Non- Standard Measurement

Everything is prepped and ready for Marshall!

We are going to begin our math lesson by reading a story called Measuring Penny. Based on the title and picture on the cover, what do you think we will learn about today? That's right, measurement. Today, you are going to learn about standard and non- standard measurement. (Demonstrate) One way to measure is to use a standard unit of measure like inches on a ruler. The book is 11 inches tall.  If I don't have a ruler, I can measure it with a nonstandard unit. (Measure book with pencils) The book is about one and a half pencils tall. We will talk more about measurement in a few minutes, but first, let's read the story! (Read story)

1. Looking at the cover, who can tell me the name of the girl?
2. What is the name of her dog?
3. The story we read is called, Measuring Penny after reading, I want to know, why do you think that is?

(T- Chart on Standard and Non- Standard measurement) This is a T- Chart on Standard and Non- Standard measurement. I want us to create a list. Raise your hand, and tell me, what units did Lisa (the main character in the book) use to measure?

We are going to do some measuring using Non- Standard units of measurement just like Lisa. Each of you is going to get a mini- book that looks like this (show book). You will be asked to find the width, length, and height of objects. (Read chart) Wide= width, long= length, and tall= height. 

To find your measurement, you will use a Penny Ruler. This is your Non- Standard unity of measurement for this activity. Before I send you off to work through this booklet on your own, let's do a few examples together!

Does anyone have questions?

** Check out Simply Skilled in Second and her Measuring Penny activity here on Teachers Pay Teachers.

*** I was observed during this lesson and my professor provided me with some fabulous feedback. She wrote, "Good job at giving quick expecations: "Spread out a little not to the back of the room." I like the idea of getting the wiggles out. Good classroom management skills. :-) LOVE when lessons begin with a book. :-) Your students are good listeners. You read the book well with fun introduction, enthusiasm, etc. You did a nice job of explaining how the dogs ears were measured. Thank you for complimenting the student by saying, "That's a really good observation." :-) Nice work of explaining the difference between "standard and non standard measurement. Thank you for asking students to raise hands! Thank you for telling the girl who said pennies as a measurement why her answer was good yet incorrect. Questioning skills are good to have and you are doing a nice job of questioning your students and your students are excited about measuring. :-) Their hands shot up in excitement! Thank you for thanking others. :-) Great quick informal assessment to see if students understand and are ready to move on. You are a natural, Liz!! A school will be lucky to get you and so will your students. :-) Good luck to you!"

Sequencing

Today, we are going to learn about the beginning, middle, and end of a story. Let's take a minute to think of the beginning, middle, and end of our school day. (Write beginning, middle, and end on chart) Raise your hand if you can tell me one thing our class does in the morning. Great job! In the middle of the day, we eat lunch. What else happens in the middle of our school day? What happens at the end of the day?

As you can see, there may be more than one event that can be classified as the beginning, middle or end. That is okay, as long as the events are put in order. You wouldn't want to say you line up for the bus and then get ready to go home. That does not make sense. First, you need to get ready to go home, then you line up so you can be dismissed to catch your bus.

(Chart) Certain words and phrases in a story give clues about whether the event is at the beginning, middle or end of the story. 

Many stories have a sequence to them. Sequencing refers to putting events or actions in order. Let's take a minute to retell the story of the "3 Little Pigs" from memory. What happens first? In the middle? At the end? This is our sequence of events. First this happened, next this happened, and then this happened.

This morning, we are going to read my favorite story. It is about a boy named Alexander who has had a very bad day. What do you think I mean when I say, bad day? Raise your hand if you have ever had a bad day. (Call on a boy and one girl to explain why their day was so bad and how it made them feel.)

Over here, you'll see that I have some events from the story. I want you to really be listening to the order of these events because after we read, we are going to try and put them in the correct order. (Read events)

Read story and ask, "Why do you think Alexander's mom said, 'Some days are like that. Even in Australia.'" Can you avoid bad days by moving? 

