Do you teach your first and second-grade students to learn how to write a paragraph? In this post, I share ideas, lessons, and activities for students to learn how to write their own paragraphs in a structured way. Before I dive in, I wanted to let you know you can watch or listen to all […]
Learn a changing matter experiment you can easily do at school that is perfect for 2nd grade. This properties of matter ice cream in a bag science experiment is a delicious demonstration of temperature changes matter that students can eat at the end!
Create a solid math foundation with these tips for teaching place value in 1st grade. Use these ideas to avoid place value mistakes!
Discover hands-on beginning of the year science activities that will excite your students and build the foundation for future science lessons!
Number fact fluency is important to develop in first and second grade. Without automatic recall it's hard to move on to more complex skills.
Just found out you're teaching second grade! Here's a quick start guide!
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 »
Practice grade 2 math with FREE printable 2nd grade math worksheets. Turn second grade math worksheets into a FUN Mad minutes game!
Hello and welcome to the WEIRDEST SCHOOL YEAR OF YOUR CAREER. While last year ended with quite an unexpected twist, not something anyone could have predicted,
A blog post sharing information about why Contraction Surgery is a success in classrooms! Hands-on information is shared. #ContractionSurgery
Telling time past the hour can be challenging for primary kids but it doesn’t have to be a struggle for you or your students. Learn simple ways and effective strategies to make telling time easier for primary kids.
This Animal Report can be used for ANY animal. It is a great way to help elementary students research and write about animals. Students participate in
WOW! 300,000+ Second grade worksheets, free printable games, and 2nd grade activities to make learning math, literacy, history, & science FUN!
Ready to learn about the second largest country in the world? Grab these printable Canada Coloring Pages to learn about Canadian wildlife, Mounties,hockey, and more!
I love integrating STEM challenges into science units! This pollinator STEM challenge is a great way to integrate STEM with ecosystems in second grade!
Second Grade Stories • A Second Grade Teaching Blog
Are you looking for engaging grammar centers? These parts of speech activities are perfect. Here are 7 noun centers for teaching grammar.
Kids will have fun learning about science as they explore with these Solid, Liquid, Gas Hands on Activities for kids of all ages.
Creative and hands-on habitats activities for second grade science. Find teaching ideas, ready to use lessons, videos, and science experiments for kids, ideal for teaching 2nd grade habitats and ecosystems.
Try these essential tips for how to run Math centers: Easy, simple, and effective organization ideas and resources for the K-2 classroom.
habitat science unit for first grade, second grade, or third grade
If you're on the lookout for a STEM project for elementary grades, you're going to love this one! Click through to get all the details and start today.
Second Grade Language Arts First Semester 18 Weeks Workbook Free Printable 18 weeks of planned lessons for second graders! This one was taking a little longer than expected so I thought breaking it…
Read a few ideas for civics and government activities. There are free lessons and activities as well as other fun hands-on, engaging ideas.
In this robot measurement project, 2nd graders use a ruler to estimate and measure in inches and centimeters. 1st graders apply nonstandard measurement using cubes and paperclips. They'll answer measurement word problems to compare length or standard and metric measurement.This resource is meant for...
Inspire your second writers with this list of journal ideas and 2nd grade writing prompts shared by one of our Journal Buddies readers!
