On Track and On Target {Tips for Any Teacher!}

I am not going to lie, friends... I'm not the best data tracker! Isn't it so hard to keep track of ALL of the successes that our students encounter throughout the year?

Now that it's October and we are settled into our classrooms, we'd like to kick start the month by giving you some tips, ideas, and even some freebies along the way to help you keep better track of all that D.A.T.A.!!!

This year our math curriculum is different and when talking to our school's math coach, she helped me make this graph. I have never done this before and I actually got really excited about it once it was shown to me! The test was out of 25 points and not only did a ton of my kids score 100%, but I can visually see where everyone is clearly! I am going to do this with the rest of the chapters and it's a way to keep track of how my class is doing in math! 

 Speaking of math, I have my kids keep track of their own data for math fact fluency. I also do this for the students who have reading fluency folders. I have found that these graphs are fun for the students and they are visually inviting! The kids look at the trajectory and really understand that they are moving up, up, up! You can grab these graphs here FREE.

 Something quick and easy that I started a few years ago are these assessment binders. I am not going to lie (I know... already said that!), these can be tricky to keep up with! However, I think that in the end it is worth it!

How they work:
Each student has five tabs inside for (1) word study (2) writing (3) social studies (4) science (5) math
After the assessments are graded, I put them in the binders (you could have the kids do this!)
Every couple of weeks I send them home and ask the parents to sign the assessments.
The students bring them back the next day!
Repeat!

It can be time consuming to file the assessments in the binder, but since I teach second grade and my students don't get grades on their report cards, I really want my parents to be clued into how they are doing! I find this has been really helpful and that parents really are appreciative! You can grab these covers HERE free!

The last thing I wanted to show you are these editable Words Their Way grouping sheets that I made. If you use Words Their Way, then after you give the spelling inventory, you  just type the student's names in this and you have them documented and ready to go! You can grab these HERE for free too!

Well friends, consider that data tracked! Like I said, I am not the best and by now you know I am not the most organized teacher, but I love sharing what I know and I hope that these tips can help you this year!

My Lesson Planning Style {with Mrs. Dailey's Classroom}

My lesson planning style? I wish I could say I am the super organized teacher who can whip out any resource because I could find it in my sleep. *Newsflash* I am not that teacher. I dream of being that teacher, but I am beginning to accept myself for who I am! Who is with me?

I hear a lot of my teacher friends talk about how they can multitask and yes, that's great in a perfect world but today I am going to keep it real with you! I am one of those teachers who needs quiet silence in order to think and plan.

I also need to have all of my plan books and materials laid out in front of me. That's just too hard to do with a classroom full of students so I typically plan before or after school. I don't plan during the day because I am either setting up, cleaning up, or taking a quick breather.

Here's a sheet that I created for single lesson plans because I needed one to show my principal during an observation.

You can use it as is, or you can edit it once you download it.

One last thing I wanted to show you are these September writing prompts. I put them in my early finisher work pile during my language arts block.

You can grab them HERE today on sale! Or, grab the bundle, which is being updated as we speak!

Thanks for stopping by to see how I do lesson planning! We start back August 24th, so I can't wait to show you more over at Mrs. Dailey's Classroom soon!

Meet the Teacher Ideas {with Mrs. Dailey's Classroom}

Hey friends! August 2?! Woah, where did the summer go? I know for some of you, you are back in your classrooms putting every finishing touch on your decor and first week of school lesson plans. For me, I don't go back to school until the last week of August and can't get into my classroom until that time.

So, today I will be showing you one thing that worked well for me last year! And... I will take a TON of back to school photos this year, PROMISE!

I love, love, love back to school night {even though I still get nervous after seven years!}. Who's with me? Now only do I get to showcase the classroom and what we're learning in second grade, I get to see all of the parents sitting at their child's desks and put faces to names!

Last year I worked with one of the reading specialists to put our a science, reading & math table to give out helpful information to parents.

The science and math table had a variety of books on them with a list of helpful and fun apps for kids. You can grab the table signs HERE.

The reading table had tons of information to help parents at home and also had a volunteer sheet for parents to sign up to help out in the classroom if they wanted to do so.

 One of my favorites was the fry word packed which you can grab HERE. If you are looking to build your word wall to go along with FRY words, don't worry... I got you covered!

