Try these easy and fun second grade properties of matter science experiments with 5 cool questions for students to investigate!
Grammar instruction doesn't mean worksheets and sentence fixing. In this post, I share what the research shows to be best practices for teaching grammar!
Lemon juice secret writing! Make DIY invisible ink and sen secret messages. Plus learn the science behind how these messages are made!
An elementary art teacher blog with art projects and lessons, DIY projects and outfit photos as well as clothing I have made myself.
What do you get when you cross an elephant with a fish?
Welcome welcome to the Summer Stock Up {hosted by the amazing Amanda over at The Primary Gal}! I’m sure you {and I} will find a TON of great things to stock up on this summer before school starts back up! Check out what I’ve got for you…To start off the school year, it’s nice to […]
Hi Friends…. The past two weeks we have been working on Prefixes and Suffixes in our second-grade classroom! My kiddos were having such a good time brainstorming words with prefixes and then figuring out the meaning. They really had a strong grasp of the concept… I was pretty impressed. After our whole … Prefixes, Suffixes and a FREEBIE Just for YOU! Read More »
Take a look at number sense workstations for kindergarten, first grade, second grade, and place value workstations for third grade!
Use the Tug of War Strategy for making thinking visible: Over the last few years my teaching has been heavily ingrained with inquiry based learning, problem/project based learning and open ended questioning.
Move it, show it, mark it, and voice it!
This is a fun whole class activity for introducing the subject and predicate of a sentence. Students are given strips of paper that have either a subject or a predicate. Students can mingle to find a partner who has a sentence part that will go with their part. Students with subject cards find a student ... Read More about Super Silly Sentences; Subjects and Predicates
Superhero worksheets are a FUN way for kids to practice letters, counting, math, & more with their favorite super hero printables. Ages 3-9.
Find your perfect art project by searching through grade levels, popular subjects, techniques and easy project ideas.
Taking a week off from sharing a super site, to share something else I am "super" proud of with you all! It was my goal this year to work...
Today is the last day to enter my Weekend Wishlist Giveaway for the fabulous Maggie Tote! The winner will be announced tomorrow morning! Let's link up to share what happened in our classrooms this week. Me first! :) In math, we are working on our place value unit. Students practiced writing expanded form by playing "Bull's Eye" using a target and paperclips. They wrote their scores in expanded form (ex. 100+30+2=132). Students are also learning to write numbers in word form. To make sure they are mastering the spelling of these words, we made flashcards and "Mastery Pockets." We'll save these to use for MANY activities this year! Here's how to make a "Mastery Pocket": Step 1: Take a 2-pocket folder. Cut a semi-circle shape ABOVE the inside pockets. Step 2: Cut down the fold along the white semi-circles (in pic above) so it creates two flaps. Fold flaps down. Step 3: Use velcro dots to secure flaps down so that they create pockets that can open and close. I got these Velcro mini-dots that worked PERFECTLY at Wal-Mart in the craft section. Step 4: Print labels that say "Practice" and "Mastered" to go on each pocket. You can download mine here! Voila! Now you have a cheap, easy solution to storing flashcards that students are using to master skills. And, students LOVE being able to move cards from the "practice" pocket to the "mastered" pocket! They also love to decorate them and make them their own. ;) In science, we're still learning about animals. This week we finished up learning about all of the animal classification groups. Students created flipbooks to help them remember the characteristics of the different animal groups. I love using different textures to represent the animals' body coverings! Mammals - fur fabric from a craft store to represent hair/fur Reptiles - onion sack to represent scales Amphibians - wax paper to represent smooth, moist skin Birds - craft feather to represent feathers Fish - onion sack to represent scales Insects - a piece from a hard plastic 3-ringed folder to represent an exoskeleton Inside they wrote examples of animals that would belong in each group and characteristics of that group. (Animal Groups Flipbook from Teacher's Clubhouse) I ended my week by taking one of my SWEET students to Frankie's Fun Park for putt-putt, bowling, and games! She won a date with me from the silent auction at our school's carnival. It was a fun time and a perfect ending to the week! She won over 2,000 tickets and insisted on buying me something with them - a Gamecock Hello Kitty! I'm pretty sure it's going to bring my Cocks good luck tomorrow...maybe I'll take it to the game -ha! Gotta love those sweet students! ;) What happened in your classroom this week?
