Multicultural Day Event

Well, we did it...Multicultural Day was a huge success!  The students did an amazing job on their Multicultural Day celebration.  We used the theme, "Embrace Diversity, Embrace Our World!"  I found that great slogan at NationalDiversityDay (a website celebrating Diversity that will take place on October 4, 2013)  which seemed to apply perfectly to the work my students did.  During this unit the students learned about their cultural heritage, exploring the countries that their ancestors came from.  This was completed through a six week unit in the student's Take Home Book Bags, which parents were asked to be involved answering questions.  They helped by sharing heritage questions, family traditions and holidays, family recipes, and ancestor immigration stories.  These were pieces that were woven into the country book my students wrote.  When I started planning the work, I looked at all the Common Core Writing Standards.  I wanted to include pieces from each standard.  I also looked at the Reading, Speaking and Listening Standards as I was planning this book.  The book was broken into several sections.  The first section of the book was informative text which shared about the country's physical location, government, food, traditions, holidays and flag to name a few.  They completed this research through both books and online text.  They made sure to include a Table of Contents, Glossary, and Bibliography to share components and cite research.  The second section of the book included a country opinion piece, which the students wrote their reviews of why you should visit.  They also included their favorite recipe from their family in this section.  They wrote a review of why you should try the recipe.  The recipe was included in the classroom cookbook also, which each child recieved a copy of.  The last section included a Multicultural Fairy Tale which the students wrote.  They chose their favorite fairy tale which they changed to take place in their country and included elements from this country.  The completed selection was a masterpiece.  On the day of the event, we did a combination of activities.  We started with the song Hello to All the Children of the World shared by Wee Sing.  Several students then shared the back of their books, enticing the audience to want to read their book.  Then the students collectively sang Like Me and You by Raffi.  After reading a few more book backings the student created, we shared a Shel Silverstein poem title Children, Children Everywhere.  After the final group of students read the back of the book we ended the program with It's a Small World from Disney.  Our special event lasted about 30 minutes.  It was so wonderful to have representation from ALL of my students families!  The event day was a wonderful experience for both my students and their families.

 

Backdrop of Multicultural Day with a stage set up in the classroom and all the students' books ready to be shared with the audience.

 

 

Stars were placed on the maps of all the countries we studied.

 

A view of the front of our classroom including the special touches for families to see.

The backdrop I created using a $1.99 Goodwill sheet and flags and letters created by my students at my school. This was done inexpensively, but students felt very special.

 

 

Our welcome table with a sign in sheet, programs, and an evaluation for visitors to fill out.

 

Definitions discussed during our special morings activities.

 

With our backdrop discussing diversity, we spent a lot of time discussing what the word diversity means.  Students then each put a definition on this chart paper to display. 

 

A sample of student created text, along with a unique item that represents the country which was proudly displayed on their desk during the celebration.

A few more examples of completed student work which each child had a chance to share with the class and all the families involved in our celebration.

I loved teaching the multicultural unit and incorporate many strategies into my students instruction.  It was great being able to sing songs, share poetry, and create back covers to convince our audience to read their wonderful created work.  My students completely feel like authors during this occasion and are able to justify the work they complete and share with the classroom and the community!

Me on the Map...and Other Map Activities!

My passion for travel spills over into my classroom in a variety of ways.  I love to teach my students about the world around them and open their eyes to places beyond our Saint Petersburg home.  I think that's why one of my favorite units of the year is teaching map skills to my students.  I love their curiosity and inquisitive nature in exploring the world.  This year, we are completing an extensive unit that started with map skills and will be culminating in a Multicultural Day with presentations of student created country books.  In order to begin preparing my students, I read the book Me on the Map by Joanne Sweeney.  My students completed graphic organizers with the understanding that the world gets bigger starting with their house, street, city, state, country, continent and world.  We read stories about places around the world in reading, studied map skills in Social Studies, and wrote travel adventure stories in Writing that integrated imagination, creativity and facts from different places.  This integrated unit touches upon many Common Core Standards and is exciting for the students.  The students also created maps of an imaginary country which they made up, and had to apply the use of map keys, map scales, and a compass rose.  These activities were all done prior to teaching a multicultural unit that includes a parental involvement piece.  Students have read several stories in their Take Home Book Bag, and for the past 3-4 weeks parents have been involved in this weekly homework with questions about ancestors, heritage, family recipes, and cultural celebrations.  Students then chose one country from their heritage to focus on a book project.  They are researching facts and information and making a country book with 3 sections: Facts and Country Information, a Country Opinion Writing Piece, and a Multicultural Fairy Tale they create using elements of fairy tales and key items from their country.  This project includes most Common Core Standards for both Reading and Writing.  The children are super involved and their is lots of learning and investigating going on daily.  I love to guide my students on their quest for knowledge.  More on this project and our special celebration coming up soon!

