Math

2nd Grade Morning Work

June 8, 2016 by Jodi Leave a Comment

For the past couple of years, I have been using my 1st grade Morning Work packets every morning. I have had many requests over the years to create a 2nd grade version. This summer, I finally decided to tackle this project.

It is similar to the first grade morning work in many ways, but I did make some changes. Obviously, the content is different since it’s geared towards 2nd graders. I have rotated back and forth between 2nd grade sight words and short reading passages with a comprehension skill. I have also added an explanation component to the daily word problem.

I did not include the Common Core Standards that are addressed on each page like I did with the 1st grade packet. Indiana, as well as many other states, have stopped using CC, and have readopted their own standards. For this reason, I did not include these. However, they do address MANY different reading and math standards.

As of right now, I only have the first quarter of the 2nd grade packet finished. I will be working on the other three sections this summer. These can be purchased separately by quarters, or as a year long BUNDLE. Just click on either of the pictures below to check them out.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/2nd-Grade-Morning-Work-First-Quarter-2584539

The bundle is a growing bundle that only includes the first quarter as of now. As I finish up each of the other three sections, you will be able to redownload the product at no additional charge if you purchase the bundle.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/2nd-Grade-Morning-Work-Year-Long-Bundle-2584543

Tips for Teaching Fact Fluency

February 10, 2016 by Jodi 2 Comments

I am sure that I don’t need to tell you the importance of fact fluency for your young students, but I will anyways.

“Lack of automatic recall is a problem as children advance into the middle and later elementary grades, because the need to rely on laborious counting procedures creates a drain on mental resources needed to learning more advanced mathematics.” (Spear-Swerling 2006)

Think about how often you use addition and subtraction in your life. It is definitely a lifelong skill. Our particular math program does not focus much on fact memorization, so we constantly have to find ways to supplement in this area. I wanted to share some tips for teaching math facts.

The important thing to remember is that children really need a basic understanding of how addition and subtraction works before you start focusing on fact fluency. If your students do not understand why 3+2=5, then they are not ready to start memorizing their math facts. These students still need to work on basic number sense and one to one matching with manipulatives.

Use games to keep things fresh and interesting. I love using games in my classroom. If students are having fun while learning, they will be more engaged and much more likely to remember what they learned.

You can find fact fluency games in my Addition Fluency packet and my Subtraction Fluency packet. (I also have a combo packet HERE.) These are great for partner work or small group work.

The more hands-on my students can be the better. I love to get them up out of their seats and working with other students. Games are a great way to review skills or to fill those extra minutes that you have in the day. I always have plenty of games copied and ready to go. Whenever I see a need for a change of pace, I can grab a game out of my drawer, and we are ready to practice our learning.

Use manipulatives as much as possible. Students want to get their hands on things. I use manipulatives in math as often as possible.

Use technology to practice fact fluency. We go to the computer lab at school once a week, so we have the ability to use the computers for math fact games. If you have access to tablets in your classroom (I do not) there are some fantastic math fact apps.

It is important to remember that students will learn their math facts at their own pace. It is impossible to believe that everyone in your classroom should learn all of their +2’s one week, +3’s the following week, and so on. Just like anything else, students will learn them at different times.

While learning math facts is extremely important, it is NOT the sole determiner of whether or not a child is good at math. Some students excel at memorization, while others excel at the higher order thinking portions of math. Just because a child may be struggling with memorizing their math facts, do not assume that they will struggle with all areas of math.

Most importantly, make learning math facts FUN.

You can find these activities in my Addition and/or Subtraction Fluency packets.

Another simple idea is to change out a Candy Land game to practice fact fluency. Just write a math fact on each card. The player must say the answer before moving on the board.

Another fun idea is to have students take turns drawing flash cards from a stack, saying the answer, and then putting them in order from 1-10. The first player to get all numbers from 1-10 is the winner.

We also love playing Addition Top-It, which is basically the card game War. Each player turns over two cards and adds the numbers. The player with the higher sum is the winner of that round and gets all four cards to add to their pile.

Another idea is to write math facts on popsicle sticks. You can add a star, frowning face, sticker, etc. to some of the sticks. Players will take turns pulling out sticks and saying the answers. If a players pulls a stick with a picture, they have to put all of their sticks back into the container.

What are your favorite ways to practice fact fluency?

