Sunny Days in Second Grade: freebie

Showing posts with label freebie. Show all posts

With Earth Day right around the corner, I thought I'd share some resources you can use with your kids with minimal prep. That seems to be my focus lately - minimal prep. That is high on my list of criteria for new resources lately, both for those I create and those I purchase. It's almost May. Need I say more?

So first up I have a freebie from my newest product line that I'm calling One Sheet Wonders. I was actually inspired by children's restaurant menus. They really pack a lot of fun stuff in a small space, so I tried to emulate that with these new printables. Of course I'm not actually using them the same way a restaurant would. I created them to align with the major subjects we teach in science and have been using them for the past couple of months. Before we start a new unit, we explore one of the pages and have some fun with word play, coloring, puzzles, and fun facts. It really gets them interested in what's coming their way and it gives me an idea of how much they know or think they know about our next unit of study. Since we've already learned about matter, science tools, and some of the other topics, I've been using those sheets for morning work. I also get called out of the room quite a bit for quick meetings and these have been perfect to leave with the paraprofessional who is covering my classes for a few minutes. So, if you're interested in the whole set, you can find them here. I'm currently working on a set for habitats, next up is math concepts and social studies. In the meantime, enjoy this one for Earth Day to try them out with your kids. Click here to download it on TpT.

If you follow me in Instagram, you're probably familiar with my Orange Board Question of the Day. Every day I post a quick little question on this easel. This week I've been using facts from this free set of Earth Day task cards. You can download them here for yourself.

They're fun discussion starters or even writing prompts. Before the orange board appeared, I would use these in those weird little five minutes here and there that are too short to really do anything and too long to do nothing.

I've got one more fun freebie for word work. I have a few of these freebies in my store for different holidays, so my kids are used to them. The good thing is that I get a chorus of "yays" instead of "ughs" when I hand them out. lol! Click here to download this freebie.

Enjoy and Happy Earth Day!

SunnyDays

Oh, this little blog of mine has been woefully neglected lately. I think it's partly because I tend to put off writing a post until I have some grand idea with a billion artfully staged pictures. And then that never happens and then way too much time passes between blog posts. So a great idea that someone might like never even gets posted at all. Well, I'm hoping to change that a bit. I don't teach in a Pinterest-perfect classroom, so to hold off posting until it looks like I do is a little crazy, right?

I've actually been giving myself a lot of slack lately. In the past if something bubbled during lamination, was cut crooked, or wasn't "just so", I'd find myself re-doing it. I would laminate everything. Like EVERY. THING. It's like I was protecting all my classroom materials from some infectious disease. Ok, I know I work with little walking germ factories, but was the lamination going to save us from doom? Nope. Maybe everything didn't need a shrink wrap haz-mat suit after all. So if it's something I'm using once, like a scoot game, scavenger hunt, pocket chart activity, or bulletin board title, it gets a lamination pass. It feels a little naughty at first. A little wrong. You know what else it feels like? It feels like freedom, people! It feels like time saved. It feels smart. And I can definitely use my materials again next year, even without the lamination. But the way things change in this profession, I keep finding that I what I use from year to year changes anyway! {But that's a whole 'nother post}

I'm hoping from this point on to post a little more frequently. Maybe a little more imperfectly. Which may turn out to be a little more honestly. So, who wants to join me in celebration of imperfection? Let's just be real, right? <end rant/step off soapbox>

Moving on...

In the "just in the nick of time" category, I updated my free jack o'lantern glyph with a little writing extension and it came out so cute! We are paired up with a 5th grade class for book buddies. Once a month we meet, read a little, and usually complete some type of activity together. This month we used the glyph and it was perfect. The fifth graders helped my kids make the glyph and then guided them through writing a little Halloween autobiography.

At the time, we just wrote on index cards, which was fine. But then we ended up leaving our projects with our buddies to hang in their hallway, which bummed out my kids a little. Honestly, it bummed me out too because it had a naked bulletin board that was the perfect spot to hang them!

So, the next day, I had my kids make the glyph again. It was a much faster experience this time because they had a little practice. Just to change it up a little, I tweaked the objects on the glyph a bit and I added a writing extension page. This time I had the kids switch glyphs and write about each other using the glyph as a guide. Then we mounted it on black paper. Super cute!

I know it's getting down to the wire for Halloween projects, but this is something that can easily be done in one day. Or in my case, once a day for two days! lol! Get the glyph with the writing extension for free here!

We also finished up our storybook pumpkin character based on Crazy Hair Day. I think he came out awesome! My room moms painted the pumpkin head and then each kid got a popsicle stick and some pipe cleaners, feathers, markers, and other random craft objects. Then the moms helped give the pumpkin some hair implants. One talented mom made the body for us. I love him!