 

Borrowing ideas from both Clutter Free Classroom and Sunny Days in 2nd Grade blogs, I loved the idea of having the students create flip books and hold up the world with their little pictures.  Each child posed with their hands in the air for these posters.

 

A student example of the completed Me on the Map activity!

 

Me on the Map Writing Activity.  Students chose which place on the world map they would want to visit and shared their adventure in both a story and created Voki character.  Students found maps of the country to include, and researched facts to add into the story.  They loved the creativity involved in this project. 

 

So much fun with maps, can't wait to teach them more!

Studentreasures Publishing

Have you heard of Studentreasures Publishing Company?  It is a wonderful company where your students can publish books!  Since I teach a primary grade (K-2) they offer a chance to publish a class book.  I have done this with my students for the past three years, and the results have been magnificent. Each year, I choose a theme for my students to write stories about.  We bring these pieces through the writing process, and write a final draft version on the pages sent to us by the company.  We then send our completed pages back to the company one week before our assigned "Press Date" and about 2-3 weeks later, we receive copies of our published book in the mail.  The great thing is there is no pressure to buy the book, they will send you a copy for free, BUT if your families are interested, they may purchase copies of the book.  Each year, I have several families who choose to purchase the book for a treasured memory of second grade.  My former students have come back a year/two years later and shared how it is still one of their prized processions.  My young writers truly feel like published authors when the books get delivered to the classroom. They really understand the Writing Process, and they see the importance of Pre-Writing, Drafting, Editing, Revising, and Publishing!  If you are looking for a wonderful way to publish writing in your classroom, take a look at Studentreasures!

This year our theme was Once Upon a Dream... Stories where we entered a dreamworld and shared the many adventures before waking back up. Last year our theme was Our Imaginary Pets.  I try to choose a theme that allows for creativity and imagination of each of my budding young authors.

 

An example of the student created story

 

The day our books came in, all students were engrossed in the treasured book, reading each others stories and sharing in the excitement of publication.

To find out more about the company, check out their website here: www.studentreasures.com.

Informative Text Writing can be FUN!

I love teaching writing in the classroom. All types of writing.  Not only do I enjoy teaching narrative and opinion writing, but I also enjoy explanatory writing.  At the beginning of second grade, it is the perfect time to teach my students how to write informative text.  I start with teaching the elements of paragraph, breaking it down into parts.  We watch video clips, sing songs, and create paragraphs together.  I teach them how to use a topic sentence, three detail sentences, and a concluding statement.  The students get excited for this process.  Once they learn how to form one paragraph, we can stretch it to two, three, and four paragraph essays.  All this in 2nd grade!

 

                    I teach the Stoplight Method for paragraph writing. Students will learn that Green means GO! Start with a topic sentence.  Yellow means Slow Down… and share the important details.  Red means STOP! Make a closing or conclusion sentence that wraps the paragraph up.

 

The Paragraph Song

Sung to the Tune of Itsy Bitsy Spider

Introduce the topic in a general way.

Next, you add 3 details of what you want to say.

Then you write a closer, put this sentence last.

Now you have completed,

You’re great paragraph!

 

I feel like this helps my students to grasp onto the concept.  I like to next remind children how to indent by teaching them the thumb rule.  I print out mini thumbs for them to stick on their papers the first time they try this, and remind them of this strategy throughout the year.  It really helps it stick in the minds of my seven and eight year olds. 

 

 

After we practice writing paragraphs, I introduce the research report.  I let my students choose between a variety of science concepts to study.  This gives them some choice, but still has focus.  I bring my students through the process of note-taking, a discussion on citing sources and plagiarism, and the important elements of informative text.

