Sunday, August 26, 2012

Freebie!

So as I was writing my lesson plans this week I was looking through some of my place value materials.  I came across a really fun game that I had stashed away in a filing cabinet.  I don't think I have ever used it.  However, the game was designed for students that know numbers to 100,000.  Well, I teach second grade, so that wasn't gonna fly! So, I decided to recreate it. I made the spinner go only to 100, and I added a reflection page for after game play.   Because this is not my original idea, I am offering it to you as a freebie!  I have no idea where I got this game.  So, if you are the creator, please let me know and I will give you total credit!!  Here is my version:)

Spin That Number! 


The students spin the spinner six times.  Each time they spin, they place a tally mark under what they landed on.  Then, at the end of the round, the student with the highest total number wins the round. They play six rounds, and then complete the reflection page:)  Click here to get your free copy!

Friday, August 24, 2012

They. Are. Finished!

Hey guys!! I have been soooo busy at school, and haven't had a minute to blog recently! I have missed it:( I hope you guys are doing great!  I have also been super busy finishing the 1st grade ELA Common Core "I Can" statements! They are finally up and ready to purchase!


The pack includes 3 files:
 
 
1. A Teacher Resource List comparing the CCS to "I Can" Statements




2. Kid friendly "I Can" statements that you can post in your classroom. They are colorful, and key words in the standards are hilighted to make them easier to discuss with your students:) 


 
3. An Excel spreadsheet that you can use to keep track of student progress on each ELA standard. It is editable, so you can change it and add your kids' names to it. 
 
 
Because I promised I would have them done by the back to school sale and didn't, they are 20% off right now!  They are normally $6.00, but you can grab yours for $4.80 until tomorrow at midnight by clicking here! This is the first grade pack!  My friend Mandy is selling the 2nd grade, and she is working on the 3rd grade ones!  Enjoy!!
 
Have a wonderful FrIdAy!!!  (I appreciate Fridays so much more now that school has started!!)


Saturday, August 11, 2012

It's that time!!!!!  The TpT Back to school sale is here!  It will begin tomorrow, and I am VeRy excited:) 


All of the items in my store will be 20% off!!!  In addition, I am offering a free item with a $10 purchase from my store!  Here is how that will work:

1. Spend $10 (after sale discounts) in my TpT store
2. Choose a product from my store that is $5 or less. Email me your Tpt username, amount of your purchase, and the product that you would like and you will receive that product for free! 
3. I must receive the email by Tuesday August 14th!


I have been working all day to finish the Common Core "I Can" statements that I have teamed up with Mandy Gregory on!  She is working on the third grade ones, and I am almost finished with the first grade ones!  Here is alittle preview of those!  I am almost finished with mine, and they will definitely be up for the sale tomorrow!!  Here are a couple of previews!!

This part is a teacher resource.  All of the ELA standards listed and compared to the kid friendly "I Can" Statements.  The headings are color coded for quick reference!  


The second part are the actual kid friendly "I Can" Statements that you can hang in your classroom!

 
 
The part that I am still finishing up is an excel spreadsheet for the teacher to use.  The standards are each listed.  You can put in your student's names and keep track of how they are performing on each standard!  It is also color coded for your convenience!  These are the first grade ones!  Mandy Greogory is working on 3rd grade, so check out her store for those!

HAPPY SHOPPING!!!!
**Ok....so I was a little ambitious!** I didn't get the 1st grade common core "I can" statements completely finished!  But, they will be done soon, and I promise to put the on sale when I post them to TpT!!

Thursday, August 9, 2012

New Room!!

I have been up to my eyeballs in laminating film, border, and hot glue for the past four days....but I think my room is all ready for students!! 

This is what my room looks like when you walk in the door!  The tables are set up for our Meet and Greet tomorrow!


Inside the bags are addition flash cards.  The label on the bags says, "I hope this ADDS up to be a great year".  You can get those labels for free at my tpt store. However, the ones in my store are not the sticker label version. I am working on uploading those.  I am trying to make them pretty enough to put on my store, and the labels that I bought are not easy to work with:) I will keep you posted though. Under the bags is a welcome letter from me and information about our class.

The board on the left are the standards.  I bought them from TpT.  The board on the right is for fact fluency.  My kids are going to decorate a crayon box sometime the first week of school. I will post it on the fact fluency board.  Each time they master a new set of facts, they will get a crayon in their box.  You can check that out here

Well, I'm off to get some rest for tomorrow!  Have a great evening:)

Friday, August 3, 2012

One product finished, and one in the works!

Well, my summer has come to an end.  This is my last weekend off:(  Our pre planning starts on Monday.  I'm sad for summer to end, but I'm so excited about teaching second grade!  I have been working in my room a little bit, and I definitely plan to share some of those pictures next week.  I can't wait to browse some blogs and see pictures of all the wonderful classroom ideas out there! 

