Cleaning Up Handwriting

I'm going to talk about a little thing today that is quite an issue in all of our classrooms.  Handwriting.  I have a love-hate relationship with it...  as in I just hate(d) it.  Coming from First and now in Second, I always thought that there was NO way I could correct bad handwriting.  They've been doing it for so long, right?!  Well, that all changed when I attended a conference at the beginning of the year on WRITING.  Yep.  WRITING.  Not handwriting.

Guess what.  Handwriting is to writing as math fact fluency is to math... or sight word recognition is to reading.  In order to be a good writer, you have to be a fluent hand-writer!  A huge lightbulb went off when I was learning/relearning some important facts of just handwriting!  I had to present at a faculty meeting afterwards and this was the handout I created.

Handwriting is a motor memory skill.  It's something that is automatic and they could do with their eyes closed!  {Do you find that your students are sitting and thinking about the right way to form a letter?!  Or can they write fluently-and legibly?}

What does that mean?  Well, I'm still not one to think that there is one right way to form letters.  (i.e. Zaner Bloser, D'Nealian, etc..) But I do believe that all should be able to write the letter in whatever way your district requires.  Kinds need lots of practice with fine motor skills, so even copying a letter that it's "the way you want them too" is still practicing handwriting and fine motor skills.

You can relearn how to do things, it just takes some practice.  Think of things you had to learn to do differently--possibly in your teaching.  Just like us, kids can "relearn" handwriting.  Teaching handwriting is also very active-ON YOU!  The final product isn't what we are to be looking for-but rather how they are forming their letters and the only way you can help is by running around.  {Now, this is one area I'm still struggling with-cause, I really don't have time to "teach" handwriting---but keep reading to see how I'm now fitting it in!}

How I'm managing:
I created pages that take very little time to complete, yet is giving students time to practice their letters.  {I actually have 3 different sized print.  Large-kindergarten/beginning grade 1; medium: first/beginning of second; small: second/beginning of third}  I told my students that I was very frustrated with their handwriting and that we are now going to CLEAN UP THEIR HANDWRITING!

What students will do:
See it.  It's important to see the letter on the page written correctly or at the very least-neatly!
*Trace it.  Students trace it.
*Copy it.  Students will copy the letter above.  I have dots for where their pencil should start the letter.
*In these 2 sections, students are encouraged to erase the complete letter if they make a mistake-NOT just PART of the letter that doesn't look right.  We want them to form the letter correctly from the start.

~Hide it.  Students will cover the top part of their page, so they cannot see the letter at all.  They will write their letter as many times it will fit.  Afterwards they will circle their best letter.  They will put a box around their worst-AND FIX IT.  NO ERASING HAPPENS IN THIS SECTION.  This is important for ME to see how they are forming the letters.  This is how I am making up for that time I don't have to run around and watch everyone making their letters.  I can easily see where letters were started.

~Close your eyes.  This is my students' favorite part.  I have students place their pencil point down towards the left of the page at the bottom and will tell them how many letters to make.  Then they will CLOSE THEIR EYES and make the letter!  This is where the motor memory comes into practice.

You do not need to have a specific program to do these activities.  However, I needed something to help me in the classroom, so I have created these packs if you are interested.

{This pack is perfect for Kindergarten or beginning writers! and possibly beginning of first for a review}

    {This pack would be great for end of first grade; beginning of second grade for a review}

{This would be great for 2nd grade-beginning of 3rd for review!}

{OR all 3 in one bundle!}

What's Next?!  I plan on making a D'Neilian and a cursive pack just like these.  You will also find numbers in the near future and I plan on creating "review" packs that will be sight words!  Right now I will have the 3 packs bundled with intentions of adding the numbers and sight words.  (Cursive will have it's own pack as will D'Neilian,  once I find a good font to use for those)

'Snow Easy Snow Globes!

