A Week in 2nd Grade - Win an Ipad for your Classroom..

A Week in 2nd Grade 
by Mrs Davis...

I teach in a Christian school in the small town of Springfield, TN (just north of Nashville). We have around 290 students from K5 to 12th grade.

Our motto is 'FIRED UP FOR LEARNING'. This applies in all that we do in school. I also believe that school should be fun. If they think it is fun, then they will be more excited about it and do better. I think I have as much fun or more than them!

School goes from 8 to 3. They come in the room at 7:45. During the early time they do their regular routines: unpack, let me check their BEAR (Being Equipped And Responsible) notebook, sharpening pencils, and then reading or coloring. The BEAR notebook has a money pouch, their behavior reports, homework, papers, folders for tests and notes, and more.

When school begins, we check attendance and take lunch orders. Then we say our pledges. Since we are a Christian school we have Bible time first thing. During that time we sing songs, learn verses, and have a Bible story.

Monday is usually their favorite day since we have Monday Funday. I try to do something special each Monday (I tell them about it the Friday before, so they will be excited about coming back to school after the weekend) like: game day, popcorn and a short movie, hat day, pet day (stuffed animals), make butter day, smores day, thanks day, helping others, to name a few.

Also on Monday I pick a Student of the Week (everyone will get a turn). That student also gets to play Deal or No Deal. In the little suitcases will be rewards like 'stop after #2 in seatwork', 'extra recess', 'free snack', 'move desk', and more. They love playing the game, and the others enjoy telling them to take the deal or not to take the deal! Also, the Student of the Week is my main helper for the rest of the week - door opener, note person, office person. They then can pick someone each time to help them.

I keep a hanging schedule so my children can see the daily schedule. They know what subject is next, what extra curricular activities are when, and if any changes. Believe me, they notice if I forget to change anything or if I'm doing something different! For the most part, each day has about the same schedule.

After Bible, we have English. We teachgrammar (nouns, verbs, and adjectives) and also have sections onwriting stories and poems. They love to learn how to write stories, book reports, and poetry. They just finished writing a small book entitled 'ABCs of 2nd Grade' with each one writing a page and drawing a picture to go with each letter of the alphabet that is about 2nd grade.

Next is Math. This is their favorite subject. We do a lot of hands-on things with lots of manipulatives. With addition and subtraction we use unifix cubes, counters, and other items. When we measure things we not only do it with regular items (ruler and yardstick), but with paper clips, unifix cubes, gluesticks, etc. This helps them see things outside the box.

We also use task cards with manipulatives for them to see patterns, ordering, time, etc. They also love the Yes or No cards for addition and subtraction. I put the answer on the back of each card so it is self checking. They love seeing how they improve as they do it again.

Then we have Penmanship where they learn cursive. It's not only a time for writing, but practicing to do their best.

Spelling is right before lunch. We have a new lesson each week. We will say, spell, say the words each day. We'll do it differently each day - maybe with a chant, saying letters while marching or jogging, basketball style (act like bouncing a ball for each letter and then shooting it as we repeat the word). The spelling words are also ones that are reinforced in our reading curriculum. We also have dictionary skill time and a journal writing time during Spelling class.

After lunch we have our extra curricular activities: Monday - Art, Tuesday - Music, Wednesday - Library, Thursday - Music, Friday - Rosetta Stone (mostly learning Spanish).

Then it's recess time! They love going outside to play on the playground when it's warm. When it gets too cold we'll have recess in our high school gym or in the classroom.

Then we having Reading. They are divided into three different groups based upon their reading ability. However, they are all reading the same pages, so they don't really pay attention that some are in a higher group or a lower group. I'll have them look at the page and ask a question about the picture to get them to think about what they will be reading. Then they'll read silently.

I'll ask some more questions before they read out loud. I want to see how much they are comprehending. Then we'll read it out loud. We're not reading more than afew pages each day--not going for quantity but quality. Then we have a workbook page we do all together that goes along with the story we read. During reading groups the other students are doing some seatwork and also centers.

They have centers that go along with what they are learning and also some centers that are for fun. Their favorite are the Yes or No Book ones. I made enough for all the students in my class. So each one can read a book and do the cards that go along with them. I just change the books every couple of weeks. They also do task cards, yes or no cards (calendar, colors, nursery rhymes, community helpers), puzzles, coloring sheets, poetry, nursery rhymes,and more.

Also each child has their own number ( used for lining up, head count for field trips, fire drills, taking up tests, and more). On a bookcase they have plastic containers with their numbers that hold books. So they can have their own set of books to read. We then change them weekly, so they have a variety of books to look at. Then I have a few extra sets of books: Clifford, Berenstain Bears, Little Critters, Dr. Seuss, and more. I have some Dr. Seuss books with the stuffed animals to match. They enjoy getting a book and reading it to the stuffed animal!

After Reading, we have Science and History. They have books to go along with them and then some extra projects we'll work on - growing plants, ant farm, earthworms, poster for US symbols, virtual tour of US landmarks with our projector. We are also doing a postcard exchange with other schools in the US. We'll be putting up our US map and reading the postcard we'll get from each state. Then we'll put a string from the card to the state.

Before we go home each day, we clean out our desks, pick up around the desk, and put our things in our BEAR notebook.

We have a behavior pocket chart in the room. If there are refractions they pull a card. They start off at green, then go to yellow, orange, purple, red, and black. If there is a card pulled, then I mark it in the behavior part of their BEAR notebook for their parents to see. The parents sign this daily along with what they have for homework.

On Friday we play Homeworkopoly at the end of the day. This game has been a lifesaver!! They only get to play if they have done their homework each night during the week. I have only had 1 child not do homework one night (he was so sad when he couldn't play, but it taught everyone a lesson - no one wants to not play!!!). I had one made with my fire truck theme. They play it like Monopoly.

They roll the dice in the fire truck and move around the board. If they just land on a regular space, they may go get a drink. There are spaces for games (they get to pick a game for the class to play), no homework coupon, free snack, and the Chance and Community cards. On those there are different things like: extra recess, pick a game, put the dalmatian on your desk, use the teacher chair, move your desk, free snack, no homework, and more.

Then when they pass GO, they get a free snack. This game has made the difference in my class with keeping everyone doing their homework! After the game, Iannounce what we'll be doing for Monday Funday, and the week begins again.

Whenever a student is absent, I get a BOO BOO BAG ready for them. In it is a folder with any work they missed, and add some coloring and fun pages, stuffed animal to play with, books to read, crayons, and a notebook to write the class a note.

We also have a class stuffed mascot - Smokey the firefighter bear. Each one got aturn taking him home and writing and coloring a picture about what they did! Now we are sending him off to another school and getting their mascot.

In the spring I have a Firefighter Club for those who want to go above and beyond. It is a mastery club with extra items they are to write about. In the past, I had a ladder which they climbed for each part they passed. At each rung of the ladder was a different rank and they received a certificate. If they reached the top rank ofcaptain, they also received a trophy.

One special day they love is Dr. Seuss day on March 2. I dress up as the Cat in the Hat. We eat green eggs and ham. I read lots of Dr. Seuss books. This year we'll fix our room up as a cafe and invite the 1st graders in. The menus will be Dr. Seuss books. They pick a book and then my class will read it to them. And, of course, they love going to the fire department!

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