The Great Potato Chip Challenge

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Valentine's Day.  Here in New York we are on our 2nd snow day in a row. Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh! 

The kicker is that next week is winter break (don't hate me because I'm a teacher, hahaha!)

These extra days off gave me the time I needed to finish up a huge science bundle I have been working on.  I've started a series called, "It's Science Time!" I am really excited to be sharing it with you.  Born out of necessity, these 9 experiments can easily be incorporated into your school day....Take a look at the titles below:

I've been creating these little goodies to go along with our school's science fair.  Each year, we enter the fair with a class experiment. It is truly so much fun.  Last year, the kids went crazy for our Osmosis experiments.  {Take a look at the post here!}

The year before that, we did the Rubber Chicken Bone and Snowman Science, two fan favorites!

This year, we went with the Great Chip Challenge! I have some pictures to share...ready to get your science on?

The first thing I did was get their attention...

They were dying, DYING to know what we were going to do with these chips!  

"Science," I said.

"SCIENCE?" they squealed! 

The next thing I did was pose a question: "How much fat is there in a serving of each type of chip?"

We did a little background research by reading what the ingredients were. I purposely hid the fat grams.

The cool thing is that the Baked Lays have the most ingredients (many of which are tricky to pronounce) so naturally....which did the kids think had the most fat?   You got it, the chips with the most ingredients! Ohhh, how I love 2nd graders.  Bless their adorable little hearts!

We needed to keep our information somewhere, so each of the kids got their own science journals.  Take a look at some of the pages. That potato chip clip art cracks me up!

We moved on to the procedure, which involves crushing a serving size of potato chips onto graph paper.  It is so cool!  The kids were going a little wild at this point, but it was all in the name of science.  To be honest, the smell of the chips was making me a little wild myself!

Once we repeated the procedure with each type of chip, I taped the graph paper to the window so we could observe the potato chip grease in all of its glory.  I won't ruin the experiment by giving your our conclusion, but I will share some of our pictures! (Ok, if you look really closely at the last picture, you will be able to see our conclusion...something I am sure you predicted anyway!)

Note to fire marshall, I've since removed these from the rescue window! :)

This experiment does include another part...yeah, you know it.....

THE TASTE TEST!!!! The next part of the experiment asks the little scientists if they think the amount of fat affects the taste. Ummmmm, that was a hands-down YES! Surprise, surprise!

You should have seen them smelling and feeling and nibbling each type of chip before they recorded their data.  Oh yeah, we made kind of a big deal about it.  It was truly hysterical. 

A couple of kids fondly nicknamed The Classic Lays, "The Big Poppa" of chips!

So what do you say? Are you hungry for some science?  Come check it out in my TPT store!

Happy Experimenting :)

And now onto my 500 follower raffle winner.....

Hooray, Rachelle! You should have received an email from me already.  I am looking forward to hearing from you!  Happy Valentine's Day.  Thanks for being a fan and I hope you enjoy that cute bracelet!

Be sure to check back...I will be giving science freebies all week before they go on sale in my stores! Happy Valentine's Day Loveys!

Be My Guest Sunday Presents LOVE From The Applicious Teacher

I cannot begin to tell you how much I LOVE this guest post! It feels like a little warmth on this cold NY morning and a it's a perfect way to begin Valentine's Week! We all love our students, but Leigh from The Applicious Teacher brings it all to life in her touching and funny blog post! I've been a follower of Leigh's on social media for a while and it's clear that she puts LOVE into all she does!

Be prepared to have your heart warmed this morning!

...and remember, after soaking up all the LOVE from The Applicious Teacher, be sure to enter the Stella & Dot Giveaway!  A winner will be chosen this Friday! Yay!!! {Clicking will bring you to the blog post!}

Now, without further adieu, here is The LOVEly Applicious Teacher!

Hey guys! It's Leigh from The Applicious Teacher!

I am super excited and honored that Tracey has so graciously allowed me to post today! Seriously, what kid doesn't love a turn in the "Teacher's Chair"? (Insert joke drum here..)

 Today's post is all about L.O.V.E! The teacher kind to be exact! With Valentine's Day just around the corner (Friday, if you weren't keeping track!) love is all around us! But there is nothing quite like the love a teacher has for her kids.

#Truth! 

We all know that we love our kids like they are own, but do they know? Sure, we probably buy them something sweet for Valentine's Day and send them off to start their summer break with a little memento, but do they really know how much WE, their teacher, really care? Probably not...

