The Best and Brightest of 2012 (and a Freebie, of course!)

Happy New Year's Eve everyone!

I hope you all have a wonderful time celebrating tonight.
I'm joining the Linky Party over at Bunting, Books, and Bainbridge to share some of the best and brightest highlights of 2012.

According to my blog stats, my most popular post was my Cause and Effect Treasure freebie.

I don't really have a favorite product to share, because everything I post is a freebie, so I'll share one of my favorites. (It's actually second on my stats list, too.)

I had fun creating my "Be an Informational Text Super Hero" packet. Judging from the comments you left, it was one of your favs, too.

My most popular Math post was Measure This.

I get lots of fantastic, fun, and functional ideas from the "brightest" blogs I follow on a regular basis.

I love, love, love Classroom Freebies, because everything is free, free, free! One click leads you to lots and lots and lots of great ideas!

I love all the cute ideas from Rockin' Teacher Materials. Go visit!

The absolute BEST part of 2012 has been all the sweet comments from my readers and the help and contributions from my blogging friends.

And now.......

Here's my New Year's Eve present to you...

It's another basic Even/Odd activity for the Second Grade Common Core Standard 

OA2.3 {Work with equal groups of objects to gain foundations for multiplication. Determine whether a group of objects (up to 20) has an odd or even number of members, e. g. by pairing objects or counting the by 2's; write an equation to express an even number as a sum of two equal numbers}.

Just click on the pic above to download the file.

Have a safe New Year's Eve!

If you haven't entered my giveaway for a copy of The Miracle Dogs of Portugal, click {HERE} to enter now!

Even More Common Core Poetry Activities - Freebie - and a Doggone Good Giveaway!

I've got another freebie on poetry today and the chance for you to win a fantabulous book!

First....the freebie....

Click on the pic above to get activities tied to Christina Rossetti's poem, "Who Has Seen the Wind?" It includes other poems students can use for comparing and contrasting. These are the poems I'll be using our second week back after Christmas Break.
(Remember to set your printer options to "FIT" so that all the material will print on each page.)

Now for the giveaway....

I was excited when I received an email asking if I would be interested in giving away copies of The Miracle Dogs of Portugal, by Tracy Aiello. 

Really...need you ask? Reading is my passion. Sharing reading and books with my kids and friends is just part of that love.

Tracy Aiello's book is the "almost true" story of Henry the Navigator. I love the lyrical words in the story. Aiello actually captures the sound of the ocean in words. Click on the pic below for more info on the book and author.

I have five, yes FIVE, copies of the book to give away. All you have to do is enter below.

And the BEST part of this giveaway.....Miracle Dogs will be donating five additional books to give children affected by Hurricane Sandy. How cool is that?!

Enter now. The contest ends Friday, January 4 at midnight.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Common Core Poetry Activities - Freebie - and a Giveaway!

I think I'm the least comfortable teaching poetry because I don't read a lot of poems. I've spent some time developing activities for some of the poems recommended in the book, Common Core Curriculum Maps: English Language Arts, published by Josssey-Bass. I've used this book for ideas on implementing the Common Core ELA standards in my class. In fact, it's starting to show some wear and tear because I drag it home every night and back to school every morning!

Another resource that I don't want to do without is The Common Core Lesson Book K-5, by Gretchen Owocki. Both of these books have been invaluable to me as I've worked on implementing Common Core this year.

I used the list of poems from Common Core Curriculum Maps as the basis for my poetry unit we will begin on January 7. I'll be posting four different activities on these poems over the next few days. Each set of activities highlights a season.    I'm starting with winter and highlighting "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," by Robert Frost for the first week. I've included other poems for comparing and contrasting with the first poem in the packet. 

Click on the pic above to download the file.

I'd also like to give a shout out to a blogging friend of mine. Susanne at SOS Supply is celebrating her first bloggaversary with some great giveaways. I'm donating an Amazon gift card to help her out. Sue teaches in South Wales in the UK. If you don't already follow her blog, go now and help her celebrate. You might win some awesome prizes! Click on her button below to go visit!

Even and Odd Fun -- Freebie

I took an unplanned break from blogging--

Thoughts of Sandy Hook took all my energy and desire for creating for awhile. I've decided the best way to face that tragedy is to do something nice  once a day in honor and memory of the victims and survivors of Sandy Hook. I started with contacting a former teacher and letting him know how much I appreciated all he did for me in high school and in recent years. Think back on the teachers that meant the most to you. Let them know what a big part of your life they have been and still are!

The flu crept up on me (thank heavens I had a flu shot so it wasn't as bad as it could have been), and I even missed my party with my kids at school. 

Then Christmas came and went! Both kids are home from college, so nothing is normal!

I finally got back in the swing of things tonight. We tackle even and odd numbers when we go back to school on January 7, so I've created several activities to use in my math stations. I'll post all of them over the next several days. They are similar because I want my kiddos to practice on constructing even and odd numbers for several days.

Just click on the pic above to get the first activity.

Enjoy the rest of your break!

Silence for Sandy Hook Elementary

Merry Practice! - Freebie

Make some merry practice using place value disks with these cute little gingerbread men.

Just click on the pic above to get the freebie!

Check out Our Five Million Watt Smile!

One of the best resources on the web for teachers is Classroom Freebies. If you haven't discovered it yet, GO NOW!

Contributing authors post their free--yes, FREE--activities and products they have made. 

It's a one-stop bonanza of FREEBIES!

If you need proof it's as good as I say it is.....

it's just reached five million page views!

