Reading Centers

I can't believe that school has been in session for about a month now. Those last 4 weeks have really gone by quickly! I am still working out the kinks in my reading block and find that it is going smoother each week. Last week I successfully made it through 3 differentiated spelling tests with my groups. YAY! We have also been working on our reading centers. Right now I have 5 centers: Read to Someone, Spelling, Writing, High Frequency Words, and Grammar. My vocabulary center is an extra for when students finish early. My second round of centers is always "Read to Self". Here is a peek at what my set up looks like right now! (I got the cute sign holders at IKEA. I used them first for "Meet the Teacher".)

Daily 5 Center Assignments

Spelling Center

Spelling Center Sign

Writing Center Sign

Read to Someone

Read to Self Sign & Book bins to the left

Grammar, HFW, & Vocabulary Center Baskets

Back to School

Where has the summer gone? I think it flew right past me! I have been so busy this summer getting moved into my first home, taking workshops, and doing classes for my Masters +45 that I never got out of the "work" mode. Ugh! This year I'm a bit more anxious than normal since we will be implementing common core in full force, and starting a brand new reading series. It is making my head spin just a little! I am getting pretty excited though, about meeting my new class this year and changing up my room. Everyone always says I'm nuts for changing my decor almost every year and moving furniture, but I need that change. So here are some things I'm doing in my classroom this year and for "Meet the Teacher" night!

I have decided to do my room in soothing colors- black, blues, & green. Did I mention my theme is chevron? I really can't get enough of it! My current teacher desk is just a large table that is VERY wobbly. I knew I was going to get a new desk when I moved into my new house, so my old black desk was moved into the classroom. It is still in pieces and can't wait till it gets set up next week! Here's what it looks like:

I got rid of the rocking chair that took up so much space in my classroom and replaced it with this black velvet storage stool. I love being able to store things inside!

Anyone who knows me, knows I'm a bit of a perfectionist and small things can really drive me NUTS! So on that note I had forgotten that changing my room's colors also meant having an issue with my big primary colored rug smack dab in the front of the room. Aaaahhhhh! So here is my solution...I am going to replace it with a slightly smaller rug from IKEA! It's not chevron, but it's black and white and the right price!

Here is a little sneak peak at my classroom decor pack I made for my classroom:

Since "Meet the Teacher" night is next Friday for me, I am dashing around trying to get things done and made for it. I must have gone to every dollar tree and store around, but I finally found some good bins for my kids supplies. The night they come to meet me, I have them sort their supplies into baskets so that I don't have to worry about it the 1st week of school. I just take my time putting them away bit by bit. Anyways, I made some cute labels that fit my theme and here's what I've got:

For the sign-in table I always like to have signs to point parents in the right direction. My old clear frames have seen better days. I thought I'd buy these from IKEA and use them as center signs after.

They are 4x6, so not real big, but just so cute. I made these signs to put on the tables:

That's all I have for now. I will be putting my room together this next week and can't wait to see how it will turn out. I will share pictures on "My Classroom" page, so come back soon and check it out!

Summer is here!

Wow...what a busy 4 months it has been since I've posted last. I think I have finally arisen from the craziness! School is over and summer is here, which means I can focus a bit more. I'm getting stuff ready for the beginning of school in August and decided to make myself a cute new calendar for my teacher binder. I'm creating a few more versions in different themes/patterns. Check them out. There will be much more to come this summer, but for now this is a start! Enjoy!

Zebra Teacher Calendars

Chevron Teacher Calendars

New Year's Resolutions

I am a bit late on this one, but I had to share. My kids had a lot of fun making these. We talked about what a resolution was and brainstormed together things we wanted to change or get better at in 2013. They colored and designed their people to look like themselves. I am surprised at how much resemblance some of them have. They wrote their resolutions and glued them to their favorite color construction paper. They assembled their person around it so it looked like they were holding it. Some wanted the party hats and others didn't. I found the template for this cute project here:
 http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/New-Years-Writing-Project-for-Elementary-Students
It was a fun and was a great project to do after coming back from Christmas break.

Talking about great activities to do after Christmas break, I found a few things that allowed my kids to socialize since I knew how talkative they were going to be. I used one for morning work to fill out before sharing. We numbered the questions and rolled a dice. Whatever number they rolled is the question they had to answer and share with the class. I changed it a bit to fit my class, but here is the original: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/tell-Me-about-your-christmas-winter-break-reflection-after-holidays-idea

We also did the activity "Find Someone Who...". They had a time limit to ask their friends questions and find someone to write their name down that did that activity. Being able to move around and do so much talking in the morning really helped my kids to be more focused during our reading block. I didn't have to do so much redirecting because they already had the chance to socialize from the beginning! Here is the link to that activity for next year!

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0_vpTYVq8ELblBDNEYwaWt2SFE/edit?pli=1

Adjectives, Adjectives, Adjectives

It was back to school this last week for me, and a bit of an adjustment. I shouldn't have slept in so much over winter break. I think I am back on schedule now, and I'm busy creating more stuff for my classroom as usual. This week I will be teaching setting and adjectives to my kids. I have planned some fun activities, and made a pack I put up on TPT. Check it out! I hope to have some pictures after this week that I can upload to show you the projects and how they came out.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/2nd-Grade-Adjectives-Pack#

New Horizons

So I'm still pretty new to Teachers Pay Teachers and Teacher's Notebook...I only started in mid August of 2012. I had a pretty successful 2 quarters and am very excited for what 2013 will bring. I decided to venture off and explore new ways to promote my work. I am a big fan and user of both Facebook and Pinterest, so I looked at what they could offer for a small business. After much work setting them up, I am now the proud owner of my own "Mrs. Chunco's Class" facebook and pinterest page. If anyone does follow or check my blog, you may have noticed that I've changed my name from "Sizzling in Second" to "Mrs. Chunco's Class". I decided that I would go generic and not strictly 2nd grade just in case changes take place...ya never know! Anyways please check out my new pages and become a fan!

http://www.facebook.com/mrschunco

http://pinterest.com/mrschunco/

Also check out the new Teacher's Notebook Promo in the top left side of this blog! All teachers and TN members can enter to win a tablet of choice. You must be a teacher to enter and can enter only once a day. If you are a winner and found the link on this blog, I could win too! Start entering now because the contest ends January 31st! Happy entering!

Santa's New Suits

Our new Santa suits came back on Monday and we have shared them in class. They came out pretty cute! Some of them were so clever and creative...I have to share some with you. They absolutely loved the project! We read "Santa's New Suit" before completing the new suit homework assignment and persuasive writing.

Some other activities we did from "Santa's New Suit" were completing a problem/solution graphic organizer. We also worked practiced finding and writing possessive pronouns.

We have been working on other Santa projects this week as well. They LOVED the story "How Santa Got His Job". We did cause and effect with the story in partners. The kids then filled out elf applications and turned themselves into elves. I surprised them by putting some of their faces on the "Elf Yourself" program from Office Max. They couldn't stop giggling and laughing. They begged to see them again and again. I admit I laughed pretty hard myself and rather enjoy them. (Don't tell!)

We also read the story "Santa's Stuck" and worked on a story map and created a writing/craft project to go along with the story.

Here is the last craft project I will share with you that my kiddos really loved...a 3-d Rudolph! There is also a Santa you can make as well. 

Check it out at this link:

http://krokotak.com/2012/11/obemni-aplikatsii-za-zimata-shabloni-za-razpetchatvane/

Tomorrow we will be doing our "Holidays Around the World" rotations through classes. We have many neat projects to do. I will share more projects and photos soon. Here is one last photo for you...our class Christmas tree!