I cannot believe that it's the new year!  I have so many things that I'm thankful for in the past year and excited to see where the new year takes me!  I've recently hit my second milestone on TPT and am super excited and feverishly working on something to celebrate {though, with this short break of ours and the fact that THREE out of 5 of us had a stomach bug... including me... kinda had me on a standstill}

I wanted to share a quick and easy project for you to start when you head back to school... Of course, it hasn't been too cold yet or I would have taken the kids' pictures before school left out for our winter break... but Mother Nature had other plans... I mean-we were in shorts and short sleeves on CHRISTMAS EVE!  (in Pennsylvania!  And to give you an idea of our usual temperature... every year on my time hop app has shown snow on those days! lol)

Step One-gather your supplies.  You need construction paper, crayons (or oil pastels for fun!), hot glue, fake snow (I get mine on clearance at the craft stores after Christmas!  One or 2 bags will get you through a class)  and clear plates... WATCH OUT on the plates.  You don't want to get plates that have anything on the bottom.. you know that say "recycle" etc...  it needs to be clear.  I have always gotten my plates at Party City.. THIS year I'm getting the smaller plates since I have more students  than in the past and need to fit them all out on the wall.

Step Two:  Take student pictures wearing their winter gear...  Or have some for them to wear.  Have them strike a "winter" pose.  Print them out.  I printed a 5x7 for the large plates.  I'm thinking this year I'll print them in a 4x6 size.

Step Three:  Trace the plate onto construction paper.  Have students draw a winter scene.  If able, give them their picture so they will know what it will look like once they glue their pic on the paper.  They could glue it now too.  TIP: make sure to tell them to not draw IMPORTANT things at the edge.  The plate will cover it up. ;)

Step Four:  Laminate the paper-this will protect it from the hot glue you'll be using later!

Step Five:  Put a few handfuls of snow in the center of the picture.



Step Six:  Squirt a little hot glue on the edge where the plate will go and place the plate face down-QUICKLY before it gets hard!



Step Seven: Jam hot glue underneath the plate the rest of the way around.  Pay special attention to the bottom so that the snow will not fall out.

Step Eight:  Have students write about it!  Use the following papers to help guide their writing!


{Click on the pictures to download the file!}


Step Nine:  Staple the paper to their projects and hang in the hall!




You'll be walking in a winter wonderland in no time at all!  Make sure to check out the other fabulous ideas from my friends in the i Teach Second hop!

An InLinkz Link-up

Questions~asking and answering

I'm so excited to share this with you today.  It's something I started back during the school year that I've finally got ready to share with the world!

When I first went back to school after my maternity leave, I had my big clinical review 2 weeks after I started.  My students were struggling with answering questions in complete sentences---not to mention just answering the question correctly!  So this packet was born.

I mean, what kid is a master of answering questions anyway?
"What was the story about?"
"I went to Disney World last summer!!!"  sigh......

I whipped up these posters that helped the kiddos realize what we were looking for in the answer.  If we ask a "who" question, there better be a person or character in the answer.  If we ask a "why" question, then the word BECAUSE better be in their answer!

They helped dramatically!  I was so proud of their work.  When we would answer questions from stories/passages, I would have them highlight the question word before answering.  They were instructed to look at the poster to make sure they answered correctly.  If a paper came in without highlighting---it went right back out.  Another thing we did is I found passages that I could print out for my students, so that they could write right on their paper.  The needed to highlight WHERE they found their answer, or if it wasn't directly stated, WHAT they used to support their answer.  {Now, we do our Language Arts curriculum a little different... we don't have a big box company curriculum but rather we have "themes" that we need to find things on our own---or create them.  So much of what I found were already made in books that my coworkers had, because it was my first year in second grade----and being back half a year made things a bit stressful!  This year I plan on creating more passages of my own, which will most likely be added to this pack!}

{I had these up on my board for a few weeks while we got used to searching and answering questions better}

I've added to this pack to have more activities and I imagine it will end up growing more as I teach the entire year.  There are matching cards where students are matching an answer to what question word they believe was used to get that answer.  I plan on using that in small groups-but as a whole group activity.  (We will work in small groups to find the matches, and then discuss whole group what the matches were and what questions could have been asked)

{This is just part of the page for memory}

There are around the room activities, which, if you have been following me, it's something I LOVE to do with my littles.  Getting up and working with clipboards around the room just have a magical effect on engagement!

The first activity has a question asked at the top of the card with 2 possible answers below.  They need to walk around and read the question and decide if A or B is correct as the answer.  They will also write what question word is used in the question on their recording sheet.