We're almost at the end of Halloween week. Hang tight my friends and say a prayer of thankfulness that Halloween is on a FRIDAY! Yahoo!

SunnyDays

Happy Sunday, my friends! Today I have a fun indoor recess game to share with you. It might also work well as a brain break. I've been playing this for years with my kids but I actually first saw it when a great sub played it with my class. It's called Turkey in the Straw so it's the perfect time of year to try it out!

I think there might be different versions of this game around. I kind of thought everyone knew about it, but I was talking about it to my super adorable friend Caitlin from Kindergarten Smiles and she had never heard of it. We teach at the same school, so I thought if she doesn't know about it and she's in the same building, maybe some of my readers don't know about it either!

It's fun. The kids dig it. Here's the gist:

We're a very, extra, super, overboard, bordering on paranoia, safety-conscious school (which I'm happy about btw) so when I have the farmer stand outside the classroom door, I also stand at the door holding it open with my farmer standing right outside the door about 6 inches from me. So the farmer is never abandoned in the hallway left to wander aimlessly looking for his wayward turkey. Second grade farmers can be a little loopy and tend to wander. {link to a download of the directions is at the end of the post}

And in new product news, thank you thank you thank you thank you for the great response to my November Homework Helpers pack! I'm so glad you dig it! I had a couple of people ask me if it was possible to remove the word homework so they could use it in the classroom. Not a bad idea! I aim to please, my friends. So in the December version, I added two files. One has the word homework and one file has all references to home removed so it's more classroom friendly, check out the free sample to see the difference. I'm hoping that these packs will help you take the hassle out of homework and add some fun and meaningful activities for the kids and parents. And if you have to send home a work packet over the holiday break {ouch!} this might do the trick! Now that a second file is included without the homework reference, they'd be a great way to keep your high-flyers challenged. As always, feel free to leave suggestions for future packs. I love making what works for you!

Turkey in the Straw Directions

December Homework Helpers

December Homework Helper freebie

SunnyDays

My little ~~sausage~~ fingers have been flying across the keyboard lately! I even broke a newly shellacked nail in the process. And I've pretty much had a non-stop headache for the last 8 days or so, with a full blown migraine from Friday to Sunday. I'm sure stepping away from this computer for a while would help, but I can't. I've tried. I'm obsessed. There are times when I want to create and nothing is coming to me, then there are times when the floodgates are open and it's all I think of night and day. Right now the floodgates are open, so I'm workin it while it's workin'!

So, first up is something totally new for me. I've been struggling with homework. I want to give my kids something to do that's fun, meaningful, but not crazy hard because I'd like them to do it independently. I also want to encourage them to read at home with some accountability. So, I created my first in a new series of products- Homework Helpers!

Each page asks them to record the title of a book they're reading at home and search for nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Next month I'll change it up to proper, common, and pronouns. There's also a clue to a certain word, a quick language arts activity, two math problems, and the directive to write a fact or opinion related to the topic on that page. They're seasonal, so I covered turkeys, corn, apples, Native Americans, pumpkins, and crows in this packet. I'm already working on December's pack and I'd love to hear any suggestions you have for themes or skills you'd like to see included. {Be sure to check the links at the end of the post for an exclusive sample only available to my blog readers! muah!}

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Homework-Helpers-for-November-971426

Next project was my winter EZ Prep centers. These might be my extra super favorite so far! Don't you just want to jump in and swim with those little penguins? As always, the file comes with both pictures with an ELA and math page for each. I also include answer keys with lots of possible answers to give you and your kids an idea of what's possible. To save on ink, try projecting these for your kids to use. With this one I also included a version of the first one with a white background to save a little ink when printing.

And finally, I've been revamping some older products starting with my December Printables Pack. It's amazing that I just made them last year and I look at them and cringe over how much they need to be updated! If you already purchased, just download the revision under your purchases. That's the great thing about TpT. Once you purchase something, you always get the updates for free! For this pack I majorly updated the clipart, fonts and style and even more importantly, I added 6 additional activities. I'm working on January now. See, told you I was obsessed.

Before I go, here's an important head's up. I'll be taking part in a fun collaboration with two great bloggers and I'll be offering a normally paid product for free, but ONLY ON FRIDAY! The post will go live at 6:00 AM and be up for 24 hours. I know that if you subscribe to my posts via email, they tend to show up a day later - so I didn't want you all to miss out. I'm cool like that ;0)

Edited 11/14. I flaked on the date of the freebie described above. It will be listed on Thursday! But I will leave it up all day Friday too, just in case :)

November Homework Helpers

November Homework Helpers - Free Sample, just for you!