 

Wanting my students to understand many non-fiction text features, I focused on several features for them to include in their research report as well.  My children wrote a 3-4 paragraph essay, then went through and put five important words in bold print for their glossary, where they could define these words.  Next they drew an illustration to match the report, included captions and labels and put on a title. At the end of the project, my students created their bibliography to cite the sources. 

 

Check out our completed research reports below.

I put this up in the hallway for two reasons.  One, to showcase my students beautiful work giving them pride in their work and an audience. The second purpose was for all other students around the school, putting up a "Can you find these non-fiction text features?" hunt for all children to learn!

                                       Three examples of student work:

Presidential Election 2040

When the election season was upon us this school year, I wanted to do something special with my students.  In the past, I have had students write speeches and read them to the class. They have voted for a Class President and the runner up was Vice President.  This year, I took it a step further.  My students first wrote speeches for presidential elections, sharing everything they wanted to do to make the country a better place.  And yes, they were all written in seven year old writing.  I let them feel free to express the changes that mattered to them.  The next step involved my students creating a Voki avatar character of themselves during the 2040 Presidential Election, which was the first election all of my students would be eligible to be president. Each of my students created their avatar and typed in their speech.  We discussed what clothing they might wear, what background they would have and other important ideas.  On election day, we watched each of the Voki characters after the students introduced themselves.  We then ran the election with a voting process, a voting booth, and a ballot.  Each child had the opportunity to vote for who they thought should be president, vice president, and had to share three reasons why they voted for this person.  They could not vote for themselves, and could not state a reason such as: "I liked it because they are my friend."  With these stipulations, my students really voted for people who wrote powerful speeches and would make a great president.  I took the top person voted as President, the 2nd as Vice President, the 3rd & 4th as Senators and the rest of the students were the House of Representatives.  This shared a little of our government and offices with the students, and they were all able to receive an award.  It was a very special occasion for my students, and it should help them remember the election processs for the years to come!  I then displayed the student's work in an interactive display outside of the classroom.

                                    Our Class Bulletin Board Display

 

Class President: Marlee

 

 

Class Vice President: Sierra

 

Read Aloud with Accountable Talk

I love doing read alouds!  I have always read aloud books during Reading, Writing, Science, Social Studies and even Math.  I really enjoy sitting down with students and sharing the written word.  I feel that there is a perfect picture book to go with just about every concept that can be taught.  But until this year, I didn't have a specific time in the day that was "Read Aloud" time, where I read a chapter book/picture book and discuss it for many different reasons.  I am not saying I never had a read aloud time of day, I just don't think I used it the best way I could have until now.  Now, I dedicate 15-20 minutes at the end of every day for Read Aloud time.  My students have their Read Aloud Response notebook that they bring with them.  This time of day does not tie in with one specific teaching point, rather I cover MANY different points with my students.  I started this at the beginning of the year, we got into a great routine.  My students now expect this time, look forward to it, and get really sad when we miss this time of day.  What I love the most is students get so wrapped into the books they do not want this time to end.  Each day I use strategies such as Turn-and-Talk, Stop and Jot, and Stop and Sketch.  I honestly think that my students LOVE Stop and Sketch so much, and they are really thinking as they are drawing their pictures to match the text.  There is not much time dedicated into the day for drawing, so a few days a week, when they have to sketch during read aloud, the students' inner artists come out.  During this time, I bring in strategies that good readers use, writing techniques that great writers use, and pull in other content area connections.  Chapter books we have read this year include: Magic Tree House series; Sarah, Plain and Tall; Skylark; The 13 Clocks; The Stories Julian Tells; My Name is Maria Isabel; and many, many more.  We fly through the pages of chapter books, and my students love to continue reading books in the series, after I start one.  One of my favorite moments occurred when I started The Criminals in the Caymans by Connie Lee Berry, and no sooner had we left the rug, then all the books in the series were borrowed with pleas to take the books home and read them that night.  How can I say no to students who can't wait to read?  Did I mention, I love the read aloud time a day in the classroom?  It's the best time of day to spend with my students, getting them excited to read, read, read!!