Click the above pic to see what all the smiling is about! I'm a regular contributor, too!

If you haven't entered my 1,000 Follower Giveaway, Click {HERE} to enter. Time is running out!

Christmas Subtraction with Regrouping - Freebie

Here's a little Christmas practice in subtraction with regrouping.

Just click on the above pic to get the activity.

If you haven't entered my 1,000 Follower Giveaway, time is running out!

Click {HERE} to enter.

Gifting Long Vowels - Freebies

Need practice for sorting two syllable words with long vowels? Put this activity in a literacy station. After students sort the words, ask them to write expanded sentences using one word from each category.

Just click on the pic above to get the file.

How many two syllable long vowel words can you leave in a comment? :)

If you haven't entered my 1,000 Follower Giveaway, go {HERE} to enter!

The More, The Merrier! - Freebie!

What's one of the most important things I have learned this year?

The Common Core standards are not skills that can be paced into a rigid timeline, taught, assessed, and never reviewed.

The more practice....the better!

Our students have to continuously go back, review, and refine their skills.

I've tried to give my kiddos lots of practice in many different ways to keep the skills fresh.

Here's another practice activity for adding and subtracting 10 and 100 to and from numbers.

Click on the pic above to get the activity.

(The MORE comments I get,

the MERRIER I am!)

And remember....the more times you enter my 1,000 Follower Giveaway, the more chances you have to win!

Click {HERE} to enter!

The Stockings Were Hung....Plurals Freebie

Let your kiddos identify plurals for the nouns on the stockings with care!

 Each card has a singular form of a noun. Students will write the singular and plural forms of the words, then choose several pairs to use in sentences.

Just click on the pic above to download the file.

If you haven't entered my 1,000 Followers Giveaway, click {HERE} to enter now!

1,000 Follower Giveaway! Woo Hoo! It's Party Time!

It's party time!

I've reached 1,000 followers on my blog, so I want you to celebrate with me!

Several of my blogging friends have donated some wonderful prizes to help me celebrate. I guess I should say help YOU to celebrate, since one of you will be the winner!

(Please click on the pics below to visit these cool blogs. You'll get lots of great ideas for your classroom just by visiting.)

All you have to do is follow the directions on the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.

Here's what you might win.

I'm donating a $25.00 Amazon gift card.

(My activities are always free, so I wanted to do something special for you!)

Angelia at Extra Special Teaching is donating this super cute All About Reindeer Unit.

Tanja from Journey of a Substitute Teacher is giving away her fabulous 12 Days of Holidays Around the World unit.

Leslie at KindergartenWorks has contributed these fabulous Teacher Planning Pages and Binder Tips.

Suzanne from SOS Supply is giving her amazing Christmas Writing Journal Pack.

Mercedes from Surfing to Success is giving a big, big, big bundle of Winter/Christmas clipart.

Julie from Little Literacy Learners is donating this cute main idea and details activity.

Kim at Joy in 6th Grade is offering a ten dollar gift certificate to KPM Doodles so that you can pick out your own clipart!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

We Are Thinking About........

We talk a lot about thinking in my classroom.

I love, love, love Tanny McGregor's Comprehension Connections and all her right-on-target ideas for teaching reading. If you haven't read the book, go buy, borrow, or steal a copy NOW! I truly believe it should be required reading for all literacy teachers.

My kids loved her lesson on metacognition using a salad bowl. They are proud they know a "college" word that many adults can't define. Because they know I really, really, really want them to think about their thinking, I can hear them saying  "metacognition" when they are talking to their partners in small groups.

To focus our thinking about different topics and skills, we have started posting our work on our classroom door. Look closely and you can see the kiddos' "thinking faces!"

I love that she has her tongue stuck out to the side like she is concentrating so hard!

These thinking samples were based on collective nouns.....a HARD concept for my second graders to get.

Have any of you done lessons based on McGregor's book? I'd love to hear your success stories.

Be sure to check back tomorrow. Several of my blogging friends are helping me celebrate reaching one thousand followers! You might win some great surprises!

And as an early surprise......

I'd like to thank Sarah Picone Hall for being my one hundredth Networked Blog follower!

Sarah, if you will contact me with your email address, I'd like to send you a $10.00 Amazon gift card!

As our kiddos say in our Morning Meeting.....

"Have a Terrific Thursday!"

Shining Plurals - Freebie

My kiddos are like hamsters on wheels....they are moving, moving, moving.....all day long! They are so excited about Christmas and are already counting down the days.

I'm trying to give them some extra fun in our lessons and literacy stations to help burn off some of that Christmas energy.

One of our skills is forming irregular plurals.

They are loving this card game based on forming plurals and beg to play it. I think I'm going to have to make more sets so more than two kiddos can play at once!

Players draw a card and identify the plural form of the word. If they are right, they get to keep the card. If they draw a tangled string of lights, they have to put all their cards back in the pile.

Just click on the pic above to get the game.

I bet your kids love this as much as mine do!

Please leave a comment and let me know if htey do.

Adjective and Adverb Scavenger Hunt - Freebie

My kids love it when I put up a scavenger hunt. I honestly don't think they know they are practicing skills! All they know is they are having fun.

My latest hunt is based on adverbs and adjectives.

After finding the 32 words hidden around the room, the students record the words on a T chart they have made themselves.

Just be careful---my assistant and I spent a good ten minutes trying to find one of the cards I had hidden too well!

Just click on the pic above to get the cards.

Happy hunting!

(Please hide me a comment, too! I love hearing from you all.)