30 November 2014

Arthur's Thanksgiving and more

I am knee deep in papers that need to be graded and I thought it would be far more interesting to write a blog post!  So, I  thought I'd share a few of the activities we did before the Thanksgiving Break.   Next week is sure to spring us into full Christmas mode, so I better post this while I still can!

We always read the book, Arthur's Thanksgiving, and it's always a class favorite! Arthur is in charge of directing his class play, and my students always make so many great connections to it.  I was in the middle of reading the story, when I came up with this spur of the moment idea.  I love kid art, so I thought a directed drawing of Arthur would be super cute.  Our second graders no longer have a separate art class, so I really try to bring art into the curriculum any chance I can!

I looked at the cover of the book and kind of just went with it.  I just started giving them different steps and hoped for the best!  Their drawings really turned out super cute!  I was pretty impressed and I love how unique they all turned out.  No two are exactly alike!






If you are interested in the summarizing labels, you can get them below.  
They could be used with any story.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3Cmz2vCWLe6dTFkcTlFTkhaS1k/view?usp=sharing


We also worked on these goofy gobblers that turned out super cute.  This is available in my Writing Piece of the Month Resource.  




They also wrote why they are thankful.  They are so sweet! I am so very thankful for such sweet second graders!


This is also available in the same Writing Piece of the Month resource.  I save all of their writing for the year, which includes all of the pieces in the resource I mentioned above.  We put them all together into a writing portfolio at the end of the year.  Their writing makes a perfect keepsake.
 

23 November 2014

Pie Tasting Fun!

Just a quick post to share a pie tasting activity we did before the Thanksgiving break.  Anytime a lesson involves food, you can bet it will probably be a hit!  This was no exception.  My students had such a blast trying the different types of pie.  It's open-ended, so you can choose any four flavors you'd like.
 http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Pick-of-the-Pies-1575117
I chose buttermilk, pumpkin, apple, and cherry.  I stayed away from the pecan, because I have a student with a nut allergy in my classroom.  I pretty much grabbed whatever flavors they had at the grocery store.  I had never even heard of buttermilk...I honestly thought none of my students were going to like it.  I almost didn't grab it.  Imagine my SHOCK when 18 of my little ones chose it!!!


My students insisted that I taste the buttermilk.  I'm not a big pie eater, so I was hoping they wouldn't notice that I didn't try that flavor.  Sure enough one of my little sweeties said..."One of our mighty messages is to try new things, you should try it."  How can you say no to that??? It honestly was pretty good, just SUPER sweet, which explains why they love it so much.

They enjoyed graphing the results for the class, and I don't think they even realized that they were doing math!

This is a FREEBIE in my store, so head on over to grab it.  You can click here.
 

16 November 2014

Leo Lionni Goodies and a FREEBIE

It's been a BUSY, BUSY school year and I apologize for completely neglecting my blog.  I just finished putting together all my Leo Lionni goodies and I just had to share.  I've been meaning to put these together for years, and I finally squeezed in the time to get it done.  My students just finished these activities and really enjoyed learning all about Leo Lionni.

Here's a peek at the finished product:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Leo-Lionni-B-M-E-Story-Maps-1559265


 I always make anchor charts for each of the stories we read.   Here are a few:

 




Once my students are familiar with Leo Lionni and his stories, then they are ready to tackle writing their own Leo Lionni story.  I use the FREEBIE below for them to plan their story.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3Cmz2vCWLe6Z2ZCUldLMW1veUU/view?usp=sharing
I always write a story along with my class as a shared writing piece.  This is the planning page we completed together:

 
I'd love to give a copy of my Leo Lionni unit to the first 3 readers that leave a comment below.  Please don't forget to leave your e-mail.
(Giveaway has ended)