#2getherwearebetter linky My SCHEDULE

I'm joining Schroeder's Shenanigans in 2nd and Lucky Little Learners for a new monthly series #2getherwearebetter 

Our first hot topic:  SCHEDULES and RESOURCES!

So let's get started!  I am a 2nd grade teacher in a Title I school with a class of 19 students:  11 boys and 8 girls. Don't be jealous of 19 kids. It's 19 PERSONALITIES too! Here is basically what our daily schedule looks like minus the fact that this was made in August and some times have shifted!

I've posted about our schedule before here, here, and here
I'm sure you are in the same boat, but we have a different schedule each year.
Each grade level rotates specials time and lunch time so no one gets the shaft every year...aka-the 10:30 lunch time!

yes, you read that correctly...7 AM!

For morning work my grade level uses Early Bird Common Core books from 2nd Story window. They are in a predictable pattern and not too easy. I quite like them!

My class loves to read this year, so I have to make sure they actually DO the morning work and not just stash it to get their books. wow. sad world, huh?!

We check it together every single morning since the point is to review and spiral. 

I just restarted number of the day this week. I chose a student to lead it and that helped out immensely! He tosses 3 to 4 of these beanbags out and we add them up to make the number. I will have to get some bigger numbers towards the end of the year, but adding these is great mental math strategy practice!

This is our last year with Math Expressions. I can't say I teach by the book, but since it was all I had when I moved to 2nd grade 5 years ago, I do use many of the strategies. Trust me when I say I had no clue what I was doing for awhile! Now that I'm comfy and cozy in second, I make a lot of activities for extra practice.  I also purchased Blair's Interactive notebooking bundle and it is amazing! I like to see how others interpret the standards to change how I present it too. It's completely worth the money. 

click here to see all my math resources in the shop. A lot are free since I mainly use our required stuff, but I am starting to create a lot more not that I know what I'm doing! ha!

Stuff like this! Math Expressions doesn't begin to cover 2nd grade measurement standards...so I make lots of graphing practice. I am such a visual person. I love graphs! Way more than numbers! And I like combining subjects and themes anytime I can!

I just started a growing bundles for graphing too!

We have block classes at 9:30 so after that is snack and close reads time. Technically we are not doing close reads, but when we had them printed over the summer that was the intent. And Lord knows I better call them what the cover says! We used Little Red's amazeballs Daily Reading bundles. I actually have a kiddo chose the one we will read for the day and we reads and highlight the questions together. Then they work on it for seat work when they are not in a guided reading group. 

Now, for the guided reading...we are required to meet with every student every day. We are also required to use Fountas and Pinnell LLI kits. Soooo, those lessons are approx. 40 minutes long. What I'm getting at here is there is almost zero whole group ELA lessons. It's been tough because this was always my favorite part of teaching. But it is what it is and I'ma rule follower when it comes to my admin. Luckily I do have an amaizing tutor who comes in and does two groups while I do two groups. We trade kids among the grade level too and that helps. I always seem to have a group way below and way above grade level and nothing in between! 

Now that we are a tad more independent, I began adding a few more seat work options. I know it's an anti-worksheet world these days, but golly geez kids have got to learn to sit and work. I cannot think of many jobs where they can run around the room and piddle all day. I have mixed in some of Denise's Ready, Set, Print printables, my own  No-Prep printables, Amanda's and Amy's spelling practice sheets, and Denise's word work. Obviously I don't use all of this every day. In fact most days I do not use any of it. But we are doing more independent work!

And now on to my favorite 15 minutes of the day!

After Recess (noon) and lunch (noon thirty!) we return to the classroom and I read aloud from a chapter book. I leave the lights off. Kids may draw at their seat or lie on the rug, but nobody, absolutely no one talks. They know that's like my sacred time! So far we've read The BFG, Sideways Stories from Wayside School, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Stone Fox, I Survived the Japanese Tsunami of 2011, and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Seriously...my favorite time. Also, RtI groups are pulled at this time, so I do not really do much since I wouldn't want them to miss anything.

Then I have to change it up a little each day. Nonfiction focus just means working with Scholastic News or an article from one of my science units. Our spelling lessons are from Letterland (also required). And science lessons are from my units. I LOVE Science! 

click here to go to my science units that are in the shop!

Well, I hope this sheds some light on how our days go and what I use! If you have any questions about something, just ask!

Happy Good Friday!

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