ArtBots

During a recent lesson, we were learning about vibration. We created ArtBots!! During a Professional Development session at NCCAT. I learned about using Artbots in the classroom. Students had to use the parts to assemble their ArtBot and make it move and create art.

The images and video below shows the Artbots in action. The students had a blast getting their ArtBots to work. The Bots have markers attached to the bottom that would draw as the ArtBot vibrations moved it across the paper. Some moved in circles while others moved diagonally or sideways.

Students had to record the steps and the materials needed to create the ArtBot and complete a self-assessment.

ArtBot Video

Students will use their art piece to work on a creative writing piece.



 

A New School Year Has Begun!

It is always fun, exciting, and nervous at the same time, when a new school year begins. Will I have my room ready in time? Will Open House be a success? Will my students be excited to be in my class? Will I meet the needs of each students in my class? These are questions that run through your mind as you prepare for a new school year.

This year my school has a SUPER HERO theme. SO my grade level did this for our doors. Each teacher has a different color background on their door.

My students will be the SUPER HEROES in TRAINING in my room. Each day will be full of training experiences to prepare them to launch into 3rd grade next year. We will be using technology to enhance our curriculum and learning in a variety of ways.

Here you will see that my room is setup for the first day of school. I am always so excite to see my students on the first day and to welcome them into our classroom community. Each student has a WELCOME pack for 2nd grade. I always begin with my desk in this arrangement so students can get to know each other. Then desk arrangements are changed as needed throughout the year.

Below you can see my new Job Board with the cutest kiddos from Little Lucky Learners. I love having a picture to represent the kid instead of just a name. Students has a job for the week. This is a part of building our community in our classroom. Students are held accountable for their job. We work together to keep the class neat and orderly.

Here is one picture of my students working hard. They have been some SUPER HEROES with Mclass testing that started on the first day of school. Learning classroom rules and procedures has been the main focus here for the first 2 weeks of school.

Come back soon to see what exciting things we will be doing with ipads and chrome books. I am ready to have a SUCCESSFUL year with this group of SUPER SECOND GRADERS!!!!!

Classroom Activities This Week

This week we are having fun getting ready for our holiday break. We have been working on writing about our Holly Days!!! Here in picture you will see the holly leaves with students writing about their holiday with their families and their traditions. This is always a cute display that I have my students to create each year.

Next, my students did a GREAT job creating their winter snowman pictures. They are hanging in our hallway for all to see. Students will be writing a story in class to go along with their picture. 

I think they turned out fabulous. I love snowman. SO any chance I get to make something with them I do!!! This activity was in our ART center. My students always look forward to what I have each week for them to create in my ART center.

So being that I LOVE SNOWMAN. I have my door as one. A few years ago, I made my door into a snowman and the ladies on my grade level wanted one too. So this year this is my door. Each teacher on my grade level has one just like it in a different color.
Mine is LIME GREEN cause that is my favorite color.

Let me know what you think.

This is such a busy time for year. I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

Our Elf Has Arrived!!!

Today, we were surprised by the arrival of our classroom elf. Students couldn't believe that we had been sent an elf from the North Pole. We got to decide as a class a name for our elf. Each student submitted a name and a reason why. Then as a class, we voted on a name. So the name of our elf is.........CHARLIE!!!!

The next day, Charlie the elf was in our highlighter tub with highlighters all over the floor and he left a note saying HI!!!! SO we are off to a great start with a naughty elf. 

Then today, we found him like this in our classroom. 

He had a fun time with my tape dispenser and was tangled up in the tape. But he did leave all of the students a candy cane. 

Wonder what he will be doing tomorrow?????

Check back to see Charlie the elf and what he is getting into.

Getting Back Into The Swing Of It

Hello fellow educators!!! Sorry it has been a while since I have made a post on my blog. It has been a crazy start to my school year. I had moved back to 2nd grade with a whole new classroom make over. To top that off, our grade level was flooded with 2nd graders. I have 25 kiddos and we just got another teacher to make our grade level have 6 teachers. So now after all of that I am with 21 kiddos now. Then this week I had a student to move. Now my roster is sitting at 20, WHEW!!!!!!!

