I feel like this is the fastest my classroom has ever come together. For once I will NOT be going to school on the Saturday before the first day of school. I feel ready, anxious, excited, and happy. That last one is important. I don't remember feeling happy much last school year, and I was worried that I wouldn't get that happy feeling back again this year. Thankfully due to selective memory loss :P I am ready to start my 6th year teaching second grade! Thursday was Open House and I had a really good turn out. Usually I expect 50% or less of my families to show up. But this year I had 17 families come to meet me and check out their new room. I can already tell I have a few big personalities that I am going to just eat up! I have mostly boys. Again. I guess that just means I won't have as many girl fights to deal with. Girl problems are always so complicated. A few of my past students stopped by to see me, although there were less than I hoped for. When one of my absolute-favorite-I-would-take-you-home-in-a-heartbeat- little guys walked in and gave me his signature bear hug, I actually started crying and had to shoo him out of the room before I made a fool of myself. A former mom also made my day when she came in to say "You teachers are amazing. You really do work miracles and I can't thank you enough." Enough of the sappy stuff. Time to show off my space. I made a few layout changes and tried a few new decorating techniques (thanks to Pinterest). There are a few classroom signs from TPT but everything I used was either a free download or reinterpreted by me so I am going to say upfront that I don't remember where everything came from. My bad. Welcome to Room 104! Free sign I downloaded from someone... They also had Kindergarten and First Grade. This is probably the last year for these "Best Work" signs. The paper is faded and I had to do many clothespin repairs. But I love these for the hallway. It gets me out of doing creative time-consuming stuff here. Free daily schedule cards from TPT. Minutes for my clock. I made these and used a round paper punch to cut them out. View from the door looking right. View from the door looking straight ahead. View from the door looking left. Kids mailboxes, recycling box, and calendar I decided to put the window topper in this door frame so I could hide the extra months underneath. Listening station with crate seats. I'll probably have to change out the fabric next year. Table caddies. I got these large caddies from IKEA to replace tons of grimy smaller ones that I hated. Click HERE to see the ones I bought. Each Gladware container holds a student's crayons. HERE is the link for the crayon containers. The cups with scissors are velcro-ed to the caddy to keep them from sliding. I'm planning to tape a copy of this picture to the side of the caddy so the kids can reference it when cleaning up. My built-ins and the kids book baskets. The green bins on the top shouldn't be there, they are too close to the ceiling. I threw them up there before Open House and haven't gotten around to figuring out what to do with them yet. Promethean Board. LOVE. End of story. My job chart. I will take pictures of the students, cut out their heads, and attach velcro. The clipart is from Lettering Delights and is called "Grown Up Boys." Encore chart and covered mirror. I really should have added a border and laminated the paper covering the mirror so I don't have to measure it out again next time but I got lazy. I HEART my library. Yes, I managed to snag the infamous Chevron rug from Big Lots. Although our school is pretty strict about additional classroom rugs so hopefully I can slide under the radar this time. You'll have to ignore the duck tape on the bookshelf. It was coming apart and my dad decided that was the best way to fix it. Love my flamingo shower curtain. My school is also iffy about shower curtains but I think it's OK as long as it isn't in the window. All those big books came from my teammate Heather who had TONS to give away. My area. The birthday board in action. I always hang up class photos from years past. Like the scrunchy border? Thank you Pinterest. My sign-in from Open House. The computer nook with Pinterest pom poms. I like to cover the cabinet doors and this year I wanted it to look like another bulletin board. I made these Hand Signals signs but they were inspired by The Clutter-free Classroom. More teacher area. Eventually this will be where the writing materials will be but right now I've taken it over with all the back to school paperwork. Still haven't finished my teacher tool box... More goodies from Heather! She gave me a class set of these decorative letter trays. Another teammate suggested putting them in the desks and I love it! They will use this to store their pencil box, STAR files (inspired by Tattling to the Teacher) and any other loose items. I hate papers and things rolling around in the desks. More desks. The inside of the STAR files. Reading/Math small group table. The boxes on the table are all ready to collect supplies on the first day of school. More school supplies I need to put away. My dad made me those cool marker stands. I was super excited about them but the glue he used ruined about half the markers :(. He used foaming Gorilla glue which holds really well, but apparently the marker lids have tiny holes in them so the glue seeped into the marker. Boo. They are still mostly functional so I will use them until they become a problem. I threw away about half of my poster collection so I could use this top drawer for guided reading storage. Reading materials. More reading stuff and my upcycled chalkboard. Math Workshop bulletin board inspired by The Clutter-free Classroom. I really liked her idea of having the different stations spell out the word MATH. I'll use push pins to hang up directions for each station. Guided reading books Math manipulatives and books. Whole brain teaching-ish rules. I changed a few to fit in more closely with our school initiatives. I plan to let the kids generate appropriate school behaviors (we call it the Quality Student) and then group the kids ideas under these five headings. I used this free product from Miss Nelson to make them. Chevron wrapping paper. I wanted to do the brown scrunchy border here too but I got tired of the scrunch and staple routine. These are the SUPER BORING LAME-O abc cards we have to use. I really wanted to use these from Ladybug's Teacher Files :( My Chevron ruler storage. This used to be a wine bottle gift box. View from the alternate corner. Well, it's not finished (when is it ever??) and it's certainly not perfect but I'm ready to fill it with brand new second graders on Tuesday! Can't wait!

