Oh me, oh my..

Well, hello and goodbye November. I'm with the rest of you! Where has this month gone? Between storm days, professional development, and holidays, I feel like I haven't been in my classroom. 

Well, I really haven't actually.

I had a professional development today, which was held in the building, and it was related to data teams and PLCs. I won't get into the details. But I will say one thing.

I missed my kids!

They waved to me as they walked by the conference room from special. They hugged me when I was out in the hallway on a break and they were on their way back from lunch. I felt like such a sap.

Anyway, nothing of too much relevance to post about today. Sorry for my MIA-ness and lack of legit posts. I'm not forcing myself to blog, just when I feel like it. So thanks for sticking with me during this prolonged feeling of being uninspired. =)

But hey, how about a currently? Better late than never.

Listening: Can't get enough HIMYM. Thank goodness I can DVR the new ones with my class being on Mondays!

Loving: Am I the only one who loves Christmas music. I turn up the radio just a little louder during the holiday season.

Thinking: The personal life has been looking up lately. =)

Wanting: See ramblings at beginning of post. I want to do what I do best, teach my chick-a-dees!

Needing: So. Much. To. Do.

Music: I don't really play music during transitions or anything, but I do a lot of singing. Not relevant songs about content or anything. No, I just sing directions. Or compliments. Or reminders.

C'mon. "Boys and girls, please focus!" sounds a lot better when sung in an opera voice, no? =)

Second Grade Common Core

Yes, you are in the right place. I am writing about the second grade common core book because yes, I am a third grade teacher, but yes, I have to differentiate a TON to meet the needs of my diverse learners!

In my class, I'm all about assessing and finding out where each student is in terms of meeting a third grade standard. Sometimes, they are at a first grade level. More often than not, they are on a second grade level. I have one or two that are ready to jump right into the third grade stuff. I enjoy collecting second grade resources so that I can scaffold my below level learners with appropriate support.

So with that being said, I was excited that the second grade common core became available, because I think it would be a really helpful resource in my room.

Most states are using the common core at this point. This resource contains worksheets and activities that support both the ELA and Math standards!

So with ALL of that being said, click this link to check out the Second Grade Common Core Workbook. A small sample is available if you'd like to download it & check it out before purchasing!

I'll be back in the next few days with the November Currently. Because if I were to fill it out right now, it would be all about the 10 pounds of assessments that I need to grade, along with the 100 pages I need to read for grad class on Monday. I'll wait until I have more interesting things to fill in the blanks!

My Darling, Sandra Dee..

Welp, I'm coming to you live from where Hurricane Sandy is expected to make a direct hit in the next few days. I got the call a few hours ago that I do not have school tomorrow or Tuesday. My first grad class of the block is cancelled tomorrow night. According to the news, it is pretty much inevitable that the power is going to go out, and I am petrified! I'm on the second story of an apartment, so I'm not worried about the rain. I'm a little scared of the wind, but it's not even that! Just worried about having to sit in the dark. I was thinking about traveling home to PA to stay at my dad's until Tuesday, but decided against it. Kind of regretting that now due to the newscasters scaring me!

I know. I am pathetic!

Anyway, I wanted to quickly post [again] about a new product that I posted in my TPT store last week. 

[Is it obvious that I'm trying to keep my mind off of the impending doom?]

In my classroom, we do reading centers. It is kind of like the daily 5, but not really. Each day, the students visit two centers that we have scheduled for them. One of the centers is "Read to Someone." This just involves the group of 3-4 students going to the carpet and reading an assigned story from the reading anthology. [This is really the only way we are integrating the weekly stories this year, and it is for pure convenience purposes.] By the end of the week, each student is assigned to each center once, with the exception of "meet with teacher" centers for the below level groups.

After the students are finished reading, they are expected to discuss what they have read. Last year, I wrote these questions on index cards and put them together with a binder ring. This year, I had to make them a little cuter!

This product includes a set of fiction cards and a set of nonfiction cards. It also includes a few blanks, in case there are more specific questions that you would like your students to discuss. I've also included an optional response sheet, where the students are to choose three of the cards and write their responses. I do not use this in my classroom, but I thought it might be helpful. I plan on splitting the fiction and nonfiction sets in my TPT store in case you'd only like one or the other. 

