Tag: grade 2

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Teaching

Back to School Activities for Your Primary Class

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If you are looking for some simple and printable back to school activities for your primary class, then look no further! Keep on reading to learn about my top four printable activities for the new school year!

First Day of School Booklet

back to school activities; first day of school booklet

This back to school activity booklet, “My First Day of School” is a simple way for students to document the memory of the day.

This quick first day of school activity requires teachers to print, staple, and start. Two sheets of paper required for each student (e.g., print back-to-back on two sheets of paper, and then staple).

This activity is most suitable for Grade 1 and 2.

To view a video of the pages, please click here to visit my listing on Teachers Pay Teachers.

All About Me Activities

The Get to Know Me! worksheets are simple and fun to use as a Back to School activity. 

These pages are geared for Kindergarten to Grade 1 students. Students can use these pages to introduce themselves to fellow classmates and have fun learning about their new friends, too.

The pages can be used individually or compiled as a booklet.

To learn more about the various back to school activities in this resource, please click here to visit the listing on Teachers Pay Teachers.

My Name Is Super!

My Name is Super! is a simple worksheet that is a perfect activity for the first day of school / back to school. 

Young learners will enjoy using different colours to write their super name.

Suitable for Pre-K – Grade 1 students or early writers. Quick tips included.

To learn more about this activity, please click here to visit the listing on Teachers Pay Teachers.

Back to School Activity Bundle

If you like all three resources shared above, then they can be purchased in this bundle!

If you prefer that a copy be added to your Google Drive, you can purchase the bundle here.

This Back to School bundle includes three resources from my shop.

This is most suitable for Grades 1 – 2. To view each resource in more detail, click here for more information.

To learn more about this activity, please click here to visit the listing on Teachers Pay Teachers.

A FREEBIE for You!

This FREE digital choice board is especially useful on the first day or week of school.

It’s a great way way for parents to engage their child in conversation about their new class!

Click below to get your copy!

Stay Connected!

Let’s chat on social media! Stay connected with Minds to Grow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. You can also keep in touch with linktr.ee/mindstogrow.

laptop showing a digital Back to School Choice board for Kindergarten to Grade 2 by Minds to Grow
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Teaching

Self-Esteem: 3 Ways to Build it in the Classroom

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Children often struggle in the classroom if they lack self-esteem. As educators, we can help students build self-confidence. In this blog post, I will share three ways to help build self-esteem in the primary classroom.

boy smiling as he looks away from a computer screen
Children often struggle in the classroom if they lack self-esteem. Teachers can help students build self-confidence.

What is Self-Esteem?

According to www.kidshealth.org, self-esteem means “you mostly feel good about yourself”, whereas “Low self-esteem means you don’t feel very good about yourself.” (D’Arcy Lyness, PhD, June 2018).

Children with self-esteem typically like who they are, feel proud of who they are and what they know or can do. Children with low self-esteem may have a difficult time seeing that they are special and important. They may lack confidence in their abilities or knowledge.

Read more about this here.

By ClickView

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Self-Esteem Struggles Break My Heart

My heart breaks any time I discover a student who lacks self-esteem or struggles with self-confidence.

We’ve all been there at some point in our lives. As educators, we can support our students and help them see that they are amazing human beings who are loved and appreciated.

photo of boy holding heart shape paper on stick
Photo by Victoria Art on Pexels.com

Read this Blog Post: How Will I Grow My Mind Today?

3 Ways to Help Students in the Classroom

young students sitting around a table in a classroom

Talk about It

a young boy and girl talking to each other

Create and Say Affirmations

the words "I am enough" written on a napkin


Free weekly planner page

Read Picture Books

a girl wearing glasses reading a book

Please note that the following titles are personal favourites and suggestions. They are not affiliate links.

An image of Grace Byer's book, "I am Enough"
I Am Enough by Grace Byers
An image of Peter H. Reynold's book, The Dot
The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds

Quick Review

Read this Blog Post: Teacher Tip | Celebrate Our Names

What Does This Look Like in Your Classroom?

