Poems for Fluency Fun!

Hi everyone!  In honor of National Poetry Month (April) I wanted to share with you the beauty of using poems to teach fluency!!!  

I love my weekly reading fluency passages and have used them faithfully but nothing has helped my 2nd graders this year as much as "Performance Poetry Readings" with our Scholastic poetry.   I just started a few weeks ago and so far the difference has been amazing!  I pull a poem for the week to teach spelling patterns and rhyme and to model expression with new vocabulary.  Click on the book above to get your own copy from Amazon.

I usually begin on Mondays by modeling or introducing the poem for the week to the whole class.  My students practice the poem each night for homework and "perform" for the class on Fridays.  It is so much fun because they are expected to read with expression through acting out the poems or using props.  It has been fun watching my kiddos emerge from "robot readers" to "expressive poets". I suggest you give it a try with your class if fluency is an issue.  The repetition and rhyme has done wonders for some of my second grade babes who lack confidence as readers of regular repeated reading passages or just need to try something else.

Here are some links to give you ideas.  I love the article...Looking for a Great Way to Practice Reading Fluency? Think Poetry! by Julie Niles Peterson.  I read this a month ago and decided to give "Performance Poetry" a whirl with my kids.  Again, I use the poems to get spelling words and patterns for the week as well.   Poems can be incorporated into all subject areas and are so much fun for teaching informational topics!  Here you go...

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/poetry-printables

http://www.scholasticdealer.com/prodimages/sample/943826.pdf

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/18-books-poetry-month

I hope you had a Happy Poetry Month this April!-Yvonne 

Super Sunday Sale!

Are you ready for some football???  How about...are you ready for some shopping???  I am excited to announce a fabulous sale TeacherspayTeachers is having this coming Sunday (Super Bowl Sunday)! This is a great opportunity for you to grab those Valentine's Day centers or activities for the next couple of months.  I will have all of my products listed in my store at 20% off.  If you use the promotion code (SUPER), TPT will take off an additional amount to make your savings up to 28%!   I encourage you to check out our stores and see what deals you can find.  Be sure you use the promotion code... (SUPER) or you won't get the additional percentage off!  I am shopping now and adding some amazing items to my cart!  I personally love all of the new graphics Tpt sellers are offering now and  can't wait to grab some darling sets for future teaching materials.  I'd like to thank Lindsey at Primary Polka Dots for her precious image above advertising the sale!  Happy shopping everyone!-Yvonne

February Freebies!

Happy Monday everyone!  Just got home from taking my son to the doctor and had a few minutes to share some goodies with you.  Last year I made my Valentine's Day Centers and Activities.  Many of the borders and frames were my own designs.  I am no "pro" at graphic design...so these are nothing fancy.  I just thought some of you might could use them to "create and make" your own materials.    Below is a preview of the borders and my centers to show how I used them...

If you'd like to download these frames/borders from my TpT store, click HERE! 

Also...if you haven't already downloaded my primary freebie, be sure you check it out.  My Valentine's Day Digit Values Tiered Math Tub is available for you if you need something for differentiation in math.  I LOVE my tiered tubs and hope you can use them as well.

Last but not least...if you need daily practice of Common Core Skills for 2nd grade, be sure you check out my Common Core Daily Practice for February!  Not a freebie, but I wanted to let you know it is ready and posted!  I've had lots of requests for this second packet from friends who bought my January packet!  

I am thrilled to say my students LOVE these.  We use one each morning for spiral review of CCSS.  It is finally finished...just in time for February!    Hope you can use some of these resources with your own kiddos.  Let me know if you have any questions about any of my teaching materials or teaching methods in my classroom.  Have a great day and a fabulous week!-Yvonne  

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Today we started our unit on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by reading one of my favorite books about him and his childhood...A Picture Book of Martin Luther King, Jr. by David A. Adler.  Each year I have a discussion with my second grade babes to try to explain what an amazing hero Dr. King was for us all. It never fails... I always get those same puzzled expressions from my kids wondering why anyone would treat another person differently based on skin color.  It always touches my heart as we discuss the differences in their lives today compared to so many children just a few years ago. 

I always introduce my standard MLK vocabulary words on the first day of this unit:  laws, protest, rally, civil rights, boycott, etc...  but the words that I stress the most on this day are love, compassion, and peace.  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the model for those three words and I always lift his name up with examples of these.

