And the winner is....!

Hello!

     It is awards season!  And no, I am not talking about the Golden Globes, Grammys or Oscars.  Instead, I am talking about the Caldecott Awards!  Yes, when I receive this yearly email I run straight to the library and check out all of the winners.  This year the books are very different but each have their own unique and wonderful qualities that I believe children of all ages will enjoy.

(http://www.amazon.com/The-Adventures-Beekle-Unimaginary-Friend/dp/0316199982)

     This is one of the most heartwarming and adorable books I have ever read!  The Caldecott winner for this year is The Adventures of Beekle, the Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santal.  It is about a cute, little creature that knows he is destined to find a friend.  He searches high and low but is frustrated and begins to give up hope that this friend will ever be found.  This story includes so many messages and teaches a multitude of lessons.  The characters in the story show that soul mates can come in all shapes and sizes and that the best things in life are worth waiting for.  Never give up hope because the best things in life happen when you least expect them.

     The pictures allow for the reader's imagination to run wild with possibilities and excitement.  With this book, teachers can impart many activities with their students.  First, a discussion about imaginary friends and friendship in general would be great to have with a class or individuals.  Younger students can create an imaginary friend and write a descriptive piece.  Also, discussing how a friend was made in the book (using the exact same steps with the illustrations provided) would be a great character education lesson.  With older students, having them write a story about an imaginary friend would allow them to use the ideas from the story as well as include their own creativity.

     This is a book I HIGHLY recommend for students in all grades.  One of my new favorites.  Thinking about this story makes my heart smile. :)

(http://www.amazon.com/Viva-Frida-Yuyi-Morales/dp/1596436034/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1424744651&sr=1-1&keywords=viva+frida)

     One of the Caldecott Honor books this year is Viva Frida by Yuyi Morales.    The main character is Frida Kahlo, the famous Mexican artist.  This book includes very little words but the ones that are in it are in both Spanish and English.  For example, on one page the words say "Sueno" and "I dream" with an illustration of Frida dreaming.  The pictures are so unique in the sense that the characters look like realistic dolls or figurines but then they change during the dream sequence to look more like drawings.

     Even though there are not many words, there is still a great story line inside the book.  It would be a good picture book for students to read twice; the first time just to understand the words and view the pictures, the second where teachers could ask students exactly what the words have to do with the illustrations and to elaborate.  Students will notice that the words do tell a story and help you to understand Frida and her life.  In art, this book would be wonderful for teachers to use when teaching about the biographies of famous artists.  At the back of the book, there is also a brief synopsis into Frida's life and how she inspired the author.  Students in art class could also analyze why the illustrator chose to make the pictures in the present different from those in the dream.  Finally, Spanish classes could utilize the book to introduce simple Spanish words since they are depicted in the pictures or to have more advanced students add details to the story in that same language.

(http://www.amazon.com/Sam-Dave-Dig-Hole-Barnett/dp/0763662291/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1424745754&sr=1-1&keywords=sam+and+dave+dig+a+hole)

     Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett is another Caldecott Honor book for this year.  The story in essence is very simple; two boys, Sam and Dave, dig a hole in the yard to see what they can find.  It reminded me of every child who goes into the backyard or starts digging in the sand at the beach hoping to reach the other side of the world.  The boys dig and dig and even though they do not know exactly what they are looking for, they persevere and never give up.  Throughout the entire adventure, they do not even know how close they are to finding something amazing, but just enjoy the company of each other.  When the boys finally come to their destination, they realize that it is not the end that matters but the journey and who you are with on it.  The story is extremely fast but leaves a lasting impression; it brings adults back to their childhood and children laugh at the obliviousness of the two boys.

     This story could be used by multiple grade levels in various ways.  For younger students, identifying story elements, making predictions and creating connections would be quick and easy practice with this text.  For older students, having them identify, discuss, and analyze the messages in the story would help develop higher level thinking skills.  Using the illustrations as backing to their findings would help to practice using text support when making a claim about a book or story.  Focusing on the illustrations rather than the words is a different way for the students to practice this skill.

