Friday Letters on Kidblog!

    Since the typical response to the question, "What did you do in school today?' is 'Nothing', I decided to start having the students write Friday letters to their parents on Kidblog.  Every Friday they write a letter to tell their parents all about what they did in school during the week.  The parents can then log in and write a letter back in the comments section.  On Monday we display the letters on the Smartboard and the students read them to the class.  This has been a great way to involve the parents in our school and keep them informed.  The students are motivated to do their best since it's their parents they're writing to and they love reading the letters their parents post.  I even had a student who got letters from her mom, dad and sister.  She was very proud to share them.

Here is the sample I made up so the students and parents could see what to do.

Teacher Tip- Kidblog.org is free and was designed for young students.  It is secure. No one can read the posts unless they are signed in with their specific password.  You can opt to approve the comments and posts before they are displayed for everyone to see and all of the comments and posts are tracked with the IP Address so you know what computer it came from.  The Friday Letter can also be done in a paper journal and sent back and forth if the technology is not available.

The Value of Equality

One of my favorite parts of teaching is those unexpected teachable moments.  We have been learning about nonfiction text features and practicing using them while we read.  So with it being baseball season I thought a biography on Jackie Robinson would be a great read a loud.  As I'm reading the students start buzzing with connections.  I always cover Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in February and we take time throughout the year to focus on the contributions of an array of people in our country.  So the students really had a lot to pull from.  For them it's almost like a fairy tale when I show them pictures of separate entrances, water fountains, schools, etc.  Second graders have strong opinions about fairness and these images don't meet their standards.  I am moved to hear their thoughts about how we should treat each other and what our world should be like.  They give me hope in a world that, even today, is far from fair and equal.  I closed the book and we took a few minutes to discuss generally some examples of things that are still not equal even if the law says they should be.  We also talked about their experiences and what it feels like to be treated unfairly.  I could see my students building on their relationships with their peers and gaining an appreciation for their differences and similarities.  It always amazes me when I see the amount of acceptance and consideration children can have for one another.  I took a moment to help them feel empowered and understand that they can help make our world better, even right now, in any little way, it matters.  We ended the discussion with the simple rule, treat others the way you want to be treated.

Classroom uses iPads to give parents a virtual seat | Cumberland - WGAL Home

Classroom uses iPads to give parents a virtual seat | Cumberland - WGAL Home

iPad Management Tips

  Managing iPads in a 2nd grade classroom can be overwhelming at first.  Here are some ideas to keep it simple and get the most use out the iPads everyday.

1.       Assign Students to One iPad	This way you can track their use easier and create usernames in various apps for them. I have six student iPads and each one is labeled with a number on the screen. Since there are 18 students in my class, I have 3 students using each iPad.
2.       Create Groups and Assign Cycle Days	We operate on a six day cycle so I created three groups and assigned them each 2 cycle days for iPad use during the 90 minute literature block.
3.       Create Folders for Apps	We use The Daily Five so I created a folder for each 'five' and organize apps according to the reading, writing or spelling skill it addresses.  This makes it  easier for students to find the apps they need.
4.       Create an iPad Map	I built a giant iPad out of bulletin board paper to give students a map of where to look for the apps and what apps we have learned to use.
5.       Display Assignments	Create a guide for each group's reading assignments.  I usually assign three and one of the three might be an ongoing project or writing assignment.  The students can save their work and continue to add to it on their cycle day until it is ready to turn in or by the deadline I assign.
6.       Storage	You will need a common place in the classroom where the iPads will be stored and charged.  This could be as simple as a dish drying rack set on a table or desk above a power strip.

I will add more tips and images.  Let me know if you have questions or other ideas!

-Mrs. Barcavage