As we read books together this week and watch VIDEOS showing the life of Dr. King from a boy to adulthood, the class will keep a timeline of his life in addition to comparing their lives with his. Here are some books that I will share with my class this week...

Tomorrow I will use a compare/contrast sheet for my students to compare their lives to the life of young Martin.

  

Click HERE if you'd like to use these as you celebrate the amazing life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with your students.   I'd love for you to share this with your FB friends or Pinterest followers.  You can watch for future teaching goodies/ideas on my Pinterest boards (http://pinterest.com/sassyinsecond/). 

Have an amazing week, friends!-Yvonne

100th Day of School!

Happy new year, sweet friends!  This one is starting off great for me. I hope it is for you, too!  As I was looking through my units planning for this next month I pulled out my 100th day of school folder.   This day is great fun for all of us!  When I taught first grade we always enjoyed grouping our 100's day collections, seeing how many times we could do things (clap hands, bounce balls, etc...) in 100 seconds, and eating our 100's day snack!  We have a great time in second grade even though the kids are beyond grouping tens to make 100.  We practice skills such as:  Graphing how many times you can do physical movements (such as jumping jacks) in 100 seconds on a line plot, word problems involving 100 cents and making change from $1.00, solving equations on a hundreds chart, measuring items around the school that are 100 centimeters or less, and much more!  I appreciate you guys so much for following me here on Sassy in Second.  I wanted to share some of these ideas with you!  Click HERE if you'd like to download these and use them.

Below are some great books you can check out on Amazon if you need 100's day books!  It is always cool to see who can read 100 books in 100 days as well and celebrate that reading incentive with awards on the 100th day of school!  I'd LOVE a video or a Smartboard lesson on the 100th day of school.  Let me know if you know of anything that would be appropriate for my second graders!   I am looking forward to next week and hope you all have a marvelous 100th day with your kiddies!  Thanks!-Yvonne

Wow! What a Party!

Merry Christmas all!  I am so loving my first day of Christmas break!  I survived the last week of school and can say that my Christmas party with my second grade babes yesterday was awesome!  My room mom did a FABULOUS job of organizing everything and the kids had a ball!  I have some pics here of my parent gifts that we made this year.  I can't take credit for them...one of my second grade buddies was making this with her class and I just fell in love with them and had to make them.  Check out our Santa pots!

You need:     gold, black, and white pipe cleaners,
                   smaller pots (2 per child)
                   red and tan acrylic paint
                   google eyes
                   tiny pink balls for the nose
                   white foam sheet to cut out eyebrows and mustache
                   fluffy boa for cutting beard strips
                   tacky glue and hot glue gun
                   mints to fill the pots

They really were fun to make!  I wish you could have seen my classroom once we cut into those feather boas!  We had feathers flying EVERYWHERE!  The kids loved it!

I want to wish everyone a holiday filled with joy in your hearts!  Have a very Merry Christmas!   I will love my time off with my family but want to share a sample of a packet I hope to finish before the first of the year!  I am planning to make themed based (by the month) Common Core Daily Practice packets each month.  I am almost finished with my January packet that will include math and language arts practice sheets.  Watch for this soon and here is a sample page for you use with your students. 

 Again, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!-Yvonne

Gingerbread Fun and a Freebie!

Merry Christmas friends!  I hope you are enjoying your holiday season with your students.  Remember to check out Lory's Page for the 12 Days of Christmas giveaway that is going on.  This is such a fun time of the year for us to work with children but if you are like me you are getting ready for Christmas! I want to give you a chance to grab some Christmas activities at a great price to get you through these next two weeks and as you plan for January.  I am having a 20% off sale on all of my Christmas and winter items that will include my newest unit…Gingerbread Man for a Second Grade Classroom!  My students have loved reading different versions of gingerbread stories and completing the math and literacy activities in this packet.  Today we went to two Kindergarten classrooms and had a blast doing our reader's theatre of the Gingerbread Man.  So much fun!  Check out my preview and I hope it works for you. 

  One of my favorite activities that I do each year with my students is to make stained glass windows.  They are the EASIEST and cheapest Christmas craft idea that you can imagine.  Check out below how to do them.  The templates are in included in this packet.

I've also been working on getting our Christmas party organized.  One of the things I do each year as a gift for my kiddos is a Christmas Coupon Booklet.   They absolutely LOVE them and they are FREE!  If you'd like to use this idea just click here.  Have a wonderful weekend friends!-Yvonne :)