 {These are on half sheets-to give you an idea of how big they are; copyright info is only on the pictures for my blog-not on your download}

The second activity has a photograph and a question below.  Students will look at the picture and read the question.  They will need to write a complete sentence to answer the question as best as they can.

{Copyright info on this picture is not there on your download}

The third activity has a photograph as well (same ones are used), but an ANSWER is under the photograph.  Students will have to work in REVERSE to figure out what QUESTION was asked and write that on their recording sheet!

{Copyright info on this picture is not there on your download}

I plan on using these during the beginning/first half of second grade to work on our question/answer skills, along with having students use text to find answers as well.

This is how my mini bulletin board ended up afterwards:

If this is something that you could use, you can check it out in my store!

Responding to Art-Writing station freebie!

I've been using this since I've started teaching, oh... 12-13 years ago.  It's so easy to use, and it teaches SO much!  Looking closely, thinking deeply.  WRITING!  And working on that fine motor skills that our littles seem to lack more and more of each year coming into first.

The past few years, I have been using it as something special, instead of having out all the time.  We have a fantastic day of "arts" at our school, so I use it around that time to create a fab bulletin board.

What is it?!  Responding To Art.  Show students a picture or many pictures.  They choose one and recreate it.  Then they write about it.  It can be about what they see in the picture to how it makes them feel.  Check out a few examples:

If you'd like to give it a try, it's pretty low maintenance.  You can easily find artwork online to print, however, I like to find postcards to use.  They are more durable, but they can be a little harder to find than printing something off the computer.  As a station, I would keep 1-2 pictures out for the week or 2 and students can choose to work on it during that time, if they wish.  (I have a ton of other options that are out too, so they don't all flock to that all the time.. just in the beginning)  Click {HERE} to grab a copy of the recording sheet!

*If you use it as a lesson, I took about 30-45 minutes for the drawing and writing portion.  I used pictures that I found from a book that I got at a discount book store called Baby Einstein ABC's of Art

Class Books, snow, freebies..

So much for sharing what I'm working on with writing on Wednesdays!  We have had quite a memorable winter, to say the very least.  And snow days for me mean---I get nothing done.  My kids keep me busy, or are sitting right on top of me doing things...  :(  (In fact, it's been really difficult to find things that will help you all, or inspire you because we haven't had consistency and are behind!  We haven't had our 100th Day yet, and it appears that our Valentine's Day party will be after President's Day!!!) :/

I wanted to share what I do in my classroom with class books.  By no means am I the creator of this!  We frequently, weekly/bi-weekly write to a prompt that I turn into a class book.  Sometimes it's more than a prompt and it's the kids writing "research" about different things we've done in other areas.  I bind them with a page in the back for parents to sign and write a positive comment to the class.  The students love sharing these books with their parents!  (Not to mention, it also gives parents a glimpse inside the classroom to see how their own child is doing!  Are they writing as much as the others?  Is their handwriting readable??)

Of course, my freebie is a little late to use this year, if you are one to want to do it BEFORE Valentine's Day, but it is something you can do afterwards.  I had my kids write what they thought "Love is in the air" means.  I LOVE their responses.  This one was all their writing--no rewriting.  I did underwrite a few words to help parents out.  Take a look at a few of their pages:

Click {HERE} to grab yourself the writing page and the book cover for "Love is in the air."

I also had my kids write to Mother Nature before we left on Wednesday, since the big nor'easter was heading our way.... and we might not see each other for 5 days...  Here's a few of their adorable responses! 

Click {HERE} to grab yourself a copy of the writing page and class book cover for Mother Nature.  (Mother Earth is also in there, since that's what I used first... It was a spur of the moment activity and what I had created for Earth Day last year!)

This is the parent sheet I put behind every book made, and I also have a copy of the note I send home with the first few books.  I send the books home in ziploc bags.  I tried big envelopes... laminated and not.  Neither lasted.  Ziplocs are cheap and easy!  And so far the books have held up just fine by going to all 20 homes!  {click on the pictures to download a copy for yourself!}

LAST-what I do with the books at the end of the year!  I disassemble the books and create books for each student to take home filled with all of their writing throughout the year.  It's a great keepsake.  If you read THIS post, there's a little bit of info about the covers I used at the end of the post.  (freebie too!)