A Week in Second Grade

Super Second Grade !

I was asked to work in a second grade for a week at a school I worked as as a reading teacher 3 years ago. It was HEAVEN!! Second Graders are the best. It made me miss my second graders from last year, but I was happy to see a lot of my teacher friends! 

I don't know if you know it, but I love to teach writing! Teaching it all day would be my dream job!

First, I read this cute book. It was a book I have never read and now I want a copy!  

We had a class discussion about what made the story so good.


During another lesson we color coded two writing samples to discuss which one was better and why.  Here is an example:  

I loved teaching in the same place all week. 

Happy Reading! 

Back to School!

Happy First Day !

Something to remember as you go through your school day.

The ABC's of Teaching
•Actor. You prepare for each class as if it were a command performance.
•Builder. You build in the wonder and the fascination to inspire tomorrow's teachers, politicians, and parents.
•Caretaker and caregiver. Many students excel because a special person helped them along the way: a teacher.
•Director. You're in charge of your classroom.
•Enforcer. You enforce the classroom rules.
•Fighter. Sometimes you have to take a stand for what you believe is best for a child.
•Giver. You give of your time and of yourself—in and out of the classroom.
•Helper. Perhaps the most important help you give is helping students learn to help themselves.
•Instructor. Truly, this is the heart of teaching.
•Joiner. You need a support network, so you reach out to colleagues.
•Keeper. You keep track of attendance, grades, permission slips, line leaders, library books, mittens, and much more!
•Listener. Every day you listen to your students to find out what their interests are. Then you build these into your lessons.
•Magician. As you teach students to read, write, calculate, and investigate, you unlock the magic for them.
•Nurturer. You care for your students like you would care for blooming flowers.
•Optimist. You see the good things happening in schools.
•Psychologist. You're a keen observer of kids.
•Questioner. You ask your students thought-provoking questions; then you guide them in searching out the answer.
•Role model. You let your students know that you care and that you believe in them.
•Strategist. A well-planned lesson helps you get your students' attention—and keep it.
•Tutor. You give your students individual attention whenever you can. You also find times when they can tutor each other.
•Umpire. You're fair, firm, and consistent.
•Victor. You celebrate your teaching victories, and you congratulate your colleagues on their successes too.
•Writer. When you have an activity or a project that works well, you write it up and submit it to a teaching magazine!
•Xerox specialist. Who else can unjam paper?
•Yourself. Your students know and love you as a person.
•Zealot. You do your job with enthusiasm and energy—it's the most important job in the world!

Back to School Read Alouds

It is that time again! Some teachers are already back in the classroom! I hope their first day was FABULOUS!

Here are some first week read alouds, I have used in the past. Give them a try!

The Teacher from the Black Lagoon by: Mike Thaler 

In 4th grade I read this to my students and we discussed how anxious the main character was to meet his new teacher. We made a chart of character traits that described the teacher. I used this chart as a jumping point for the students to write their own version of story. 

Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes

A great book for kindergarten and first grade. After reading the book, talk about how she worries about school. Have each student draw a picture of what they were worried about before school started. Have them write a sentence to go with the picture. 

Tiffany's Weird. Totally True Summer Vacation 

Tiffany did not do anything exciting during summer vacation. She had a boring summer and is not looking forward to going back to school. When her teacher calls on her to talk about summer, she begins to tell a tall tale.

Amelia Bedelia's First Day of School
by Herman Parish

Amelia confuses a lot of directions on the first day of school. This is a funny story on a favorite character. Make a list after reading this book and save this list for tomorrow's part two of this lesson.



Amelia Bedelia Goes Back to School 
by: Herman Parish 

Compare the cover before the read aloud to yesterday's book. Predict what kinds of things Amelia (the adult) may misunderstand. After the read aloud add to the chart paper from yesterday. 

How I Survived My Summer Vacation 

Thirteen-year-old Jackie wants to write a novel the summer before he starts high school. There's just one problem - he can't get past the first sentence. His friends are no help! Before the summer is over, everything Jackie has counted on to stay the same has changed!



Happy Back to School Reading !!

Back to School Read Alouds

Here are my three favorite books I have read aloud on the first day of school. I also included the writing activity I have use with each story. All these books can be used in Grades 3 - 5! 

A Fine Fine School by Sharon Creech is a humorous story about a girl who loves school, but then the principal wants the students to come to school more and more. They have to go on the weekends, holidays, and during the summer. Someone has to tell the principal this is just too much school!
After this read aloud, on chart paper, we make a list of reasons why our school is a fine, fine school. Then students write a poem or short paragraph about why they think their school is a "fine, fine school." They publish their writing on paper of a school house I have reproduced. I then hang them outside the classroom for open house.

Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes is the story about a name.

Chrysanthemum thinks her name is perfect until the first day of kindergarten when her classmates laugh at her name. I read this book aloud to talk about feelings and self esteem. As a class we make a T-chart and list how the characters try to make Chrysantemum feel better about her name and how they hurt her feelings. After a class discussion about how we should treat our classmates, I have the class write an acrostic poem using their name. I post them in a bulletin board that I keep up the whole year called, " What's In A Name?"

First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg is a book about how the main character, Sarah, does not want to go to school. It tells the story how her first day jitters as she imagines how the day may go wrong. A cute story with a surprise ending. (This is my personal favorite!)
I read this book first thing in the morning. We talk about the surprise ending and share how each one of us felt before we arrived at school. Then students write a paragraph about their "first day jitters."

Happy First Day of School! 
Happy Reading!