Native Americans

This year we have new textbooks and standards in Social Studies.  I was very overwhelmed trying to come up with resources to teach my students about Native Americans.  I wanted to make it fun and memorable.  So I used the textbook as a guide and then searched the internet and pinterest to add to my lessons.  I had fun teaching about them and my students had a lot of fun creating the little projects along the way.

Here's a little peek at what we did…

We learned about the Plains Tribes - and how important it was for them to live in Teepees so they could follow the buffalo herds.  My students used symbols to decorate their teepees.

We painted rugs and made weavings for the Southwest Tribes.  The beads were Wampum from the Northeast Tribes.  I died macaroni noodles and the students made patterns and designed their own necklaces.

I have to admit when we first started this activity I thought I made a mistake and my second graders were too young.  But boy did they surprise me on how quick they caught on to the weaving part.  Next year I will be sure to set up the plates and "loom" ahead of time so all they have to do is the weaving part.  I am very pleased at how beautiful they turned out!  

Northwest Native Americans - Totem Poles

We created an information page for each group of Native Americans and then published them in this cute Native American foldable person.  

We The Kids…

This week we celebrated the United States Constitution!  

I read aloud the book:

Then my students created a little writing activity about what the Constitution means to their lives.  We also had fun weaving our American Flag Hearts!

 

  

  

Please stop by my Teacher's Notebook Store if you'd like to use this activity in your classroom!  Just click on the image below.

For the Love of Our Earth… Posted

It's been a slow starting getting back into the school year but I think I'm starting to pick up some momentum!  

This week we are reading "For the Love of Our Earth" and my students created their Kid and Earth Mobiles.  I think they are looking good!  They wrote about how they would show kindness towards the  Earth.

You can get your own copy of the activity at my Teacher's Notebook Store.  Take a look by clicking on the picture below!

Dive in and Explore 2nd Grade!

Things have been crazy busy for me these past few days.  We celebrated all the things we've learned with our parents on Thursday!  I am so happy to report that all 19 students had at least 1 parent or grandparent attend our special morning.


Last year I turned the classroom into the Learning Safari.  This year I changed things up a bit by turning the classroom into the beach/ocean.  We had so much fun transforming our classroom.   Here's some pictures of our great day.  

I love how cute these scuba divers and jelly fish turned out!  The scuba divers went along with our little "Diving Into Summer" Memory Books.  These are at my Teacher's Notebook store if you'd like to check it out.

Our Beach and Ocean of Exploration!  Each child had their own beach/ocean desk.  Parents were seated next to their child.  

Here is what they shared with their parents.  We made some special things for this week and to wrap-up the end of the year.  But the main part of our day is to share their portfolio which is a collection of all our writing projects that we made throughout the year.

We made Summer Name Glyphs and had these adorable crabs holding them.  These became their name tags on their beaches.

Sand Castle Welcome Letters

Since parents help students "build" their futures I tied it into building sandcastles.  Not sure if you can see it close enough but students wrote a little Welcome note to their parents as well as a thank you for helping them with all their work this year in second grade.  

I loved these when I saw them on pinterest… I created my own pattern and made a little "Summer Goals" booklet to staple to the shovel.

Candy Bar Awards - My annual tradition!  I just love handing these out and seeing all the smiles on my students faces.  These are for sale at my Teacher's Notebook Store.

While I hand out the Candy Bar Awards, my students and parents enjoy some refreshments.  I love watching the students serve their parents.  Believe it or not, this is something we have to practice.

  

Students wrote about their Future Dreams "Stepping into My Dreams"

I LOVE how cute they turned out with the glitter:)

We took a "bite" out of math.  Students completed a little sheet that highlighted the main concepts/units we covered this year in second grade.  The sharks are so cute… I just love the blog world and thank all you teachers out there who share your ideas.  These cute sharks came from Ms. Nicole at: todayinsecondgrade.blogspot.com  

My students begged me to do something with Turtles…I have a few students who have a love for them.  So I created these little turtle patterns and "Sea" How I've Grown reflections.

My Future is Looking Bright!

A Whale of a Tale… My students wrote about their very own tale.  So often throughout the year they were given topics or ideas to write about.  This was an opportunity for them to shine and write a little tale about anything they wanted.  These cute whale patterns came from dragonfliesinfirst.com

I don't ever want to take these fish down!  They look so beautiful in my windows:)

Ah… and after that we had Field Day in the afternoon!  Boy was I glad when Friday came….