Cute contraction activity helps children practice identifying contractions with a fun Bingo Game to play and learn!
Chapter book read alouds for the elementary classroom. My 1st and 2nd grade kids love some of these read alouds. Come find your new favorite!
Cute coin money games is a great way for teaching money to kindergarten - including different coins with piggy bank activity for kids!
Past, present, and future.
Hello! It's Allison from Stuckey in Second ! I wanted to share a popular post that I recently had on my own blog. It was a big hit and I hea...
This is a 5-day unit that covers natural resources. It does include the Natural Resources Assessment. The Natural Resources Flipchart is a separate download.
If you’ve ever had (or possibly you currently do have) a student who struggled with phonics even after receiving daily, systematic instruction, it’s most likely because they have not yet developed their phonemic awareness abilities. Read more
The second grade kids created superhero self-portraits! I have been itching to do this project since last year. In fact, I have had my example project ready to go for a year now! Students were encouraged to invent their own characters but some students were so excited about superheroes like Batman and Captain America that they chose to become them! We began by talking about how cartoonists create stylized versions of people. Cartoons are often simplified (three fingers instead of five) and facial features are often exaggerated (eyes that are too big for the face and heads that are too big for the body). The kids were asked to draw self-portraits but use cartoon versions of facial features instead of using a realistic style. The next time we came to art class we looked at example pictures of well known superheroes and came up with a list of costume common characteristics: cape, mask, boots, gloves, belt, logo/symbol. I asked the kids to use at least some of the common costume characteristics in their own work. When we painted our backgrounds, the children were asked to choose a color scheme that would contrast with their capes and costumes. I showed students how a blue costume is harder to see on a blue background than a red background. Background Color Schemes: - Sunset: red, orange, yellow, pink - Daylight: light blue, dark blue, purple. We added salt to create a textured effect in the sky. Great job second grade! You amaze me! Learning Goals: I can... - Explain what a self-portrait is - Describe common characteristics of superhero costumes - Work as a cartoonist (careers) to create my own unique superhero - Use salt to create texture in my watercolor painting - Used good craftsmanship when coloring, painting and cutting.
Anyone struggling with missing pencils? Here is a plan to help your students NEVER LOSE A PENCIL AGAIN! Try this out! Each student gets 4 pencils to keep inside of his/her toothbrush holder. Yes, a toothbrush holder! You know, the kind that you can get at Wal-Mart, The Dollar Store, or Amazon! Place the student’s name […]
Are you ready for some football? I love this time of year! My students really seem to enjoy themed activities. 48 pages - 4 MB - PDF
Hello, friends! I have created a lesson for my students and any kiddos who wish to create titled Behind My Mask! When my students return in the fall (and, yes, I said 'when' as I am very hopeful and optimistic), they will be asked to mask-up. We always seem to start out school year with a selfie so I was bummed when I thought of the idea of my students drawing themselves with their best facial feature hidden. And that's where the idea of this surprise drawing came from. Here's a video! Feel free to use and share (with credit given, please and thank you): I simply used paper, permanent marker, coloring markers and crayons. If I happen to teach virtually this fall, this lesson could also be done by my students at home. This video is a short and simple one...when teaching, I plan to share with my students a variety of self-portraits and talk a lot more about lettering, fonts, skin tones, craftsmanship, good character...the list goes on! As you can see, I'd have a hard time fitting it into a video short enough to capture their attention. So, if you use this video, feel free to add on whatever you wish to include! No one is excited about wearing a mask but...it's for our safety. And the best thing we can do for our kiddos is to put a positive spin on it, right? I hope to do that with this lesson. Enjoy!
