Sunny Days in Second Grade: guest blogger

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Hey everyone! I'm Ashley from The Teacher's Treasure Chest! My sweet friend Denise let me stop by to share some ideas with you!

Classroom Library

I don't know about y'all but my classroom library is always growing! My classroom library is like a hobby for me. In my free time, I love going out and searching for nice books! The trick is, finding a deal and using the resources that you already have!

I love using different kinds of text in the classroom so the children are exposed to anything and everything. I like for my students to be able to recognize text in the real world and WANT to read it.

There are several ways to do this. I have started making Printable Books to use in the classroom. These are books I can use as interactive read alouds to introduce or review a subject.

My printable Graphs book was a huge hit this year in my classroom. Before we started our Graphs unit, I used this book as a read aloud. Then I put in my math book bin!

Here are a few more pictures of my Printable Math Books

One of my printable Science Books

I have a large collection of magazines, brochures and menus as well in my classroom. These offer students the exposure to real world text. I received a lot of my magazines by going around to different libraries and asking to look through their discard pile. They usually throw out magazines after a few years!!

Another trick is that I always save the books that come from kids meals! These are a great addition to the classroom library! This helps me with my diet as well! I always order kids meals if I am forced to eat at a fast food place. The toys go straight into the treasure box and the books into my library!

One thing that I do is purchase high text coloring books. I usually find them at the dollar store. I do this especially for those students who we are trying to get to WANT to read, read ANYTHING. They do often ask to color them, but if you set the routine from the beginning and discuss that we do not color in these, you should be fine. My first year of doing this it was hard, but I didn't set the routine. Now that my routines are in place, it's fine. Some teachers let them color in them as a reward. I am thinking about trying that this year. It does actually work and you can get the students engaged in the reading process through high text coloring books.

Another tip, I check out our local Goodwill. They typically have books 3 for a $1.00! I only purchase books that are in great condition and am always finding great deals at Goodwill! My husband laughs at me for this..until I tell him I *could* go by them brand new for $8.00 a pop ;) That gets him every time haha!

Thanks again to my sweet friend Denise for letting me stop by!!!

SunnyDays

It's my pleasure to welcome guest blogger Heather from HoJo's Teaching Adventures. She was so sweet to bring a gift too! Enjoy :)

FREE Magic Square Puzzles for Your Students

It's been nearly two years since I first guest blogged here at Sunny Days in Second Grade to introduce you to Magic Square Puzzles. So it seemed only appropriate that I would come back and show you some more. Last time I did a short-term freebie, but this time I decided a forever freebie would be even better! Right?!

If you haven't used Magic Square Puzzles before, you need to know that they work well to review concepts, fill time for early finishers in a meaningful way, or just practice a concept while having fun.

Now before you grab your freebie, I'd love to show off the new YouTube video I created showing how these puzzles work. This was my first attempt at a video, so please be kind. =)

Click here or on the picture below to get your seven Magic Square Puzzles for FREE!

You can read all about Magic Square Puzzles, how to use them, and even grab some more freebies over at my blog.

HoJo has taught grades K-6 during her teaching career. This fall she is taking on the new challenge of being a K-6 principal at two schools and the K-12 special ed director for her district. You can follow her new adventures at her blog - HoJo's Teaching Adventures.

SunnyDays

Today I'm so happy to have one of my blog besties here guest blogging. You are going to love her ideas!

Hey! This is Ashley from The Teacher's Treasure Chest! I am so thankful my sweet friend Denise let me stop by!

Through blogging, I never expected to become SUCH good friends with the other bloggers. I talk to them more than I do my "real" friends. We laugh together, cry together and talk about life together. We really care about each other. It's amazing how close we've all become.

Now for the REAL reason you are here! I wanted to talk a little bit about Math Stations. A lot of times people think that centers are just for reading. So NOT true. Students need to use engaging, hands on activities to truly learn mathematical concepts. Of course, you need to use paper-pencil activities as well. It's a balance, and you have to find the best way that works for you and your students.

I typically use about 6 math stations a week. Four of the stations are directly related to the skill we are learning that week. The other two are typically reinforced skills, or previously taught skills. This gives students a chance to continue working on the skills through out the year. One skill that you can ALWAYS use in a station, is place value. Place Value is usually one of the first topics covered in the year. I use several resources for this, but one of my favorites is my Place Value Work Stations! This activity gives students a chance to actually build the number. I use this station set AFTER the concept as been thoroughly taught and modeled. No matter what subject, stations can not be given to the students without previous instruction. It is so important that the student has a strong foundation before we start practicing on the skill. Here is a little preview into that station packet...