KidBlog in the Classroom

Hello!  I know it has been awhile since I have been blogging, but I am back and excited to share about the experiences in my classroom this year.  One of my absolute favorite websites that I have integrated into the classroom is www.kidblog.org.  It is an excellent kid-friendly website that allows classrooms to have a blog and share work.  This year my students have created Voki characters, Glogster posters, and Animoto videos.  It has been my hope that students would be able to share their work and comment to each other about their work.  Trying to find a website that was user-friendly and seven/eight year old friendly seemed to be a small challenge. Then I found KidBlog.  This website allows each of my students to see each others' work and make comments. I have taught my children how to do the "Ladder of Feedback" in a response.  At the start, students would make comments such as "This rocks." and "Wow, cool video" Since we have done lessons teaching children how to value the work, share a concern and make a suggestion, student's have been offering great advice to each other.  It is very second grade friendly and my students LOVE to go on KidBlog.  We often times use this website when students finish classwork, or when we are in the computer lab.  Children are given a whole new purpose and audience to share their work in an online format.  I have also shared the link with the parents in my classroom, so they too can go on and see all the work that is being created in the classroom.  The best part is that KidBlog is also private, and only people with the log in code (students, teachers, and parents) can access our site; so we don't have to worry about children's work being out on the world wide web for all to see.  As an incentive for students to go on at home, if they go on an make five comments on five different students within the week, they get to come to a Monday Lunch Bunch in the classroom.  Children LOVE spending lunch in the classroom and eating with me.  What an easy motivation tool for my students.  I was recently in Washington D.C. to speak with House of Representatives members of Congress about education programs.  While away from the classroom, I was able to write letters to my students and share pictures of my trip and they were able to comment to me and ask questions.  It was great having a connection to my students, even from afar!

Here are a few samples of student comments to each other on KidBlog:

Dear C, I really liked how you explained that the book was enchanting. Nice job using juicy language. I think you could add more facts that are from the book.  love, D

Sk- I think you did a good job on your bio poem because I think you you used good word choice. I think you need to work on different facks about describing Barack Obama. Like famous and attractive, serious, and smart. -W

Dear Ka, I really like when you used wow words!I wonder why you put he feels there should be peace? I suggest you should put more words describing his accomplishments. your friend, Ki

Dear Miss Lak,
I cann’t wait until you get back! Is your mom and sister Jen in that picture with one friend? Did you get to see the president? Mrs.Germain sent in the stories into the post office for the contest. I miss you! what other things did you see besides the Capital Building? Who took the picture? Did you get to go inside the Capital Building? Who was in the picture with you?  Love, S

 

 

 

Common Core and Advanced Learners

Hello!  This year is off to a great start.  I am really enjoying my class, and they seem to be all getting along and really focusing on being the best Bucket Fillers they can be.  They love to notice the great things that each other are doing, which really helps build our classroom community.  As we are starting to dig deeper into academics, I realize that having advanced learners means I need to make sure I keep them very busy to constantly have them engaged and learning.  What I don't want to do is bore my learners.  I want to make sure they are constantly challenged.  I am excited to teach them the inquiry process, and have been researching curriculum compacting.  One way that I am making sure to challenge them is integrating a lot of technology into the curriculum. For example, this week I am going to be introducing Voki Classroom to my students.  We have spent the last week focusing on characters and setting, and have started delving into character traits.  I am modeling this through my first read aloud, The Stories Julian Tells by Ann Cameron.  My students cannot wait for the read aloud time in the day, where they have been actively listening, been involved in Turn-and-Talk and participating in Stop and Jots in their Reading Response Notebooks.  The latter new to me this year, but I am enjoying having students write their quick responses, and making sure to get their response to literature time in several times a day.  As we finish the book, we will take our recorded notes, and our teaching points to make a Voki Avatar of Julian, the main character in the book.  We will create this as a class, so that I can model my thinking and process.  The next step for each student will be to create a Voki Avatar of the main character in the book they have chosen to read.  This is a great activity that they can not only do at school, but at home too.  Several of my students have interest in doing extra work at home, and this is an assignment, once we have practiced in the classroom, can be transferred to other books at home for extra credit.   I hope to keep coming up with challenging work that relates to the Common Core Standards and provides additional learning opportunities for my advanced learners!

