On Safari

If you are looking for some animal fun for your kiddos, head on over to Second Grade Shenanigans to take a look at some of our recent activities!

You've Given the QPS, Now What?

Once you've assessed your students in reading, what's next?  Check Elementary Matters to see some ideas and some great links for resources!

Sally

Steph Harvey and Smokey Daniels

Come on over to my blog to find out how my week with the amazing Stephanie Harvey and Smokey Daniels went! It was an incredible opportunity!! 

Abby

Assessing Reading Difficulties

How do you decide what reading skills to teach during RTI?  What do you use for assessment?  Come on over to Elementary Matters to see what helps me, and download a copy you can use now!

Sally

End of Year and Beginning of Year Craftivities!

The end of the year is quickly approaching... and before you know it, it'll be September, too!  Get ready with my new craftivity, the write stuff {an end AND beginning of year craftivity}.  Take a peak:

This craftivity can be used *now* to end the year, or in September, to start the year!

Here is what you'll find in this 30 page packet:

*pencil pics and patterns

*an end-of-year writing prompt, available for grades K-3

PLUS a blank grade prompt, just in case

*a beginning-of-year writing prompt

*a beginning-of-year checklist writing prompt

All prompts come with half page and full page options,

as well as primary and secondary lines!!  I want to make everyone happy :)

Stop by my blog or go straight to this listing on TpT to learn more!!


Psst... if you DL the preview on TpT, you can snag a freebie!

Rockin' Teacher Materials: A Math Linky & Winner of the Easi-Speak!

Rockin' Teacher Materials: A Math Linky & Winner of the Easi-Speak!: I found this awesome blog and they have a Math Linky party going on! There are already some great blog posts listed and there are only 8 hours left to join! Oh, and did I tell you . . . we have a winner of the Easi-Speak!

See you in a few!

              

Spelling City Favorites!

Friends~I have been working with Spelling City to review some of their premium games and I spent some time this morning playing lots of fun spelling and vocabulary practice games.  Check out a few of my favorites below!

My favorite of the day is Word-O-Rama.  I set this game up with our vocabulary words from our Reading Street story this week and my students were able to match the word to the definition or sentence given.  This will be perfect practice for next week because we will be taking our end of the year SRI tests.  During the SRI tests students are always asked the meaning of several vocabulary words and they have to find the meaning from the text. 

Another favorite that I am going to add to my Exploration Centers is Spelling City's Cursive Handwriting sheets.  You can generate your own cursive sheets from your word lists.  It is super easy!

Mine will look like this!  I plan on coping several copies for students to explore.  I don't teach cursive but they will be exposed to it in 3rd so it is a fun way for them to get their feet wet.

I am finding so many new ways to use Spelling City in my classroom.  I hope you will head over and check it out!  I am getting my practice lists ready for my kiddos to use this summer!

Starmallow Math Fun

Yesterday, I went to Target and found these fun StarMallows. I think these are supposed to be for Fourth of July but I thought these would be fun for a few math activities. 

We are working on graphing and probability right now so I created two sheets to use with the StarMallows.

Click here to head over to my blog to download.

While you are here, don't forget to enter my giveaway for $20 in clipart from The Digital Bake Shop or a free item from my store.

Click here to go to the giveaway.

Word Wall Linky!

Come link up with your word wall pictures and activities!!

Happy Pay it Forward Day!

When I found out it was "Pay it Forward" Day, I decided to pay my readers forward by sharing lots of great sites and activities that are going on in "Teacher Blog" land!  Plus, I threw in a little "temporary freebie"!  Hop on over to Elementary Matters for lots of great stuff!Sally

Word Wall Help!

I have a confession to make - I need some help with my word wall...


Yeah....this is what it looks like - don't laugh - PLEASE! lol

Have some ideas?? Come on over and share them, PLEASE!

Order and Compare Numbers

One of our centers this week is to order and compare numbers.

The kids love using decks of cards!

Come on over to read all about it!

Celebrating 500 followers with a FREEBIE!

It's sure been busy over at Down Under Teacher! I've just reached 500 followers - YIPPPEEEE!! - and created a 50 page beginners multiplication freebie to show my appreciation. 

 Not a follower? How about heading over and checking it out!

We've recently come back from holidays and I was CAH-RAZY enough to go in and rearrange my whole room. Sigh. But I love the changes I made and you can check out some new pics of my classroom and read about  how I structure my guided math groups in recent posts.  I use the TIME acronym: 

 

T: Teacher's Choice (sometimes I work with individuals for assessments rather than the groups, hence the name - it allows me more choice as to what I do with the group). 

I: Independent Work (includes computer programs, worksheets, activities with manipulatives etc to work on the current concept).

M: Math Facts (usually games, flash cards or partner activities to work on math facts or a targeted mental math strategy).

E: Essential Revision (going over something via a game or activity, with or without a partner, to review a concept from a few weeks ago to keep it fresh). 

You can read more about it here. 

 

Want some freebies? I've also posted polka dot clock times and boggle letters.

Ciao for now!

More Random Tidbits About Our Language Reading Teachers Should Know

My LETRS training (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) from a couple of weeks ago keeps spinning in my head.  As I review my notes, I find more and more things I want to share with other teachers.  I wrote several more interesting points on Elementary Matters.  Come on over and see what I've shared!
Sally

Party Time!!

Hop on over to my blog to find out what this precious pup is doing!

While you are there, you can pick up a math freebie!

Random Tidbits About Our Language Reading Teachers Should Know

I enjoyed a fabulous LETRS training a couple of weeks ago, and I'm only starting to process everything I learned!  (LETRS stands for Learning Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling.)  I wrote about some of what I learned today.  Come on over to Elementary Matters to find these random tidbits of information! Sally

Rockin' Teacher Materials: Check Out the Easi-Speak & Win One for Your Class!...

Rockin' Teacher Materials: Check Out the Easi-Speak & Win One for Your Class!...: I have had the awesome privilege of trying out an extremely innovative educational tool.  The Easi-Speak from  Learning Resources. Come see how I used it in my classroom and win one of your own!

50% Off Flash Sale!

It's my birthday and I want to celebrate by giving you 50% off all items priced $3 and over in my stores. I'm going to tidy up a bit and get ready to go out and then the sale will be over! Get in quick while you can!

You are welcome to post this on FB/Twitter (I don't do these), blog about it and Pin It! I love nothing more than grabbing a bargain and I'm sure your followers will as well.

TpT  and TN are ready to go with everything marked down.