Want to check out my Addition and Subtraction Fact Fluency packets? Click on the pictures below.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Addition-Fluency-2374145

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Subtraction-Fluency-2381243

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Addition-and-Subtraction-Fluency-Bundle-2381390

The New Year

January 2, 2016 by Jodi Leave a Comment

It’s a new year! Even though it’s not a new school year, it can still mean time for a fresh start. The students have had a break, and it’s the perfect time to rethink your classroom. What’s working? What’s not working? What changes do you want to make?

Here are a couple of things that we will be using to kick start our new year:

Last year I posted a New Year’s Flip book and a poem that was a perfect activity to do for that first day back to school. I have updated both for 2016.

I love discussing New Year’s Resolutions and goal setting. It can be pretty entertaining to see what they come up with sometimes.

You can click HERE to check out the flip book.

I also have this FREE New Year’s Poem download that you can find HERE.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/New-Years-Poem-1629163

One of my favorite times of the day is Morning Meeting. We discuss our day, complete a morning message, do calendar, and then I read a “Discussion Card.” I LOVE using these. They really get the students thinking and talking. This past week, I finished up a second set of 100 cards.

I use these for discussions, but they would also be great writing prompts.

You can click HERE to check out my first set, and HERE to check out my second set of 100 discussion cards.

I am also excited to use my January Guided Reading packet when we return next week. These packets make planning SO simple!

I have 4 nonfiction and 4 fiction stories. Each story includes 3 different levels of passages, vocabulary words, comprehension graphic organizers, and writing prompts.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Guided-Reading-January-2257039

I also know for sure that we will be taking full advantage of GoNoodle! My students need Brain Breaks anyways, but I’m pretty sure that after having 2 weeks off, those Brain Breaks will be a definite necessity.

Hope you have a wonderful start to 2016!

Writing Prompts with Editable Word Banks

December 31, 2015 by Jodi 2 Comments

So many times when my students begin their writing, they want help spelling certain words. I always remind them to not worry about spelling difficult words when they are writing. I don’t want them to shy away from using words that they are unsure about. My main focus during writing is the writing process, not spelling. {I want them to spell taught words correctly.}

I like to write some “common” words on the board that I know my students may need if we are writing to a particular topic. For this reason, I began creating writing prompts with Word Banks.

As I started working on these, I began to realize that I may want to edit these word banks for different students in my classroom. I also may want to change the list of words each school year depending on current situations.

So, the word banks on each of the writing prompts are completely editable to fit your needs.

Each of the 48 prompts also include an editing checklist for my students to check their work.

You can check out the entire packet by clicking on the picture below.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Writing-Prompts-with-Editable-Word-Banks-2277400

‘Twas the Week Before Christmas Break

December 17, 2015 by Jodi 1 Comment

Winter Break is just around the corner, and we have been busy, busy, busy! Even though this time of year is absolutely crazy, it’s a fun kind of crazy. I always feel like I want to squeeze in so many fun things, but there just isn’t enough time.

We just finished up our unit on measurement in math. In all honesty, it is one of my least favorite things to teach in math. However, these measurement trees were the PERFECT way to practice measuring in inches.

I pinned these a couple years ago from Mrs. Lee’s Kindergarten, and have loved doing them every since. Jen, from Teacher by the Beach, gave me the idea to use scrapbook paper instead of regular construction paper. Genius!

I had a bunch of random scrapbook paper in my room that I cut into 8 inch x 1 inch strips. The students measured and cut the strips from 1 inch to 7 inches. Then, they glued them in order to make their tree.

I gave them each a sticky foam star that I bought from Meijer. When they were finished, the students painted snow with q-tips and white paint.

Even our elf loved their pictures.

We have also been working on a readers theater that we will be performing for other classes tomorrow and Friday.

I wanted to come up with something a little different, so I wrote a readers theater called ‘Twas the Day Before Christmas Break.

My class is so excited to perform it tomorrow.

Plus, I have to say, they are doing an AMAZING job!

If you want to check out this readers theater script, click on the picture below.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Twas-the-Day-Before-Christmas-Break-Readers-Theater-2259518

How is it almost December?

November 24, 2015 by Jodi Leave a Comment

Seriously! How is it almost December? This school year is just flying by. My little man turned one this past weekend, and I swear it was just yesterday that he was born.