Minds are Working!

Students amaze me at this time of year!  The beginning portion of the year they are all about putting the "right" answer down and filling in what I tell them to put where ~ it drives me crazy!  I work on them for months to just try their own answers and thoughts so we can see where they are and where we need to take them from there.  This is the time of year they begin doing that more and more and they take chances without fear of being "wrong!"

As the students are working on reading response journals right now, Brooklyn wants to know if she can still respond on a book even though she hasn't finished reading it.  Of course she can!  As I begin to explain to her why, she cuts me off and says, "Because I can respond on just a chapter right?"  SHE'S GOT IT!  Of course she can respond on just a chapter of a book, or even just a paragraph.  There are many ways to respond and you don't have to be finished with a book to have some sort of response to it.  I love that she could reason her own question out.

And then there's Joey questioning the reading response poster wondering why a section is listed the way it is.  Truth be told, I don't know and he's right, it doesn't make sense!  The fact that he analyzed the chart and realized it was a little wonky is great critical thinking on his part!

I love seeing this in students and it reminds me of something I heard yesterday while listening to the tv. Kids today need to learn to "fail" because we learn from our failures.  When our kids don't know how to handle "failure" then they don't learn from it.  Too often we want our kids think they can do anything the first time around, which makes them more worried about trying new things.  I love getting the chance to make these kids get out of their comfort zones and try new things ~ I love it more when they aren't "successful" the first time because I get to show them that it's okay and let's think on what we can do differently on our next attempt.  It teaches them you won't be perfect at everything; but as long as you try, it's not a failure.  The only failures in life are the things we passed on trying because we were too scared.

Look Who's Back!

Welcome back Kaden!  After being out sick for some time, Kaden was able to join us back in class this morning.  Kids were very excited to see him on the playground before school started and entering the classroom this morning ~ but I'm sure none were more excited than Kaden and his parents!

Being the great and kind teacher I am ~ yes, that's sarcasm again ~ I of course started the day out with a very challenging and frustrating activity for all!  Today is St. Patrick's Day and we have loads of activities surrounding the theme of the day!  After starting out with some "easier" work, it was time to bring out the challenging work.  Of course, the above pictures shows Kaden was just thrilled to be in class working again; but, not sure we can say the same for Daisy in the picture below. . .

Daisy's face seems to ask, "Why Mr. Price, Why?"

And then there's this picture of Brooklyn and Brayden.  Brooklyn is excited to have found a word while Brayden seems to be holding in his scream of frustration. . .

Ahh, the joys of teaching ~ you know it's all just to torture these little innocent children as I sit back and give my evil laugh, muh ha ha!

The activity they are struggling over?  Building words out of the letters c, e, v, r, o, l

Made My Week!

I know this blog should be about the current class and all the learning we do; but, I have to share what happened with a former student this past week.  I mean, after all, it's not like these kids ever stop being my students, even after they leave 2nd grade they will always be one of "mine" from here on out!

This week I was reminded of how it really is the little things you don't even realize you do that makes the largest impact on the students I teach.  I had just finished getting a haircut when I received a text message from a parent from a previous year.  She said her son was having a hard time finding a good book or series to read and it was making him not want to read again.  This mom had asked his current teacher for some help in selecting level appropriate books her son may enjoy.  The boy then told her mom that, "Mr. Price picks good books, can you ask him?"

I LOVE THAT!  It's an amazing feeling that what he remembers from me is the entertainment he received from the books I read aloud or pointed him to read.  It really is the little things that make the difference!  But, now I have a responsibility to live up to and hope I can direct him in the right direction ~ I have 3 for him to check out and hope at least 1 does the trick or my credibility may be ruined :)

2nd Trimester Awards Assembly

I am very proud of everyone's work this last trimester!  For the first time in a couple of years, I can say each and every student earned an award of some kind this trimester ~ that's incredible!  I am also very amazed at the fact that none of our current students received a single tag in class during the 2nd trimester.  That's an amazing accomplishment in itself!

My goal for the final trimester is to have every student reach their AR goal with the correct accuracy and have every student earn a citizenship award!  How amazing would it be if the entire class got to go on the final Wildcat trip together?

The AR goals are reachable if students read in their levels and quiz weekly in the computer lab.  Remember, students get their new books from the school library on Fridays and they have all week to read as we go to the computer lab on Thursdays.  Students should be able to quiz on a minimum of 5 books a week at that rate!

Great work in the 2nd trimester and I'm expecting even better in this final term of 2nd grade!

Promise to Get Better

At yesterday's staff meeting another teacher told me I had a parent complimenting me on Facebook for using a blog and how much they liked seeing what was going on but wish I'd update more often.  That made my day!!!!  Of course, it also made me feel so guilty for not updating it more often!  I know the parent posting completely understands time issues; but, really, the main reason I haven't updated more often is I never know if anyone is reading or if it is for my own amusement.  So, knowing I have at least 1 parent following our blog will motivate me to make a better effort at updating more often!

How Do These Conversations Start?

Today was a long day and by the afternoon we were a little restless and overworked.  It was time for some brain downtime; so, as students worked on an Abraham Lincoln word search and color page, I turned on the projector and played Ninjump on the iPad.  The character is in a Panda suit so this sparks a conversation among the kids about pandas.  Okay, reasonable enough; but, how did we go from pandas to Mexican food?  See if you can follow this rabbit trail. . .

Student 1:  Does anyone eat at Panda Express?
Several students reply with yes.
Student 2:  No, I don't like Mexican food.

Students gasp and I'm waiting for the every so nice <insert sarcasm> (have you ever heard kids correct each other, it's rarely ever nice!) explain that Panda Express is NOT Mexican food; but, nope.  The gasps were in response to a student not liking Mexican food!  So many asked how he could not like it and how it's the best food.  I actually had to rethink the idea myself and wondered, "Is Panda considered Mexican food?"

Oh, how I love the rabbit trails these kids can take!  This one will stay with me for a while.

Class Read Aloud ~ The BFG

Welcome back to the new year!  It's been a while since I've posted on here; but, today has already been an exceptional day and I am so impressed by this class!

We came back from vacation and I needed a new read aloud.  I chose a book I haven't read in many years ~ The BFG by Roald Dahl.  The book has been great to help students see how to check in and ask questions as they read.  We are also working on our visualizing skills and creating a picture/movie in our head as we read.  It takes quite a while to get through a chapter because we stop so much to create those pictures, make connections and check our vocabulary understanding.

As I was reading today's chapter there was no doubt these kids are paying attention to this book and creating their mental images!  I never know if they are truly understanding; but, today the book was talking about soda bubbles and how they should travel.  In Giant Country, the soda bubbles travel downward to keep from burping.  My students were quick to see where this was going!  If the bubble travel down instead of up, the air bubbles have to come out somewhere and they were already cracking up before I could even attempt to explain that one.

I am not one for "fart" humor; but, I love the way this book handles what the giant calls "whizzpopping."  The descriptive language had the students busting up laughing and truly enjoying a great book!  What amazes me the most is they got the point WITHOUT me having to spoon feed it.  That's what I've been waiting for as their teacher, they day they begin being active in their learning and make connections on their own.

Have I mentioned how much I love teaching this class?  They are an exceptional group of kids!