See when the chalk has settled and life carries on, those little cards and trinkets fall to the wayside GASP! Not my melted crayon heart!  Yes, sadly even that melted crayon heart. Truth be told, most kids won't remember the "things" their teacher gave them.  Instead they will remember the way their teacher made them feel.

Let's make sure you are making your kids feel loved, special, and appreciated!  Don't worry... it will in a very cheap (as in FREE) and easy (as in no prep) and fast (as in a few seconds a day) way!

Ok... so before we talk about "how" to love on your kids, let's talk about the "why".

Why show your kids you care?

 Research upon research of highly effective teachers has proven that students perform better when they perceive that their teacher had a vested interest in them. AKA... CARED! Here's a link to a case study review  titled "The Caring Teacher". It is 179 pages of why you should show your students you care! No time to read the 179 page article? Bookmark it for later, it is really good!

Here's another online publishing from ASCD.org. It outlines effective teachers and how "caring" really does make a difference! I could go on and on about the stats related to these studies, but if you are like me... you're more interested in the "What do I need to Do..." part...

So now that you are more familiar with the "why" let's get to the meat and potatoes... the HOW!

1. Relationship Building

Research shows that if students have a positive relationship with their teacher (and peers) they will perform better.  Although this can be done in a variety of ways, one of the easiest that I've found, is to actually take the time to "talk" to your students, everyday.

Each morning, as my students write their homework in their planners and work on their morning work, I move around the classroom checking their planners.  As I check for a parent signature from the night before and that homework is written correctly (we're still working on transcribing in 2nd grade) I am also chatting. Each and every morning, I make a point to talk to each of my students in my class. Simple questions like "How was your game last night?" Or "What did you have for breakfast this morning" help me learn and understand each of my students as a unique individual. Now, don't get me wrong... mornings are the most chaotic time in my room. Someone always needs something and I am ALWAYS late inputting my attendance, but I make a point to do it... EVERY.SINGLE.MORNING. Why?
'Cuz I'm relationship building!

2. Celebrate Even the Smallest Achievements

We as teachers are always celebrating the momentous occasions. Like that time everyone made a 100% on that math assessment or the time the class was good for the sub when they were sick. Heck, we even celebrate the 100th day of school! But it's important to celebrate even our student's smallest achievements.

Take for example a colleague of mine. She has a student who has tardy issues... you know those kinds of students. The kind that mosey on in at around 9:30, just after you finished that amaze-balls of a lesson. Well she's got one of those kids and of course that kid isn't doing too hot. Well one day that kid... that tardy kid.. moseyed on in right after the bell. Her reaction? A full on hoot and holler cheer complete with dance moves and body shaking. Now that is celebrating the smallest achievements! You know that kid felt special and loved and wanted to be on time, again, and again! :) Lesson of the story: Don't be afraid to celebrate those small achievements with a little booty shakin'. ;)

3. Letting Student's Know Their Voice Matters

This last one is a *bit* tricky. Any Kindergarten teacher can tell you, you give kids an inch with talking and they will take a mile (and tell you ALL about what they did yesterday, and the day before, and the day before...) So you have to be strategic when letting students voices be heard. One thing that works well in my room is allowing students to be the "teacher" during our "we do" part of a lesson.

During math, I'll often model the concept we are working on, then call a few students up to the chalkboard (yup-total old school style it here!) to work on similar problems. During that time, the other kiddos that were not chosen are tasked with being the teacher. They have to decide if they agree or disagree with the answer the student as arrived at, reteach or coach when needed, and celebrate when the correct answer is confirmed. The kids <3 this routine in my classroom. It is simple and rather painless acitivity that allows my students' voices and opinions to be heard in a structured and safe way. The kiddos especially love choosing which cheer we should use to encourage the students at the board.

So as you assemble your goodie bags and sweat over a pot of melting crayons this Valentine's Day Eve,  remember: sometimes the best way to show some "LOVE" to your kids isn't with the amount of gifts or activities you do (or the amount of $ you spend on TpT), 

It just involves a little extra attention and time.

 

Be My Guest Sunday Presents... Owl Always Love 2nd Grade with BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT

Maybe it's me...

Or maybe it's the fact that these poor kids have been stuck inside most of the winter!
Aaaahhhhhhhhhh! Indoor recess is certainly a game changer, especially when it comes to classroom behavior.

I've definitely seen a change in my kiddos' behavior. There are more tattles, more complaints, more movement around the classroom (at times when there's not supposed to be!) and definitely more chattiness...oh the talking is on an all time high!