Setting up a fact fluency program in a classroom can be daunting- where do I store it all? How do I keep track? How do I determine if students are successful? What do I do if they aren't making progress? I have set up and run a fact fluency program in my classroom for a few years now, and while I was overwhelmed at first, I found that it's not as hard as you think to help students become fluent in math! It just takes 4 simple steps to get your fact fluency program up and running. Get Organized: I find that everything goes so much more smoothly if I am organized before I begin anything, and that's especially important when running a fact fluency program. Having assessments ready, keeping track of student data... it can be really overwhelming. I personally use a two part system for keeping myself organized, and I find that it really works. First, I printed out all of the testing originals for both addition and subtraction. I like having the originals all in one place because then I don't have to find the file on my computer, print out the page I need, run down to the copy room to make copies... I just grab my binder when I need more copies and take it to the copy room, make all the copies I need, and put the originals back in the sleeve when I'm finished! I hate trying to find things on my slow computer, so this works for me. I used to keep the student assessments in the binder as well, but I found that having all those extra pages in there was a little less organized than I would like it to be. So I decided to use hanging file folders in a crate to organize assessments. And since I really love it when things are color coded, particularly in color order, I created tabs that matched the color of each level. Inside the files for each level are the different assessments, the flash cards for that level, and copies of the reward certificate ready to go. When a student passes a level, I can easily grab the next set of flash cards and the reward certificate, staple them to their completed assessment, and send it home! It is also really easy to see how many more copies I may need of a particular assessment, and it's easy to slide them down in there once I've copied them. It is also important for you to determine what fluency looks like in your classroom. How long do they have to complete the assessment? Do they need to get them all correct? How many problems do they need to do- 25 or 15? 3 seconds per problem is considered "fluency" based on what I've heard. I give my students the 25 problem sheet. If a student does not complete 2-3 problems but gets the rest correct, I usually consider that "fluent" since it's above 80% mastery and let them move on. However, if the student is making computation mistakes, I don't. Of course, you will have to choose what works in your classroom! Practice, practice, practice! An important part of fact fluency is giving your students time to practice! I always begin our program with a letter to parents letting them know that we are going to be using the program this year. Attached to the letter is a copy of the 0s facts for them to practice with their child. I usually give them a few days or so to practice their facts at home and in the classroom before we do the first assessment. In the classroom, I like to integrate our fact fluency practice into our Fast Finisher activities, as well as math centers when appropriate. Several of our Fast Finisher activities involve some sort of fact practice. Flash cards: We began with the option of flash cards first- they are easy and since mine are color coded, the kids could just grab the color that matches the level they are working on. Fact Fluency Flip Books: A second option for my students are Fact Fluency Flip books. These are little books that students can grab and work on. Each book contains 8 pages with 11 different activities for practicing facts. For example, there is a page of number bonds, a page of number lines, etc... These are probably best for saving to use after you've taught addition strategies. I have 4 different books for each level, so students can grab a different book each time they use one. Games: I use lots of addition and subtraction games with my students that help to build fluency. Most of these games are simple as well! Games like Bump or Roll and Cover give students fluency practice while making it fun. War is another fun game, where students choose two cards, add the numbers together, and decide who has the higher sum. Other games where students are practicing adding together or subtracting two numbers are perfect for increasing fluency and providing students with practice! Boom Cards: My students LOVE Boom Cards, and if you haven't checked them out, you should! There are a ton of both free and paid options available both on the Boom website and Teachers Pay Teachers. Hot Dots: Hot Dots are something my students love to use. Power Pens are another similar option and the pens can be used interchangeably with the different card sets. I got mine through Donors Choose, so if this is something your school allows, it's definitely an engaging option to check out! There are addition and subtraction and Power Pens addition and subtraction sets that you can purchase. There are also Power Pen stickers that you can purchase to create your own. I find that having lots of choices increases student engagement and keeps them from getting bored using just one method to practice their facts. If they're tired of Boom Cards, they can use Hot Dots that day. Track Progress Of course, tracking your students progress is important to continuing to increase fluency! There are so many ways to track student progress. You can do a whole class board where students move their name to the level they are on, or write their name on each level once they've passed it. Or you can choose to make it a bit more private. Or you can choose not to track at all! In my Growing Fact Fluency pack, I've included tracking sheets for the teacher to use, as well as fun tracking sheets that the students can use to track their own progress. I also have included sticker charts, reward tags, and certificates to both track and celebrate student progress! Tracking also helps alert you to any difficulties a student may be having. When I realized that two of my students were really struggling with making it past their 1s facts, I knew that I needed to work with them and give them more opportunities to increase their fluency. I downloaded Boom Card games that just practiced adding one. One student was not actually adding one and did not understand the concept, so I taught a small group lesson on how adding one is just counting up one more. I have also included options for differentiating, so struggling students can be given the page with only 15 problems while everybody else has 25. By keeping track of their progress, I was able to identify those difficulties and work on those particular skills. Reap the Rewards I am not usually one for extrinsic rewards, and generally my Fact Fluency program operates in that same manner. For most students, knowing they've passed that level and are moving on to the next level is enough for them to be motivated. That being said, I do think it's very important to acknowledge their progress. I send home a certificate with the students once they've passed a level. If possible, I send it home that day. Attached to that certificate is the next set of fluency flashcards to begin working on. I also move their clip to the next level on our bulletin board so they can see their progress. They also get to move to the next set of Fact Fluency Flip Books, which they seem to find exciting. You can choose to do any sort of rewards you want to do with this program, and that's one thing I love about it. I've used this program different ways with different classes. I have options for different ways to track and reward, including sticker charts and reward tags, along with the certificates. Also, you can take the pressure off your students and not worry about levels, or tracking, or time, and just have fun with learning facts! Play the games, randomly use the fact fluency assessments for fun, or don't. All that matters is that your students become more fluent with their math facts and use them to become better and faster at math in general. How you choose to approach that is up to you and what works best for your students.