I have been working hard to get a couple more products out before school starts back. The first one is created to teach a standard that we will be teaching during the first quarter in my county.  According to the common core standards, the students in second grade should produce, expand, and rearrange simple and compound sentences.  So I created this product!


Construction Zone: Students Building Sentences

This product contains three center activities.  All three have a recording sheet that you can use to assess the students. 

Center 1:  Constructing Simple Sentenes- This center contains sentence mats, word cards that are color coded for parts of speech, and recording sheets.  Students place the correct word cards on the sentence mats.  When they have completed all the sentence mats, they record their work on the recording sheets.  This center can be used multiple times because the students can use different word cards to make different sentences each time they use this center. I also think the students will have fun with this one because they can make silly sentences:)



Center 2-Simple and Compound Sort-This center contains eight sentences cards, a sorting mat, and a recording sheet.  Students sort the sentence cards into the correct category, and then they record their work.  


Center 3-Building Compound Sentences-Included in this center are simple sentence cards, conjunction cards, and recording sheets.  The students match up the simple sentences that go together, and combine them with the correct conjunction.  Then, they record the sentences that they made on the recording sheet. 


I think I will get a lot of use out of these centers throughout the year.  If you would like a copy, you can pick up a copy for $5.00 at my teachers pay teachers store!  However, I am going to give away a copy to one winner!  To enter just leave a comment with your email address!  I will choose the winner using a random number generator on Monday night! 

I am also in the process of working on a product that I am very excited about.  Many of you probably follow Mandy Gregory, and I'm sure you read this post about her AmAzInG Common Core "I Can" statements and assessment sheets. Well, she had many requests for a 1st grade and 3rd grade version.  I felt so honored when she asked me to team up with her on these.  She is working on the 3rd grade version, and I am working on the 1st grade version.  I am **hoping** to have these finished by the middle of next week!  I will keep you posted! 

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Product Swap!

MrsStanfordsClass

Back to school is right around the corner, and we are all wanting to find those must haves for our classroos, right?!? So, several of us bloggers have teamed up for a product swap!   Here is how it works:   We are all paired up with another blogger. We went shopping in their Teachers Pay Teachers store, and chose one product that we wanted a chance to try out in our classroom.  They also chose one of our products! Then, we are reviewing their products on our blog for you!  That way, you can get a preview of all these wonderful products, and decide what you want to pick up before school starts:)  So, let's get started!

I had the privilege of reviewing a product from Lynda's store! She has some really cute items in her store, and she also has a wonderful blog!  I would highly suggest that you follow both her blog and her TpT store so that you can keep up with all of her good stuff:)

Curls and a Smile
 
The product that I chose from Lynda's store was her Pirate's Gold Math and Literacy Stations! This product is only $7.00, and you get TEN centers and activities:) The directions are very clear and easy to follow...for teachers and students:)  The clipart and fonts are very cute, and I think the pirate theme will get kids excited about these centers!


Here is a picture of everything you will get! Can you believe it?!?!

I can't wait to use this with my second graders! It is perfect for the beginning of the year because the skills in these centers are all skills that incoming second graders and third graders should be able to do!

Included in this pack:

-2 sight word games
-2 contraction games
-1 compound word games
-3 writing prompts
-2 acrostic templates

As I assembled these centers, I took some pictures that I wanted to share with you:)  I'm tellin' ya...these are AwEsOmE!!  


Sight Word/Math Center
The first one is a sight word/math center.  The best thing about this one is that it is differentiated. 


Here is the cover!

Here is the inside

In this center, students choose a sight word.  Then, they read it, write it, and draw a picture of it.  Then, they find the value of the word. This is where the differentiation comes in.  In one version of this center, vowels are worth 5 cents and consonants are worth 1 cent.  In the other version, vowels are worth 10 cents, and vowels are worth 5 cents.  To me, this center alone would be worth the $7.00, but it doesn't end there.......

Contraction Game
Cover

Inside of the file folder-recording sheet.  (you could also make a separate copy of this for students to turn in for a grade)

It includes three sets of cards so that students can practice this skill multiple times.

Here are the word cards

In this center, the students sort the word cards into one of two categories-contraction or Not a contraction.  It also includes a recording page.  I put the recording page in a file folder and laminated it, but you could make a copy of that recording page separately for them to turn in for a grade!

Ahoy! A Pirate Contraction Word Game
This is the cover

This is the inside of the file folder. You could use this sheet as an assessment also.   

In this center, the studetns match up the contractions to the two words that make up the contraction. Again, I laminated the recording page, and put it in a file folder. But, you could make a copy of it for the students to turn in for an assessment.  


The Jolly Roger-A Compound Word Game




In this center, the students pick two word cards, combine them to make a compound word, and record the word that they made. 


I hope I was able to show you how awesome this product is!  It is such an awesome deal for only $7.00, and I definitely think it should go on your "must haves" list!  I also hope you will check out the amazing products featured by other bloggers in this product swap. Stop by Mrs. Stanford's class to find other fabulous ideas!!  Happy shopping and product hopping:)