In Pictures and In Words

Check it out at Amazon!

I usually spend June and July reading only for pleasure.  I love that so and spend very little time doing it during the year...  But I found this book at a few blogs, and Melissa at Joyful Learning in KC

decided to do a book study, so I was in!

What a great book.  I highly recommend it and suggest you head over to her blog (click above) to get motivated. 

I am moving back to Kindergarten from 2nd grade this fall.  So I was intrigued.  What a find!  Here are some of the simple things I will be doing!

•  Adding pictures of the author and illustrator in each book (that does have that included.)
• I will talk about the decisions writers and illustrators make in the books.  It sounds so simple but I just never thought about how that could help get the minds of the students to see themselves as making decisions just like the writers and illustrators we "study" in class.
• Get my students illustrating right away at the beginning of the year in empty page books. (Honestly can't wait.)
• Looking at all of my picture books in new ways!
• Encourage my class to look at illustrations and see things like, perspective, background, close-ups, emotions, inside/outside, above/under, in new ways.

Here is a great book to think about and to talk about perspective with your class.  It is a wordless book and a Caldecott winner!  The author is Barbara Lehman.  It is one of those books that says so much with so little.  The boy finds a book and when he opens it, the page shows a page that shows a page... deeper and deeper you go.  It is great for talking about where we are: in this classroom, in the city of ..., in the state of..., in the country of ... and more!  Do check it out.

More about this book.

Good luck!

Simple tips that save lots of time!

I must admit that I love reading all the blogs out there!  Being out of school is a nice change.  I have actually read some books not related to school.  4 in the last 2 weeks!  Love that.  I try to read as much as I can now until August 1st.  Then it is back to mainly school related books...

Anyway, here are some tips I heard a while back.

Use a dry erase marker to "erase" permanent marker on laminated materials.

I have these great ice cream cones that I use for my birthdays...  There are 12 of them and I write the names of each student and their date on it...  I have used them for 3 years now.  A fellow teacher saw me struggling with the nail polish remover... and said, "Don't you know about the dry erase marker?"  and showed me how it works.  Simply, write over your printed permanent marker (any color works) and then erase with a dry paper towel, dry erase marker...  And there you have it.  Done.  So simple.  I am happy every time I do it! 

And my all time favorite!

Use a yellow (only yellow not green or pink) highlighter to save your final copies in centers.

Guess what!  If you use a yellow highlighter and write "Last copy" or draw a big happy face, or write "See me"  whatever you want on your final copy of a document in a center...  you will never run out or lose your original copy.  I have tried using "post its" or paper clipping a note... but that never works.  Trust me and I am sure you know it, too.  A student will not use the final copy that has yellow highlighter on it.  They will always let you know it is time for more copies!  And, the best part is that the yellow highlighter does not show up on the copies when you xerox it.  Smarter not harder!  Yeah!

So that's it for my tips for today!  Happy 4th of July!

Year End Classroom book

I love to end the year with a special memento that the class will cherish, and so will I!  A few years ago I came across the book "The Important Book" by Margaret Wise Brown.

More about "The Important Book"

A fellow collegue introduced it to me.  It is a simple yet powerful book.  My favorite page is the one about the sky.  "The important thing about the sky is that is always there.  It is blue.... but the most important thing about the sky is that it is always there."

The pattern in the book is readily identified by the class.  So we get to talking about what exactly is the most important thing about each other.  I model my own writing for the class.

"The important thing about Mrs. B is that she LOVES teaching 2nd grade!  She has 2 children, Audrey and Alex and an amazing husband.  Mrs. B's favorite subjects are reading, math, writing, and science.  Some of her hobbies include walking, reading, sewing, spending time at the beach, being with her family, spending time with friends, and she just loves chocolate! Oh, she loves to collect hearts and giraffes.  But the most important thing about Mrs. B is that she LOVES teaching 2nd grade!"

I give each of the children a graphic organizer.  A simple chart with four columns:  My family,
My favorite subjects, My hobbies, Other important things.  On the back, they have to write a complete sentence about "The most important thing about me is...."