How do you help students learn aboutthis topic?

What kinds of activities do you do to help your students build self-confidence?

This picture shows a resource by Minds to Grow called, "My Name is Super" on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Here’s a simple, printable template that can be used with students from Kindergarten to Grade 2.

Stay Connected!

Let’s chat on social media! Stay connected with Minds to Grow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. You can also keep in touch with linktr.ee/mindstogrow.

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Teaching

Quick Lesson Idea: Blank Paper Creation #1

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Short on time and need an easy-to-make activity for your Grade 1 or 2 students? Check out my first blank paper creation. This little booklet will keep students engaged and also make them feel proud of the finished products!

Task Description

To make this mini booklet, each student only needs one sheet of blank paper. It has four sections on the inside, including four flaps. It’s a fun little book to make and read!

This little booklet can be used in various ways. You can get really creative in how you choose to use it. Here are just a few examples:

  1. Topic and Facts (e.g., Topic: trees; Fact #1: There are many different types of trees.)
  2. Main Idea and Supporting Details
  3. What I Learned about….
  4. All About Me

Materials Needed

  • blank paper (Note: I used 12×18″ paper in my example)
  • pencil and/or pen
  • crayons and/or pencil crayons
  • scissors

Read this Blog Post: Quick Lesson Idea | Fish Tank Art

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See the Steps!


click for free weekly planning page template

Read this Blog Post: Phonics Instruction in the Primary Classroom

How Would You Use this Blank Paper Task with Your Students?

What are other ways that you could use this activity in class?

Here’s a simple, printable template that can be used across subject-areas and in so many different ways!

Stay Connected!

Let’s chat on social media! Stay connected with Minds to Grow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. You can also keep in touch with linktr.ee/mindstogrow.

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Teaching

Teacher Tip: Students Love Surveys!

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Students enjoy learning about each other with the use of surveys. It’s also an easy way to learn more about the young people I work with each day, too. In this blog post, I will share a few ways I use them in my primary classroom.

click for free weekly planning page template

Why Is This Important?

Surveys are part of my Math instruction during the school year (e.g., the math strand of Data Management ). Due to the often interactive nature of doing surveys, students enjoy using them in class at any given time. One of my students’ favourite thing to do is talk to their peers during class time. What they may not realize is that encouraging them to talk in such purposeful ways is integral to their learning! It’s a win-win!

Image shows a picture of several different simple surveys for young students to do in class.

a book, summer reflection guide for teachers, on a table

A Favourite and Helpful Video

Here’s a favourite video I love sharing with my students when we start learning about Data Management and collecting data. It’s by Scratch Garden on YouTube.

Skills Students Learn With Surveys

  1. Thinking of great questions to ask others (e.g., “What season do you prefer: Winter of Spring?”).
  2. Creating a variety of surveys (e.g., “I will create a T-chart or graph the responses with a pictograph.”).
  3. Collecting and sorting data (e.g., “I will use tally marks as I ask my friends the survey question.”).
  4. Reading data (e.g., “Five people said they prefer winter. Three people prefer Spring.”).
  5. Interpreting data (e.g., “More people prefer winter. I wonder why winter is the more popular season in my class?”).

Samples of Simple Surveys Used in My Classroom

image shows four simple surveys suitable for primary classroom
Four examples of simple surveys I use in my classroom.

How I Engage Students with Surveys in My Classroom

Whiteboard and Dry Erase Markers: When I ask my students to use these tools, any task becomes a more interesting one! My primary students enjoy drawing simple surveys (e.g., a T-Chart) and collecting data from their peers on their individual whiteboards.

Paper and Markers or Pencil Crayons: For my students who enjoy using various tools as they learn each day, having the choice to use markers or pencil crayons to do their math adds to the fun. I’ve noticed how some of my students even like using these tools to colour-code their data or design their surveys.