First Week of School and Open House Activities

I love the start of the school year.  I think its so amazing to bring a group of children together and form a strong bond throughout the school year.  Spending the first two weeks focusing on routines, rules, and getting to know you activities helps all students feel like they belong.  One of the first things I make sure to put in place is a Morning Meeting where we can meet as a group and play name game activities and getting to know you games.  We make sure to play some Name Bingo over the first two weeks, with game boards filled in with all students names.  This helps children remember each others names, which is an integral part to learning more about each other.  The first day is getting to know the teacher, the classroom, the school, and routines.  Taking a tour of the classroom, and pointing out important places helps students understand where things are.  Practicing activities such as fire drill and lock down procedures help students know what is expected at all times.  By day 2 and 3, a lot of time can be spent on friendship, similarities, and differences.  The sharing of "Me Bags" gives each child an opportunity to shine, sharing special things from their life.  Read alouds focus on what it means to be a good friend, with writing activities to follow.  Each of my students write "I can be a good friend by..." activity where they share ideas of what they can do.  I also have students decorate themselves on cut-outs, and create a classroom poster to hang outside the door, "Together as friends we make one great classroom community!"  This helps to make each child feel like they belong.  I added the students friendship writing all around to be our welcome into the classroom display.

 

 

Through several other activities, such as Similarities and Differences, where students work with a partner and create a Venn Diagram of ways they are alike, and ways they are different, students continue to celebrate each other.  For the rest of the first week, we celebrate each individual student and what makes them special.  We read aloud, I Like Myself, and create self portraits. 

We learn about Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences, and students learn the many different ways they are smart.  This helps each child realize that they ARE smart in different ways.  We color code pie charts which shows the top four ways each child is smart.  This makes all students feel as if they belong, and set them up for a successful year in second grade.

 

Students have the opportunity to write about their Wish for Second Grade and we post that in the classroom as well, as the first writing activity.  These are all hanging up as classroom displays that make the classroom very inviting for both the students, and parents as they come in for Open House. 

 

 

Another activity I tried for the first time this year, was having each child create a Wordle on www.wordle.net, a Word Cloud of words that describe themselves. They start by creating this list in their Writing Journal, and then typing it into Microsoft Word.  I made sure that each child typed his/her name 4 times so that it would come up as the biggest word in the Wordle.  My students wrote between 10 and 30 words.  One at a time I called my students up to my computer, and we worked together to copy and paste in the words, then choose the font, direction, and colors.  When each child was satisfied with the Wordle, I printed them out for their writing binder, and put a copy into Microsoft PowerPoint, which will run on a loop during open house and feature each child on a screen with Meet _______(students name), picture, and Wordle.
Here is the example of my Wordle I showed to help my students:

 I am looking forward to the second week of school where we continue to build a classroom community, and build up each childs' self-esteem.  I plan on reading The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown tomorrow, and having each child use the familiar pattern in the book to write a poem for their parents to have on the desk during Open House.  For example, "The important thing about my mom is she loves me...." where the whole poem reflects a page in the book.  The parents love to see what their child wrote about them on Open House night, and I even leave a blank copy of the poem for the parents to fill in about their child, so the children have a surprise to come back to the next morning.   As a final little present for the parents, I created a Star Magnet that can be hung on the refrigerator to display their children's work during the school year.  It's an added little gift that parents appreciate, and students love. 

Remember the key to a great school year is helping each child feel comfortable in the classroom, aware of routines, a lot of time to practice, and build a positive rapport between you, the students, and the parents.  A successful year comes from a blending of a positive classroom community, highly engaging academic activities, and an understanding of each child for the unique person that they are, in order to differentiate instruction appropriately throughout the school year!

First Day of School!

I cannot believe tomorrow starts another school year.  I am looking forward to what this year has in store for me and my new group of students.  I was fortunate to have spent the morning at school yesterday during Campus Visitation and had the opportunity to meet almost all of my students and their families.  What is it they say about the first day of school?  Get students here, get them fed, and get them home safely.  Those are the 3 key things for the first day of school.  I hope to begin to build a positive classroom culture and community.  I hope for all my new students to feel welcomed, happy, and looking forward to the next 179 days together.  I hope to know all of my students names and faces by the end of the day.  I cannot wait to start read alouds again and find out interesting facts about each child.  We will work on routines and creation of classroom rules together.  As this year is ready start, I know I need to get a good night sleep tonight, as I am hoping that each of my children gets as well, and I ask myself the pressing question, what am I going to wear tomorrow?  For everyone else that is about to start school too, have a wonderful start of a new school year!