Winter EZ Prep Centers

December Printable Pack

SunnyDays

Native American legends are one of my very favorite things to expose my kids to. It's a genre of literature they don't usually gravitate to naturally, so it's like I'm opening up a whole new area of reading to them. I love teaching them that a legend tells how something in nature has evolved to be what it is today. One of my very favorite legends of all is The Rainbow Crow. If you're not familiar with the story, it tells how the crow was once a beautiful, colorful songbird who sacrificed its voice and appearance to save all the animals of the world. We also learn how the sacrifice turns into a gift. It's really a touching tale with so many teachable moments!

I searched and searched for some ready to use resources for this great book, but didn't really find any that fit my needs. So, I stopped searching and started creating. This is a bit different from my usual stuff, but my entire team has been using this as our whole group reading plan and it's been working really well! I included a 5 day lesson plan breakdown and a printable for each lesson. I also noted Common Core Standards for grades 2, 3, and 4. I'm working on the same type of format for the other legends we're working on. {Links at the end, as always}

Another favorite of mine is the Native American stick game called Pugasaing. I really have no idea where I first saw this, I just have my sample game stowed away with the early versions of this unit. It's great math practice and the kids really dig it. First, I introduce some tribal patterns I found online and let the kids have at some jumbo popsicle sticks with red and black markers. They need 3 sticks altogether each with one black and one red side. We talked a lot about how Native American children would make the game with tree bark and carvings instead of popsicle sticks and sharpies. When I gave them a pipe cleaner to hold them together, they told me that the kids would probably use a long piece of grass. They got it! Huzzah!

I'm working on the plans and products for this unit as I'm teaching it, kind of like learning how to fix planes in the air, but isn't that how teaching is most of the time?

Rainbow Crow CCSS Guided Reading Plans and Printables

Free Pugasaing Directions and How to Play Poster

Great Resources I'm also Loving!

Kristen's All About Thanksgiving Pack

Michelle's Native American Pack

Arlene's Celebrating Native American Heritage Month

SunnyDays

I've spent the last few days packing up October and putting out November. Well, in my classroom anyway. My house is still on October time until this weekend. That's ok, gives me more time to sneak Tootsie Rolls out of the bowl of candy I bought for my no-show trick-or-treaters.

First I changed out my seasonal books. I recently moved this book rack to the front of our gathering space (a.k.a. rug). It was previously home to my Zoobooks collection, but this is a much better use. I try to do a little book talk about a book or two each day to get the kids interested in them. Then I sit back and watch them fly off the shelf! I rock the book talk.

Then I swapped the October calendar center for November. I'm always amazed at how much my kids don't know about using a calendar! I know for sure they spend most of preschool, k and 1 working the calendar. Usually by 2nd, it's not a daily focus anymore but I've found that although they can tell you basic things about the calendar, like days of the week, which comes next, ordering the months of the year, etc, they can not actually use the calendar. They can't really tell you what the date will be 2 weeks from now, or what the date was 8 days ago. So I created these calendar center task cards that are really, really helping. Each month has 20 task cards specific to the month. I also included correct calendar months for the next three years and by popular request an answer sheet and KEY! I usually demonstrate the first time by showing them how to actually touch the calendar, count the days, notice the patterns, etc. It's a fun center too because it's seasonal and timely.

In our math rotations I switched out Boo Bump for Gobble Bump. Cracks me up that they get so excited when the new Bump comes out even though it's the SAME EXACT game in different colors and graphics. Hey, whatever works! I recently snagged these pencil pouches at Dollar Tree. I use them to keep 10 of one color pop-cube so that they kids can just grab one pouch and have what they need for the game. I was using baggies, but they rip and don't always zip. This is much better.

We also pulled out the second center included in my EZ Prep See-It Centers for Fall. They are really getting the hang of these now. I love how much they have to think through the problems and questions. This works really well for partners and small groups. Each set comes with math and language arts activities, so if I use one each week, the set lasts me all month! I'm working on some winter ones now.

I switched out my monthly writing prompts in my writing center. There are 24 topics in the set, so I usually put 5-6 out each week otherwise they'd spend the whole time reading the cards instead of writing. Choice is good, too much choice can be a huge time-suck. I keep the extra cards at my desk and sometimes use them to start a discussion when we have that random 2-3 extra minutes.