In this post, I'll talk about why teaching schema is important, give some ideas and tips for teaching about schema to your young readers, and discuss when we

Almost two years ago I blogged about one of my favorite classroom management tools - The Partner Wheel! Seiously. I love this thing. If you haven't read the original post, check it out for more detail. Basically I write the names of students I don't want working together on the SAME wheel, and then line up the wheels to randomly select partners. Maybe older students will catch on... but I have been using this for 7 years (including student teaching) and no student has ever figured out that it is impossible to be partners with a student on the same wheel as them. At least no one has every told me they figured it out... Anyway, this image on Pinterest has brought a TON of traffic to my blog so I fancied up the templates for you and included new templates for various class sizes. Hop on over to my TPT store and grab your copy! P.S. Don't forget to comment here so you can win a copy of my new Word Study games! You have until Friday to enter.

My best advice to any teacher is to start the year with simple, but clear classroom expectations. If students know what you expect out of them starting from the beginning of the year, you will spend less time stopping instruction to correct behavior. When students know the expectations, they will try their best to follow ... Read More about Classroom Expectations

As a literacy teacher, teaching my students the importance of reading is my entire day. My students make huge transitions in reading during their second grade year. They move from learning to read and begin reading to learn. It's so important to set reading expectations. As a result, you'll see huge improvements! Find out how

Do you do writing workshop with your students? My program has evolved over the last 23 years, and now it runs smoothly – although I can’t help but add new ideas each year! Long before I expect students to write stories, we spend a lot of time discussing stories. For example, every time we read […]

When I start the new school year, I pick a book of the day for the first two weeks. I create a variety of activities to go with each book. I use a lot of books that focus on social and emotional learning, including kindness, friendship, and respect. But, I also add in some fun ... Read More about 8 Books for Back to School

Is your kid having trouble with contractions? Try out this simple memory matching game.

End of the year spiral review for second grade includes both math and ELA skills. It is perfect to send home with students over summer break.

This spring is presenting new challenges for teachers all across the country. Some of us are getting ready to go back to the classroom for the first time this year. Some of us have been in person all year, but we are about to get new virtual kids. Some of you have been in the ... Read More about Classroom Management and Expectations

Inspire your second writers with this list of journal ideas and 2nd grade writing prompts shared by one of our Journal Buddies readers!

This spring is presenting new challenges for teachers all across the country. Some of us are getting ready to go back to the classroom for the first time this year. Some of us have been in person all year, but we are about to get new virtual kids. Some of you have been in the ... Read More about Classroom Management and Expectations

Hey-O friends! How do you manage changing classes (my class doesn’t but I’m curious), or even moving from subject to subject within your own classroom? I teach in a self-contained classroom and it’s easy to shift subjects down the schedule a little when things don’t go as planned. #WhoopsWritingWasSupposedToStart20MinutesAgo? ahahahaha #NoShame When it’s time to check morning work, I play a song When it’s time to come to the carpet for a lesson I play a song. Subject change & it’s time to get out a different interactive notebook and folder— YES, I have a song for that! I keep a slew of songs on my iTunes and iPhone/iPad and I just click depending on what I need! It’s easy to say that it’s time to start something new and kids take that task as, “Okay I can chat with my friend now for 1049813582305 minutes”. If they’re singing—they’re on task and still able to talk–but they’re singing to a tune. When the music stops they must be ready! Beginning of the year I introduce a song for a new subject/idea slowly. I want the kids to get used to it and understand the rules that follow when the song […]

