Barking About Research

In Second Grade, we research sea creatures.  Children choose a sea creature and locate information in various locations.  I have my children use our school library books, as well as websites such as PebbleGo! and Enchanted Learning.  Students begin by taking notes about the sea creature, its habitat, diet, enemies, appearance, and other interesting facts.  My grade level partners came up with a great note-taking sheet.  With lots of modeling, the students spend a few days writing the facts in paragraph form.  They do some peer editing, and then have a final conference with me.  Finally they write their published report.  A cover is made by the children, and we found so many wonderful "scuba diver" ideas on Pinterest to display all of their hard work. 

I found the idea for these on Mrs. Linnabary's blog. We loved how they look in our windows.

How do you do you research in second grade?

Barking about Field Trips

I just took my sweet second graders to the Adventure Aquarium in Camden, NJ to culminate our research on sea creatures.  We had an amazing field trip! The students have spent the past two weeks gathering information from PebbleGo! and Enchanted Learning, as well as from books in our school library.  The students had to gather facts about the sea creature's appearance, habitat, diet, enemies and self-defense, as well as other remarkable facts.  The kids really got into the research, and became experts on their sea creature.  It was so rewarding seeing the excitement on their faces when they were able to see their sea creature in real life!  They were able to actually touch the stingrays and sharks.  All in all, it was an incredible day; one they'll always remember.  Where do you take your students?

More Tips in Creating a Dog-Themed Classroom

I found some really adorable doggy borders, name plates, bulletin board sets, stickers and more on Carson-Dellosa's website.  I loved the turquoise and black color scheme, and thought it would look great in my second grade classroom.  

 

Then I went over to Jo-Ann's Fabrics and found some fun chevron fabrics that went with my color scheme.

I made some black and white pompoms to hang in the reading corner.  I am so happy with the way it looks.  I will have more pictures coming soon. 

Next Step in Creating a Dog-Themed Classroom

After finding the lovely paw prints on Really Good Stuff's website, I decided to use the "dog theme" in my behavior management system.  Many teachers are using a clip chart these days, similar to the one in my picture.  I decided to turn my clip chart into a very large dog bone.

 Next I labeled wooden clothes pins with each student's name.  At the bottom, if a student lands on red, the label says "In the Doghouse".  I love the clip chart because my students have the ability to move up and down throughout the day.  They are never "stuck" on red, yellow or orange.  Do you use a clip chart in your classroom?  What other behavior management systems are you using out there?  Feel free to share on this post.

Creating a Dog-Themed Classroom

Since this is my 7th year hosting a therapy dog, I have slowly created a dog-themed classroom.  It's just adorable, and what second grader doesn't love dogs? 
I began by purchasing these cute paw print cutouts from Really Good Stuff. I use them for all sorts of things.  This year I kicked off my year using these cutouts with the name of each child in my class.  They are so colorful, and kid-friendly.

Second Grade Has Gone to the Dogs

I host a Therapy Dog once a week for one hour in my second grade classroom.  The organization is called Norwester Readers  This has been an amazing adventure for me.  I started with the idea that it would basically be something fun and enjoyable for my second grade students.  They would get to read to the dog.  I had no idea that this program would help students in such profound ways.  My students began to relax as they stroked "Wes", and as they read to him their hands would either rest on his fur, or they would pet him.  Fluency began improving, along with test scores.  Parents noticed their children practicing their oral reading with their pets and stuffed animals at home.  What an awesome program!  If you are an animal lover, like me, you may be interested in looking into a therapy dog program in your school district!