Clipboards: This has been a game-changer for me from a few years ago. When I hand a clipboard to each student, for some reason, they become like superstars and become engaged, excited to start working! They enjoy clipping their papers onto them, then moving around the room to speak to peers and record their answers. A clipboard for each student is a resource I love having in my classroom.

Click on the images below for more details on these helpful classroom resources! *non-affiliate / unsponsored links*

Using Surveys Outside of Math Instruction

Teaching my students how to use surveys in class helps them experience success in other areas of their learning, too. For example, once they know how to create a survey, students are ready to create them or use the skills to read one at any time.

Here are some other ways I use surveys in my primary classroom:

Science: When students are learning about animals, they enjoy making surveys on various animals. After learning about animal groups, I encourage them to create surveys for each animal group. Example: “What is your favourite type of mammal: a tiger or a fox?”

Homework Task: When my students are encouraged to create a survey, then use it at home with their family, it’s always great fun when they share their results the next day with their peers. It’s real-world information for them and a great discussion opener in class.

I’m done, now what? I’m sure you can think of at least one student in class who seems to finish assigned tasks in what may seem like a few moments. Here’s a great way to engage that student in a purposeful way and keep them occupied on a different task. I encourage that student to create their own survey template and keep it in their desk (e.g., folder, binder, etc.). They will be able to use it in class at a later time (e.g., ask their peers and record their responses).

Read the previous Teacher Tip: Try Something New: Phonemic Awareness Instruction

Questions to Consider

  1. How do you use surveys in your classroom?
  2. What types of surveys do your students enjoy creating the most?
  3. What part of data management is the most challenging for your students?

Stay Connected!

Let’s chat on social media! Stay connected with Minds to Grow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. You can also keep in touch with linktr.ee/mindstogrow.

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Teaching

Digital Choice Boards for the Win!

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Digital choice boards are a great addition to any primary classroom. I have used choice boards since my first year of teaching, but my use of them has grown over the years. I will share why digital choice boards are a new favourite in my class!

What are Digital Choice Boards?

A digital choice board is a virtual page where there are different kinds of tasks for students to choose and complete. Many digital choice boards are one page or slide. When someone clicks on a selection, some open up an activity or task that is linked to a Google Drive or other Cloud source. Some digital choice boards may include links to websites with activities. An example of a digital choice board is a Bitmoji Classroom. My students and I enjoyed using these this year, too!

Choice Boards: My Early Years

I always like to give my students choice in activities whenever possible. In my early years of teaching, I enjoyed purchasing and using various books that included monthly calendars. These calendars would have hands-on activities that students could complete at home. It was a great opportunity for students to work on something together with their family at home. Students especially loved the fact that they could choose their own activity at any point of the month. I still enjoy using monthly calendars today.

click for free weekly planning page template

As the years went by, I decided to create my own calendars and input specific tasks that connected to what I was teaching in class. I would make them, then print a copy for each student to take home. This printed choice board gave parents a greater sense of what we were working on specifically in class. It made the learning more relevant and gave opportunities for review at home. To this day, I still enjoy using and creating these types of calendars.

Read: Back to School Tips for the New School Year!

A variation on the calendar format also included making either 2×2 or 3×3 boxes on a paper. Each box would contain a task and students would choose a minimum number of tasks to complete by the end of the week. For example, “There are 9 activities. Choose 6 activities and complete before Friday.”

Using such monthly calendars (purchased or made by me) have always been useful and successful in my classroom over the years. They did get a new look for me, however, after teaching changed so much as of recently.

This image shows a laptop with a sample of the choice board on it. The title says, "Choice boards for grade 1 - 2" for a teacher resource created by Minds to Grow. Available in the Minds to Grow TPT store.

When Did Digital Choice Boards Capture My Interest?