Raise your hand if you can tell me what the word, "Sequence" means. That's right! Sequence refers to putting events or actions in order. As a class, we are going to recall the sequence of events in our story and work together to put them in order. (Recall 7 or 8 events)

I have a short sequencing worksheet for you to complete. I want you to write a sentence and draw a picture to show the correct order of events from the story. There were more than four events from the story but I only want you to write and draw four of them. It can be any four events that you remember, just make sure to put them in the right sequence. (Show my example)

Below are several of my students examples:

We also had enough time to play an Alexander board game which my 2nd graders loved. You can get your copy here.

Water Cycle

Take a good long look at the water on the table. Now, can you guess how old it is? The water in this glass may have fallen from the sky as rain just last week, but the water itself has been around pretty much as long as the Earth has!

Today, we are going to learn about the Water Cycle! (Turn on PP)

The Earth has a limited amount of water. That water keeps going around and around and around and around in what we call the "Water Cycle."'

The Water Cycle is made up of four stages:
1. Evaporation
2. Condensation
3. Precipitation
4. Collection
(Have students repeat stages one by one focusing on pronunciation)

Evaporation is when the sun heats up water in rivers or lakes or the ocean and turns it into vapor or steam. The water vapor or steam leaves the river, lake or ocean and goes into the air. 

Water vapor in the air gets cold and changes back into liquid, forming clouds. This is called condensation.

Precipitation occurs when so much water has condensed that the air cannot hold it anymore. The clouds get heavy and water falls back to the earth in the form of rain, hail, sleet or snow. 

When water falls back to earth as precipitation, it may fall back in the oceans, lakes or rivers or it may end up on land. When the water ends up on land, it will either soak into the Earth and become part of the "ground water" that plants and animals use to drink or it may run over the soil and collect in the oceans, lakes or rivers. We call this collection, and it is where the water cycle starts all over again. 

Next, we are going to watch a one- minute video clip that is going to walk us through the four stages of the Water Cycle. 

Now, I want us to label a poster of the Water Cycle. 

The four stages of the water cycle are evaporation, condensation, precipitation and collection so this is our word bank or the words we get to choose from. 

When the sun heats up water in rivers, lakes or oceans, some of the water turns into vapor or steam and goes into the air. What is this stage called? Is it evaporation, condensation, precipitation or collection? It is evaporation. 

When water vapor in the air gets cold and changes back into liquid, forming clouds it is called? Is is condensation, precipitation or collection?

When so much water has condensed that the air cannot hold it anymore, the clouds get heavy and water falls back to the earth in the form of rain, hail, sleet or snow. This stage of the water cycle is called? It starts with a p.

And the final stage of the Water Cycle, when water falls back in the oceans, lakes, rivers, or may end up on land is called? That's right, collection. Great job! Labeling the Water Cycle was not an easy task, but you did it!

Alright 2nd graders, I want to teach you a song! This song is going to help you remember the stages of the Water Cycle. This is going to be so much fun and I am super excited to be able to sing about the Water Cycle with you this afternoon. Let's all stand up and form a circle. Make sure you have room and are not in your friend's personal space.

"The Water Cycle Song"
(Sung to the tune of She'll be Coming Around the Mountain)

Water travels in a cycle, yes it does
(Use pointer finger to make a big circle in the air)
Water travels in a cycle, yes it does
(Repeat finger circle)
It goes up as evaporation
(Move hands up to the sky)
Forms clouds as condensation
(Make a cloud overhead with arms)
Then comes down as precipitation, yes it does!
(Sprinkle with fingers while bringing arms down in front of you) 

**I was observed during the second half of this lesson. My professor wrote: 
"Water Cycle- 
Students were watching a short video clip to reinfroce their learning from earlier. Great discussion post video... Very engaging and respectful. Good check for understanding. Fun review- song with actions- students loved it! Thorough, well- developed lesson plan! Nice job!!"

