Week of August 27-31

Our week looks to be filled with a huge list of learning objectives and busy, busy 2nd graders. 

          Language Arts Objectives                      

~ Understanding character and setting     

~ Alphabetizing
~Sentence Structure

~Writing personal narratives
~ Reading and spelling short vowel words

SPELLING LIST:   rock, list, desk, job, sad, chop, sack, tag, rib, mess, dust, drum

    Math Objectives   

~ Exploring addition and subtraction concepts

~Methods for solving story problems

~Representing numbers in different ways
(using coins, counters, standard form, word form)

Science Objectives

~Study habitat of monarch caterpillars

~make and record observations of live caterpillars

2nd Grade Happenings

 Second graders are checking on their class pets! We have two monarch caterpillars that we have been keeping a close eye on. There was much debate over what we will call our new little creatures, so we had to put it to a vote.  "Little Fella" and "Crawly Junior" were the names that won out, and so that is what our caterpillars will be called from now on.
BREAKING NEWS: Crawly Junior began making his chrysalis as of Friday afternoon!

 Our first math class introduced the number line (ours was as long as our room). We played a few games that incorporated skip counting and recording results on a number line. It was great to see students work together in their small teams of two.

 Here is another shot of two girls working together, against the clock, to count beans.

The Daily 5 has begun! I am so excited to get the Daily 5 up and running this year in our classroom. We will begin by working on building our stamina and being able to read to ourselves without interruptions or distractions. We are getting better and better at this each day. It takes a lot of practice to be this independent, but it is so important that they learn the skills needed to be independent readers.

We Did It!

We did it! We got through the first day, and quite easily I must add. I finally got the chance to meet all my awesome 2nd graders, and I look forward to getting to know them throughout the year. All 20 of my students were excited to get started and very curious about everything in our classroom. The first couple of days I will use to introduce the students to different centers around the room, as well as rules. We will also be completing a few "Get To Know You" activities.  I'm looking forward to getting our daily routine down so we can jump into our curriculum.

Family Note: An open house will be held at the school on Thursday, August 23rd starting at 6:00pm. I hope to see you all there. Our second grade class already has some pretty cool work they would love to show you!

First day at May Overby

Throughout the summer and these last few days, I have had the chance to meet many of the staff members at May Overby. However, today was the day we were all formally introduced at our staff meeting. I really do get to work with such an awesome team. The excitement and humor in the room made me so glad I was a part of it. Everyone is very welcoming, friendly, and willing to help me out with my couple hundreds of questions. I am looking forward to meeting my group of 2nd graders....getting closer and closer!!!

Even more finishing touches!

I always leave my room thinking that it is perfect the way I left it. Then I get home, and I am inspired by new ideas I see on pinterest or on other teacher blogs. So, again, here are a few more "finishing touches."

Here is my new home for my desk. It sits up in front. There was a small desk here that held my smartboard computer, and this desk was in the back. I really only need one desk. Moving the small one out of the room and this one up front made for a whole lot more space in the back for our small group table, book nook, and gathering place.

Here is the back of the room. My book nook is in the background, still in its original space. Although, I did add two new bookshelves filled with books after sorting through my own kids' bookshelves at home. The table and crates will be used as a guided reading center/small group gathering place. Each crate will belong to a guided reading group and hold their books for the week.

Gathering place at the back of the room. This picture is taken from the small group table. Thanks Mr. Bill for my new easel!

This is a view from the back of the room. The smartboard sits in the middle of our whiteboard. The daily focus board is on the right and to the left of the board we have our behavior clip chart and objectives.

Students will hand in papers and keep unfinished work organized in these file boxes.

There you have it! My room is ready!........until tomorrow when I decide to change it up again.

Punctuation Saved My Life

My version of the "punctuation saves lives" poster:

Classroom Tour

I'm so excited to finally be putting the final touches on my room and my schedule. Here is a little preview of our 2nd grade classroom!

This customized poster from vista prints decorates my desk:

 Here is our book nook. The READ on top of the bookshelf was a project I did with my children this summer. We saved cardboard until we had enough to tape pieces together to make the shape of the letters we needed. Then, we painted them! The R and the A are wrapped in yarn. 

The bins on the shelf are from the Dollar Tree and are labeled based on chapter book series or genre.

 All 2nd grade classes at our school have a tradition of catching and studying caterpillars and watching them transform into monarch butterflies. The unit will be new to me, but I'm super excited to be part of a long standing tradition! 

 This wine rack was an awesome rummage sale find. I transformed it into a community supply center. I filled the wine bottle slots with plastic cups from the Dollar Tree and colorful buckets from the dollar aisle in Target. I try not to keep any supplies hidden in my desk. They are free for anyone to borrow.

 Here is a poor picture, but one of my favorite additions to my room this year. This is a shot of the hallway where student work is displayed. Our work is worth TWEETING about! #Mrs.Krause'sClass is a play on Twitter which many 2nd graders might not quite understand, but I enjoy the subtle humor! The birds are constructed out of scrapbook paper. 

The clothespins each have a tack glue to the back of them. The tack sticks into the cork strip and you can turn the clothespins easily. This comes in handy when you have a small piece of work to display (turn the clothespins toward each other) OR a wide piece of work to display (turn the pins slightly away from each other)

 My filing cabinets were stuck back in the corner. Yes, it is nice to get them out of the way, but I wanted to use them as a bulletin board. I really only have I true bulletin board in my room and I have a ton of material that needs to be displayed, so I made my own magnetic board by putting two of my filing cabinets back to back. This is our language arts focus wall. I love it! This will be changed every week to display certain skills we are working on for the week. The purple one in the middle is a pocket chart (Target Dollar Aisle) and says "Vocabulary Words." The clear pocket on the left (also Target Dollar Aisle) says "Story Title". I can either write the title on the pocket with a dry erase marker or slip a picture of the Story of the week into the pocket! AWESOME! The other headings are Comprehension Skill, Genre, Phonics Skill, and Grammar Skill. I have genre posters and comprehension skill posters that will be slipped into the pockets. I plan on simply writing on the grammar/phonics skill pocket.

 This is also one of my favorites. The behavior chart is on the left. Each student will get his/her name on a clip, and the clip will always begin on "Ready to Learn" (the green sheet). Based on behavior, students may move down the ladder to the "Slow Down" sheet or the "Teacher's Choice" sheet for negative behavior. Consequences will be given to those whose clips move to the orange sheet. Students also have the opportunity to move up the ladder for positive behavior! If a student should reach the very top, an excellent eagle ticket will be handed out. I will collect all excellent eagle tickets at the end of each week and award prizes.  

I also love the objective part of our board. Each picture frame (Dollar Tree) with scrapbook paper behind the glass will serve as a write-on/wipe-off objective board. Assignments will be recorded next to their respective subjects.

Here is my inspiration. I found this bulletin board on pinterest. Thanks Mrs. Griffies in room 14!

 Here is my version of Mrs. Griffies board. This will be right outside of my door, welcoming my students into their new room. I should know the names of my students soon, so I will be able to write their names on the puzzle pieces! The puzzle pieces and border were both found in the Target dollar aisle. 

This is our word wall. The last three words on each of our spelling tests are some of the most frequently used words by 2nd graders. We will be placing these on our wall. Soon enough our word wall will be filled with the most commonly used words, and the students will be able to use the word wall as a reference for the rest of the year. The pendants on the top are made of yarn and scrapbook paper. 

The tops of the lockers hold our butterfly books for our unit. 

The book boxes in the lockers will be used to hold on-level books and other materials we will be using for The Daily 5!

I hope you enjoyed the virtual tour of our classroom.