     These are only three of the seven Caldecott medal winners from this year.  Already, these three are impressive, exciting, and promote heartfelt messages and emotions.  Run, walk or fly to your nearest library or bookstore to check these out.  The other four Caldecott winners will be coming your way in a blog post shortly.  For now, read through these three and tell me your thoughts, opinions, and how you would utilize them in the classroom.  I know that I certainly will not be the same after reading these books and venturing in their worlds.

Enjoy!

Second Grade Science

Hello!

     This year is my first year teaching science so I was a little nervous about what to do.  When I think about science, I think hands-on, active, creative projects. But when I learned that our units included the water cycle, rotation/revolution, and the moon, what could I do that would not be too high level for second graders?!  Lo and behold, the Internet provides excellent resources for teachers to modify to fit their students' needs.  Through my searches, I found some wonderful blogs of other teachers who had innovative ideas which I implemented immediately into my lessons.  These projects allowed students to manipulative objects, discover, and create, but most importantly, students understood the concepts in a deeper manner.

 The Water Cycle

     One of the first units that we worked on was the water cycle.  During this unit, I found a project from the "Simply Second Grade" blog by Mrs. Lyons.  On this blog, there are pictures of example projects from her students and the cutest poem to go along with the entire unit.  Even though we completed these projects over a month ago, the students still remember the song and hand movements that go along with it and love to do them at random.  Click HERE to access this great blog!

Rotation/ Revolution

     

     Rotation and revolution were difficult concepts for my students to grasp.  Not only do both words sound similar, but they could not remember which celestial bodies rotate and which ones make a revolution.  Also, the amount of time it takes for the Earth to make a rotation or for the moon to make a revolution could not be remembered.  For this unit, I found the blog "Tori's Teacher Tips" which created a project involving brads.  This enables the Sun, Earth, and Moon to rotate as well as make a revolution around each other.  I combined this project with the a poem which includes the amounts of time that each take to rotate or make a revolution.  When students manipulated their project as well as read the poem, the entire concept clicked.  Please click HERE to access this great blog!

The Phases of the Moon

     Finally, our most recent unit included information about the moon and its phases.  The project that I found for this was from the blog "Just for Teachers: Sharing Across Borders".  I modified this project a lot to include a large sheet of construction paper.  The blog shared the poem that I had the students read and paste onto their project.  Being that this assignment was completed after we read and researched about the moon, having the students cut and color the various phases helped them to actualize what was happening in the sky throughout the month.  Click HERE to visit this creative and inspiring blog.

     Each of the projects allowed my students to become more engaged in the unit we were studying, understand the concepts fully, and allowed them to utilize their creativity.  I love how my class took their time in developing them; it shows because the projects turned out AMAZING!

     I would love to learn about other science projects that inspired creativity and exploration in your classroom!  Please feel free to share in the comments section below.

   

Enjoy!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hello!

     Happy Belated Valentine's Day!  With all of the snow and cold temperatures in the Northeast this year, Valentine's Day came by quickly; so quickly in fact that I was not able to post prior to the holiday!  It worked out for the best, however, because now I am able to have pictures of the projects that were created!
     Since this is my first year in second grade, I wanted to do something different to celebrate this February tradition in a more original manner. Since I am able to stay with the same group of students the entire day, I feel that I have more time available to work on projects.  Also, this year I want to infuse creativity into my students' lives more often so I figured Valentine's Day was the perfect place to insert it!  
     A while back, I received an email from Michael's Arts and Crafts stores showing a kit that you could purchase to create a Valentine's Day mailbox.  One of these kits happened to be an owl, which is my theme for the year.  (Side note: Owls have great vision, intelligence, and power which make them a great animal to show respect to throughout the year).  Immediately I went to Michael's to purchase this kit and saw that not only would it be too expensive to purchase one for everyone, but it already included the colors and size for each piece.  If I were to have my students create this, all they would have to do is paste the pieces together which involved very little creativity.

