Repeated Addition Freebie!

Spring has definitely sprung in 2nd grade....but, you know they aren't really enjoying spring when they vote to stay in for recess because they are tired of the stuffy or runny noses, itchy eyes, and sore throats. Instead, we wrote letters so that we could 'fill some buckets' and attached geometric eggs that my friend Robin Sellers put on TpT. A lot of the letters said, 'you are egg-stra special to me' and I even saw one that said 'you are eggcilent'. I thought that was pretty good...and this student even knew to put an i next to the c to make it sound like an s!!! It was an exciting day as they snuck through the hallways and taped the eggs and letters to the teachers' doors around the school! Who knows....we may even do it again tomorrow! IF it works, you ride the wave, right?  Plus, who can argue with a bucket filler!

My kids are fired up right now because we have started working on multiplication. Every year the kids get more and more excited about it...I guess because they see older siblings working on it. I created an anchor chart showing the different strategies that could be used to find the product of the two numbers in the math problem. It worked so well that my students practices their multiplication and could even tell me which strategy they used! Some created arrays, some created pictures, and some used repeated addition. As we checked our dry erase boards they would say, 'I used repeated addition to find the product of 3 x 4 and it equals 12.' I didn't even have to coach them!!! I was so impressed with how well the anchor chart worked, that I typed a blank anchor chart up for you to use and even included the 'practice charts' that I will be using the next few days. So without further ado, here are the charts--they are simple, but they work!  ! Just click on a chart to go and download! Enjoy!!!! Hope you find this helpful! By the way, I couldn't get my camera to work today <blah to old batteries!> but I get most of my anchor chart ideas from the book Smarter Charts.  It gives you a lot of quick ideas to use and I love it!

Hope this helps you with your anchor charts, repeated addition, and multiplication!!!

Keep Calm....and Wait for Recess!

It has been a while since I posted....life just seems to be moving too fast these days.  It seems like I spend more time filing papers and testing than I do teaching my students.  I just don't know how to fit everything in!

If you haven't been to my store lately, be sure to drop by and see what is new.  My kids are loving my new  multiple-meaning packs and I can see a real difference in vocabulary with my ESL kids.  I have such a hard time 'marketing' myself and pushing the things I make, but this pack is making a huge difference with my kids.  Here is the link.   Go check them out!

I also wanted to share this cute little t-shirt that I designed....I think every teacher I know feels this way right now!  Go grab this t-shirt!  You can choose from a variety of colors.  Personally, I love the coral! 

Can't you just see yourself in this?  

Boy....I am hating the cold, wet days we are having!

Until next time!