Second Grade Interviews

Let me start by saying, my thoughts and prayers are with all of those affected

 by the tragedy in Boston today...

My second graders finally finished their interviews today. Now that they are experienced at conducting an interview, they all told me they can't wait to do this again 

(and again, and again!)

I used my beloved, easy to use binding machine from My Binding, and made a book. 

(I am totally addicted to my binding machine!)

I won't inundate you with ALL my pictures, but, here is one sample...

We learned so much about each other!

If you would like to teach your children how to conduct interviews, just click here.

In other news, my first graders finished up their butterfly essays. They did a great job. They made beautiful butterflies to go with their essays, but, my darn camera battery died before I snapped some pictures. Here are two sample essays...

These essays are part of my Writing Through the Spring pack.

We are almost ready to say bye-bye butterflies!

My Week in Review

We are just about done with our insect theme. Thank goodness! Although we've been doing some really fun activities, insects are high on my list of "things that turn me off!" But, every year, I put on my big girl panties, and pretend that I'm as excited about creepy crawlies, as they are! As long as I don't have to touch anything that is crawling or look at any images except for the cutsie ones, depicted in all the adorable clip art, I am fine!

Here are some pictures of some of the activities my students worked on.

Kindergarten...

Drawing Insects

Labeling the parts of a butterfly and writing sentences.

Insect Rebus Stories

We brainstormed facts about butterflies and then filled out this graphic organizer.

First Grade...

Life Cycle of a Butterfly Scrambled Sentences

Spring Digraph Sort

Insect ABC Order and Sentence Writing

Butterfly Essays

We are still working on these.

Second Grade...

On Tuesday, I had my formal observation. 

I had to teach something new, so, I taught my my students how to conduct an interview.

Twelve minutes into my observation, the fire alarm went off! Obviously, it was not a planned drill, so, we all quickly exited the building. Turns out, someone pulled the alarm! We got back about 20 minutes later and, thankfully, my students just picked up where we left off. However, I didn't get to finish the whole lesson because of time constraints. We are still not done with our final interviews because I was out sick one day and we had an assembly. So, next week, we will finish for sure! Here are some pictures of my students interviewing each other. It was so cute!

This is a fun activity for students to utilize all of the writing strategies they have been taught all year. Plus, we found ourselves learning new information about each other. I've been their teacher since kindergarten, and was amazed at all the new information I learned. Once we are done, I will bind all their finished articles into a book. You can find out more about this activity by clicking here.

Next up...Earth Day!

Welcome to my blog, Hadar!

Hi everyone! I'm Hadar from Miss Kindergarten and I'm excited to be swapping blogs with Lori today! Lori is such an amazing blogger and friend! She is so inspirational, so I feel extra special being here today! Today I'm going to share with you about an integral part of any primary aged classroom and how I use word walls in my class. Word Walls Make them large and an important part of your classroom! Your students will not only learn the importance of words and how they play a role in our everyday lives, but they can also use word walls as a reference in writing, reading and more! Here are some tips on how to create word walls in your classroom!

Incorporate pictures and letters into your word walls:

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Add your students names and pictures onto your word walls.

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Words to know by heart:

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Set up word walls for different grade levels {Like Lori herself! This is actually a picture from her classroom :)}. Each grade level has their own color:

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Display a board of sight words:

{source} The wonderful Debbie Clement has a whole blog post dedicated to different word walls she's see. To see even more word walls click {here} Important things to remember:

1. Start your word wall by adding the students' names in your class. Have your students help you decide where their name belongs. It is a great way to teach letter to sound correspondence and helps your students feel like they are a part of the class.

2. Always teach a word before adding it to the word wall.  In order for the word wall to benefit your students, they need to know what words are on the wall. If your theme for the week is color words, add the words as you teach each color. 

3. Practice reading words from the wall. I love using songs in the classroom, so I came up with some songs to practice reading words from our word wall. I use these songs when we have a few minutes left at the end of the day, or during a transition into a new lesson.

You can get a copy of my word wall songs by clicking on the picture below:

For more songs in the classroom check out my compilation I have available in my TpT store!

~Hadar~

New item on the menu!

I talk about my writing menu a lot because it has really changed the way my children view writing and the way I run my class. My menu has so many fun choices for my students to choose from and they are always available and at the ready. There is no more down time and no more, "I'm done, what can I do now?" My students know that they can utilize the menu whenever they have a spare moment. 

They use the menu...

-first thing in the morning

-if they finish other work before everyone else

-as a station 

-during free time (their idea, not mine!)

They never tire of it because there are so many choices. I just added a new choice to the menu.

I use writer's notebooks in my class during writing workshop. Students can choose this menu item if they want to start or finish a story. If you purchased the menu already, just download it again so you can get the new menus.

I also have the following menu options that are not part of the pack.

Click here and here to see my rebus stories.

Click here to see my interview pack.

Click here to see my message book labels.

If you purchased any of the above products and want the menus, just send me an email and I'll gladly send them to you.

Clip Chart Calendars for 2013-2014

Yes! You read that right! I am actually planning for next year already. But, only because many of my fabulous followers have asked me to! And, I aim to please! 

I LOVE my clip chart and I LOVE my clip chart calendars. You can read about how I use them here. Last year, I used calendars I found in Microsoft Word and prettied them up a bit. This year, I couldn't find anything I liked, so, I created my own. I actually had to add in every single date for all 12 months! It took a long time to do, but, I love how they came out.

Click here to get a copy!

**UPDATE**

I now have an editable version of my clip chart calendars. You can edit the note at the top of the page and the sayings on the side. Click here to get a copy!

THE CALENDARS FOR THE 2017-2018 SCHOOL YEAR ARE FINISHED! YOU CAN FIND THEM HERE AND HERE!

In other news, next week, my principal will be observing me for an hour for my formal observation. I have to teach a new skill, so, I decided to teach my students how to conduct an interview. I thought this would be fun and engaging  and will give my students plenty of opportunities to interact with and practice new knowledge, and, use all of the writing strategies I have already taught them. I'll be using my Interview With a Friend pack.

I've already printed and laminated the 96 interview questions and everyone will choose a partner and pick 5 questions they want to ask their partner. They'll jot down the answers to the questions and use their notes to write the finished article. Although there are 6 different article templates, I chose the one that says "My Interview With..."

I am really looking forward to this lesson because I know my students will be actively engaged. I'm hoping my principal will love it, too!

One more thing! A very sweet blogging buddy of mine is working hard to raise money for a sweet little boy, who is suffering from a rare genetic condition, called EB. Many bloggers are taking part in a fundraiser to help raise money to fight EB. Currently, there is no cure...

For information on how you can help Jonah, click here.