Now, since we have settled into our new roster and getting the students that moved into the new teachers room placed and started. I now feel like I can begin my year. Wow, it to say the least. It has been an emotional ride. Having to let students from your room go it very hard. I had already became attached to them.

On to better things, my classroom is doing GREAT!!! I feel this is one of the best group of kids I have ever had. The students do a fabulous job or working together to build a real classroom community.

My students love using the ipads on daily basis. We use them with math, writing, reading, centers, whole groups, guided groups and this week we are having 5th grade buddies coming to work with us too.

Scootpad is a great app/website that my students use to work on reading and math. They can also access their account and practice at home. It will give me a message about the weekly progress made by my students. I suggest you go check it out and see if it may be something for your students. You can assign what grade level you need. It is Common Core aligned.  It is amazing how the kiddos love it.

Come back soon to check out all of the fun and amazing activities my students will be working on. I look forward to hearing your comments on your classroom. 

Technology and Education

During my career as a teacher, I was chosen for our school districts Pinnacle (technology) program this past year. As being a pinnacle leader, we were given ipads to use in our classroom with our students. In my classroom I had 22 students with 6 ipads. Having the ipads opened up a new resource for my students to use in their learning and creativity.

Using apps with the ipads was a great way to meet the needs of my students. Students worked in groups, with a partner and alone on numerous apps and our classroom kidblog. The ipads were used every day by the students. Kidblog was a part of our morning work everyday. Using the ipads with STEM was very beneficial for my students to discover and share with each other.

In my room, our favorite app was Toontastic. My students had the most fun with this app. Students worked collaboratively in groups with a leader. The groups were assigned different tasks each time. My favorite activity was for them to create a script for a story layout about bullying. There is one of these videos displayed on a post here on my blog.

We also have lots of fun using QR codes. My students always enjoyed the excitement of what would be in the code. A video, a link, a picture or answer to a question.

My classroom loved using the ipads in their learning. Using technology is a major component of my teaching. We used our school computer labs to work on project based learning. Students research about a county they choose. Did a presentation and were evaluated by their peers. Students made a powerpoint Biography that was shared with the class. At the end of the school year, students had to CREATE a newspaper. We used Microsoft Publisher for this. They had to create the layout, theme or newspaper and complete a full page with head line, articles with photos and share with class. My students really got into this one. Most of the boys in my class did it on Minecraft.

I would love to hear about ways you integrated technology with your students and what apps, or programs you use. As I head tomorrow for my 2nd year of Pinnacle. I am excited to see what new resources we will have to use with our students this coming school year. Here is to a new year or endless opportunities to reach every student that enters our classrooms. Happy learning!!!!!!

Scoot Game

Come see my latest Scoot game. I love using scoot games in my classroom. This game is a fun way for students to practice reading number words and writing them as standard form.

Students will get behind a card with their recording sheet and when told to start look at card match number on sheet and record their answer. Teacher will then say SCOOT, student then scoots to the next card.

This will continue until all cards have been answered. Students will turn in sheet or can score sheet with teacher calling out answers. This is a good assessment for students and also having fun while doing it.

Sunday Super Sale

Come and get some great items for your classroom this Sunday. My store and TpT are having a Sunday Super Sale on February 3rd to celebrate the Super Bowl.You can get 28% of by using the CODE: SUPER

I know that I will be taking advantage of this great opportunity to get some great products for my classroom to use with my students. I have numerous items already on my wish list. I feel so privileged to be a member of TpT. There are some amazing teachers on there that help teachers like myself out in a huge way.

Thank you to all that have made a purchase in my store. It is an honor to be chosen by you. I hope that the products will be a great resource for your classrooms.

Free Winter Math Wonderland

Come get this quick center activity for students to practice 3-digit subtraction with regrouping. This is a fast center to create for your students. Just print, cut and laminate, then you're ready to go!!!

Game Click to get!

I hope you enjoy this resource as much as I will with my students. This is a great review for this skill for students to continue working with regrouping. Some of my third grade students need practice with this skill, so I made this for them. It is aligned to Common Core.

Ipad Fun in School

Today, the students were in groups working with the iPads. The students got to play with a new app that I showed them whole class how to navigate. The app was TOONTASTIC.

This group was working on setting up their story with backdrops and characters. The group did a great job working together to get all the elements of the story completed.

