Stay Organized with Bins, Baskets and Trays - Part 1

Happy Monday, everyone! It's Lisa from over at Second Grade Stories. I have a confession to make. I am obsessed with bins. And trays. And baskets.  The Dollar Tree... Big Lots... Target... all very dangerous places for me. I have WAY more containers than I will ever need - and I always seem to buy more.  But that's good, because I use my containers to stay organized in so many ways!

I thought I would give you a tour of my classroom - container style! This is a  picture-heavy post (who knew how many different baskets and bins I used!), but it's filled with ways to stay organized in your classroom.  I discovered I had so many different ways of using containers, I had to break this post up into 2 parts!

My number 1 rule is: Everything needs to have a home!  I find that things start to pile up when I don't have a -- place to put them. Give everything a home and you'll be organized and tidy in no time! Rule number 2: Keep things that you use all the time out and accessible. There is nothing more frustrating that having to look for what you need two or three times a week. If you use it, give it a home out in the open! On with the tour!

This basket is right on a small shelf by my door. If it's finished, it gets put in the finished work basket. I've tried other systems - file folders with student numbers, trays for each subject... they never worked for me. Everything goes in here and my kiddos who have later buses love taking out the papers at the end of the day and organizing them so all the same ones are in one pile, they're all facing the same way, etc. Then I decide if it's going in my folder to be graded and entered into my gradebook, or in a different pile to be checked off and sent home.

These are our mailboxes for things that go home. I LOVE these mailboxes. A friend made them for me a few years ago. They are wooden and very sturdy and are going to last forever. WELL worth the cost of the materials! I put the name tags on the sides with Velcro so I can change them easily every year without scraping off the old nametag. Finished work that we have done together, notices, Friday folders, it all goes here to go home.
TIP: If you have Friday folders or something where all papers go home on a certain day, try this - sort everything into mailboxes FIRST, THEN pull out each pile and put it into the student's folder. This works so much better for me than spreading everything on the floor and trying to sort that way.

Which brings me to this tray. I have two of them on top of my mailboxes. One is for papers to go home later in the week (like I said, we do Friday folders) and the other is for notices. (I put those in a separate pile so they go on top of all the work.) Oftentimes I'll have student put papers directly in this tray if we've done it together and I don't need to look at it again. It stops the monster paper file from growing and streamlines my grading. I make notes on sticky notes about students who might have needed help so I have that information.

We have four ipads in our room. I grabbed these trays from the staff lounge over the summer and spray painted them blue. They work perfectly and are easy for my kiddos to slide the ipads in and out. Can't say as much for the mess of cords behind the trays. I'm still working on that one. (The cases are from Amazon - here's the link.)

I keep some of my classroom library books in these bins from The Dollar Tree. These are the books my kiddos choose from for reading workshop. I have other displays in different places in the room for themes, holidays etc. I switch out books every month or so. I've found keeping books in bins like this allows students to browse more easily. The labels keep everything organized. (The label holders are from Really Good Stuff. They are expensive, but well worth it. I make my own paper labels and just slide them in. You can see them here.)

We use clipboards all the time, so it's important for me to have an easy way to store them. (We have alternative seating, so my kiddos often choose to work on the floor - you can read more about that {HERE}) I went the easy route - two labeled bins that sit on the counter. I had to make rules last year for getting clipboards - you take the first clipboard that's on the top - no "fishing" for the one you want. You can switch with someone later. This year it's not really an issue. The water bottle basket came out of necessity. I hate sweaty bottles that leak (or spill) on the tables and papers. Grab and go. (We did have to have a conversation that this was not the water cooler and you can't stand there sipping and chatting all day :-)

Looking at this picture, I'm not sure how proud I am of it. But it's real - and it really is organized. I am blessed to have a double closet in my room (tow of them actually) to store things. This one stores school supplies, construction paper, art materials, etc. Those shelves are really deep and I was always losing things behind everything. I decide one summer to purchase Sterilite 3-drawer bins from WalMart and stick them in the closet.  Ta-dah! It may not LOOK beautiful, but I know where every kind of pencil, marker, sticky note, etc. is ... and I don't have to take out half the closet to find it. Use bins and drawers to store all those little things and you'll find you have so much more room for other stuff! Now if only I could do the same for my other closet with the Ziploc bags, paper plates, etc. Ugh.

This "toolkit" sits on our back counter. It has the things we always need to replace - and my kiddos know if they need something they can just come and get it. It's from the hardware section at Home Depot and the drawers tip forward when they open. A simple idea that has really helped. (And you can see the plastic bag with the glue sticks with no caps. We seem to lose the caps. Keeping them in the plastic bag keeps them from drying out and when a lone cap shows up we can just find it's mate!)