You can take a better look at it here

Depending on your grade level, pattern blocks can also be a great math station. I love "killing two birds with one stone", so this activity from First Grade Blue Skies is just great! She combines the pattern block activity with learning sight words! My students LOVE this. I think second graders can benefit from pattern blocks, especially when they promote higher order thinking skills.

Another great
station that you can use throughout the year is this Time Packet.

I use binder rings for SO many of my stations! It's a easy way to keep up with things and to make sure cards do not magically disappear...we all know that happens sometimes :)

I also have several of Denise's activities! One of my favorites for Math Stations is Measurement Task Cards! This is another great station, that you could even store on binder rings (haha,I'm slightly obsessed!!) Denise does a wonderful job with this product. I like it because quality measurement activities are limited and this one really promotes higher order thinking skills...and our students need that so much!!!

I wanted to end with a list of some of my favorite FREE Math Stations! Thank you for stopping by and be sure to head over and check out my BLOG!!!

Free Math Stations:

FREE-Addition-Math-Center-

Multiplication-Facts-Game-Left-Right-Learn-

Back-to-School-Ten-Frames-Practice-Sheets-

AdditionSubtraction-Halloween-EYE-SPY-Game-

Four-FREE-math-games-

SunnyDays

Today is the last visit from my guests for this holiday season. It's been great having so many of my friends stop by and it was just awesome that they all brought a gift for you! Today I'm welcoming a new friend, Gina from Third Grade Tidbits. She's got a fantastic lesson for you today that I know you're going to love!

I am so glad to be here spending time on Denise's blog! She has so many great ideas (as I am sure you know)and I feel honored to be able to share with you here! Today I am going to share a way to get your kids to think about Christmas outside of their box!

Do your kids get wrapped up in the Christmas chaos? Always thinking about what gifts they might get, are they on the nice list, what will they do over break? Or even worried about what Christmas will be like (for the less fortunate)? Each year I try to take the time to get my students to think outside of their world and think about the rest of the world. Where there are people that may not get to celebrate like they do. Where these people might just want a warm place to spend Christmas eve and maybe a meal to eat on Christmas. The people who have loved ones overseas fighting in war and just want them home. I have my kids think about what ONE gift they would give to the world if they could.

It starts off with a whole group activity, completing a circle map of gifts we would give the world if we could. Students have come up with things such as: money, housing, jobs, ending war, peace, toys for kids that don't have any, shoes/clothes for people who need new ones, etc. Afterwards, students do individual bubble maps, followed by flow maps. Finally they work through the rest of the writing process. The packet includes all of the pre-writing pages (I included two different flow maps, the one seen below and another type that we have used in my class) as well as "fancy paper" for your kids to write their final copies on. My class just loves having "fancy paper"!

Once students finish, you can turn this into a display by covering the writing with some wrapping paper. I usually use wrapping paper but have not done this activity yet this year with my kids and wanted to give an idea of how to put it together. If you don't want to use wrapping paper, you can easily use construction paper like I did below (don't mind the messed up bow... I never said I was an artist). Of course their writing will be on the fancy paper, not plain paper, but I didn't have it printed at the time. (This is why I am now taking pictures of everything we do in class just in case I ever need it again! Before this year I hardly took pictures of work... so I have no pictures of former displays of this-sad face).

Any way you choose to use this idea (with or without my pages), it will be great to get kids thinking outside of the little part of the world they live in. A lot of kids have no idea what it is like outside of their town. And some kids, sadly know all too well what it is like to be less fortunate. But this way, instead of writing a wishlist for all the material things they want (and some that some kids may never get) they can think about how they could spread their love and joy to the world.

You can download this FREE writing activity on Teachers Pay Teachers. Thanks for letting me visit!

-- Third Grade Tidbits

SunnyDays

On some level it feels wrong to go forward, to start blogging again as though things are back to normal and the world has resumed spinning as it should. While we all know that the world has been forever altered, what would be wrong is for us NOT to go forward. The best way to honor the brave teachers and souls lost at Sandy Hook is to return to our classrooms with the vow to be the best teachers we can be to the students entrusted to us. So, with that, I can't think of a better way to start moving forward than to welcome one of my very best friends to the blog today. She has an incredibly touching book and activity to share with you. Please welcome my friend Gina from Beach Sand and Lesson Plans.