Want to elevate your students' writings from the beginning. These brainstorming ideas can set your students up for better writings.
Imagine welcoming parents to a conference armed with personalized insights that highlight their child's shining moments (Glows) and offer thoughtful guidance for their growth (Grows). These report card comments go beyond the usual grades, giving a comprehensive view of the child's progress in subjects like Math, Language Arts, Science, and more. But that's not all – they also dive into learning skills and social development, ensuring a well-rounded understanding of each student’s journey. Get ready to engage in fruitful conversations with parents, set inspiring goals, and create a supportive learning environment that celebrates achievements while nurturing improvement. With the Glows and Grows Report Card Comments, you’re not just hosting a conference – you’re igniting growth, fostering partnership, and making a positive impact on each child’s success. So, why wait? Let's embark on this exciting journey together and bring out the best in every child's education!
Learn how to play the Kaboom game in your classroom to make practicing math facts, sight words, and more a blast for your students!
If you have been following our blog, you might have seen our post about our favorite teacher hack, earlier finisher packets! If you missed it, don’t worry, I will sum it up real quick for you. Essentially, despite teaching different grade, Emmy and I realized we were both having the same Issue. Kid
Hi everyone! I've decided to share my lesson plan outlines with everyone each week or at least as often as I can. If you aren't signed up for my newsletter, please sign up now. I'll send the lesson plans and free resources out each month for you to have. If my newsletter opt-in doesn't pop up for you, just email me and I'll add you to the list. My hope is that we can collaborate and make the best learning experience possible for students. You will definitely find lesson ideas and outlines in these series of posts. You will not find detailed plans in these posts, but you will find links to my detailed units in my TPT store. The following lesson plan templates are from A Modern Teacher. Just like every teacher at back to school time I'm spinning my wheels and working through my exhaustion to get my plans up, going and best suited for students. Please be patient with me. Below you will find a very rough draft of my yearly plans. As the next month goes by I will be updating these outlines and replacing them. The first two weeks of my lesson plans are short. My main focus is building a classroom culture with students and going over procedures with students that will set them up for success. In my lesson outlines you will see T for teacher and Ss for students. Grizzly Bear Unit Superhero vs. Villain Character Education Print and Teach Phonics Games Mini ELA Anchor Charts for students Asking and Answering Questions: Differentiated Panda Passages The first week of writing is most successful when procedures are created to set students up for success. My main focus is on teaching students proper penmanship and a love for writing. Youtube has a ton of videos that you can use to walk students through handwriting instruction. Free Handwriting YouTube Tutorial
Learn how to use these quality books for questioning that will help you teach students how to ask thoughtful questions before, during, and after reading.
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...
Each Monday we collaborate with our building's new and Dual Language staff members for a professional development session based on what they highlight as their needs and/or desires for learning! This week we focused on Daily 5 ideas as all of our staff are currently working hard to get their stations and guided reading up and running! The teachers who attending the session came up with a variety of wonderful ideas and activities that could potentially be used throughout the year in these work stations. I thought some of you may enjoy taking a gander at what they came up with as well! Just a little background... we utilized a strategy many of you may be familiar with called "Round Robin" to gather ideas during our meeting. The staff were given the anchor charts with only the titles and asked to add any activity ideas they were doing, would like to do, etc. based on the title on their paper. We gave each group 1 minute to brainstorm and write their ideas, and then they were asked to pass the poster to the next group. We continued to do this until all posters had made it to all groups. This is a great strategy that you could use with your students as well to assess their background knowledge and/or learning of concepts. You could even do it at the beginning of the year to see what activities they already know and enjoy doing during Daily 5 if they are familiar with it from the year past! This may give you some insight as to what they may want to do in your classroom as well! Alright now onto the posters...keep in mind these were quickly written by our staff and we discussed them a bit after as well, so not everything may make perfect sense! But feel free to ask questions in the comments if you have any and I would be happy to try my best to answer! After our meeting, I also took some time to type up all of their ideas onto one page for them to hold on to and refer to throughout the year. You are welcome to a copy if you'd like- just click on the image below :)! (Graphics: Scrappin Doodles, Priscilla Concepcion)
Science journal activities for budding scientists. Have your students keep a standards-based science journal like a true scientist.
Our first week of second grade was full of fun! From learning our classroom procedures, to team building we learned so much!
Need some great ideas for greetings for morning meetings in your K-2 classroom? Try some of these engaging and creative "hello's"!
