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.
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."