I am BEYOND thrilled to be a guest blogger today!! Denise is one of my very best friends, as well as one of the best teachers I know. Denise and I have known each other for almost 20 years....I just figured that out and I'm shocked. LOL! We are currently not teaching in the same school, but we did teach together for many years. We have collaborated on many lessons and activities and shared lots of laughs along the way! Denise is my bloggy mentor and my TpT cheerleader. For that, I owe you, Denise, a debt of gratitude. ♥

Thinking about Denise and gratitude leads me to one of my most favorite holiday activities. Using the mentor text, Silver Packages by Cynthia Rylant, students get a chance to think about who they might "owe a debt of gratitude" to and then create their own silver package.

This beautifully written story tells about the Christmas train that travels through Appalachia every year. A wealthy stranger, who was helped by one of the townspeople years before, repays the people by delivering silver packages to the children each Christmas. Frankie wishes for a doctor's kit each year, but instead gets things he needs. Mittens. Socks. Hats. Scarves and a few little toys. Frankie grows up, moves away, and becomes a doctor. He goes back to Appalachia to "repay his debt" to the town that gave him so much. I can not make it to the end of this touching story without a few tears.

After reading the story, I have a class discussion about what it means to "owe a debt". (For 3rd graders, this can take some time.) We discuss gratitude and being thankful for not just "things" we are given, but for what people do for us. I ask the children to think of someone they "owe a debt" of gratitude. We use our writer's notebooks for preplanning by making a list of people and what we want to thank them for (I'm saying "we" because I write with the students). We narrow it down to one person and draft letters. I guide students towards writing from the heart. I do help them edit their work as well. When the letters are published, they simply fold them in half twice and wrap them in tin foil. I give them a bow to place on top and a To/From label. A Silver Package. It is a simple, truly heartfelt gift!

Here are some my 3rd graders wrote this year. I was so impressed.

This one is my personal favorite. It's the first one that a student wrote to me! I was touched!

A few years back my now 12 year old son, Dane, was in my class and we did this activity. Dane put his silver package under the tree and gave it to his dad on Christmas morning who cried when he read it. Dane's letter is simple, and doesn't seem like much, but to his dad it meant the world!

I used to give the kids printed winter stationery for publishing their letters. Recently, I created lined paper for them. Click ❅here❅ to download a copy of the papers and some simple gift tags to add to your silver packages.

Enjoy the season and think about someone YOU might owe a debt of gratitude!

Happy Holidays!

SunnyDays

Part of the fun of the holidays is when friends stop by for a visit. It's even better when they stop by with a little gift! Well, that's exactly what's happening this week on my blog. I've invited a few of my friends to come over and visit with us and they all brought a gift to share! I have some great friends, right?

Today I'm welcoming Lisa from Fourth & Ten. I was so excited when Lisa said she would like to share these adorable author's purpose activities with us. I'm sure you're going to love them as much as I do! Help me welcome Lisa!

Hello, Sunny Days readers! I am so excited that Denise has invited me to guest post on her blog. My name is Lisa and I blog over at Fourth and Ten. Where I blog about my adventures teaching my fourth graders and occasionally my love of Ohio State Football. :)

Last year, when I taught second grade, Denise's blog was a lifesaver for me and I am so thankful for the friendship that we share. So I am over the moon excited to take over her blog for a bit and share a fun activity that I did with my fourth graders to practice author's purpose a few weeks ago.

My school has a big push on student engagement this year, which I am thrilled about because it gives us a little bit more freedom than normal to stray from our adopted curriculums. A few weeks ago, instead of using a lesson from our Treasures reading series to review author's purpose, I decided to review author's purpose with two sweet and furry things that are close my heart.

Aren't they precious? My students LOVE when I talk about my two dogs, Moss and Maddie. So I had Moss and Maddie, plus my parent's dog, Daisy, dictate letters to me addressed to my class to use to use in a lesson.

I shared these letters with my students on my Smartboard and we went through each one and discussed what the author's purpose could be and then looked for keys words and evidence as to why the purpose could be to persuade, inform, or entertain. Then they recording their thinking on the accompanying graphic organizer.