(A snapshot taken from the Michael's advertisement on January 30th)

     Instead, what I did was purchase the owl kit along with many other supplies from Michael's.  These supplies included multi-colored and patterned scrapbook paper, plain construction paper, and thicker paper to make my own tracers.  When I got home, I unwrapped the package and got to work duplicating all of the templates for my students to use and for the process to go smoothly.
     Once I got to school, I was not sure how this project would turn out.  Even though I was prepared with all of my supplies, I had not actually constructed the mailbox myself so I did not know the process that it would entail.  I was so excited about the project, however, that my students took to it with gusto and their creativity blew me away.  They carefully selected colors that went with one another; some decided to go with a Valentine's Day theme while others wanted to include colors that made them happy.  Either way, the finished products were outstanding!

     I truly enjoyed this project because the students were able to practice their cutting, pasting, and direction following skills while inserting creativity, choice, and their own ideas of what a "Valentine's Day owl" should look like.  Students added expression in their owl by changing wing direction or eye size, included details such as fringe on the wings or a glisten on the pupil, or added an object such as Cupid's bow and arrow or a mustache.  
     Even though I was unsure of how the project would turn out or how long the procedure would actually take, it went by smoothly, flawlessly, and the enthusiasm of the students was unmatched.  Taking the time to do this with my class was certainly worth it.  Even though Valentine's Day has passed, take the time to inspire creativity in your classroom wherever you can.

Enjoy!

A Complaint Free World

“If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain." —Maya Angelou

Hello!

     During all of these wonderful snow days, I read the self-help book called A Complaint Free World.  It was recommended by a good friend and fabulous educator who said that this book changed her life.  It was quick and easy to read and had a lot of practical advice as well as statistics about complaining and its effects on the world.  In one section the author, Will Bowen, explains that "most people claim to want prosperity, but spend most of their waking hours complaining about what they already have.  In doing so, they repel rather than attract prosperity."  He continues with a quote by Dr. Wayne Dyer that says "If you're not happy with what you have, than why would you want more?"  I am a strong believer in that we become the words that we say so they should be positive and optimistic.  Realistically, this is certainly easier said than done, especially when one is having a bad day.

Russell and I are ready for our Complaint Free Challenge!  I have a feeling it will be pretty easy for him.

     Throughout the book, Bowen describes ways to combat complaining.  The first way: to be aware of how much and how often you complain.  In order to do this, he began the Complaint Free Challenge, where people can buy bracelets ($10 for 10 bracelet which includes shipping and handling) off of the website to help one be aware of their complaints.  You put the bracelet on your wrist and each time you complain, you move it to the other wrist which means that you start back at Day 1.  The challenge is to go 21 straight days without complaining.  If you do something for 21 days straight, scientists believe it will become a habit.  There is also a widget you can download on your computer to help you keep track of your days.  Sounds easy, right?  Wrong!  Most people spend many days at Day 1 and then once they move on, can lapse back to the beginning again.  The challenge is to not give up.  Imagine what the world would be like if everyone irradiated, or at least minimized, their complaining?!
     How does this relate to education and schools, you might ask?  While reading this book, I thought about my students' attitudes towards some assessments and how their mood usually impacts their performance.  When I hand my students a writing prompt and they immediately groan, I notice that their scores are not as high as expected.  In contrast, when the students are excited or confident about the project that they are undertaking, their scores skyrocket.  In order to help promote this positive dialogue, I started having my students repeat optimistic mantras before tests or writing prompts such as "I can do this!", "I know exactly what to do!" or "I am going to do great!".  We would say them aloud throughout the year and I noticed that some students started whispering them on their own as the year continued.
     To teach complaining to children, Bowen created a Complaint Free Curriculum for schools.  The curriculum is modified for multiple grade levels and has various activities to engage students.  There are journal prompts, hands-on activities, discussions, and quotes to analyze.  The ten lessons can be done back to back, combined to make a larger lesson, or spaced out if there are time constraints.  Each one is unique and creative, and students can easily understand and practice being complaint free.  This positivity is crucial to any classroom environment, especially with the new demands that every teacher and student faces.  Instead of focusing on all that needs to be taught or learned, we can put our energy towards all that we have accomplished and all that we know.
     Now, for those of you that know me, I can certainly do my share of complaining, especially about specific people in my life.  Writing this post, I do not want to sound like a hypocrite, because stopping complaints is quite a difficult thing to do.  I do believe in Bowen's mission, however, and I feel that limiting the complaints that I say can make my world, as well as the worlds of the people around me, much nicer.  I ordered my complaint free bracelet and am ready to begin!  I am excited to tell my students about my undertaking.  Even though I will not instruct using the curriculum just yet, I hope that my students become curious and interested in my challenge because I would love to share my journey with them.