Classroom Management Plan

Below you'll find our philosophy, classroom management plan and a couple pictures: 
 

Philosophical Statement

We believe the purpose of education is to help children develop, grow, and learn. We believe each child is a unique individual who needs a secure, caring, loving, and stimulating environment in which they can grow, mature, and reach their goals. We believe children learn best when they are taught under certain environmental conditions and in certain ways. Some of these are direct guidance, indirect guidance, redirection, limit setting, and encouragement.

           

All children have certain primary needs that must be met if they are to grow and learn at their best. There are five basic needs: Physical, Intellectual, Language, Emotional, and Social. They can be remembered by the use of the acronym “PILES.”  We will meet these needs by planning appropriate activities, providing appropriate materials, a safe and comfortable environment, and being flexible to children’s learning needs. It is our desires as educators to help children meet their full potential. We will incorporate themes, projects, integrated units, group and individual work, and hands-on learning in order to make children active learners.

Technology plays a big role in today’s learning and while we will use technology in our classroom, it will not replace hands on teaching.  As a good educator it is our responsibility to teach students how to use technology positively and effectively. We will use every resource in hand such as the Smart Board, computers, digital cameras, Internet, handheld and wireless devices to include technology in our classroom.

Our goal as educators is to make a difference in the world by teaching young children. We will provide the tools needed to help children become successful in life, reach their goals, and to believe in themselves. Children are our future and they need help and guidance to reach their full potential and become productive members in society. They also have needs and those needs must be met in order for them to reach their full educational potential. We, Allison and Liz, as effective educators, hope to meet these needs and help our students reach their full potential.

Room Arrangement 

When entering the classroom, students will find a well-organized classroom. Natural lightning from the windows will illuminate our classroom; the vibrant colors on the walls and decorations will make the children feel welcome and comfortable; there will be a weather book section where students can learn about weather by reading a variety of books; a Water Cycle bulletin board will create curiosity. Students’ desks will be arranged in a semicircle. They will be able to see their classmates as well as their teachers. The carpet on the floor will be comforting to the students and will allow them to be closer to the teachers. The teachers’ desk will be placed in front of the class so the teachers have a better view of the classroom and the students.

We believe that the set-up of a classroom has a big effect on student learning and we hope that our classroom will be an environment that will engage all students in critical thinking, discussion and reflection. Arranging the students’ desks in a semicircle will create an environment rich in discussion. We think that it is very important to engage students in discussion to try to draw out and challenge ideas and let the class learn from each other. No one will sit behind the semicircle or on the sides of the room outside the semicircle. The class will enjoy the eye contact and facial expressions of everyone as they share ideas.  

By arranging the students where they are facing each other, we believe this leads to a more intimate environment as well as a space where we can get to every student easily. We like to walk around the room while teaching, rather than staying in one stationary place in the front. If the desks are arranged as so, we can walk around, engage more students, and hopefully create an environment where students can talk and share ideas freely and comfortably.

We believe that students should be constantly challenged and provoked to think critically. A variety of materials will be provided to students, they can use these materials to study, practice their writing, reading or learn more about weather. Our desk will be in the corner of the room, but will be used mostly for administrative tasks. A computer and Smartboard will be used to make learning fun and interesting. 

Classroom Rules

We believe in keeping a safe environment where put-downs and name calling is not allowed – this also falls under respect. Is we can have respect for our students as well as having them respecting each other, we believe this will lead to a safe environment where learning can take place. We don’t mind if students bring food to the classroom, as long as they eat it during snack or free play. We also don’t mind if students wear hats or necklaces in class, as long as the hat or necklace doesn’t interfere with learning. If it gets out of control and students start eating during a lesson or they start playing with their hats or necklaces, we will let them know that these privileges will be taken away, right from the beginning.