Oh my gosh, my bigger kids LOVED this! They were so engaged and into the lesson that I was kinda hoping one of my adminstrators would walk into the room for a pop in observation! :) Since the lesson was so memorable, they used the doggie's letters throughout the week when determining the purpose of other texts that we read! I overheard things like "Well, Maddie's letter was to inform and she taught us all about making her favorite treat, so this book must be to inform too because we learned something," and "Moss' letter shared a story that made us laugh, this book is also funny, so the author must have wrote it to entertain."

If you would like to do this activity with your class, I have shared it with you as a freebie at my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

Just click on the picture above to check it out! :) If you use it with your class, I'd love to know what you think!

Thanks Denise, for sharing your reader's with me today! I'd love to have some of you click over to Fourth and Ten sometime!

SunnyDays

I'm Arlene from LMN Tree and I'm so excited to share another freebie with all of you . In case you have never had your students play any of my "Don't Get Skunked " Games here is your chance to get my December Holiday Edition for free. Your students will learn the 3 December Holiday Words with a great Word Wall and then play the "Don't Get Skunked" Game to practice becoming fluent with the words. How much fun to be able to win the "Funky, Spunky, Sweet Smelling Skunky Award for reading their words!

The winner gets to wear the "I Didn't Get Skunked !" headband. It's a great fun game to play with vacation right around the corner.

Thanks for all you do to make a difference for your students.

SunnyDays

Part of the fun of the holidays is when friends stop by for a visit. It's even better when they stop by with a little gift! Well, that's exactly what's happening this week on my blog. I've invited a few of my friends to come over and visit with us and they all brought a gift to share! I have some great friends, right?

Today I'm welcoming Heather from HoJo's Teaching Adventures. Heather has stopped by before and everyone loved her cool magic square freebie, so I'm so happy she's sharing a holiday version with us today. She's also got a really awesome follow up activity for all of your Christmas around the world activities. It's a reflective journal. Such a cool idea - and it's free! Thanks for stopping by and bringing such great goodies Heather!

Hey Sunny Days fans! Heather from HoJo's Teaching Adventures here! Denise was looking for guest bloggers, and I thought you might like a few of the Christmas freebies I have. So let's get to it!

The first is a Christmas Magic Square puzzle that will work for grades K-2. You can click on the picture to get your free copy directly from Teachers Pay Teachers.

The second item is my Christmas Around the World journals. They are 25 pages of journals so your students can write/draw about the countries/traditions they are learning in the classroom. I find this a great way for students to showcase their work for families, and it's also a great way to remember all that's being learned during this sometimes hectic time of year!

If you're looking for even more ideas, I have several others on my blog (including a fun writing activity about decorating a Christmas tree!) or on my Christmas Pinterest board. Feel free to check them out!

Have a happy holiday season!
~HoJo~

SunnyDays

I have a super special guest blogger joining us today, my friend Jen from The Teacher's Cauldron. Jen is also a Florida girl who teaches second grade. Jen does some amazing stuff with her kids, as you'll see today in her post. Besides being an amazing teacher, she's an incredible mom who spends a lot of time making memories her babies will treasure forever. And somehow she still finds the time and motivation to work out!! I'm hoping that last part will rub off on me {so far NotSoMuch}. She's written a great post for us today highlighting part of her Christmas Around the World festivities and she's sharing an exclusive freebie just for us! Yay Jen!

I'm so excited to be over here on one of my FAVORITE blogger-friend's blog!!

I just love Denise!! I'm a regular stalker...

which was made worse when I got to meet her IRL at our FL blogger meet up over the summer!

(That's me in the middle - with my Baby B - who makes regular appearances on my blog - with her big sister, A.)

I wanted to share with you one of my favorite activities...

Every year, for the the last two weeks before break, I teach Holidays Around the World.

I LOOOOOVE learning about different cultures, which is why I love to travel as much as possible.

One of my FAVORITE countries to do is Sweden.

I know there are TONS of great countries with some fascinating traditions, but Sweden always makes my "to-do" list whenever I'm trying to decide which countries to do that year.

Here's what they do -

On the dawn of Dec 13, the youngest daughter puts on a white robe and a wreath crown with candles lit on it, and serves her parents with coffee and buns. YUM!

Of course in my house, my 3 year old would be SPILLING the coffee and EATING the buns..ha!

The boys dress in long white shirts and pointed hats.