Another thing that was given out that I wanted to share with you was this information for how to pick a "just right" book. I have this question a lot from parents! They tell me they go to the library with their children and aside from picture books, just have such a hard time finding a book that suits their child perfectly. You can grab this helpful info HERE.

I hope these tips helped you and thanks so much for stopping by today!

You Think You Know... About Melissa from Mrs. Dailey's Classroom

Hey, Friends! I am so excited this week because it is my first week of summer break and I get to share secrets about myself so you can get to know me a little better! I'm not sure how juicy these little fun facts will be, but I'm happy that you will get to know me a little better. 

{Me as a toddler}

I used to not be an "animal lover." That's not to say I didn't like animals, I just was never quite the obsessed dog lover that I am today. Ok, so maybe I am just obsessed with my own fur baby - if any of you know me, I am pretty smitten with Shilah, my husky!

Besides getting to meet Shilah in person, you would love coming to Pennsylvania for a few reasons!

1. You can visit Hershey, Pennsylvania and score some great sweet treats like a Hersey Bar.

2. Our largest city, Philadelphia, is filled with fun things to do like go to a Phillies game or grab a Philly cheesesteak.

3. We have a pretty fun kid's amusement park called, Dutch Wonderland.

I can't believe that I cannot remember this! I don't think I had an "aha moment" where I thought, "I am definitely going to be a teacher." I do remember when I was getting ready to go to college, I knew I wanted to study to be a teacher. 

I always take photos of my students on the first and last day of school. I love, love, love photos and I put a photo in my student's report cards every quarter. 

{My Sneak a Peek Photo Chair}

Our school has "Sneak a Peek" where the students come in a few days before school starts to meet the teacher. It's a really fun time where the students, parents and I can meet for a few minutes before we kick off the year!

Be yourself! I do my best to build a classroom community where my kids know some real sides of me....like....getting to know my sense of humor and get to hear about my family. I show them funny pictures (like this one below) where they feel like they know me! Then my students open up to me and we build a real classroom family. 

Professional Development Books Worth Reading

Happy, June 2, Friends! Can you believe with are in June? Wow! This year was a great one for me with my students in second grade and I hope you had a great year too. With that being said, it's always nice to kick back, for those of you about to enjoy the summer season, and pick up a good professional development book! I know that when I go to the beach or am lounging on the couch I like to have a good teaching method book to keep my mind fresh and current with the latest teaching strategies and data!

 For my book worth reading, I chose Debbie Miller's Reading with Meaning. I was given this book a couple of years ago and it is still part of my professional collection. I have a shelf dedicated to teaching methodology books at school right behind my desk so that they are in easy reach at all times.

 The contents of this book are what make it one of the greats {in my opinion}! The content in the chapters range from helping teachers to establish a framework of teaching reading to walking you through the specific explicit instruction that is needed to develop strong, aware readers in your class.

 My favorite piece of this book, if I had to pick one {so hard!}, would be the chapter on digging deeper. The main focus of this chapter is about taking student conversations and learning deeper, book clubs for primary students, making thinking visible with students and work activity time.

I am a visual learner, so I just love, love, love that there are images provided in this book that are ones from the classroom. Readers can see inside of an actual classroom, with students, to get a better understanding! There are even real illustrations from students to show their understanding!

If you want to grab a copy of this book, click HERE. Thanks for stopping by friends, and of course, I would love to hear from you about this book, or any other that you think is a must read for teachers!

Ending Your Year in Style with a Class Celebration!

It's hard for me to believe that today is May 19, friends! Coincidentally, that means I only have 19 more days with my precious second graders. Today I want to show you some fun end of the year activities that I am doing to "wrap up" my year with my class.

I just created an End of The Year, Friend Scavenger Hunt which is FREE, yep, F.R.E.E. on TpT! All you have to do is download it, print, laminate if you choose to do so, hang the cards and have your students go hunting!

I hang the cards in places in my room where my students have to really go hunting for them. That is half the fun! The other fun part is that this scavenger hunt is all about connecting with friends. Students will go hunting to ask friends certain questions in order to write their name on their board!

You can choose to print the board in black and white or use the colored version shown here. When I print colored versions of materials, I typically like to stick them in these sleeves so that they can be used over and over again! Ink ain't free, if you know what I'm sayin'.