We want to create an environment with positive and numerous student-teacher relationships. Especially in diverse classrooms where many students are from different backgrounds, we want to create an environment where students are not and do not feel that they are being treated unfairly. We do not want to label students or assume their academic ability on the way they look or arc. We do not want the diverse settings to lead to situations where communication is not happening. We feel this is where behavior problems may arise. We will accept students as individuals with unique and cultural difference; to respect, relate and like them; to listen and communicate openly; and understand and honor their family, culture, language, and race. In order to create an environment like this we have created a list of classroom rules and morning meeting rules:

Class Rules

1.     Be nice and kind.

2.     Be honest.

3.     Listen and follow directions.

4.     Take care of our things.

5.     Respect the rights and property of others.

6.     Do your best and have fun learning!

Morning Meeting Rules

1.     Come to morning meeting with empty hands.

2.     Cooperate and participate.

3.     Raise your hand when you want to talk.

4.     Respect others and their thoughts.

5.     Learn from each other and have fun!

We will discuss these rules with the students on the first day of class and have them sign a copy. By signing a copy of the classroom rules and morning meeting rules, the students are accepting the rules and their consequences.

Logical Consequences

Students are expected to be respectful and responsible throughout the school day. If a student is having difficulty following a rule they are given a warning and reminded of what a good choice would be. If a student continues to misbehave they will have a consequence. We will try to make each child's consequence as logical as possible; therefore, consequences will vary depending on the situation. For instance, if a child continues running and talking in the hallway after a warning is given, they would have to come in during part of their recess to practice safe and respectful ways to walk in the hallways. However, if a child continues to be distracted by a bracelet or necklace, instead of coming in for recess, they would have to keep the bracelet in their locker for the rest of the day.
        Students will be rarely sent to the principal's office in our classroom; however, the safety of all the students is very important to us. If a student hits or pushes another child they are automatically sent to the office. We want all of the students to feel safe and secure in our classroom.

Classroom Procedures

We want to be consistent with our students in terms of Classroom Procedures. To get students attention we will use clapping, counting down from 10, Whole Body Listening, and Show 5. 

Beginning the Day – When entering the classroom, students must put away their coats, backpacks, snacks and lunches. We plan to have the agenda on the board so students can look at it as they walk in. Students should turn in any homework and then start their morning seat-work.

Entering and Leaving the Room – Students should enter and exit the classroom quietly. If they are coming in late or leaving early, they should not disturb the other students. This procedure will be used for all situations throughout the day.

Lunch Count – Students will need to find their name and move it to the right column. If they brought lunch, they need to place their name tag under the “bringing” column. If they are buying lunch, they must place it under the “buying” column.

Using the Restroom – Students need to ask for permission to use the restroom. Only one student at a time can go to the bathroom, unless there is an emergency or the teachers are okay with it. They must return to the classroom after using the restroom, this means they cannot go to other classrooms or any other place in the building.

Fire Drill – When hearing the alarm, students must stop what they are doing, leave everything, and quietly walk directly to the door. One of the teachers can hold the door open for the students and the other teacher can lead the students to the nearest exit. Once outside, everyone is expected to stand quietly and wait for the announcement to come back into the building. 

Lining Up – Students must wait until they hear their name or their row is called, then, quietly stand up, push in their chair, and line up facing forward. They will need to bring all the necessary items they may need with them.

Ending the Day – Students must clear off their desks, place papers to go home in their folder or backpack and wait to be called. Once they are called, they can gather their belongings and quietly sit on their desks or carpet and wait to be dismissed.

Encouraging All Students and Positive Reinforcement

We will praise students in ways big and small. We will recognize work in class, display good work in the classroom and send positive notes home to parents.

We will get to know our students. Getting to know your students is about more than just memorizing their names. Students need to know that their teacher has a genuine interest in them and cares about them and their success. When students feel appreciated it creates a safe learning environment and motivates them to work harder, as they want to get praise and good feedback from someone they feel knows and respects them as individuals.

We will set high, yet realistic expectations. We will make sure to voice those expectations. We will set short-term goals and celebrate when they are achieved.

We will relate lessons to students’ lives. Whether it is budgeting for family Christmas gifts, choosing short stories about your town, rapping about the Water Cycle, or pretending to be Pilgrim’s and Indian’s in the Thanksgiving story, students will care more if the identify themselves or their everyday lives in what they’re learning.