We use dice almost every day during our math time. I have - or can come up with - a dice game for just about any math concept. And we use them for reading, vocab and spelling games, too. These drawers contain the most-used dice: foam 6-sided dice (so quiet! link here), plastic 10-sided dice (also from Amazon - link here) and regular 6-sided dice. Since we use them so much, they needed their own place. TIP: If you use something a lot, keep it out somewhere in the classroom. It makes it much easier than digging through a closet or drawer three times a week! The dice mats on the top are just pieces of felt. My kiddos bring one to wherever they are working and roll the dice on it. It not only keeps things quieter when 20+ kids are rolling dice, but it helps them keep the dice somewhat ON the dice mat.






That's it for Part 1! We've only made it halfway around my room and I've already showed you nine different ways to stay organized using bins and baskets! Now head on over to my my blog for Part 2 and see even more ways I keep things organized! In the meantime, leave a comment and share your thoughts - how do you use bins and baskets to stay organized?

What Do I Do With Just ONE iPad in My Classroom?

Hi everyone! It's  Lisa from over at Second Grade Stories. Do you have access to iPads in your classroom?  Are you a 1:1 school? I would really LOVE to have a class set of iPads - even just to borrow once a week.   I originally wrote this post on my own blog when I only had ONE ipad.  I was determined to find more uses for it that just as a center during Daily 5 or math time.  I am a big believer in using technology as much as possible in the classroom, so if I only had one iPad, then that one was going to be used ALL. THE. TIME. Right now, I have 3 iPads in my room.  There are also a few others that other teachers in my building have that I can borrow... but for the most part, we just use those three. 

 

I have found MANY ways to use iPads in the classroom - even if you just have one... or two...Here's a little peek at how you can integrate a small number (even just one!) of tablets into your daily classroom adventures - and make it meaningful.

Morning Mission

Each day I have a new "helper of the day."  I stopped using a job chart long ago and now just rotate through my class list to have each student be my helper each day.  One of the perks of being the helper is being able to do a "mission" on the ipad before we start morning meeting.  I make these missions quick and easy, and they're usually (but not always!) related to something we're doing in class.  I have a small whiteboard I use to write down the task and I make sure the app or website needed is easily accessible.  When my "helper" comes into the room and finishes getting things ready for the day, she or he checks the "Morning Mission" card to see what to do. 

 

At one point, we had been focusing on nonfiction texts during our reading time. Insects were a big hit with my kiddos, so I asked the helper to choose a partner and listen to/read this National Geographic issue about bugs and be ready to share one interesting fact with the class during morning meeting.  National Geographic Young Explorer has a TON of great issues online.  Be sure to check them out.  I kept this same "Mission" for a week so quite a few students had a chance to read the informational piece. If you have more than one tablet, you can set up these missions to take the place of morning work.  Students can join a group as they are ready and write their own fact (or question!)

It is also the helper's job to to find the temperature using The Weather Channel website.  We record this each day as part of our morning meeting time.  The helper also gives the forecast and the expected high for the day.  It's a little thing, but it gives students another piece of ownership in the classroom.

Reading and Math Centers

This is the time most people use their tablets during the day. There are a TON of great websites and apps available for online books, spelling and math.   I have a centers rotation during my reading block, so the first half hour is a whole group time, and the next hour is small groups.  When students are not working in a small group, they are doing one of the rotations.  The ipad can be part of listening to reading, read to self, words or writing. Here are a few reading sites and apps we like: 

I like to use the Tumblebooks website, which has a great selection of books perfectly formatted for the ipad.  Tumblebooks is actually a paid site, but many public libraries have the link on their webpages for free.  If you google "tumblebooks and library" you can find the links.  The Tumblebooks library is filled with popular children's books, as well as some less familiar stories.  Books can be read on an "automatic" setting, where the pages turn on their own, or on a "manual" setting so students can read and enjoy at their own pace.

 

Here are few other online story sites that we use:

          

http://www.storylineonline.net/                         http://www.wegivebooks.org/

 

Storybook Maker is a paid app, but I found it to be well worth the price. My kids love using it to create their own stories - and recently we've had "continuous" stories happening. One group of two or three starts a story one day, then other groups add to it throughout the week.  They love reading the completed story!

                                                                 

Rocket Speller is a fun way to practice spelling.  You can choose from a variety of levels and spelling skills.  Students are given a picture and must use the letters to spell the word.  There are helpful hints and as the levels increase, the words get harder and have less help.

