Tech Thursday

I'm linking up with the Teaching Trio for Tech Thursday again! I'm liking this link up because I'm a younger teacher in my school, and everybody expects the youngins to be so techy. Sometimes I luck out and discover great websites or apps, but I get my best ideas from other bloggers sharing out what they are using in their classrooms!

GONOODLE!

I've loved GoNoodle for YEARS now, and it just keeps getting better! Basically, you sign up for free, and let your class choose a CHAMPION. This is a monster that grows as the kids complete more levels by watching videos. Some videos are silly, some are songs, some are academic, some are thinkers, etc. The kids LOVE them all! When you "max out" a champion, you choose a new champion and continue playing. You also get a reward certificate that kids can color.

As a fourth grade teacher, we used this at the end of the day as an incentive to pack up quick! Fourth graders love to dawdle. We know. So, they would pack up quick to play a GoNoodle or two before the end of day announcements came on.

Now, as a second grade teacher, my kiddos have their special the last half hour of the day and are dismissed right from the special. They don't come back to the room. So we use GoNoodle for indoor recess. It's a big hit! Instead of running around my cute room like monkeys, or fighting over our five computers, they are captivated by videos. For indoor recess we usually have five kids on computers, a group of kids at the guided reading table doing crafts (glitter glue symmetry has been a big hit this year), and the rest watching GoNoodle videos and dancing!

My favorite videos are Pop Se Ko, and anything with Mr. Cat Man!

If you haven't tried GoNoodle yet, I highly recommend it! :)

A Champion Certificate.

They have color pictures and ones that kids can color.

A transformed champion gaining points with each video played.

My class loving "Happy" by Pharell.

Sunday Scoop

I'm back this week, linking up with The Teaching Trio for the Sunday Scoop!

It's been snowing for HOURS and it's supposed to snow ALL NIGHT and ALL DAY TOMORROW!

So, we'll wear our pajamas inside out and backwards, crossing our fingers for a snow day!

(I love school and teaching, but I live 45 minutes away from my school. If the weather really is bad, I'd rather stay home than battle the conditions and poor visibility! Plus, wearing pajamas all day is always sweet!)

Now, I'm thinking that going to bed after writing this post will be good for me. Last night I stayed up WAY TOO LATE. I got sucked into that Netflix documentary, Making a Murderer. I can't say how many episodes I watched in a row, only that it was too many.

Oh, and I definitely need to buy white string before Thursday. I got a bunch of black lights from the store this weekend. I'm planning a secret agent laser themed afternoon, where the missions include review from our insects unit. I think it will be a lot of fun!

And don't forget about the TPT sale coming up! I have a TON of stuff wish listed. As always.

Spark Student Motivation Saturday

I'm here, linking up with Joanne from Head Over Heels for Teaching, for Spark Student Motivation Saturday!

Class t-shirts!

I think that making your class as EXCITING as possible is always the way to motivate kiddos! Every child in my school knows that our class creates these AWESOME class t-shirts every year, and if you're in my class, it's definitely something to look forward to.

Each child uses a fine Sharpie to draw themselves and sign their name on an index card. (We discuss exaggerating our character traits or something unique that makes us special - like glasses, curly hair, earrings, etc.)

Next, we choose a t-shirt color. Kids pay $8 for a t-shirt. If they can't pay, I usually pay for them. Every year, I've had at least one parent send in extra money to help pay for another student's t-shirt because I do work in a lower income district and $8 is not easy for everyone to come by.

I send our pictures and money to Whitney Daniels Designs, where they are famous for this "self portrait" t-shirt. In about 6 weeks, we are sporting these stylish t-shirts that kids can keep for years to come!

I've been creating these t-shirts for five years now, and they are always beautiful. I do order a few extra, just in case we get new students throughout the year. We wear them for special days at school, field trips, etc.

Five for Friday

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching this week for Five For Friday! 

We celebrated the winter solstice on December 21 with an indoor campout! I set up a real life tent. I also used bulletin board paper to make some lean to's. I also brought in some real wood and set it up around a touch light for a camp fire in our meeting area. We even had smores! Well, graham crackers, chocolate bars, and fluff! :)

Before winter vacation I downloaded Hope King's science experiments file from TPT. We had been learning about matter, but the kiddos were struggling. I had a few days before winter break, and instead of starting a new unit, I stayed with matter a bit and tried out some experiments and hands on activities. Obviously, they loved it!

We don't actually have science built into our schedule in my school. (I know, crazy.) Especially for me, someone coming from teaching fourth grade for five years and knowing that there is a state science test, well, I can't NOT teach science. So, I squeeze it in whenever I can. Plus, science experiments are SUPER engaging and fun for kiddos!

The experiment above is neat. We put pop rocks into the balloon, attached it to the soda top, and flipped the balloons at the same time. The pop rocks fell into the soda, created gas, and inflated our balloons. The kiddos went nuts!!! I think it was one of their favorite experiments. 

We also made ice cream, made root beer floats, dressed up in clear garbage bags and added balloons to represent molecules for solids, liquids, and gases, AND A LOT MORE!

We finished up our life cycles unit, so I took ten minutes in a day for some fun! We each had a partner and wrapped each other up in a chrysalis! And then we EMERGED! It was a hoot.