We will create a threat-free environment. While students do need to understand that there are consequences to their actions, far more motivating for students than threats are positive reinforcements. When teachers create a safe, supportive environment for students, affirming their belief in a student’s abilities rather than laying out the consequences of not doing things, students are much more likely to get and stay motivated to do their work. At the end of the day, students will fulfill the expectations that the adults around them communicate.

We will offer varied experiences. We know and recognize that not all students respond to lessons in the same way. For some, hands-on experiences may be the best. Others may love to read books quietly or to work in groups. In order to keep all students motivated, we will mix up our lessons so that students with different preferences will each get time to focus on the things they like best. Doing so will help our students stay engaged and pay attention.

We will give students responsibility. Assigning students classroom jobs is a great way to build a community and to give students a sense of motivation. Most students will see classroom jobs as a privilege rather than a burden and will work hard to ensure that they, and other students, are meeting expectations.

We will allow students to work together. While not all students will jump at the chance to work in groups, many will find it fun to try to solve problems, do experiments, and work on projects with other students. The social interaction can get them excited about things in the classroom and students can motivate one another to reach a goal.

We will provide opportunities for success. We know that students can become frustrated and unmotivated when they feel like they’re struggling or not getting the recognition that other students are. We will make sure that all students get a chance to play to their strengths and feel included and valued. It can make a world of difference in their motivation.

We will be excited! We believe one of the best ways to get our students motivated is to share our enthusiasm. When we’re excited about teaching, we know our students will be much more excited about learning. 

Clinical Experience (In No Particular Order)

This has been the most stressful school year of my life! I don't sleep and I have no social life but these past two days, I have seen all my hard work pay off. On Sunday, I traveled three hours from home to spend two days in a 2nd grade classroom.  Below, you will find journal entries about my first and second day at school.

Day 1

I got to school around 7:30 and got set up for our day. I met a boy in the hallway who told me he was in my classroom so I introduced myself and talked to him a little bit. 

Kids came in they were super quiet. I invited them to the carpet with me. I introduced my partner and I as their guest teachers for the next two days. I went through rules and expectations. I also talked about our classroom management activities and how we are going to get students attention. We modeled whole body listening, show 5, clapping, and counting down. The kids caught on real quick!

I led morning meeting. We did an adjective greeting, whip share, and for our activity, I had students line up by height without talking. Reagan was the leader on this, she was helping everybody out and all 15 were lined up correctly from shortest to tallest. I taught a lesson on standard and non-standard measurement. I used the book Measuring Penny and as a class, we filled out a T-chart of the standard and non-standard units of measurement that Lisa, the main character of the book used. I had mini booklets and a Penny (dog from the story) ruler for students. I paired the students up and they went around the room measuring items. They measured length, height, width and around. I looked at some of their mini-books and was blown away by how far they got and how well they worked together.

Art took longer than expected so instead of teaching my whole science lesson in 15 minutes, I introduced the Water Cycle vocabulary. Students had a chance to practice saying the words out loud and I defined the words for them. I then taught them the Water cycle song with motions and I so wish I could have recorded it. They did a phenomenal job and I was SO proud of them. I actually ran out of the room to catch a professor and invite her into our classroom.

I had students tell me they enjoyed my lessons. 

One girl came up to me as she was working through her mini book and said my math lesson was fun. 

When I pulled out the penny rulers there was lots of excitement! 

At recess all the teachers were standing around but I had kids ask me to play with them or watch with they were doing. I had kids yelling my name from across the playground and running over to me to show me things they found. 

At the end of the day, I asked for a high five on the way out. I said things like have a good night, see you tomorrow and Adios Amigo. To one girl I said, "See ya later Alligator" she walked a few steps, turned around, smiled and said, "in a while crocodile!"

After sitting for a really long time for my partner's lesson, I needed students to sit and listen to mine so I had them stand up jump around, run in place and then we reached to the sky, moved all our wiggles to our fingers and slid down into criss cross applesauce. Students sat very well after that! 

