National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month. I love teaching my students about reading and writing poetry. Here's a quick round up of poetry activities I look forward to using with my class every year.

This blog post is geared toward the K-2 classroom, but for great poetry resources for all grade levels check out Read Write Think.
Here are some of my must have read alouds/picture books for National Poetry Month. Click on my Amazon affiliate links to take a closer look at these books.
            
One of the first things I do when teaching poetry is break down the parts of a poem with this anchor chart. It's not my fanciest work but it gets the job done. Check out our old school pencil sharpener! All classrooms in my school still have one. I wonder if we'll ever get them removed? 

One of the first poems I do with my class is a biography poem. Every year when we take pictures, Lifetouch always sends a strip of picture stickers for each student. I love reading the three adjectives students use to describe themselves the most!

Another favorite of mine is the rainbow name acrostic poem. I first saw the idea on Pinterest, but can't pin point who originally posted the idea. One of the reasons I love this acrostic poem is how it can easily be part of an adjectives lesson. This year I might switch things up by having students also do an acrostic poem about spring. 

One of the last poems we write is a formula poem. Each student writes a formula poem about a favorite thing. Of course one of my favorite things is a cupcake! First we study each of the five lines while we create a class example. Students create their own poem after our class example is finished. This poem I usually save as part of a writing station in April. 

What are you favorite ways to teach poetry in your classroom? Have a wonderful week! 

Welcome Spring!

Happy Easter everyone! I hope you're all enjoying your day, and have had a great weekend. I think the cooler weather in my part of Texas is finally over for the year which means plenty of sunshine and sandals ahead!
In honor of Easter, a few teacher friends and I are throwing a TpT sale! Stop by our stores and check out all the amazing resources we have for you.

Here's a sneak peek of what we're learning in my class.
Tuesday and Thursday of this week is STAAR testing. We don't take the test in second grade, but we're going to spread some encouragement to our class of fourth grade buddies. I just posted Treat Tag Freebies in my store. Simply fill a baggie with cereal or cookies and you're done!

We're also tackling the skill of telling time on an analog clock. Telling time is one math skill that certainly takes practice and patience to master for students. One way the minis are practicing time on an analog clock is with Time Task Cards.

In addition to tackling the basics, we're digging deeper and learning about elapsed time as well. Spring Forward can be used during any time of year to teach or review elapsed time skills. 

Check out two of my minis working in small groups. They LOVE using the iPad to self check their answers.

I hope you have a wonderful week ahead! 

Currently March

Oh my goodness y'all....

I've been a HORRIBLE blogger lately! I posted nothing in February and barely anything in January! I must make it a point to get back on track with blogging. My Bloglovin' news feed hasn't been shown any attention lately. To get back in the swing of things, I'm linking up with Farley for some March Currently fun! 

Listening- I have no shame in admitting I watch all of the Real Housewives series. Up next is The People vs. O.J. Simpson on FX. Has anyone else been watching that?

Loving- I found a recipe on Pinterest a couple of weeks ago that I'm finally getting around to trying tonight. The recipe includes chicken and asparagus. I hope it turns out good!

Thinking- At this point I'm learning towards laundry being done tonight as a great big NO.

Wanting- It's been a while since I've had ice cream. There's just something so delicious about a bowl of Blue Bell...

Needing- I seriously have the attention span of a goldfish sometimes. I have every intention of doing one thing at a time, then get side tracked. It takes me foreverrrr to write a blog post.

Polling Site- Thankfully my school isn't a polling site. I'm in agreement with Farley about schools not being polling sites.

Don't forget to link up and share your currently post!

Digging Deeper

**Update** I'm excited to be linking up with a wonderful group of bloggers for a linky about Getting Beyond Dr. King

Happy almost Friday teacher friends!
This particular post has been on my to do list for a couple of weeks now. To be honest I've been struggling with completing this post because I wasn't quite sure what to say until a small yet powerful moment happened in my classroom today that changed everything.

We all recognize the man in this picture, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This afternoon I read Martin's Big Words to my class like I have for the last few years around this time. I of course knew that my student's already had background knowledge of who he was. Among the standard answers of he believe in peace and treating all people fairly one boy shook me to my core with what he knew. He raised his hand and shared how MLK walked on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. I'd never heard a student of mine share this knowledge! On the inside I felt like this...