So you all know I'm totally digging the interactive notebooking now - and my kids are digging it more than I am! I have bought so many great resources from TpT, but I couldn't really find one I loved for verbs, so I made these. I think I love creating them as much as I love doing the activities with my kids. When I make my own they're specific to what I want and I make sure the cutting is on the easier side to help with time management. As for the time time it takes to color, I usually give them about 5 minutes to color. It really gets them feel ownership of the activity. After that, we do the notebooking part and they can go back to coloring if they finish early or any other time during the day when they might finish early. And if they never color - that's ok too. The coloring isn't what's really important.

And finally, I pulled some pages from my November Printable Pack and my Early Finishers & Enrichment pack and made them into a little booklet for my kids to keep in their work folder. Anyone else think it's hysterical that stapling a packet down the side makes them feel like the activity is something so different and special than just one staple in the corner? No? Just me? Carry on then... I have some really fast finishers and usually they can get up and go to one of the bazillion other choices to do when they finish early (I should blog about that...) but sometimes I don't really want them to get out a game or get into something with a ton of pieces if I know the rest of us will be ready to go on shortly. That's when the challenge packet comes in handy. I'm not a worksheet pusher, but I'm also realistic. There are times when I need them to have a "go-to something to do" kind of activity. They can even take it and work with a buddy, but it's easy to clean up and get them back together as a whole group. As team leader and a gifted teacher, I'm sometimes called out for meetings and other unplanned emergencies for a few minutes and having this packet gives me peace of mind. I'm hardly ever absent, especially not unplanned, but this also gives me a little security there too. I know my kids can work on this for a bit while I get sub plans to the school or call a friend and talk them through the day.

Even though it's just barely November, I'm already listening to Christmas music on Pandora and watching all the cheeseball Christmas movies on Hallmark Channel! I know it's early, even for me - but now that I've started, I can't stop. You kinda can't really be a grouch with the holiday spirit surrounding you, so how can that be a bad thing, right?

November Calendar Center

Calendar Center Bundle

Fall EZ Prep Centers

Free Gobble Bump Addition

Free Gobble Bump Multiplication

November Writing Center Prompts

Writing Center Prompts:

Bundle 1 and Bundle 2

Verb Interactive Notebook Freebie

November Printable Pack

Fall Fun When You're Done Cover Freebie
50 Printables for Early Finishers and Enrichment

Check out TBA's linky for even more great seasonal freebies!

SunnyDays

Corny title right? I had to fit some kind of owl pun in there...

Ok, so I've mentioned this before, but I call my room the "accidental owl" theme. I managed to make it 20 years without revealing my love for any one particular thing (besides Starbucks). I had fears of becoming that teacher who mentioned that she liked teddy bears her first year of teaching and by year 7 she was bringing in mini-hammocks to "store" the fuzzy little fellows.

But my time may have run out. I think I'm now officially the crazy owl lady. You can take a peek at my room HERE to see what I mean. It's pretty subtle, but it's there. And people are starting to notice. So our latest unit of study doesn't help my cause - Owls! Oh well, there are worse things...

So to start off with I read one of my favorite books, Owl Moon by Jane Yolen.

The book is beautifully written and provides a nice level of complexity for second graders. A young child learns how to go owling with her father. The book presents all the "rules" one has to follow as to not disturb nature and ensure a glimpse of an owl. After we explore and discuss the book, we write our own interpretation of the rules in this simple flap book.

We are on a bit of a tight timeline for this unit, so we didn't fit in too many extra things, but there is one thing I just couldn't let go of - the owl pellet dissection lab! As you probably know, owls can not digest the bones and fur of their prey, so they cough up pellets containing those bones and fur into a little mouse-looking ball. Sounds way more gross than it is, I promise. They don't smell at all and are completely dry, otherwise this lab would NOT be happening in my room! So we donned our safety goggles and dug into the pellets! I have a bunch of serious scientists this year!

Our science teacher supplied us with the pellets and this great poster to match up and categorize our samples. I also found some great printable ones. Look for the link at the end of the post.

I made up the sheet you see in the last square to record their findings and observations. They also glued some samples on it to take home. Look for the link down below.

And to further cement my owl-lady persona, our hallway display this month is also owls! We have a long cork strip, an outside bulletin board, an inside clothesline and large student work display board in our rooms. While I really do dig the cute craftivities that look amazing, sometimes I just don't have the time or justification to do them. So I created a pack of bulletin board banners that combine some writing, research, content knowledge, holiday flair, and a little bit of art. All I have to do is print and let my kids create! Better yet, they make great take home projects too.

The whole pack has 25 banners with topics like back to school goal setting, holidays, book reports, field trips and more. I haven't offered this anywhere else, but there's a freebie from that pack just for you at in the links at the end of the post. I know they've already saved me tons of time and the kids loved them!