Want to add fun to your classroom environment? Use this advice & free Cheer Cards download (in English and Spanish) to engage and motivate your students
Hi Friends…I don’t know about you….but BOY OH BOY…I am super busy! I truly need at least another 10 hours in EACH day in order to accomplish everything that needs to be done! Unfortunately, I don’t get an extra 10 hours…so some things have to go to the wayside..sadsville 🙁 But, … Animals, Biomes, and HOLIDAYS..OH MY! Read More »
Isn’t writing challenging to teach? I think so too! To help, I worked on incorporating some writing activities into my interactive notebook pages this year, Maybe this freebie will come in handy for you and your students! You can grab this writing freebie from my Second Grade Language Arts Interactive Notebook. It will help your kiddos ... Read More about Interactive Notebook Freebie – Writing
How cool is this? Kids of all ages will be impressed with this fun Plastic Milk Science Experiment. What will you make first?
Skill and Drill in Math without the Worksheets
Hey y'all! Over the past couple of weeks I've had some questions from teachers about how I use Class Dojo in my classroom and utilizing my Class Dojo Super Pack. I had done a blog post back in February when I first ditched the clip chart, but I've changed a few things since then and didn't quite explain it all clearly the first time, so I'm back to try again! In the past, I've kept all my behavior charts and/or Class Dojo materials on the closet door at the back of my room. This year, I've moved it to one of the square bulletin boards at the front of my classroom. Here is my new bulletin board: This Class Dojo bulletin board houses pretty much all of our Class Dojo "stuff". In the bottom left corner, you'll see my Dojo Store. I chose 12 items (tangible rewards and experiences) that my kids will have to choose from at this time. I will change these out every few weeks - take some off and add some other rewards - there will most likely be some that will stay for at least 2 "cycles" in a row, if not more. The reward tickets were printed and are housed in regular sized library pockets. The library pocket covers fit just over top of the library pockets and I used some velcro dots to attach them to the library pocket, as well as put a staple on each side of the pocket cover so that it would lay flat. My plan for the tickets is for the kids to bring them to me when they want to purchase that item/experience so that I know what they are purchasing as well as take it off of their Dojo Credit Card balance. I will then put the tickets back in the pocket to be reused later (saving some copies!). Above my Dojo Store, I have my Class Dojo Leader of the Week. Each Friday when we are packing up, I will see which child had the most points during the week and they will get to be the Leader of the Week for the next week. I have printed out little Class Dojo monsters from Class Dojo's online resources - the Leader of the Week will get to choose one of these monsters and I will use a sharpie to write their name on this monster and add it to our bulletin board. The Leader of the Week also gets a Brag Tag and a certificate - if they are LOTW multiple times, they get a brag tag each time they are LOTW! Going up the right side of the bulletin board, as well as kind of taking over the top, is my Class Dojo point club. This is something new that I'm adding this year! Every couple weeks I will check on my kiddos' total points in the Class Dojo Reports and use printed mini Class Dojo monsters to show which club the kiddos belong in. For each level of the club, they will also receive a Brag Tag! 100-1000 point club certificates (printed on colored paper) and brag tags. Their Class Dojo credit card is a laminated card with their name on the front and their signature on the back - like a real credit card. I have them sign their cards before I laminate. Since it is laminated, that allows me to use a sharpie and a Mr. Clean eraser to write their balance and erase to change the balance as they add to or take from their balance. When I give my kiddos their credit cards, I explain to them that this is like a real credit card that their parents may have and that they have to be responsible to take very good care of their card. I explain to them that if they lose their card, they can't just "get" another one. There is a penalty for losing their card. I know this isn't quite how it works in the real world, but they have to learn some responsibility sometime! When I find credit cards laying on the floor in the classroom, I take them and hide them from the student until they come to me and ask for their card. When I give them their card back, I explain to them that it is very important to take care of their card and that there is a monetary penalty for losing their card and getting it back - I usually take 10-15 dojo dollars for returning credit cards. Call me mean - but I want them to treat their credit cards just like real money. I also only let them spend the money that they have loaded on their card - no racking up a big credit card bill! **Note - Clipart on credit cards IS NOT included on the set in my TPT store. You will have to download the clipart and add to the credit cards if you want the look I have above.