Here is a link to one you can use from "Read, Write, and Think." Check it out.  I have them add anything else they want, such as collections, places their families visits often...

The students need not work in complete sentences on the graph.  Bullet style is fine.  I just need to be able to read what they write.  We conference.  I may add a detail or two that I have come to know about them... and then I type them up.

The most important thing about ***** is that he loves going to restaurants with his mom and his sister. His favorite subjects in school are sports, music, computer, handwriting, extra recess, art, and fabulous Friday.  *****’s family includes 1 brother, 1 sister, 1 dad, 1 mom, 1 dog, 7 fish and 1 dog in Texas.  Outside of school he enjoys hockey, skate boarding, long boarding, street hockey, riding ATV’s, dirt bikes, going camping, having fun, being outside, and playing with his sister.  ***** is also an expert with the class pet frogs. But the most important thing about ***** is that he loves going to restaurants with his mom and his sister. 

Here the student draws/illustrates his favorite memory from the year.

Below, there are lines for them to write (those that can are welcome to do so in cursive- very big deal as they are ever so eager having completed learning all the letters...) about their favorite memory.

My favorite 2nd Grade memory is___________________.

 We are lucky enough to have a color copier.  So I color copy the final pages for each student and assemble them as books.  The cover reads:

"A Very Important Class"

2011-2012

"Insert a class picture"

This book belongs to:_________________

I add a photo collage with special photos from the year, and a summary of our final homework "A - Z Memories of 2nd Grade,"  and an "Autograph" page at the end of each book. 

Each student gets their own copy on the second to last day.  They love the entire process and really apply themselves.

Should you be interested in a full copy, or have any questions,  just email me at Kinderaffe@gmail.com.  I will get you a copy directly.

A student, a stuffed animal and a camera...

We tried a new project in writing this year.  I had heard about using students favorite stuffed animal for a photo shoot of sorts.  Working with all boys can be challenging.  But having them bring in their favorite stuffed animal and equipping them with cameras lends incredible possibility.  It was intended to be a 3 part project, first in the fall, then in the winter and finally in the spring.

Our school happens to have an outdoor classroom area.  That was the perfect backdrop for the first set of pictures.  In fact, I was unaware that this class had actually planted some pumpkin seeds at the end of last year.  They were in full bloom and provided great fun.  Here are some of the pictures they took.  Don't you just love it! 

The students sent out in pairs and were to take 2 pictures of just their animal and one with them together.  I printed out their pictures and then the creative writing began.  Working with graphic organizers, they had to choose an order for the pictures and then write a simple story.  I did very little instruction but did provide an editing sheet encouraging proof-reading, check for capitalization and punctuation, and to read it out loud to themselves. 

Next I had hoped for lots of snow, and a repeat performance with the animals for a "snowy" story.  Sadly, there was very little snow this winter and we did not have the chance!  Hopefully, next year we can do that!

So we ended with the planned "adventure on the playground."  The boys were very excited to pose their animals in various places on the playground equipment...  It was a great way to end the year and to celebrate their writing skills.  The students were encouraged to use words like first, next, then, and last...  We had spent a lot of time on writing paragraphs and as a result the final products were quite good.

 This is definitely a project we will do again! 

Bathroom pass

I really try to keep things simple. You know, smarter not harder. My original plan in teaching was to teach the hearing impaired. Never actually did that, but I learned sign language and teach it every year. In Kindergarten it was a way to help them get the sound-letter connection. In 2nd grade, we spell our spelling words with it...

I also use for classroom signals. The first signs they learn are "bathroom" and "water".

The students may use these signs only when we are in the middle of a lesson and it is very important...  I respond with sign language "Yes" or "No."  Works well.

When we are in the classroom working independently, the students use a 2 pass system.  Each student gets a number at the beginning of the year.  I laminate 2 sentence strips and put one of the fram on either side of the door.  It coordinates with my class theme, bees, frogs, dogs...  At the top lives the "bee in the hive" or the "frog on the lily pad." and you simply put the bee on your number and move it back when you return.  I can always tell who is out... and the students always know if they are free to go or not.  Love it.

