Stellaluna, Some Sugar, & A Freebie!

We've placed a lot of focus on "twin texts", pairing fiction with related nonfiction or informational texts this quarter, and for the last couple of weeks we've been reading about nocturnal animals and learning about informational text features. This week, it's been all things Stellaluna in our classroom!   I love this story and it tied in perfectly with some of our 2nd grade ELA Common Core standards for the quarter.

We talked alot about the major events in Stellaluna's life and how she responded to them. We also discussed how she changed throughout the story. My kiddos thought of adjectives to describe Stellaluna at the beginning, middle, and end of the story then we found evidence
 in the text to support them.

2.RL.3 anchor chart

The following day, we talked about a character's point of view and how sometimes in a story

all of the character's can have completely different feelings, opinions, and viewpoints

about the same topic.  I had students think about each of the main characters and give

 evidence from the text to explain their their points of view. It's a little messy,

but it did the trick! My kiddos then completed a student version of this. 

Later in the week we used the Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then strategy

 to write a story summary.

I made templates for each of these activities for students to complete along the way 

and we compiled everything into a little foldable book.

My kids *love* all things flippy and foldable (just like their teacher :0) and worked so hard on these! I love how they turned out!

You can find it in my TPT Store or TN Shop

Graphics by Melonheadz Illustrating, Charlotte's Clips, and Teaching in a Small Town  

Here's a little freebie preview from the pack.
Click on the picture to grab a copy from Google Docs.

Now, on to the sugar!~  H.A.L.L.O.W.E.E.N! 

Every holiday, instead of a "party" we do holiday themed centers.  Actually, it's a total party, just an educational, standards based one!  My teammate and neighbor open our connecting door, set up 6-8 activities in each room and let the kiddos roam between the two rooms and choose what they want to do.  The only rules are that they have to be either in the  process of choosing or playing.  We also let them "trick-or-treat" at each table once they finish the activity. We invite lots of parent volunteers to help at each table and the kids are in absolute sugar-coated bliss!!

Every year it's a HUGE hit!    We have never.ever. not even once. had a behavior issue

and I'm telling you what, there is a lot of candy involved so I'm always a little nervous about 20 minutes in! I like to use candy for the kids to build models with place value games

but I always make my kids pinky promise that they won't eat it!

These centers are from Hope King's Spooktacular Halloween Math Centers. I have used

them for a couple of years now and love, love, love them!  I also use Hope's

Thanksgiving and Christmas math centers. They're so perfect because each center

 includes skills that my second graders need to practice

all year. They are super easy to prep, too!  I printed 6 colored copies of each student sheet
and placed them in page protectors. 

The kiddos use dry erase markers to write on them and then erase when they're finished. 

 Easy peasy!  It cuts down on paper and the kids still get the bright and colorful

 "game boards" that they love! To create numbers, students turn over cute

 little cards to make 2 or 3-digit numbers, depending on your kiddos ability level,

and they're ready to go! 

I must say, I was so surprised at how well behaved and happy everybody was the *morning after*!  I really expected sugar comas and a "touch and go" kind of day! But nope,

my little trick-or-treaters were as sweet as ever! Ahhhhh.... I just love happy campers!

One more thing before I go....I've linked up with Amanda at Teaching Maddeness! 

I *LOVE* her blog and and her Friday Flashbacks!  Amanda is a wealth of knowledge and experience and her blog is a real treasure!

Click on the button to head on over to see what's happening in other classrooms this week!
And....by the way, she's giving away this little beauty this weekend! The monograms are interchangeable and they come in a variety of color combos and styles!  The perfect teacher bag!  Just click on the picture to head over and enter!