** Q&A: When do your students cash out their Dojo points to add to their Dojo Credit Card? I have four tables in my classroom and I have assigned each table one day of the week that they are allowed to cash out their points. I allow them to cash out their points during morning arrival and morning work time and then again during lunch (we eat lunch in our classroom so this works for me). So, I should have around 6 students cashing out each day. When they cash out, I quickly add/subtract the points they have on their behavior graphing sheet, total them up, and use a sharpie to add this amount to the back of their credit card. This takes about 1 minute per student, so it really is not taking up much time during the day. If a student (or myself) is absent, I either use our extra day during the week, or let them cash out on a day other than their table's assigned day. When can your students purchase items from the Dojo Store? I let them purchase items/experiences any day of the week - but it has to be during morning work time or lunch time. I don't want this to be interrupting instruction, so I restrict it to these times of the day. If your kiddos stay in our room during dismissal in the afternoon, you could do this during that time while they wait for their bus or car. Why do you reset your students' points daily? This is something I have always done. Previously, when I had my 7-layered clip chart, my kiddos would start out each day on green. Once they had 3 positive points they would move up to blue, 6 points they would move to purple, and 10 pink. So, I would reset to 0 daily because of this. I also like the idea of a fresh start each day. I know that all my kiddos aren't going to be perfect and there are going to be some that are not going to have a great day once in a while. If they leave with negative points, I want them to come in the next day with a fresh start back at zero. Otherwise, they already feel defeated before stepping into my classroom and that is NOT how I want them to feel about school. Class Dojo is all about noticing the positive things that your kiddos are doing rather than just focusing on the negative, so I try my best to do that as well. If you reset your points daily, how do you check their totals for the 100-1000 Club and Leader of the Week? Class Dojo is super great for reports! First, click on the Reports page at the top of our Class Dojo screen. That will take you to this page. Then, you'll want to change the date to your desired date. For LOTW, I change it to that current week. For 100-1000 point club, I choose All Time. Then you'll want to go over to the student column on the lefthand side and use the drop-down box to choose Highest Combined. This will take into account both positive and negative points and will sort them from most points to least points. This way you can see who is the Leader of the Week each week and check the total points for each student for the 100-1000 point club. How do you get your parents and students to set up online accounts? You may (or may not) know that Class Dojo will send out weekly reports to your kiddos' parents each Friday to parents who have set up an online account. Fortunately for me, I am at a great school with lots of parental support. This year, I had every parent set up an account. Did all of them monitor the accounts on a regular basis? No, probably not. All but one of my kiddos had their own account as well. It was much easier to get the kiddos to set up an account because they want to be able to personalize their monster and that is the only way they can do it. I also encourage my parents to set up accounts and will pester email them until they do so - haha! They don't have to set up an account online, but it is very beneficial for them to be able to track their students during the day and get the weekly reports - in addition to seeing their child's daily graph that I send home in their COLLEGE notebook. Yes, I've had parents who monitor their child's behavior during the day and send me messages on Class Dojo messenger about what their child is doing and messages that I need to relay to their child to straighten up! What other questions do you have? Please ask them below and I'll add them to the blog post! How did you get the Class Dojo Monsters on all the items you have pictured above? The set you have on TPT doesn't have the monsters? The set I have listed on TPT includes editable parts. I had to remove the monsters from the set after I originally posted it because of copyright, so I made the set so that you can add the monsters if you wish. There is a set of pages in the pack on TPT that does not have the monsters and then there is an editable file that has space on the items to add pictures directly from the Class Dojo website. The link to these items is included. So, you have the option to add the monsters or not. Now, I'm giving away one of my Class Dojo Super Pack sets to one lucky reader! Complete the Rafflecopter below to enter! a Rafflecopter giveaway Be sure to check back on July 21st, August 1st, and August 5th! I've teamed up with Class Dojo to share some new features that they will be releasing on these three dates - they're going to be great!!
Looking for a new and engaging classroom management system for your classroom? I love Secret Student because all of my students buy into this system...
Teach your class about the exciting world of physics with these fun lesson plans and physical science motion and forces worksheet unit.
Managing student classwork can be a real hassle. Here is my super easy system for filing and sending all the work home.
Classroom & teaching tips, ideas, freebies, and resources for elementary teachers.