I have noticed a recent, positive change in education. Teachers are spending more time teaching the whole child. We are no longer just focusing reading, writing, and math. There is an entire educational movement to make sure what we are teaching, especially in early childhood, is developmentally appropriate. We are incorporating more play and we ... Read More about Kindness in the Classroom

14 Brilliant Ways to Quiet a Noisy Class! Check out these behavior management strategies for classroom management!

Ever have a student who knows the addition doubles facts inside out but hasn't transferred that knowledge to subtraction? Well, here's a free resource to help them make that connection. Popcorn Photo by etorres69 There are two

I've been working on a few things for Behavior Management so I thought I'd join the party! Check out The Lesson Plan Diva to see others who have linked up! I've seen a lot of clip charts and stop lights in blog land and I have to say that I am not a fan. Don't get me wrong--I think they are pretty, easy to use, and a quick visual for the teacher at the end of the day when getting things ready to go home. BUT I strongly believe that kids should not be publicly embarrassed for their behavior. EVERYONE makes poor choices from time to time. Would you want the entire staff to know when you missed a deadline or made a mistake? I know this is not the intention, but it happens anyway. Instead I use a binder. I wish I had a photo to show but sadly it is locked up at school. In the binder is a chart with student numbers instead of names. When students make poor choices, they are asked to visit the behavior binder where they place a check mark next to their number. There is also a copy of our Quality Student they should quickly review. When sending students to the binder, I make sure to do it privately so the student is not embarrassed. Each Monday we discuss the previous week's data, celebrate if we made a goal, and make new goals for the coming week. The binder is also handy at conference time. As a class, we set goals for the number of checks we will try to stay under per week. Students also may have personal goals for how many checks they will have each week or grading period. Recently I found Homeworkopoly on Ladybug's Teacher Files and decided to teacher-lift it. She uses this for students who consistently complete their homework, but I decided to use it as a behavior incentive. ALOT of people have been posting about doing away with the prize/treasure box and this could work for that too. I included two "prize box" places on the board but you could easily replace them with something else. I am still working on the Chance cards and I also added a spot for "Student-written questions." My plan here is to have students write their own review questions for topics already covered. So my printer is running low on ink and the colors are a bit distorted but this is the basic idea. My plan is to post it on the chalk board and use pictures of the kids faces to make magnetic playing pieces. Students who made it the entire week without any checks in the behavior binder (or who met their personal behavior goal) will get to take a turn on the Behavioropoly Board. Check out Ladybug's Teacher Files to see how she runs the game. ***Update*** Due to a high volume of requests I am no longer sending out my template by email. You can go to my TPT store and download the files for free!

Want to know how I keep math centers running smoothly in my classroom?! I love maximizing my time with small groups by making sure that my centers are meaningful and low-prep! Click here to read more!

Tips in teaching classroom procedures and their expectations. Click here:

Hey friends. We've been working on Measurement lately and our county selected math kits are seriously lacking in that department. It seems like the whole unit is non-standard measurement and elapsed time (which isn't even a second grade standard in my state). So we end up supplementing a lot. Here is a super easy and fun lesson created by an ESOL teacher I co-teach with for math. The day she was planning on doing this with my kids she got pulled to proctor testing in the upper grades so she handed me the materials and I was on my own! But thankfully the lesson pretty much taught itself. I started by reading Actual Size by Steve Jenkins. This fits nicely with language arts since we are focusing on nonfiction in both reading and writing at the moment. If you are not familiar with the book, it features illustrations of animals drawn to actual size, hence the name. Or at least what will fit on the page. The Giant Squid page just has the eye because that's all that will fit! The story helps getting the kids thinking about how big 1 foot is compared to 59 feet. After the story, I gave pairs of students cards with a picture of one animal from the book with a blurb about the animal's actual size. The students read the card, then used rulers and sidewalk chalk to draw and label a line the same size as their animal. They had a BLAST, and seeing the lines on the sidewalk really helped them understand what 1 foot, 5 feet, 15 feet, and so on would look like. I noticed they were much better at estimating measurements on other assignments after this activity than before. Here are some pictures: 9 foot Ostrich I think these guys are working on the African Elephant. While working, one of the students remembered a book we read comparing African and Asian Elephants. Even though we read it in November, he remembered that Asian Elephants were smaller :) I was surprised how big the ant eater could get. "Look how big this crocodile is Ms. Moler!" Not sure what this is supposed to be. I'll have to check the cards again. Wouldn't want to meet this Tarantula in a dark alley! Tiger I gave the 59 foot Giant Squid to my hardest working student who is always an early finisher. She was honored to have the task. After she finished the line, I had my class lay down head-to-toe so you could get a better idea of the 'actual size' of this ocean mammoth! We had so much fun! Ahh! Giant Squid!!!

Use low-prep writing crafts to get students excited about writing and showcase everything they have learned.

We are doing first grade phonics now. Get ready to learn and do all of the activities I think everyone will enjoy!

Last Stop on Market Street is filled with life lessons. This post contains a book summary, character study and ways to use visualization. A FREE product is included.

Are your students struggling with retelling a story? These retelling ropes are easy to put together and will help cue your students! Several activities and organizers are also included to round out your retelling and sequencing unit. ⭐I've included 4 different ways you can set up your retelling rope: 1. Characters → Setting → Beginning → Middle → End 2. Characters → Setting → Problem → Beginning → Middle → End → Solution 3. Characters → Setting → Conflict → Beginning → Middle → End → Resolution 4. Characters → Setting → First → Next → Then → Last Of course, you can mix and match and come up with your own order as well! However, the graphic organizers, foldables and bookmarks all come in the four options listed above. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ⭐ Here's what this pack includes: •Directions on how to create your retelling ropes •Graphics for a Large Teacher Retelling Stick/Retelling Rope •Graphics for a Smaller Student Retelling Stick/Retelling Rope •Retelling Bookmarks for Students (Color and B&W) •Differentiated Retelling Graphic Organizers

A perfect activity for encouraging temwork in the STEM lab or a regular classroom. All you need is string and a little imagination!

4th Grade Math Reference Sheet! *Aligned to 4th Grade TEKS! *A second version aligned to Canada Standards is included!  THIS INCLUDES: -Multiplication table (products 1-12) -Keywords -Protractor (TEKS aligned 4.7C) -Quadrilaterals with pictures (TEKS aligned 4.6D) -Classifying triangles based on angles (TEKS aligned 4.6C) -Types of Lines (TEKS aligned 4.6A) -Types of Angles (TEKS aligned 4.6A) -Place value chart (billions down to the thousandths) POSSIBLE USES: -Student reference sheet -Classroom poster -Interactive notebooks

Here is a short video by Scholastic Study Jams that explains the concept of MULTIPLICATION as being repeated additions of the same number. The video also introduces the terms factors and product and the properties of multiplication. After watching the video students can take a short online multiple choice quiz to check their understanding. Click on the link below to view the video. ~ Scholastic Study Jams - Multiplication Also I have a Multiplication Concept Chart worksheet for students to complete that reinforces the teachings on the video plus introduces/reviews the use of ARRAYS in Multiplication. I hope you find it useful. You can download the worksheet from my website. Just click on the link below then go to Free Worksheets. ~ http://www.LearningWorkroom.com Have fun with math!

Every year I have my students use a planner no matter what grade I teach. Planners help students start working on their organizational skills and is great for school-home communications. I was going to show you the editable planner I made for this year with pictures but I thought I would try something new and...

Try the pencil challenge! This strategy has helped my students organize their pencils and supplies or. Implement the pencil challenge with your students!

With students in your classroom who may not have the basics of sentence writing completely down yet, it can be overwhelming to plan tackling opinion writing with students in 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade. For young

The end of the school year is now upon us all. Yes I am going to miss my students, but I am so happy to give them their awards!