Thank goodness I have an awesome guest blogger today with fantastic ideas for behavior management!  I picked up super ideas from reading Furnell's post and I know you will too!  Furnell is the sweet blogger over at...

So before you hit that Super Bowl party tonight, be sure to grab some great ideas for your classroom!

Oh! In case you haven't heard, I am having a super 500 Follower giveaway as well! So as soon as you are done reading Furnell's post, be sure to go enter to win this beautiful Stella and Dot bracelet.  Trust me, it's gorgeous in person...wish I was keeping it for myself! Clicking this link will take you to the giveaway (look for the rafflecopter at the bottom of the blog post):

And now....Here's Furnell!

Hello, All! I am super excited that Tracey asked me to guest blog today! My name is Furnell from Owl Always Love 2nd Grade.  I am a newbie teacher, whereas this is only my 3rd year teaching 2nd grade.  After trying to figure out what I wanted to guest blog about, I decided that it's about half way through the school year and some classrooms might need a little makeover of their behavior management system.  I have been researching behavior management for YEARS since it was the one thing that everyone told me that I would not be taught in college and would have to learn how to manage a classroom on my own. I have gone through a smorgasbord of behavior systems trying to find ones that work for my teaching style and ones that work for the kids in front of me.  I have tested out the tried and true methods that most teachers use and then I have tried some out-of-the-box ideas.  All three of my classes have been totally different and have responded very differently to the different behavior management systems.

Here's some visuals of the systems I have tried out with a quick little blurb of how they work.

Individual Behavior:

                                                            

           Pulling a Card From Lakeshore Learning                         Freebie: Stop Light Made by Me! 

This worked well but cards were always going missing            You can print this and laminate it and

                and so I only used this my first year.                             use clothes pins to track behavior.

                                                                      

                                     Clip Chart

                        Free Printable Clip Chart                                                 Scentos Stamps

This worked extremely well my first year, last year, and           I use these to draw stars on the kids

for the beginning of this year, but then I made the switch                hands when they are doing a 

           to Class Dojo, which you will see below.                                 great job. They love it!

Group Behavior:

Group Tallies/Points were drawn on the board compete with the students.  When they are doing a great job, the students earn tallies.  When the teacher feels that the students can be doing a better job, the teacher gets a tally.  This worked well, but it was just a group management system and I needed more whole class.

Whole Class:

Whole Brain Teaching (My version of the Positive and Negative Points)

This works the same way as the tallies above.  When the kids are doing a great job, they earn Whoos and when they are doing a less than great job, they earn Boos.

 Freebie: Brownie Points The students earned brownie points in my room when they would receive a compliment from another teacher or specialist.  Once it was filled, they voted on a prize.  (I found the picture on pinterest because I cannot find the picture of the one I used)

Homework Club The children who brought in their homework were a part of the homework club and their number would be written in the middle using a dry erase marker.  The kids that forgot their homework always tried harder to bring it in to be in the club!

Currently Using:

Class Dojo has replaced all other behavior management systems in my room this year.  It is very easy to use, and you can bring it with you on your phone or iPad.  There are options to set your own categories, which is why I love it so much! You enter each child and let them choose a little monster to represent themselves! They love this part! Students can earn positive or negative points (like Whole Brain Teaching) and once they earn increments of 10 positive points, they ear a token to my treasure chest (Two of my students work on increments of 5 instead of 10). This is all student run.  The students give or take away their own dojos. I have it connected to my T.V. so it's a great visual reminder to the students. I also add in a section for "Report from Specialist/Other teacher" instead of a student name so I can track their compliments (this works like the brownies).  Once they get to 15 points, they earn a whole class prize.  At the end of each week, I am able to print out each child's report with their percentage of positive behavior and it gets sent home to be signed and returned.  I have two students that I print out reports daily and the are signed and returned as well.

Check out this Class Dojo Freebie: Printable Resource Pack.  It is a great addition to the website. 

I hope you enjoyed taking a look through the behavior systems that I have tried and what I am using now.  There are a TON of systems out there, and these are just a small portion of them.  Teachers need to find what works for them and their students because the shoe doesn't fit everyone! Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you stopping by and following my BLOG, FACEBOOK, TPT and Instagram: @owlalwayslove2ndgrade.

Thanks again, Tracey, for letting me take over your blog today!!!

Thanks,

       Owl Always Love 2nd Grade




Great post, Furnell! I was so happy to have you as a guest today!  Have a great Super Bowl Sunday everyone.

By the way...Darn that Punxsutawney Phil! 6 more weeks of winter???

Oh Nooooooooooooo!!!!!