ABC Magnetic Alphabet Lite is a simple way for students to practice spelling words.  It's just like those fun magnetic letters for the fridge, only there's nothing to clean up when you're done!  I have students work in pairs with a variety of spelling lists (on index cards), depending on student needs.  One student takes a card and reads it to the other to spell with the letters on the ipad.  The other student checks the word and they switch roles.  Easy peasy - but they love it!

Math: Ok, moving on to math.... I run my math block very much like my reading block - half hour of whole class, then an hour of groups, with students working on "Math Daily 5" rotations if they are not in a group.  One rotation is Math Technology, which is using the Smartboard or the ipad.    At the beginning of the year, we work hard on applying our addition strategies, so these apps help students practice their addition facts. I have another post {HERE} about other great math apps - some that are dual and multi-player.

This is a paid app now.... I think I got it for half price a while ago, but it is worth it.  In Top It, students deal cards and add them together to find the sum - the one with highest sum wins the round.  The app gives you clear directions for the first few rounds, then students play on their own.  I believe there is also a Top It for subtraction.  This is part of the Everyday Mathematics series by McGraw Hill, so if you're familiar with that you'll know more of the games from this publisher.

Math BINGO is also a paid app (.99, I think)... this is my students favorite math app right now.  There are different levels of addition and subtraction, multiplication and division.  Students are given an equation to solve and when they find the answer, they click on the correct number on the BINGO board.  Little bugs come up and when they get BINGO they win.  Fun!

End of the Day

Whew!  That one ipad gets A LOT of use... and it's not quite done yet!  I also have students working on the ipad at then end of the day when they are waiting for buses to be called.  This time the apps are more "fun" - logic games, strategy games, visual motor... etc.  Right now we're using "Pick Up Sticks" as a great way to improve eye-hand coordination.  This fun little app allows you to choose what the sticks look like - the vegetables and the Christmas decorations are the first choices for us!

Small Group Projects

Many projects and activities originally geared for 1:1 classrooms can ften be easily adapted to wor with small groups.  Instead of each student having a finished project,, each group has a completed artifact to share. In addition, make those small groups work for you! We were practicing when and when not to use apostrophes (possessives vs plurals). I had all my kiddos rotate through a center where their job was to take a picture of either another person in their group pointing to something they owned (glasses, smile, pencil, etc.) or a group of items (crayons, markers, backpacks, etc.)  After everyone had taken one picture, I showed some of the photos to the whole class - their job was to write a sentence, using either the plural or possessive (and the apostrophe, if needed!). We did about 6 or 7 together, then I left the ipad as an early finisher and reading center activity for my kiddos to do on their own.  They loved it and they really loved using their own photo to show me what they knew!

Take advantage of the enthusiasm our students will have for creating videos! You can use one of those more in-depth apps, or just rely on the camera from the tablet.  My students had a great time showing off their completed biography projects (complete with wax museum!) by making videos of themselves.  Students worked in groups and created a video of each person dressed as their famous person giving a short 2 minute speech.  We then worked as a class to create a Powerpoint slideshow timeline - fully interactive so you could click on the names of each person and the video would come up. We've also done videos explaining how to solve a math problem or sharing what we've learned about a topic.

My kiddos created a set of guidelines to help them take a good video.  We posted them in the room near where we do our "video creating."  They came out of trial and error - I had students create a first video by interviewing each other. Then we looked at the videos and noted positives and negatives about each one.  We used that information to create our guidelines.  You can download them by clicking on the image if you want them for your room.

As you can see, even if you only have one or a limited number of iPads or tablets available to you, there are still many ways to integrate that technology into the classroom. I have taken projects and activities meant as 1:1 and done them in small groups, where everyone rotated through the activity throughout the week.  I have also modified projects so that students worked as a team or small group, rather than individually.  The important thing is to make use of the technology you have - whatever it is!

I'd love to hear about other ways to use iPads/tablets in small groups or whole class.  How do you make it work in your room?

Quick and Easy Spelling Games

 Happy Thursday everyone!  It's Lisa from Second Grade Stories and I am happy to share that I am just one more wake-up away from enjoying my spring break!  Those days leading up to break can definitely be crazy it's amazing how close we are to the end of the year!  With that in mind, I thought I'd pop in today and share some easy and no (or very little!) prep ideas for practicing spelling.

 

 

This post is all about keeping it real.  Some days you just need something simple and quick to do during those spare moments when there isn't enough time for a full activity - but there's zero time to prepare!  These spelling games are always a hit with my second graders.  We use them to practice weekly words, review word wall words, as a center or small group activity ... any way you choose, they're easy to do and fun! Let's get started!