Do you utilize math rotations in your classroom? Math centers are a great way to incorporate independence and corporative learning skills. It gives you time to work with students one on one or in small groups with skills they are struggling with. I know it can be overwhelming to get started with centers, especially if ... Read More about Time Saving Tips For Math Centers

Alright folks. I finally decided I was ready to take pictures of my room today. Of course there are a million more things to be done but you know how that goes I'm sure. As a bonus, I'll give away an item of choice from my TPT store to the person who correctly guesses the number of flamingos in my classroom (hint-not all flamingos shown). My new "Best Work" signs for the hall display. This is one of our grade-level bulletin boards. The smaller stars each have a second grade student name on them. They are supposed to look like the stripes of the flag. My room! Another view from the doorway Behind the door Classroom library featuring the wonderful shelves daddy made me. I decided I need one more bookshelf for another part of the room. Daddy thinks he'll be able to finish it before the kids arrive. Job poster and part of my cute new ABC line (from Pink Cat Studio) New curtains and student book bins. Water bottle storage, as seen here! New table caddies. I decided to try something new with the markers. They are in an ice cube tray for water bottles. I got the tray at Walmart. I haven't decided if I'm going to put out glue or scissors like last year yet. Got this PERFECT wind chime on super clearance at Hobby Lobby. Listening center. Not sure what will go on the pink polka dot board yet. Probably data stuff. Need headphones? I spray painted my construction paper sorter to match the room. Those aborable gnomes are from one of The Meek Moose's teacher free piles. Computer area. I came from a school where we had at least 4-5 student computers. Now I have two. They look lonely. New word wall. I know it is going to drive some of you nuts that the ABC headers are not all in a straight line. BUT it actually drives me nuts when I see those word walls that are perfectly spaced. It looks great when there are no words on it, yeah. But what happens when you have to try to squeeze the 17th w- word in the same size space as your zero x- words. I spent a long time measuring out the exact amount of space each letter would need. Reading area. Complete with rolling crate seats, dry erase wall dots (I bought mine on Amazon), and file-tastics from Mardel for storing student data, running records, books, or what-have-you. This beauty is sitting at the end of my desk. Wondering what's under there??? The world's ugliest filing cabinet. I whipped up the cover on my sewing machine with some left-over fabric. My super improvers display for WBT. Adding that little personal touch. Water bottles close up. Those little lanterns also were gifted to me by The Meek Moose. I just had to back up to give you the full effect. I'm sure there is more to show you, and that I am missing tons of things I will discover I need when the little bodies arrive in 132 hours. But those things will just have to wait till I figure out what they are!

Meet the Rockin Rounders! The Rockin Rounders will help your students round numbers. These worksheets and task cards will help students practice rounding to the nearest ten, rounding to the nearest hundred, and rounding to the nearest thousand. Each pack is separated by digits. Here is a FREE pack of worksheet to give the Rockin Rounders a try! There are a variety of choices to meet the needs of your classroom. Each Pack comes with a FREE Worksheet! Scroll down to find the worksheet that's right for your classroom or collect them all! Rounding 2-Digit Numbers 40 Task Cards that students round 2-Digit Numbers to the nearest ten. Use these task cards at a math center along with a recording sheet or use them to play on one of the 4 game boards. An additional set of 10 Task Cards asking the students which numbers round to the number on the task card. Students use a recording sheet to record their answers. 4 game boards to use the task cards to play games. 5 Worksheets to use at centers or to send home for homework. Here is a FREE Rounding 2-Digit Number pre/post worksheet. Click the picture to download it. Use it to check to see if your students are rockin and rollin on their rounding. Rounding 3-Digit Numbers has 4 Math Centers It includes: 40 Task Cards that students round 3-Digit Numbers to the nearest ten and hundred. Another set of 20 Task Cards asking the students which numbers round to the number on the task card. 4 game boards to use to with the task cards. 8 Worksheets. Plus a BONUS, Rounding Cards. These are rounding tips students use to practice rounding. Use the rounding cards as reminders on how to round. This rockin rounding unit will have your students reinforcing rounding 3-digit numbers and it will give your rounding unit a rockin boost! Click the picture below to download a FREE worksheet from this set. Rounding 4 Digit Numbers has 4 Math Centers It includes: 40 Task Cards that students round 4-Digit Numbers to the nearest ten, hundred, and thousand. Another set of 20 Task Cards asking the students which numbers round to the number on the task card. 4 game boards to use with the task cards. 10 Worksheets Click the picture below to download a FREE pre/post worksheet. Check to see if your students are rockin and rollin with their rounding skills. You can also find these packs in a Bundle here: You will be a Rock Star teacher with these fun Rounding Units! Your students will have a rockin time while learning and reinforcing rounding! Here are some books I found on Amazon that might help you teach rounding: Fuzzballs - A Rounding Adventure book Lets Estimate book Rounding Rescue book Coyotes All Around book Check out this blog post I wrote about how to round and to pick up some more rounding freebies. Click here to see more rounding. Thanks for stopping by today! See you soon,