On the outside I was curious to know where his background knowledge came from. How did this child know such things? He's  visited and walked on the bridge because his parents took him for a visit. I knew in that moment I owed it to my students to dig deeper. One student sparked curiosity, and it was my job to help fuel the flame.

Too many times we just scratch the surface with our students, either assuming they only  need to know the basics or they're incapable of learning more.

We didn't follow up the book with some cutesy craftivity or having students write what their dream is. I'm all for cutesy activities if they can also provide content. We had an open discussion. We discussed what segregation meant. We discussed how even today we may see or hear people with prejudice thoughts and actions. 

I believe we need to be teaching our students beyond MLK. Don't get me wrong he deserves recognition and credit along with countless others who do or don't make history. I believe we  can contribute to disengagement by only teaching about the SAME few people every single year. Sure we all know about the Montgomery Bus Boycott but how many know about the Tallahassee Bus Boycott? I had no clue until I decided to dig deeper for myself. The name Rosa Parks is instantly recognizable, but what about Claudette Colvin? She refused to give up her seat on a bus before Rosa Parks did. Is her story less deserving of attention? 

I'm challenging myself as well as I share this post. I had to evaluate whether or not I've been teaching my students to think beyond what they've heard before. Our students deserve to know more about the people of all races who fought for equality. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Snapshots of History

Happy Saturday everyone! My poor 'lil blog has been so neglected lately I had to clear away some cobwebs! I've had the opportunity to collaborate with some AMAZING bloggers on a project. I'm happy to share our Black History Month Digital Sampler is now available!

The sampler is full of links to resources  perfect Black History Month supplements for  K-2 classrooms. Each resource will help your students dig deeper into learning about important people in Black History. Students will dig deeper and extend their knowledge beyond well known people such as MLK. Click on the picture to learn more!

Five for Friday

Oh my goodness, I had to dust the cobwebs off my poor blog! I haven't blogged since the beginning of November! It's been a while, but I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching to share my Five for Friday.

Who doesn't love Friday??? My glorious Friday night plans include the sofa, a Christmas movie, and pizza! I like to live on the edge.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in our classroom. Our class elf Clara Cupcake returned and this year she brought a friend! Is anyone else using Elf Pets in the classroom? I came across this in Target a few weeks ago. Such a cute little story and a cool addition to any elf at home or school. Our class named our reindeer Swifty.

 Speaking of Christmas, of course we have a decked out tree with cupcake ornaments! A teacher friend picked up the tree for me my first year of teaching. Over the years students have given me the cupcake ornaments to add.

I LOVE Christmas trees! At home I decided to do a peacock theme tree this year. There's something special about the glow of lights. 

The marque Santa sign I found at Target a couple of weeks ago. Heaven forbid Santa gets lost and doesn't know where to put the presents, ha!

This weekend I'll begin printing and laminating December Edition Fluency With a Twist to use in literacy stations next week. My students love this activity! They'll practicing reading for fluency and expression with a fun holiday theme.

You can check out this product in my TpT store. Have a great weekend friends! Don't forget to link up and share your own Five for Friday post. 

Currently November

Happy Sunday teacher friends! What happened to October?! I swear it went by in such a rush. It's the first of the month which means it's time for another round of Currently with Farley

Listening- I'm watching last week's episode of The Walking Dead again to find any hidden clues. I'm convinced Glenn is gone 100% but some friends of mine who watch the show aren't so sure. In my opinion there ain't no way he could have survived.

Loving- I went shopping in Canton,Texas today with my BFF. There was a chill in the air with some rain, but we bought some good things so I didn't mind. If you love to shop then you'd love Canton Trade Days. You can buy everything from antiques, clothes, home decor, and food. One vendor sells all sorts of delicious soup and dessert mixed. I can't wait for my baked potato soup to be done.

I also found this cute charger plate at a craft fair last week and knew I had to have it.

As much as I love Christmas I wish it were easier to find Thanksgiving decorations.

Thinking- To nap or not to nap? I love a nice lil' cat nap on a rainy day.

Wanting- I left the air on by mistake when we left for Canton this morning so now my apartment is freezing! I've got the heat on so hopefully I won't feel like a popsicle much longer.

Needing- As of right now laundry can wait

Yummy- Don't get me wrong I love pumpkin pie, but there's just something AMAZING about a slice of sweet potato pie. Southern people love sweet potato pie.

Don't forget to link up and share your currently!