Blasting Off with Rocket Math

Our second graders use a leveled math program to practice their math facts.  All second graders are expected to know their addition and subtraction facts and be able to work them quickly.  Setting goals and having a little competition helps make this challenge a little more fun.  Each student has an individual rocket to monitor his or her progress and each class has a big rocket in the hall to monitor the overall class progress.  The fact test is done daily with a practice time before the test and it is timed.  Friday is our "Free Minute Friday"...which usually takes some pressure off and helps kids "Blast Off" to the next level.  Parents can help their kids practice their facts at home with old test sheets, flash cards, and by visiting dad'sworksheets.com.  When the students pass all 26 levels of addition they move on to subtraction.  Our board quickly fills up with stars the children make when they pass addition and later in the year they add another star when they complete subtraction.  We have had second graders Blast to and through multiplication and into division! One of my personal favorite parts is seeing the kids work with each other to practice their facts.  Listening to them encourage each other to do their best is heart warming. 


More Fun and Games in Second Grade Reading

This is our second grade Accelerated Reader Game Board.  We keep track of the number of points our students earn in AR as a grade level, per class, and we list the top five readers per class.  A little positive peer pressure goes a long way.  Using this "Game Board" keeps the kids reading and encouraging their classmates to read...especially if a different class is near their class's score. ;)  The teachers encourage reading and AR quizzing and are monitoring each individual student's progress.  There is a grade level pizza party for the class with the most points at the end of the year and end of the quarter special lunches for earning a set number of points in that quarter.  There are also individual prizes awarded to students weekly for meeting a point value goal.  Kids can earn snacks, drinks, special privileges, and even gift cards for their reading and quizzing.  Last year one of my second graders earned 220 points!  That is amazing!

My First Blog and My First TpT Listing :)

My short summer has been spent for the most part inside, because it has been unusually HOT.  All of this inside time has been filled by my new obsession...Pinterest.  Now my OCD is in overdrive!  I have managed to paint 5 rooms, clean out, and rearrange every closet in the house.  Not only has my house shaped up my classroom is looking pretty good too!  I have cleaned out, rearranged, recreated, and slip covered everything I could get my hands on... and now I am here, creating this Blog to share with other PinHead Teachers and anyone else who might be interested.

Pinterest has lead me to many amazing Blogs and a great site called Teachers Pay Teachers (TpT).  I love this site!  Teachers create things they use in their classrooms and share them with other teachers.  Some items are free and some cost a nominal fee.  I always say there is no need to reinvent the wheel...this site helps teachers to work smart!  I posted my first item tonight!  It is called "Get Your Ducks in a Row."  It is an editable one page PowerPoint I will use each morning to give my students instructions for their morning work.  I can't wait to use it myself and for others to get to use it too. Check it out, it's FREE.  :)

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Ducks-In-a-Row-PPT