 

 

Any time you can add a familiar game into the mix, the activity is just guaranteed to be successful!  This one is simple - players take turns asking each other to spell words.  If the word is spelled correctly, that person gets to make their "X" or "O" on the board.  If not, it's the next person's turn to spell a word.  The first person to get three in a row wins! This game is great because it needs no directions and you can play a bunch of rounds in 10 minutes.  Sometimes students have their spelling words with them, sometimes I project words on the Smartboard and sometimes we use Word Wall words.

 

 

I have to admit - I made this game up on a whim one day a few years ago and I use it all the time - and it should probably be called "Spell and Roll" because that's the order you do it in.  Again, partners take turns asking each other to spell a word.  If the player is correct, s/he rolls the dice (use any dice you want) and earns that many points.  Players keep track of their points and the first player to a designated number (we do 25) is the winner.  I've also had them go the other way and start with 25 points and subtract each time - first person to zero (exactly to zero, if you want!) wins.  A little spelling, a little math... it's all there!

 

 

This third game is relatively new for us - but it's fast becoming a class favorite.  It starts like the other two games, spell a word correctly and you get to do something - this time it's roll the dice and see which kind of bunny part you get to add to your drawing.  The first time, everyone starts with the basic body.  On roll #2, it's the eyes.  Each number corresponds to a different kind of eyes - or ears, or mouth, or whatever parts you choose for what you're drawing. The first person to draw their full bunny wins.  Really, everyone wins because if you're drawing a bunny there just isn't any other way to go.

 

Yes, I drew those parts.  Don't judge.  I am NOT artistic, although when my kiddos overheard me say something about having drawn the sheet, they were mighty impressed with my mad skills as an artist.  I just love second graders.

 

If you really want, you can download the bunny parts sheet by clicking the image below. 

 

I did not fancy it up.  I did try to make the drawings a little nicer.  And to top it all off, my printer started acting up so I couldn't scan the sheet and I had to take a picture of it with my iPhone and then insert it into a document. So the borders and the title look great but the actual image is a little on the fuzzy side.  You can make your own 6x6 grid and have your kiddos make a bug, or flower or something else cute and adorable.  If you do, can you share it with me, please?  My artwork needs an intervention and bunnies are not going to cut it after spring break.

 

 

Five Star Favorite Math Apps

 Hello again! It's Lisa from Second Grade Stories.  My students LOVE anything that has to do with technology, and ipads are their number one favorite.  We've moved from a one ipad classroom (you can read about that HERE) to having three ipads in our room, along with being able to borrow 3 more when needed.  This has really opened up what we can do with technology, but my students' favorite parts of the day is still "Tech Time" during our math centers. 

 

When I look for a math app to use during centers, I look at a few different things:

(1) Is it easy for students to use independently?  I try out each app myself before using it in the classroom, and often I'll ask a few students to "test" an app during indoor recess.  Some aps make the cut, and others get deleted soon after.

 

(2) Does it fit the needs of my class in general, or the needs of a group of students?  Sometimes you don't know what you get until you download and test out the app.  Apps that claim to practice basic facts may also have a problem solving component, involve strategy or engage students in other kinds of higher level thinking.  The opposite can also be true - some apps that I think are going to be great turn out to be nothing more than rote practice.

 

(3) Is it cheap - or at least worth the money?  I admit, I always look for the free apps first.  Many times these apps hold my students' attention just long enough for some practice and then they get bored.  That's fine.  Delete and move on.  Other free apps have stayed as part of our rotation since the beginning of the year.  That being said, there are often times it's worth buying the full version of an app.  It's funny, I sometimes find myself hesitating to purchase a $2.99 app, but think nothing of what I spend on Teacher Pay Teachers, at Staples or at the teacher supply store!  Apps never go bad (although they might need to be updated!) so I have apps from a couple years ago that I have purchased that we still use.

 

I thought I would share with you a few math apps I've found that my students really like.  I made a list for morning sign-in this week of 15 math apps that we really like and asked students to choose their favorites.  We voted during class and shared why each one was a favorite.  These apps were chosen for ease of use, skill content and most of all - fun!  Kid-tested and approved, I present to you our "Five Favorite Apps - Math Style!"

 

(clipart Krista Wallden  Fonts Kimberly Geswein Fonts)

 

1.

This game is great for place value review up to 1,000.  Up to four players can join at a time.  In the middle, there are numbers represented in various ways - expanded notation, base 10 blocks, bills and coins... Each player has a set of answers at the bottom of their screen.  The object is to be the first one to slide the correct answer to the middle.  There are 10 levels that get more difficult as you go on. 