Each child had a black chenille pipe cleaner wrapped onto their fingers to look like antennae and butterfly feet. We then dug through the Cheetohs (pollen) for the candy (nectar). When the victor emerged from the bag with the candy, their pipe cleaner was covered in Cheetohs dust. We made some great connections to our life cycles unit as we finished it up!

You may not be able to see, but my friend had the polka dot dog mat embroidered with Lucy's name! My entire classroom is black and white polka dots with splashes of yellow, so it is very fitting and I love it. :)

Tech Thursday

I'm linking up with the Teaching Trio for Tech Thursday!

I really love the iPad app EPIC!!! I use it during my Daily Five for Read to Self/Listen to Reading. Basically, it's a $4.99 Netflix-type app for reading books BUT it's FREE for educators!!! So cool. I got my free subscription (free for life, FYI.), added my student names, and started using the app right away. Kids log in, find their name, and start choosing books based on their reading level and interests. Some are books that will read aloud to the kids, and others the kids read on their own. As the teacher, I can track how long it took kids to read a book (if they are just flipping through or really reading, and if they give up on a book after 20 seconds). Plus, there are tons of recognizable books, and different books for kids to experience. Anyway, for a free app, it's definitely worth checking out!

Try Epic, ASAP! :)

The Sunday Scoop

I'm a first timer linking up with The Teaching Trio for the Sunday Scoop!

3 things I HAVE to do:

I've been teaching the CCLS Second grade ELA domain 8, Insects, for about a week now. It's been a blast! Each story is told from the perspective of a new insect. The kiddos love that I wear my antennae while reading the stories. I tied this unit into writing by sending the kids letters from an entomologist each day during writing. This mystery entomologist gives clues about the next insect they will learn about. The class guesses the insect, then completes a close read and text dependent questions about that insect. I work with my lowest kiddos, and I let the higher kids work independently with support from a TA. It's been going really well! So, I want to plan a VERY exciting end of unit review. I saw Hope King, from Elementary Shenanigans, plan a SPY DAY! Now I'm thinking about doing a secret agent day. She used white string ALL OVER and black lights to look like lasers and I already downloaded a fun (free) finger scanner app. Here are the insect review activities we can do that can go along with a SECRET AGENT room transformation:

1. Insect Riddles

2. Kids create their own insect riddles to stump their peers

3. That vocabulary guessing game where you have a word on your forehead and peers give you clues to guess what it is. You know what I'm talking about? I'm thinking about making these as headbands.

4. Insect researchers

Maybe the kids would have like 4 different missions throughout the afternoon. I want to do this on my double special day so we can have a normal morning, and then I can use my special and lunch to transform the room and get it ready for an afternoon of review.

Next up? Authors Purpose unit. I made 12 different short passages for my kiddos on Friday. I labeled pie plates as Persuade, Inform, and Entertain. Each group of 3 had to read through the 12 passages and sort by author's purpose. The first team who finished got to play PIE FACE!!! Everyone eventually finished, so we all got to play. I want to add more passages, an answer key, directions, and more ideas to complete a TPT mini unit. 

After that....I volunteered to be on a Strategic Partner team at my school. We're working to improve our school's academics with some outside help. Every once in a while we have a four hour meeting from 5-9. And it's tomorrow. The meetings are interesting and go quick and we get pizza....but thinking about teaching all day and then going to a meeting is a bit daunting.

2 things I HOPE to do:

My kitchen is messy. I never cook more than grilled cheese and yesterday I experimented with a casserole, leaving behind a mess. I contained most of the mess to the sink and stove top...but it still needs to be cleaned.

It's a chilly, rainy day. Perfect for lounging around all day. But, I have an energetic dog who will whine and cry until she gets some exercise. She loves walks. So, I might have to bite the bullet, get out my rain boots, and the her for a walk. Up here is western New York, we're pretty lucky to have rain in January and not 3 feet of snow, so I should just grin and bear it. :)

1 thing I'm HAPPY to do:

Obviously, hanging around in my comfy, cozy pajamas on my couch is the ideal way to spend a Sunday morning! It's even cozier with my dog's head resting on my leg, keeping me warm on this chilly day. I have made a resolution to be a better blogger this year! That means posting regularly and finding some great link ups to contribute to, so here I am! A week and a half into January, and I am totally keeping up with this resolution. :)

P.S. I'm having a 20% off EVERYTHING sale on TPT. Check it out!

Spark Student Motivation Saturday - January 9, 2016

I'm here, linking up with Joanne from Head Over Heels for Teaching, for Spark Student Motivation Saturday!

This year, I have a lovely class. But they need a lot of motivation! I feel like I'm constantly one upping myself to make our lessons even more engaging and exciting to get them going! In order to introduce my latest read aloud, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, we had a yellow brick road leading us from the classroom doorway to our meeting area, where the book was located and introduced.

While reading this beautiful pop up book, we enjoyed a visit from the Wicked Witch of the West. (I stuff striped tights with newspaper and hung the legs from behind a curtain in the classroom.)

Next, we ate cupcakes make to look like witch's hats with ice cream cones on them!

We're finished with the book, but we'll be watching the movie and doing some comparing and contrasting next week. In addition, I'll be baking a layered cake with the colors of the rainbow on each layer for the kiddos to enjoy while watching the movie!

Happy weekend, everyone!

P.S. I'm having a 20% off EVERYTHING sale on TPT. Check it out!