The other activity I would like to show you for wrapping up your year are creating these countdown chains with your students. Yes, this was a little time consuming and took about 40 minutes for each student to create one, but our room is so colorful, happy, and we feel like such a family when everyone gets to cut a link off each day!

I created a pack that goes along with the classic classroom countdown chain, whether it's a single chain or having your students make their own. You can find it here, called End of The Year Countdown and its filled with a variety of end of the year countdown resources. Some of the items I love the most in this pack are the sticky notes template, journal prompts, and last day of school crowns!

This week I will be putting my End of the Year Countdown pack on sale! If you try it, I would love, love, love to know what you think!

I hope you enjoyed these end of the year ideas and here's a huge round of applause to all of your amazing teachers out there!!!

Favorite Children's Author: Mary Pope Osborne

This blog post is super special to me because not only are we sharing our favorite children's authors, but we are also celebrating our 6 month anniversary as a collaborative blog! Time flies when you're having fun, right?!

There are so many great children's authors out there, but the one that I love most of all is Mary Pope Osborne. She is the author of my favorite series called, Magic Tree House. I teach second grade and these chapter books engage my students while taking us on imaginary trips all across the globe! Even I get into them!

I start the year off by reading book #1 Dinosaurs Before Dark in a whole group setting. We read a little each day together so the class is introduced to the series and how Jack and Annie travel together through opening a book in the magic tree house... but I won't give too much away!

I store several copies of each book in case I would like to use them for small reading groups or students want to follow along as I am reading in whole group. My dream would be to have 24 copies of each title!

I love this series so much that I made comprehension guides for two of the stories. I am currently working on more!

These comprehension guides help my students talk about each chapter by recalling facts from the story, making predictions, and even connections to their own lives. I can't wait to sit down this summer with some more of the books to make more guides!

Thank you for stopping by to read about my favorite author! With this month being our 6 month anniversary, we are having a giveaway for a Tallahassee Sunday Pencil! All you have to do is enter the giveaway by following us so we can stay connected! I know we all look forward to seeing where the next 6 months takes us and want to share every bit of it with you! Good luck!!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

What I love About Teaching: Creativity in the Classroom

Happy February 19, friends! It's Melissa from Mrs. Dailey's Classroom and today I'm sharing one thing that I absolutely love about teaching! 

For me, teaching is like being on a stage where I design the entire set. I get to preform on a daily basis, but I also get to choose what my work space looks and sounds like. If I want to have music playing during writers workshop, that's fair game! 

To be honest, I feel lucky every day that I go into work, and even a little guilty! I know my husband, like many others, are heading to a cubical. That work life is not for moi. 

I love that I can make my own schedule under certain perimeters. In the beginning of the year we're given a language arts, math, and content area block. The fun part is that I can decided what to teach when as long as I follow the district and state standards. So, for example, if I want to start my day with a read aloud and then move into phonics, that is perfectly fine! 

I am totally in love with connecting with other teachers inside and outside of my building. This year our class was involved in Simply Kinder's Gingerbread Exchange. 

Currently, we are involved with a 50 state postcard exchange from The Learning Chambers. The Indiana postcard came in today! Speaking of Indiana, I'm so excited to be going to an Indiana blogger meetup in March hosted by Mrs. Ehle's Kindergarten. That will be so much fun!!

Another way I love being creative in the classroom is by improvising when needed and using my own resources. Supplementing is my middle name! I make sure to use the resources offered by my district, but fully appreciate that my principal trusts me to make instructional decision based on my student's needs. I'm able to swap out or add in resources as needed. I made these wipe away -ui phonics strips for my students since we are working on that sound this week.  

I find that each year I change up my behavior management system. Outside of individual behavior charts, my whole class has a number and is part of our "Daily Behavior" classroom chart. I like experimenting with new systems each year to see what works best and what my students respond to in the classroom.

And speaking of behavior systems, I found these desk check cards from All Students Can Shine. When the desk fairy, ahem-me!, sees a clean desk, I leave this sweet note and a shiny new pencil for the student. I love these cards and have them hanging around the room to remind the students that I'm always looking for the next clean desk. 

I hope you enjoyed these ideas and I'd love to hear from you! What do you in your classroom that is unique to you or that you'd like to share? You can take a photo, share it on Instagram, and tag me so that I can see it and leave you a sweet comment! I'd love to see your classrooms!