These guys were great working together to come up with a great story line using the characters and motions that could be created with sounds.

This four group had a fun time using the app. It was a fun way to create a story and all were in the decision making process. My students are enjoying the iPads.

These kids had the best time out of all I think. They were really into getting the scenes setup for conflict, plot, characters and setting. Adding music was a great way to set the tone of the story. We are on the road to having great collaboration with each other and using technology in a whole new way.

Each group had a different take on making their story. This is definitely an app that I would recommend for educators to use. It comes with several scenes that are free and you can add more for .99 cents. The students loved it. They cant wait until they get to work with it again. I have them thinking of their own writing and how this will be a great tool to publish their stories.

TACO Story

I had this great idea the other day as I was working with paper plates in my classroom. The idea was that a paper plate folded in half looked like a taco. So then the idea of TACO Story popped in my brain. Here is how it would go. You will need the following: paper plate, brown construction paper, green paper, red paper and yellow.

Fold the plate in half to look like this.

Take the brown construction paper and write Topic on it like in the image and cut.

Now take the green construction paper and write characters on it and cut to look like lettuce.

Take red construction paper and write Setting on it and cut wavy.

Last take yellow paper and write PLOT on it. and cut. 

Now take all of the parts and layer to make your TACO.

Lastly, put all of it together and now you have a TACO Story!!!

Students will write in each part of the story for each ingredient in the taco to retell the story. I think students will have fun getting to make a TACO about their story!! You can use it in centers or guided reading. It would work well with common core.

I would love for you to leave a comment about this and let me know what you think. Please feel free to pin.

Technology Is Awesome

I am currently on my new MacBook Air that will sync my iPads for my classroom. It is so amazing how little something can be and be so amazing. Learning how to add apps and sync them to the iPads is a great experience. This will be an amazing resource for my classroom and STUDENTS!!!! These elements of technology will be a valuable asset for  teaching 21st century skills. This is the technology generation and we must provide them the resources necessary to prepare them for their future here and globally. I am very excited about having these resources for my students to take advantage of in their learning. I have also been pinning technology pins on Pinterest that deal with technology and iPads. You can see my pins on my Pinterest account. Pinterest is a great place for loads of resources for educators. I have gain some value tools to use in my class this year. Here is to a great year with technology in your classroom.

Thank You Teacher Appreciation Sale

The Teacher Appreciation Sale at TPT will be here on Monday, May 6 - 8th. My products will be on sale at 20% off and you will get an additional perecentage off with the Promo Code TAD12. That is a huge savings of 28% off!  Come and get those items that are so useful for your classroom. These are items made by teachers for teachers. Spread the word about this great event. This is a THANK YOU to all of the teachers out there. I know that my cart is already full and ready to get AWESOME items to use in my class. You don't want to miss out on this.

Story Elements Center

I love teaching STORY ELEMENTS to my students. This is a fun way to have students to work with story elements. Students will pick a card from each story element area and use that in creating a story. This creates so great and funny stories. My students have a blast getting to pick the cards and making a story that connects all three parts (character, setting and plot). Use this in your class and see if your students become excited about story elements and writing.

Hope that you have as much fun as I have with my students with this center. I would love to hear about your experiences with it and how it helped out your students with story elements and writing. Have students to also add drawings. This could be a great class activity to make class books.

So Close to 100 Followers and a Giveaway!!!

Fellow educators, bloggers and friends, I am so excited about getting close to having 100 followers on my blog. This blog was started in February and I can not believe how many of you have started following. I am loving this opportunity to share and communicate with you. This has given me so much insight to the world of blogging. I had no clue to how many blogs for education are out there and all of the valuable resources you are giving. So, I am planning a Great Big Giveaway for when I reach 100 followers. So stay tuned for all the details about the giveaway. I have fellow bloggers and myself that are working together to give an awesome packet. If you are not a follower, please do to find out and help make this giveaway come true. To all that are already following, thank you from one educator to another. I am deeply touched by your response. Please continue to view my posts and you will love the giveaway!!!

Cooking Up Some Fun!!!

This is a cute, fun and whimsical way for students to practice making words with word families. I hope you will check it out and get one for yourself. Student will enjoy getting to play with this great center that have fun pictures that we all know and love when grilling out.