Second Grade Spanish Alphabet Posters

Just finished up my latest product for you all- a "Second Grade Spanish Alphabet"! 

This pack was created specifically for dual language and bilingual classrooms to reinforce second grade content vocabulary at the same time as Spanish letter sounds. I am looking forward to making a lesson of this alphabet with my students at the beginning of the year and working to tap in to their prior knowledge of the terms. Then I will share with them that by the end of the year, they will know what each of the words means, and as we progress throughout each unit of the year, they will have the opportunity to stop and share with me which words from the alphabet we are using and learning.

I am excited to try it out, and I am hoping this will make my alphabet much more interactive and a much more productive use of space in my classroom!

If you are interested, click on any of the images below to check it out at my TpT store!

Cool Dude, Clock Labels

Got a quick freebie for you all today, then I gotta run! I am moving today! (Great timing right...the week before school starts! Thing's are a  little nutty to say the least ;)!)

Anywho...I was sick of the boring ole' clock labels that were left in my classroom when I arrived. While they served their purpose, I decided I needed something to spice up my clock a lil bit. Enter my "Cool Dude, Clock Labels"!

Here is my newly done and much cooler, labeled clock:

If you would like your clock to look super "cool" too, feel free to download my clock labels by clicking on the image below. Did I mention they are free :)? Enjoy! And have a great weekend!

Monday Made It! Project Productivity!

Time continues to fly by....

And I continue to find more and more projects that I need  think I need to get done!

Linking up with:

and

Here are my latest "made its", a freebie, and a new product.

This framed little ditty will get hung on one of my cabinet doors along with another in Spanish! We talk about this promise in our classroom within the first few days of school and it stays up all year!

I finally got around to making these adorable little seats (thanks to the bf who did most of the work and had wood lying around at work!). See the tutorial I used by clicking here.

Made some numbered sticks to use with my kiddos! (I still need to decorate a container to put them in...but you get the drift!). Head over to my TpT store to snag this "Student Number Label" freebie!

I also spent all day (that is why I am a little later in getting this post up today) created new calendar labels in Spanish to correspond with my color scheme! 

You can snag them too at my TpT store! They are normally $3.00, but if you hurry you can get 28% off today only by using the code BTS12! Click on the image below to check them out (...and maybe get a steal of a deal ;)).

If you guys do download either product, I would really appreciate your feedback! (Thanks in advance!)

Happy Monday (especially to those of you who were back in the swing of things today)...2 more weeks!

Math Stretches and Sharing Time

This week I have been taking part in a "Guided Math" course led by a few teachers in our district and based on the text, "Guided Math" by Laney Sammons, which I know others of you did a book study with this summer:

We were given some time to begin working on items we could use in our classrooms during the course, and I thought I'd share with you all some of the things I have been working on, as I am excited to try them out this year in my room!

First, one of the things the author of this text suggests using to continue to reinforce basic mathematical concepts and review are something she deems "Math Stretches". Using "Math Stretches" is a quick way for all students to share what they know and utilize key mathematical building block concepts tied to standards. In the book she highlights specific types of stretches that could be used each week related to number identification, number sequences, analyzing data, and in tying math to student background knowledge and the real world. 

I created the anchor charts below along with a few others to be laminated and posted in my room each day. Each morning when my students enter, one of the charts will be up on the board in a designated location. Using post-it notes or Expo markers, the students will come up during the morning routine to provide their response to the proposed question related to the title on the chart. The titles will remain the same throughout the year, I will simply change the related number, vocab term, or question each week. 

The titles of the pictured charts include "_________ makes me think of...", "Using Data", and "How my Family Used Math Last Night". Thurs for instance, I may write the word "fractions" on the line in front of "makes me think of...". My students will then grab a post-it sharing anything that comes to mind when they hear or think of fractions and place it on the poster. All students will be required to write their name or initials next to the responses. This activity is also great in giving me a quick informal assessment into their thinking and most important in getting them thinking! 

We also talked in class about giving students time to share after completion of guided math each day as much of their time is spent in independent math centers. One of the ways to focus the sharing discussion is to pose quick reflection questions to students in which they can share their responses with a partner, with the class, or in writing. I thought it would be great to create some of these sharing time prompts during my course "work time" that I could hang on a hook on my wipeboard and easily grab for use after our math block each day this school year. Here is what I came up with:

I printed out these 12 question cards I created, glued them to scrapbook paper, laminated them, and put them all on a ribbon to be used to hang them. You could most definitely put them on a binder ring as well. 

These "Math Sharing Prompt" cards are available at my TpT store in English and Spanish. Click on the image to check them out. 

Also, I would like to share with you all that I am joining in the "Back to School" Sale extravaganza at Teachers pay Teachers. August 12th -13th you can receive not only 20% off all of my products, but an additional 10% compliments of TpT using promo code BTS12, for a total of 28% off in total! Be sure to head over and check it out (and maybe even put my new prompts on your wishlist today for a discount tomorrow!).