Day 2

It is April 1st today and I wanted to pull an April Fool's joke on the kids but did not have time to make "Brownies" or brown E's so instead, I wrote today's date as March 32nd. It took students maybe five seconds to yell "No" and "That's not right." They're a smart bunch and there was no fooling them however, I was fooled. One girl come in and first thing she said to me was, "My dog died last night." As a person who put their dog down back in November, my heart sank when I she said that. I wasn't 100% sure I heard her right so I asked, "Last night?" She nodded and I said, "I am so sorry!" and I pulled her closer for a hug then she looks up at me, smiles, and exclaims, "April Fools!" She got me and she got me good!

After Morning Meeting, I taught a reading lesson on sequencing. This went really well. We put events from our school day in order, events from the 3 little pigs in order and then we read Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. As a class, we put 8 events from the story in order. On their own, students completed a sequencing worksheet. They chose any four events from the story, wrote a sentence about it and then drew a sketch. They were able to look back at the book and sequence cards but most students recalled the events from memory. They did a fantastic job and everyone was able to recall four events. We also played an Alexander board game. We had one winner in every group and they were crowned King of Australia. One boy asked where his crown was so I took my hands and placed an invisible crown on him. He then made a text to self-connection when he realized Alexander drew a picture of an invisible sandcastle in the book and I just placed an invisible crown on his head.

We read Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs after recess to calm our bodies down and they were super excited about the book and found it hilarious! I had a cute writing prompt to go with this book we did not get around to it.

In social studies, I went more in depth with the environment lesson my partner taught yesterday. I showed students a book I made about ways we can help the environment. After reading that, I explained we were going to make our own class book. Student's worked hard on their page of the book.

In Science, we went more in depth in the Water Cycle because we only had 15 minutes yesterday. We did a full hour of Science today. I had a PowerPoint and one-minute video, then we labeled a Water Cycle poster as a class and after that we reviewed our Water Cycle song. Students were so excited to sing it again. After my science lesson, they reviewed the Water Cycle with my partner and they had to define the words: Evaporation, Condensation, and Precipitation. Those are big words and this is a hard concept, but they were able to tell us all about the stages of the Water Cycle.

At the end of the day, we did a fun dance on Go Noodle. There are characters on the screen and we had to mimic their dance moves. We danced to the hit song, (at least it was back when Madagascar first came out years ago :-)) I Like to Move It!

A girl at recess made me a Rainbow Loom bracelet. I've always wanted one of these so I was very excited.

When I told students today was our last day they booed, sighed, and said, "No, I don't want you to go." It sure made me feel good!

For clinical, we had partners. I felt bad like I should have said sorry because my partner’s lessons were not as clear so the kids were always confused and could not complete the tasks. I was constantly interrupting. Today, I tried to keep my mouth shut during science and I didn't even make it 5 minutes without opening my mouth to say something. I really hope she doesn't feel like I stepped on her toes.

The kids were constantly coming to me with questions, comments, etc which showed me that I had a strong presence in the classroom. I also know I am loud and my voice carries. Maybe it was all my interruptions, or my lessons, or how I presented myself from the second students walked into the school but they knew who was in charge, what I expect, and that I want them to succeed and I am here to help them do that.

Gym started off really well but then one boy had a complete meltdown and started yelling and would not calm down. I raised my voice after I saw a kid slide off the gym floor and said, "Gym is a privilege. I know you are excited to be in here and I know you are full of energy. That is great, but we need to follow the rules and play the games correctly so no one gets hurt." I went on and on and stated expectations again because when my partner did it, it clearly did not stick. I also said, "If we cannot get along or follow the rules we'll go back to the classroom. I have plenty of things for us to do." When I was done talking, students walked silently to where I asked them to be and played the games well the rest of the time.

When we walked back to class I said, "Just like always, in the hallway, our voices are at zero, we are in a straight line and we are keeping our hands and body to ourselves. Let's walk quietly as a mouse back to class." When we got back to class I said I did not hear a peep from them and I was very impressed. A student asked, "Since we walked quietly as a mouse do we get a piece of cheese?"

It has been a great two days and I was sad that we couldn't stay longer!