#Mystery Skype….Mystery Solved!

Today we had our first "Mystery Skype."  I heard about this from a co-worker who was taking a class with a tech guru….basically, you connect on Twitter with another classroom somewhere in the country and set a date/time to Skype.  Through the wonders of technology, the classes meet and try to solve the mystery of where the other class is.  It all came together today at 2:00pm (our time---because time zones matter in an activity like this!).  We had greeters, note-takers, mappers, questioners, answerers, and even "photographers" who documented everything for us.  It took my second graders just seven questions to determine that the other class was in Indiana (which is the same time zone as NY…..who knew!?)  Then, it was our turn to answer and the Indiana class was excited to discover that we reside in the same state as "The Big Apple."  I was so proud of my class for their know-how and so proud to be part of a school that is investing in technology so that these kinds of activities can take place.  We do it all over again tomorrow afternoon….can't wait!  Here are a few pics from the Mystery Skype!

An Egg-cellent Review of Counting Coins

One of the trickiest skills each year is counting coins.  Identifying the coin, knowing the value, counting on, skip counting….there are multiple building blocks that need to be in place for students to be successful.  The best way for students to make progress in this area is definitely through continued, hands-on practice.  This year, our money/time unit happens to fall right around Easter.  I created a simple coin counting math station for students and incorporated the fun, colorful plastic eggs that kids just LOVE hunting for.  Instead of candy, I filled them with plastic coins.  Anytime you can "trick" a student into doing work with fun manipulatives is a definite plus for the teacher.  I hope your students LOVE it as much as mine did!  It's a FREEBIE on my TpT shop.  Enjoy!

Click on the image below for a TpT FREEBIE!

Mystery Skype - No longer a MYSTERY!

This week our class is about to embark on our first MYSTERY SKYPE!  Basically - I found a teacher on Twitter (#mysteryskype) and set up a date/time to Skype with our classes and figure out what state they are in using geography-based yes/no questions.  Each student has a specific role and all in all, it sounds pretty.darn.amazing.
We are so excited to meet another class and solve the mystery of where they are from!  We actually have a few "appointments" and will run through a few practice mysteries to make sure we know our roles and what questions are best.  This was all new to me and I had a lot of questions about it when I first heard the idea.  So, I created a little guide that helped me set my mind straight and get organized - I hope it does the same for you.  The link to the packet is below as is a FREEBIE for Mystery Skype Note-taking.  Have you Mystery-Skyped?  Share your experiences and ADVICE, please!!

Freebie…Click on image

"Waddle We Learn?"

It always amazes me how once March and April arrive, how "duck crazy" teachers become.  I get notifications throughout the day that my Hatching Ducks Powerpoint was sold/downloaded.  While it's no longer a unit we do in our school (budget cuts don't allow for us to purchase eggs and they are quite expensive for us to get on our own!) - I created a few resources that I know many of you will love and that I will hopefully be able to use again someday.  The freebie on my TpT store is actually within this packet - it's called "Breaking News, Eggs Hatch!" and is meant to be a student-written "news" article about the ducklings debut.  I hope you enjoy it - and check out the new stuff, too!

It's Time!!!

It is the eve of my most favorite unit of the year - CHARLOTTE'S WEB!  Maybe it's the overall theme of friendship, maybe it's the promise of SPRING - but whatever it is - this book sure is magical every.single.year.  I've been reading it for at least five, but this will be just the third year of digging deep with vocabulary and extended comprehension activities.   I just posted a brand new unit/pack on Teacher's Pay Teachers - a comprehensive unit for all 22 chapters of the book.  It includes an overview with daily vocabulary words, a resource list, and a student packet.  It's on sale for $5.00, so please check it out.  I will be posting a Charlotte's Web FREEBIE in the coming days - a fun assessment for students to use towards the end of the book.  For now, I am off to dream of spiders and pigs. ;)

Time is flying….

….we are in the last few days of March.  Already!?   It feels like winter here in the Northeast, which means the end of the year  - when (if?) it finally warms up, will really fly by.  We go until June 27th this year…the latest in recent years, so time will NEED to fly as "Summer Fever" hits the kiddos.
Point of view is going so well….the kids had a blast using the photo prompts (see freebie, below) and are enjoying the read alouds we've chosen.  I finally uploaded a small unit to TpT and have it for just $3.00.  It includes 8 photo prompts, a poster/reference page for display, a book list, and a printable activity to be used with any book.  Check it out by clicking below and PLEASE -submit feedback and share my blog.

How do YOU see it?

I am ready to get this blog up and going.  Ready to share some ideas teachers around the country (world!) and connect with people I would otherwise never have the chance to meet.  It's been in my mind - almost daily - for nearly two years.  There's the part of me that thinks I am too busy to manage it all, but another piece of me that thinks it's now or never---and that I have to step out and give it a try.  Seeing as I have these two points of view - it's been an easy concept to explain to my kiddos!  We started by introducing FIRST PERSON and THIRD PERSON.  We then dove into some mentor texts and started looking closely at the points of view within a text and how they differ.  We read A Fine, FIne, School by Sharon Creech.  The kids saw the POVs so clearly!  
We are ready to take it to the next level now - I will be having the students compose two different points of view from a picture.  I've created a few versions that I plan to put in a larger POV pack on TpT, but for now, here is a link to a freebie for you! How do YOU teach POV?