Here's a pointless story.... I have two brothers who are 11 and 15 years older than me. When my oldest brother was in second grade, his teacher, Mrs. Jackson, made black and white silhouettes of the students for Mother's Day gifts. When my other brother was in second grade he had the same teacher and she did the same thing for him. My mom had the two silhouettes framed and hung in my parent's bedroom. When I came along 11 years later, Mrs. Jackson was long since retired and was not about to come back and make another silhouette for little ol' me to give to my mommy on Mother's Day. I have been jealous of those darn silhouettes for 20+ years. Maybe that's why I decided to make silhouettes of my kids for their Mother's Day gifts. First I took profile pictures of my kids. I then printed them on cardstock and cut out the profile to make a pattern piece for tracing on the black paper. Then I let the kids pick out a colorful background paper from a huge stack of scrapbooking paper someone left in the "FREE" pile in the teacher's lounge. That was the most interesting and time consuming part actually. I was totally expecting the girls to pick girly stuff and the boys to pick boyish stuff, but each kid actually thought really hard about their mother and what she would like the most. One child picked a background she thought would match her mother's favorite earrings. Tomorrow we will put them in frames I got at the Dollar Tree and write a message on the back of the frame. I made sure to make them a standard size (8x10) so parents could upgrade to a nicer frame if they wanted. Here are a few of my favorites that I just had to scan in and post:

Tutorial on how to effectively use Classdojo in your elementary classroom

*Google Slides and Print Option* *Rubric Added!* About this Product This product came as a result of my students’ love of the biography series “Who Was…?” If you have not looked into this series, I recommend that you do! They are a fun, easy read that offers an engaging way for students to learn about historical figures and important people. Although this product is based on this series, this product could be used for any biography book or project. This is a nice way to integrate Reading, Writing, and Social Studies.🛑 Are you a member of the TLL Membership? These materials are already included. If you are not a member, click here to learn more. The TLL Membership gives you an all-access pass to hundreds of ELA resources for teachers in Grades 3-5. How I Used this Product In my 3rd Grade classroom, I used multiple copies of the same book or books and paired students in partnerships. In my school, we have a 30 minute Reading Intervention Block. I began this project with students who were not pulled out or working with me in small groups during this time. This was a nice way for students to work independently or in partnerships. It also created an extension for what they could already do as readers. Plus, they had so much fun! I let them work on this project in their partnerships. This held several benefits. Many students who were not pulled out or working in small groups tend to be higher level students OR students who have untapped potential. Allowing them to work on a project like this can extend their learning, as well as find new ways to enjoy reading. While other students had special groups or went to see other teachers, it was nice for these students to have their own project too. The Poster Page is a template that you could use for students to turn in with the essay or you could use this as a planning page and then have students create a larger poster on their own. I assigned it as homework and was pleasantly surprised at what my students turned in. I saw a wonderful increase in engagement by students who had shown little motivation or enthusiasm for reading. You can see the photos in the preview or in the product itself. Please know I updated the pages after the photos were taken with more detail and provided the poster template. Good luck to you with this project! If you have any questions, please contact me! You might also LOVE... Reader’s Notebook Anchor Charts My Opinion Matters! {An Opinion Writing Unit} My Life is A Story {A Personal Narrative Writing Unit} Buzzin' in Book Clubs {Book Club Reading Unit Resources} Newspaper Article Writing Unit {Here's the Scoop!} Opinion Writing for a Literary Response Current Events Writing {What's the Scoop?}

Tried and true classroom management strategies that work across most grade levels. These are some of teachers' favorite classroom management strategies.