I made the bees using perle beads.  The possibilities are endless.

Conversation Journals

For 5 years now I have been keeping "Conversation Journals" with my class.  They absolutely love it!  I begin in September.  As a teacher of 2nd grade, and having a class of all boys, it is important to get them to enjoy writing.  Having a conversation journal is a safe way to encourage your class to enjoy writing for just the sake of it.  It is just between the 2 of us.  Correct spelling is not important.  As long as I can read it, it is fine!  The important part is keeping up the conversation.  I begin with an entry like this.  I use a spiral bound notebook 5 1/2" by 4 1/2".

"Dear_______________,

I am so excited to start this conversation journal with you.  We are going to have a great year. 
I see that you like to read the Magic Tree House books.  Which one do you like best?

Mrs. B."

That goes on the left side of the book. (For lefty students I write on the right side and they write on the left.  Tough to write over the hump in the middle.) You see that we are teaching them letter writing, modeling and more.  The student is then expected to write on the right side (we limit each entry to one page.) and respond in the same format.

"Dear Mrs. B,

Yes, I do like those books.  I like the one about volcanoes.

Do you like them?

Alex"

As with any activity, some are into it more than others.  Getting them to ask me questions can be tough.  The easy way is to ask me the same questions....

Should they fail to ask me a question, I will keep it going.  Especially if they gave me long detail in their response...  But I only do that for so long. 

After a while, I just respond with,
"Dear Alex,

Oh!

Mrs. B."

Trust me when I say they come running to my desk very quickly. "What is that?"

Oh, I don't know!  I guess I forgot to ask you a question.  Hmmm,  wait, let me look back...
It seems you did not ask me question for a while.  Sometimes they get quite upset,  I just quickly ask them a question and then they usually never do it again.

Some students have a tough time and it is not meant to be a gruesome task.  I offer (in writing) to write a story.  "If you start it, I will follow.." That is great fun.  At the end of the story, we share it with the class...  Some years it inspires others to ask me... and so it goes.

Be sure to use, P.S and P.P.S.  They LOVE that!

At the end of the year, I wrap the book with a ribbon and write a final special note to them.  We really get to know each other.  I know they are a treasure they will always have.  It is a big commitment on my part.  But there is great reward.

Random Compliments

It seems as the year is coming to a close, many bloggers out there are sharing tips from their classrooms.  I have to say that one of the many things I like about teaching is the ability to start fresh each year.  No other job really has that.  There is nothing like that frest start on the first day of school.

So I would like to share some of my favorites.

First, "Random Compliments."  I love to catch my class doing the right thing.  Even better when someone catches them.  We begin with a conversation about what a compliment is...  This leads to include what it is not, and that a true compliment is not aske for!  "How do you like my shoes today?" That is a great question, but the answer was elicited and therefore not a geniune compliment.

Based on my theme, I set up a board, or lately, it has just been a laminated sentence strip.  Seven (7) is one of my favorite numbers.  I use that as the goal.  Should we get a total of 7 compliments, the next day we will have a class party (listen to a book on tape, share a snack and maybe get a little extra recess!!)

This year my theme was "bees" so I had 7 beehives with the number and the word and below that I have the number in tally marks.  Then I have a bee with a speech bubble, "Hopping to 7!"  And I have a big flower at the end that reads "Random Compliments - 7 = Class party!"

And so we "look out" for those random compliments such as, a teacher who passes us in the hallway and says "What a great and quiet line!", or when I go to pick up my class from a special and the art teacher says, "Oh my, your class was amazing today!"  The class picks up on it very quickly.  The cheer and say "That is number 3" or whatever.  Trust me when I say, they know.  I can always count on someone to remind me when we return to the classroom to move the bee, or the frog...

If I ask the teacher how my class was doing... and they say terrific!  That is not a random compliment as I asked for it...

Sometimes, if they are working incredibly hard, I might just give a random compliment myself.  They LOVE when that happens!

So try it!  Hope you like it!