Spelling Activities and Reader's Response

Students and parents appreciate that they have spelling homework choices!  Students can also use most of these choices in the Daily 5 Word Work center.

Spelling Activities  - You may edit this document.

iPad Spelling

Reader's Response

Brown Bag Book Club

I found this great reader's response idea on another teacher's blog.  Click here for link.

I made a fiction and nonfiction book club form that will fit on a lunch bag.  Students draw their favorite part of the book on the back of the bag.  I've used popcorn and animal crackers.
Nonfiction Book Club Form
Fiction Book Club Form

Daily 5 Resources

Chevron Daily 5 Posters - by DK Coleman

 

This will be the fifth year I will use my own version of Daily 5.  Like so many other teachers, I highly recommend it!  Read the Daily 5 Sub Notes document to get a summary of each center.

Feel free to edit these documents.
Daily 5 Notes for Sub

Writing topics (I put this in their personal word journal.)

Spelling / Word Work Materials

Personal Daily 5 Anchor Chart Sheet
(Clip Art by: Scrappin Doodles     Border by:  Third Grade Doodles)


Resources I've found online:

At this time, these are free resources. 

Daily 5 Praise Necklaces 

Good Fit Books   Powerpoint by Barbara Smith

Daily 5 Anchor Charts - by Ashley Nichols

I Pick Poster - from Our Cool School

 

Three Ways to Read a Book Anchor Chart - by Mary Johnson

Cross-Checking Strategy Poster - from One Extra Degree blog
                                                                    
 

Read to Self Poem  - from The Loco Teacher

 

 

 

American Sign Language Chart - A Word Work activity

Heart Map for Work on Writing or Writer's Workshop - Students draw and label things they like on their heart.  They can refer back to their heart when they need a new writing idea.  Note: This heart will be in one of the plastic sleeves in their word journal.

link to download

                                                

One site I found a lot of valuable resources on Daily 5 and many other topics was http://www.proteacher.net.  Join the Peony room for Daily 5 resources.  They also have a room for second grade teachers.

Another great site that matches read alouds to Daily 5 / CAFE mini-lessons:
Mrs. Maiolo's Learning Site

Flat Stanley and Snail Mail Pen Pals

I have enjoyed doing this project almost every year with my students.  It's a great way to integrate writing, reading and geography.

Flat Stanley is a young boy who is accidentally flattened when a bulletin board falls on him while he is asleep. Stanley is very, very flat but otherwise fine. Stanley’s family did not have enough money to send him on a train or plane to visit a friend in California, so they decided to fold him up and put him in a large envelope and mail him. Our class will do the same with our “Flat Stanleys.”

Stanley's trip to Africa - Click here to see my trip to Africa with Stanley.  I am so excited that he will be going with me to a NCCAT seminar at Ocracoke very soon! I am sure we will both learn and see a lot :).

Flat Stanley template - 2 to a page

Flat Stanley Parent Letter

Flat Stanley Letter to Friend / Family Member


If you're looking for another letter writing project....

Snail Mail Pen Pals   -  My goal is for each student to write to one other student in a different state once a month. We go through the entire writing process before letters are mailed.  They get very excited when mail comes!  This year we will be writing to another second grade class in Iowa.

Happy Thought Rocks - Journal Writing Idea

This is an idea I found on Laura Candler's website (look on her Odds N Ends page).   I am hoping these little guys will inspire some positive thinking and writing!  This idea is similar to a gratitude journal.  Rocks are fed by writing positive thoughts in a journal.

Phonics Phones

This summer I found a great article on phonics phones.  This article tells you how to make them and gives many reasons why you should!  Instead of spray painting them, I decided to decorate them with duct tape. 
Article :  http://www.righttrackreading.com/phonicsphones.html