Monday Made It- I've Been a Busy Bee!

I was quite the busy bee this week as August hit, and I am starting to feel the pressure. I don't start school until the 28th...so I know I still have time, but there is just so much to be done!

Here are some of my creative endeavors from this past week:

1. Fun Flower Vases

What you need:

Mod Podge, Scrapbook Paper, Cheap Vases, Fun Flowers, Ribbon

2. No Name Papers Board

What you need: 

Ribbon, Scrapbook Paper, Mod Podge, Clothespins, Hot Glue Gun, Foam Board, Xacto Knife

3. Classroom Bookshelf Makeover

What you need:

Spray Paint (I got the Rustoleum Primer/Paint Combo), Scrap Book Paper, Mod Podge

(This thing was seriously ugly brown fake wood before. Amazing what a simple paint job can do!)

4. Classroom Welcome Sign

What you need:

Ribbon, Cute Paper, Printer (or you could use your Cricut/whatever cutting tool you have)

 I'm in the middle of several other projects, which I can't wait to share with you guys next week! 

Vistaprint Vavavoom!

Finally got around to utilizing my Vistaprint groupon today....here are all of the fun things I got for $20 (what I paid)/$80 (what it cost)! 

1. 100 postcards to send to my students before school starts (would have preferred a few less....but I guess I will rock them for years to come). Aren't they cute! (It says "Welcome to 2nd Grade").

2. 50 Parent Magnets (once again, would have loved to get just 25...but I am not sure if I have 25 or 26 students this year...erred on the side of caution! Let's just hope I am in the same classroom next year so that I can use them again!) I plan on handing these out at Parent's Night so they never have an excuse for not getting a hold of me!

The sizing was a little off...(I just got sick of trying to tweak it to be honest----it can be tough work!)...so I think I will just chop off the extra white before handing them out!

3. Tote for Pepe (our class monkey)- I will give credit to the lovely Virginia Duran for this great idea! Each of my students gets to take Pepe home for a week and then they are required to write about their adventures with him and share with the class. This tote is now what they will take him home in and I will put a folder inside as well with the sheet for them to fill out, instructions, etc. The tote says "The Adventures of Pepe" - and of course it has a sock monkey that looks just like him!

4. And this little freebie...not the cutest stamp in the world...but it will serve its purpose, and I figured for free, why not!

So there you have it. My new Vista bling. I will say that customizing it with my own images did end up costing me quite a bit more. I see some of your groupons went a bit further than mine did! Hopefully it will be worth it....now for the 14 day arrival waiting period. 

The Magical Product Swap!

For those that may not know what this is, let me give you a brief low down. The lovely Mrs. Jessica Stanford came up with with this super idea a little while back to have 2 bloggers swap one product from each of their TpT stores, create and review the product, and then write a post to rave all about it to others! She put a lot of time and energy into organizing all of this, and we appreciate it. I am excited to see all of the product reviews, and even more excited to share my review with you!

For this swapping adventure, I was partnered up with the fabulous Corinna Gandara from Surfin Through Second.

And I had the opportunity to check out her "Differentiated Spelling Lists" packet pictured here.
Note: If after I sell you all on this product you are interested in snagging a copy yourself, just click on this image and it will take you straight to her TpT store to buy it!

Corinna's packet includes 34 weeks worth of differentiated spelling lists as well as several different holiday themed word lists for those special times of the year! Each lesson for the week then includes two different lists- a basic word list and an enrichment list for students who need more of a challenge. Corinna shares in her packet instructions that at the beginning of each week, she gives her students a pre-test using the basic list for the week. If a student scores more than 90% on the pretest, then they are given the enrichment list instead to practice the weeks word work, if not, they are given the basic list to continue to study throughout the week.

Here is an example of two different lists for a lesson on "Long a- 'ay'".

Here is also an example of one of the Holiday spelling lists included in the packet. Take a stab at which Holiday it is ;)!

Obviously, these lists and word work will be studied in class, but Corinna suggests in her packet ways in which the students can practice at home as well. Each of her students uses a composition book and each week they glue their new list in their notebook. Then at home they complete a variety of activities using their list such as writing their words three times, in sentences, etc.

She also includes a list of enrichment activities which the students could complete for further practice. I won't give them all away...but my favorites include "translate your words in another language" and "illustrate the word" (maybe its the dual language teacher in me ;)).

One of the main reasons Corinna shares in her packet for creating these differentiated lists, is because she has students with such a variety of needs, including a large group of ELLs, and the regular spelling curriculum did not seem to be meeting their needs on its own. Oh how I can relate! (..and maybe you can too). I would definitely recommend this packet as Corinna has clearly put great thought into trying to meet the needs of all learners, and her lists cover a variety of spelling concepts that are covered throughout the grade levels. 

Thank you for sharing your product with me Corinna- I look forward to utilizing it with my kiddos this school year. I encourage you all to check it out as well! Remember you can click on the TpT spread above to head to her store!