Over the last year, teaching has been a whirlwind to say the least. Teachers all over can relate to the same! Here is a quick description of my teaching experience last year:

  • September to December 2020: In-person teaching
  • January to Late-February 2021: Distance learning
  • Late-February to Early April 2021: In-person teaching
  • Mid-April to June 2021: Distance learning

With so many changes and adjustments throughout the year, it pushed me to make intentional changes in my teaching. I still needed to cover material while keeping students engaged (as much as possible in this unique pandemic situation). I still also needed to make sure that activities were relevant and purposeful. It was during the first segment of distance learning that I decided to explore creating simple, digital choice boards. Doing so meant that I could still give my students the opportunity to make choices in their learning while using our virtual classroom.

Picture Book about Making Choices: No, David! (Author: David Shannon)

After trying it out for just a few days, I saw that they were engaged and enjoyed the fact that they got to choose an activity on their own terms. Some even said that it felt like they were “playing a game” on the computer or iPad. Once I heard that, I told myself, “Digital choice boards for the win!”

This image shows a computer screen with a Choice Board for Grade 1 - 2 students (e.g., shows blocks with numbers 1, 2, and 3). It leads to the TPT store for Minds to Grow, where teachers can purchase this digital resource: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Digital-Choice-Board-Ready-Made-Editable-Grades-1-2-Paperless-7098985

How Can You Use Them In Your Classroom?

There are so many ways to use digital choice boards in your classroom! I have personally used them in the following ways:

  • Distance Learning: I prepared one for each day and posted it in my virtual classroom. Students were always eager to see what would be on the choice board each day (and disappointed the few times I didn’t remember to include it). They would use them during Independent Work Time as I worked with small groups.
  • In-Person Tasks: Projecting a choice board on the classroom wall also works well, too! I would introduce the choices to students, then individually ask each one to share their choice. It was empowering for them and I saw greater engagement in the task they selected.
  • Homework / Review: Digital choice boards can also help students consolidate their learning in class. Adding specific tasks or information on the digital choice board helps students and families review key information. This is a great way to link to resources that can help students build upon their current learning, as well as review what we worked on during class time.

What Kinds of Information Can You Put on a Digital Choice Board?

Here are the types of information I have personally included on my choice boards:

  • Subject-Specific: I have made digital choice boards before that focus only on Math (e.g., various strands or even just a single strand of Math, like Number Sense or Measurement). This works well in any subject area: Science, Language, Social Studies, etc.
  • Weekly Reviews: Parents really like these type of choice boards because it gives them a chance to quickly see what our class worked on during the week. It naturally includes a mixture of subjects and/or topics.
  • Talk About It: One key aspect that I have purposely included in my digital choice boards is the importance of talking. There is great value in writing, drawing, and more, yet there is so much power in simply talking about one’s learning with someone else. When a child can talk about their understanding and share it with their family, it opens an opportunity for deeper conversation, chances to strengthen comprehension of the topic, create more interest, etc.

…(T)here is so much power in simply talking about one’s learning with someone else.

Benefits of Using These Types of Resources

Here are just a few benefits from my experience:

  1. They are Paperless! Save photocopy paper. Since they are digital, once prepared for use, they can be posted in your virtual classroom (or projected on your classroom screen in-person).
  2. Time Saver: Every moment counts during the school day. I have saved some precious time by avoiding the use of the photocopier and simply using the digital file. If you choose to purchase ready-made Digital Choice Boards, that is also another way to save some time in your day.
  3. They are editable. If you make your own choice boards, then you can adjust them as needed. Some of the ones I have available in my Teachers Pay Teachers shop are editable. This means that you can use the ready-made board with your students, and can also make changes to the text if needed.

Summary

Digital Choice Boards are helpful tools for learning in the primary classroom. They are especially wonderful because students have the ability to choose activities. They can be engaging and even feel like a “game” as some of my students described this year. Ready-made digital choice boards are an additional time-saver because they are ready to use and post in your Virtual Classroom.

If you have yet to use digital choice boards in your Kindergarten, Grade 1, or Grade 2 classroom, consider trying out one available in the Minds to Grow store on Teachers Pay Teachers. I hope they can be a fun addition to your classroom, too!

Let’s chat on social media! Stay connected with Minds to Grow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.