First Month Done!

It's August 30th!! That means we've already been in school for 1 full month. In AZ, we started school on Aug 5th. I know that many people have their first day of school this coming Tuesday.

I have 22 2nd graders this year. It's been a wonderful month! It's amazing how having 7 fewer students makes a difference! Last year, I had 29 students the whole year. Here are my top things 3 that I am glad I implemented this year.

1. Gold tags!! I am loving them! Even though, someone is stealing tags. I use this as my positive reward system. I stole got the idea from The TeenyTinyTeacher. Her Gold tag post is hilarious! Read it!

2. Literacy Centers!! I took a class 2 weeks before school started about Literacy Centers and I am so glad I did! We talked about the Big 5 in reading. (Phonics, Phonenmic Awareness, Comprehension, Vocabulary, and Fluency.) So set to work deciding how to implement it in my classroom. My students love it! And they better since it takes a good extra hour or two to get them ready. I truly have it down to a science were I don't have to spend that much extra time prepping. :) What really makes me happy is the moment when I place the center in the big mailing envelope to be stored for next year. The joy of knowing that next year I will simply need to pull out the center and push play! Because of the focus on my Literacy Centers, I haven't finished training my kids how to do Daily 5. But this week, that will be my big focus.

3. Daily 5 during Writing time!! Last year, my students loved and begged for Daily 5 time! I was really happy with the success. However, my students this year are a bit lower than last years. For this reason, I was happy to do the Lit centers and put Daily 5 on the back seat. My plan is to have the students do Daily 5 during Writing time so that I can conference with students about their writing.

4. Intous Pen!! I am so excited to receive our Intuos pens! Wacom made this pen for artists to be able to draw on the computer. However, it also works as a mouse. And here is the kicker! It has a wireless adapter!! In my other school district we had the SMART Airliner. It was a painful year last year, not having my precious airliner! But this year, I hope we get them soon. I can walk around the room and control my computer while I'm sitting next to Johnny who won't stop talking, won't sit still, needs a little extra attention. Using the Mimio Studio Tools, I can also write on my screen. It's not as perfect or quick as the Airliner but it works! One of the girls on my team, bought hers already and let me play with it for a week. It was so hard to give it back to her!

I am super excited for this year. It is my 5th year teaching so I truly feel like I am with it this year. I am loving 2nd grade! And my kids are so good this year!

I hope each and everyone of you are also enjoying your year or will enjoy it if you haven't started yet!

Enjoy your evening!
Sara

iPad mini in the Classroom

Hello blogging world!

I wish I could get into the habit of blogging! It's already Spring Break of my 1st year of 2nd grade. I've been learning a lot in this past year. I have 29 students in my class but sometimes I feel like there are 40! I have had to change my classroom management strategies several times to keep them interested. It's my 1st year to use Daily 5 in my classroom. I don't follow it exactly like the 2 sisters set it up but is think next year it'll be better. I've used it to keep my class motivated to meet their AR goals while I do guided reading groups and Dibels progress monitoring. The kids do love Daily 5 though. They can't wait to start it each day. 

My. 2nd grade team has been awesome. There are 4 of us. Each one new to 2nd grade but it's been a great year learning from each other. :D 

I am really excited to go back after Spring Break because we got iPad minis for our classrooms. We each got one for our class. I've been like a kid at Christmas messing around with it and downloading apps. I wasn't expecting them to come in until mid April or May. 

Here are some apps that I recommend!

1. Reflector- $12.99

This is actually an app for your computer. But it allows your iPad to connect to your computer like the Chromecast or Appletv. If your classroom is set up like mine, you have your computer connected to a projector. This means you can project your iPad as you walk around your room using Airdrop. With my class this year proximity is everything. One of the things I missed the most from leaving my school in Nogales was my SMART Airliner! It was a Bluetooth clipboard looking thing that has a pen that works like a wireless mouse. The reflector isn't quite that good because you can't control your computer but you can control your iPad. Imagine turning on your camera and you have an instant document camera zoomed on a student's work! The possibilities! 

2. Three Ring- free

Three Ring is a virtual assessment binder for your students. You can make voice notes, written notes, take a picture of work, or a video of them. All this information can be tagged to the student so you can use this data to drive your instruction. I used to have 3 inch 3 ring assessment binders in my class but storage was always a problem. Last week, another teacher in my building showed me that she uses Manila envelopes to do the same thing but at least these you can lay flat. Next year I plan to use both. The app for information that is necessary to have army finger tips and the envelopes for Parent teacher conferences. 

3. Class dojo-free

It's starting to be really popular so I figured I'd talk about it. I've used Classdojo since September of this year. I love it! However, I went back to my clip chart for several reasons. 

a. The parents stopped checking Classdojo. 

B. When a student broke a rule it wasn't as 'in your face' as the clip chart that "hey I need to shape up!" And for a while I tried doing both. I'd try transferring their behavior from the chart to the website but it wasn't constant. 

In my class, I would reset the points every Monday. Students had to get at least 15 points to earn a Special Privilege in my class. If they earned 20, they could get an Extra Special Privilege. I'm too broke for a treasure box so this was born from a suggestion from another 2nd grade teacher in my district. 

I do plan to use it again next year but not invite the parents to get the updates and use a calendar log. (I'm really interested in how things are done at different schools. So I'm about to go into a long tangent about dismissal at my school. Feel free to skip it if you're not interested.) I am using in another way this year. In my school, there are several ways our students can go home. Originally we were built to be a walking K-8 school but many of the parents prefer to drive. So you can be Sibling, Busser, Link (after school daycare), or Parent pick up. We take our 2nd graders to the library and they listen for their names on the warlike talkies. The aides call names of students that are picked up via car. They have a book where they mark that the student went home. One teacher (usually me) checks IDs and marks that the student went home with the correct parent that walked onto campus. I use class dojo to mark that the student was picked up by their parent. 

4. Front Row-free

Ok so this app has the potential to be awesome! It does mini lessons with students on the common core standards. You make student accounts and they take a diagnostic test to practice skills that they are low on. I'm not entirely sure if it's completely free because right now it only shows me the NBT domain and I can refer another front row teacher and get the rest of the domains for free. So if you are a Front Row teacher please let me know to add your email! 

5. Wunderlist- free

Not really a teacher app but I love it! I've used it for over a year on my Android phone and on the computer using the website. It's a to-do list that you can categorize and put subtasks, notes, deadlines, and reminders. I love that you can also share your list with your contacts or Facebook friends. I love collaborating and this is a great way to keep everyone on schedule or aware of what's been completed. 

I'll keep posting other apps as I discover them but I appreciate you stopping by! Maybe now I'll be able to keep up my blog with my iPad mini! 

Have an awesome night! 

Sara Ivelisse