(http://www.amazon.com/Complaint-Free-World-Complaining-Enjoying/dp/0770436390/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423493058&sr=8-1&keywords=complaint+free+world)

     A Complaint Free World is a great read for anyone who wants to inspire more positivity and optimism in their life.  To find out more, visit the accompanying website by clicking HERE.  Please share your Complaint Free Journey with me so others can be motivated and emboldened to join in.

Enjoy!

Test Prep and the Daily 5

Hello!

    Test taking season is upon us!  During this time, many educators try to teach their students every last concept and give them every available tool that could help them to be successful on the standardized assessment. As teachers, all we want is for our students to feel confident.  Stop!  Sometimes I feel that instead of giving our students confidence, we need to give some to our teachers. I don't think that is done enough.  I want you to take a deep breath and know that every lesson you have taught, every skill you have instructed, and each concept that has been mastered has prepared your students for this point in time. They are ready and so are you!

(http://www.rtsd.org/Page/4201)

     I have this confidence after reading an article about how the activities that are done every day in our classrooms benefit our students on standardized tests.  Specifically, if you execute the Daily 5 procedure in your classroom, you can also rest assured that your students are prepared for test taking. Janice Such, a reading specialist and instructional coach, posted an article in regards to the Daily 5 and how it supports the high stakes testing that has to be given throughout the country.  The Daily 5 consists of the following components, all of which support standardized assessments:

• Passion: Students will do well on tests when they have a love for reading and writing.  That is truly the foundation of the Daily 5 and something that is practiced each and every day using this model.
• Read Alouds: When teachers share beloved books with their students, they not only show the joy of reading on their own faces (which is contagious, in my opinion) but helps students build background knowledge, introduces various genres, and shows students how books work.  When reading the text aloud, correct phrasing, expression, and pace are modeled.  For some students, this might be the only opportunity they get to interact with text at or above their reading level.  What an experience!  The more interactive the read aloud (with partner talk, questioning, and think alouds), the more beneficial to the students.
• Stamina: Through the Daily 5, stamina is mentioned countless times.  During this process, students can actually see that the more they focus and get better at a skill, the amount of time they can sit to complete the task becomes longer.  Stamina is essential during test taking since the assessments can be extremely time consuming.  Reminding students of how long they are able sustain focused reading and writing during the day will show students that they can easily handle whatever time limits the test places on them.
• Read to Self: Since students can choose texts of their own during this time, they are able to increase their confidence and ability to concentrate.  Using the skills learned in guided reading while completing Read to Self will increase their comprehension and help them read the text closely during testing.
• Work on Writing: This part of the Daily 5 allows students to write what they want, take risks, practice a writing style that interests them, and gives students a chance to express their thoughts.  This entire process creates a writing habit in students and builds confidence which will help them during any situation.
• Word Work:  During this portion of Daily 5, students get to discover and explore word parts, prefixes, suffixes, compound words, and base words.  This manipulation of letters and words helps students with decoding which they will need when reading and answering vocabulary questions on standardized tests.
• Read to Someone: When students read with one another, they practice fluency, thinking while reading, retelling, and constantly check for understanding.  Even though test taking is done individually, having students practice these skills with a partner will allow them to improve when reading by themselves.
• Listen to Reading: Many new standardized tests ask students to interact with videos and various forms of multimedia.  Since the students have practiced listening closely to what is being read as well as how to manipulate the functions on computers and other devices during Listen to Reading, students will be prepared for what they might encounter on a test.

     If you would like to read the entire article, please feel free to read it HERE.

     Feel confident in knowing that the procedure that you put into place in your classroom and practiced throughout the year will greatly benefit your students during test taking.  They will do GREAT!

Enjoy!