and decided it was perfect to hang projects from the windows.  Clipping the line to the windowsill was a cinch and will make it much easier to add and remove future projects.

Our Weekend Adventures With George

The most highly anticipated homework assignment of the year in my classroom is definitely "Our Weekend Adventures With George".  This year's class asked me on the first day of school when it would be their turn to take George home.

For my small class, I start this assignment after Christmas break. George sits in the room the week before, to build interest. On Fridays, a studen'ts name is randomly drawn to take George home for the weekend. He goes home with a bag full of goodies including his own pillow, pajamas and some of his favorite books. Last year, a generous student even added a new Curious George DVD to George's "suitcase". 

Also included in the bag is a class book. At the end of the weekend the "host" is to write a journal entry telling what George did over the weekend. I always have a writing sample for the student who is chosen first. They must add a colored picture or photograph of George to the page. On Monday, they read their entry to the class and share what they did with George. The journal page is taped to the "Our Weekend With George" poster in my room and is added to the class book at the end of the week. On Friday, the previous week's host gets to draw the name of the next lucky student who gets to take George home.

Sumdog

A great website for kids that I came across recently is http://www.sumdog.com/.  This site allows students to compete in math games to earn points for their avatar or to reach a new animal level.  There are so many kids who spend a lot of time playing video games these days and this is a great way for them to learn something positive while playing.  I plan on using this occassionally for Friday math game day as well as a center for early work finishers.  Teachers can adjust the difficulty and track student progress as well as set up classroom competitions.

Ideas for Teaching Adjectives

This week the theme of the stories in our reading book is using clues to solve mysteries.  I am tying my creative writing to this idea by teaching a mini unit on writing riddles.  A big part of writing a good riddle is using descriptive language without stating the exact name of an object, hence the tie-in to adjectives.  A great book to read while teaching adjectives is Many Luscious Lollipops by Ruth Heller.  The end of the book is advanced for second grade, but they understand that adjectives describe nouns and verbs and can tell how many.

After reading the book we created a list of as many adjectives as we could think of.  Each student then renamed the book with a new title.  My favorite was "One Beautiful Winged Horse".

The next day, we reviewed what we learned about adjectives and turned it in to the "secret snack game".  I wrote several riddles about snacks and students had to circle all of the adjectives they could find.  They then had to guess what type of snack I was describing. Small groups were then given a bag with a secret snack in it.   They had to hide their snack from the rest of the class and come up with a list of as many adjectives as they could to describe that snack. 

Tomorrow, the small groups will use their adjective lists to write at least 3 sentences describing their secret snack.  The goal is to write as many adjectives as they can in the 3 sentences.  The fourth and concluding sentence is, "What is my snack?" The rest of the class will guess what is in each mystery snack bag.  Of course, this lesson would not be complete without eating the snacks!