 

My kiddos really love this game!  The fact that more than one person can play at a time is fun, although they also like playing by themselves and seeing who can get the best time.  The free version allows you to play levels 1 and 10 unlimited, and each of the other levels can be played two times.  The school edition (paid version) is $2.99 and has 20 games.  There is also a Math Slide Addition and Subtraction.

 

 

2.

Lumio's Electric Sums is another great app that focuses on place value - but uses those place value skills to work on addition and subtraction up to 1,000.  Players advance through a story as they "fix" math problems and earn rewards as they level up.

 

 A couple of my kiddos are so excited about this one they play every indoor recess!  The free version gives you an idea of how the game works and the kinds of problems students will see.  The full version for $2.99 keeps kids busy for a while!

 

 

3.

 

Sushi Monster is a free app great for practicing addition and multiplications facts.  This app is a little more challenging than just your basic "memorizing facts" idea.  Players have to use what they know about a certain number to find combinations that equal that sum or product.  This is a fun one to use once kids have a basic understanding of their facts.

 

 

 

4.

Math Fight is another 2 person game, making this great for math centers.  It's free - and a fun way to practice math facts.  Guessing won't help in this game - you lose a point for every wrong answer.  Students can practice addition, subtraction multiplication and division all on different levels.

This is another favorite indoor recess game - probably because more than one person can play at a time. 

 

5.

And speaking of multi-player apps - this next one gets 5 stars from my students:

This game ($2.99) allows up to four players at a time and involves beating the mission clock - a huge motivator for some of my kiddos!  Again, this one is great for practicing all four operations and you can choose the operation and skill level.

 

The fun part of this app is that the players work together to beat the game, rather than against each other.  That cooperative aspect allows students who don't know the answers as quickly still be able to contribute to the mission.

 

There you have it!  Our top five picks for math apps in our classroom right now.  Do you use any of these in your classroom already?  Are there any others you really like?  I'd love to hear your thoughts!

 

Kindness Elves in the Classroom - and a Freebie!

Happy December!!  It's Lisa here from Second Grade Stories.  The holidays are upon us and I love it!  Guess who's coming to visit our classroom today? 

It's time for the Kindness Elves to start making their daily appearance.  I started thinking about doing this last year in my room after seeing this blog post:

It really got me thinking about how I could infuse some kindness into our daily classroom activities.  Kindness can be hard to teach.  Some groups of students find it easier to be kind than others, and actually TEACHING kindness has to be meaningful and purposeful.  One of my teammates last year had her students each choose one person who was part of our school and write an anonymous letter thanking them for what they do.  The anonymous part was hard!  Most kiddos want to be recognized for what they do, so sneaking it in under the radar was not what they were used to.  But, just the feeling (new for some of them!) of doing something kind for someone was the idea here.

Last year I worked with my students to create a "Christmas Kindness" writing display.  We used this resource - love it!

 

Students wrote a little blurb about how they showed kindness.  I added real holiday lights and it made for a great display.  I still plan on doing it this year, but I was looking for something more.  That's when I remembered the blog post I had read.

I know that Kindness Elves are not new this year - I've seen many classrooms doing them now instead of the traditional OTHER elf.  For me, I was looking to use them to show students how they could show kindness every day - even in the little things they did... and that the result of that kindness could be very powerful, even if they didn't know it.

I found some little elves on Amazon and knew they would be perfect for my little covert operation.  There are 4 different elves and they each have Velcro on their hands - perfect for hanging around the room! 

The next part was to come up with 17 different ways (yep, that's how many school days till Christmas break!) students could show kindness.  I wanted most of those ways to be easy and quick.  It's going to be the little things that matter when we're trying to develop a culture of kindness.  Most students are quick to think of ideas such as food drives, helping someone when they fall (does that one come up in your room ALL the time for being kind/caring/etc?), etc.  But I wanted them to realize that it's not always the bigger things we do that count - it's the little, everyday actions that mean the most.

Soooo... after a bit of brainstorming... here are the "Kindness Cards" that the elves will be bringing each day! (You can click on the image to download them - black and white version, too!)

 

My plan is to have one of the elves bring a card every day until Christmas break.  They might show up in the morning, after lunch or even right before we go home.  I chose acts of kindness that would be easy for my kiddos to do, ideas were small things so they would understand it's not always about big projects, and mixed in ones they could do at home, as well.

 

I'm excited to start this with my class this year.  I have such a wonderfully caring group of students I know they will really take this to heart.  And who knows - if kindness elves take over classrooms everywhere, think of what a huge impact we can all have on our little part of the world!

 

If you're doing kindness elves - or any kindness acts in your classroom, I'd love to hear from you!