Maybe tomorrow if I don't end up powerless?

Click HERE to see the product in my TPT store! 

[Clip art is by MareeTrueLove. Loooove her stuff!]

Would you like a free set? Leave me a comment with your email address [I'd really appreciate it if you were a follower!], and let me know how you'd use these cards in your classroom. I'll choose a winner or two sometime tomorrow, pending the power situation! =)

Are any of you being affected by Sandy?

If so, stay safe!

Guilty Pleasures

Okay, I need to deviate from the regularly scheduled teaching programming to bring you two of my guilty pleasure blogs that I follow.

1. #whatshouldwecallme

Okay, everything that gets posted on here, I hardcore belly laugh. Warning, they are not always appropriate. But for the most part, they are just hilarious. The posts have a title, and within the post is a video gif clip that goes along with it. Okay. I don't think I'm explaining it right. Please just go. You won't be disappointed! Here is a screenshot, but click it for the moving gif. It is so much funnier!

2. Dogshaming

Ya'll know I'm a dog lover. This blog showcases dogs, along with bad deeds and guilty faces. Oh my. Again, I belly laugh. Perfect for a rough day. Again, I stink at explaining things. Go look!

Quick note, I posted a new product to my TPT store yesterday. I use these cards at my partner reading station to enhance discussion and guide focus when they are finished reading. Last year, before my TPT days, I just wrote this questions on index cards. This year, I made them adorbz, laminated, and placed for sale! This is a bundled set, and I will be separating the fiction and nonfiction into separate sets soon. Here is a preview. Click HERE to visit my store and find out more info!

If you purchase, please leave feedback. And if you leave less than a 4.0, please tell me why! Just like students, we can't get better without specific feedback to make our products better.

I'm off to continue watching DWTS and listen to the rain fall here in DE.

Calendar Math

Oh hey! How's it going!

[I'm blogging during the week? Say what?!]

I've read so much about calendar math in the intermediate grades, and I was inspired! [I remember when third grade was still considered more on the elementary side and not intermediate, but I digress.] I wanted to do it. For real! But I came across several road blocks in my quest to calendar math.

Road Block #1: When am I supposed to fit this in?

Road Block #2: Where am I supposed to put all the prompts?

Road Block #3: IT'S NOT IN MY PACING GUIDE.

Well, I've navigated through/overcome these road blocks, and I'm doing calendar math! A lot of other blogs that I read have calendar that is way more involved, at least it seems that way. But at this point, I think this is a good jumping off point. I haven't shared this idea with my team yet, because I needed to run it by you guys and test it on my kids first! Anyway, here we go.

First of all, we only do calendar math on Fridays. I wish I could do it everyday, but I'm not sure that's realistic. We go to recess [usually, as it is not scheduled] from 1-1:30. When the students come in from recess, this PDF is projected onto my Smartboard. They are instructed to complete it as drinks/winding down are going on. On the PDF, I write in today's number, part of the fact family triangle, part of a pattern, a time, and a temperature. Students have a blank copy on their desks.

For the past couple of weeks, I've released responsibility to the students. This week will be the first time they do it completely independently. From what I've seen, I think they are going to do a great job! As they are completing it, of course, I circulate to make sure we are on the right track. After they complete it, we quickly go over it using the interactive smart board.

This is only the first calendar math template that I intend to do. As we move through the year, I will replace these elements with new elements. They won't disappear for the rest of the year. But, for example, students will do time/temperature once every few weeks. The empty spot could be taken up by multiplication skills or geometry concepts.

Interested in my first PDF as a freebie? Download here through google docs!

[As always, let me know if it doesn't work!]

UPDATE: Google Docs hates me! I posted the freebie on TPT. Click here to download if you are unable to download from above! =)

So, a few questions for my readers! Please, please, please comment to respond to these questions! I want to make this element of my math instruction as beneficial to my kids as possible!

How do you do calendar math in your classroom?

How would you improve my method of calendar math?

Would a pack of calendar PDFs be useful in your classroom?

I hope everyone is having a good week!