Reach for Reading Activities and Resources for 3rd Grade

Reach for Reading Activities and Resources for 3rd Grade

Many school districts have recently adopted a brand new English Language Arts curriculum created by National Geographic called “Reach for Reading”.  Once a new curriculum has been adopted, it can be a HUGE challenge sifting through all of the materials received, and it takes quite a while for teachers to sort through all of these materials. read more

Second Grade Reading and ELA Common Core Literacy Standards

Second Grade Reading and ELA Common Core Literacy Standards

There are so many ELA standards to teach in second grade! Within your reading and writing ELA block, it’s hard to know where to start. If you are using a reading program such as Journeys, Wonders, Reading Street, Storytown, or Open Court, standards are referenced and are sprinkled throughout your TE. But how do you know if you are hitting all of the standards that your students need to learn? This was the impetus for the creation of our new product line. read more

Valentine’s Day is About GIVING

Valentine’s Day is About GIVING

As I reflect on Valentine’s Day, I always think of chocolate, flowers, Hallmark cards, and Cupids.

This year, I decided to expand my thinking about Valentine’s Day. Are there other things we can add to Valentine’s Day to make the holiday more meaningful? Can we show more gratitude for all of the blessings that we have in life? Can we help those who may be hurting, or going through a tough time ? Can we expand this idea to involve our students so they can learn to help others in their community?  Help them gain some understanding that giving of themselves can be rewarding and make them feel good inside? Here are some ideas I’ve discovered after doing some research: read more

Reflexive Pronouns…. in Second Grade? Oh My!

Reflexive Pronouns…. in Second Grade? Oh My!

No very long ago, we were teaching pronouns in third grade. Now, we are teaching reflexive pronouns in second grade. YIKES! It is a difficult concept to teach reflexive pronouns if your students don’t yet have a grasp of regular pronouns. I had to “brush up” on the term reflexive pronoun, so if you’re like me, here’s a little “cheat sheet” for you outlining the most common reflexive pronouns: read more

Form and Use Frequently Occurring Irregular Plural Nouns- Google Style!

Form and Use Frequently Occurring Irregular Plural Nouns- Google Style!

Years ago, as I ventured into teaching 2nd grade after years of being an upper grade teacher, I was on a quest to learn more about the second grade Common Core State Standards. As I waded through the Common Core Literacy Standards, such as CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.2.1.B, I was already familiar with plural nouns. The problem was I GRAPPLED with the best way to teach this concept while making it fun! Yes, I could fall back on worksheets or task cards, but my second graders had an unquenched thirst for using technology in our classroom. This was the impetous for the creation of our GOOGLE ELA resources. read more