Remember this post? (http://www.msbooklady5280.blogspot.com/2013/04/my-name-is-ms-book-lady-and-i-have.html)
(aka, how I spent two nights in a row cutting out 900 construction paper circles)
The first step is admitting your problem right? A couple weeks ago I found this:
It looked like such an awesome project, and it meets standards for first and second graders about understanding their place in the world so I couldn't pass it up.
The steps to produce this project included: A) I (plus my para and a parent) spent almost a week tracing and/or cutting out circles for this project. B) Now that classes are finishing up, each has to be hole punched and string tied (oy vey). Thankfully next year only 1st grade will do the project, because doing this times 200 is getting ridiculous. C) I had to grade these all of them, checking all of the options. Here is a snapshot of each of the projects (awesome examples from all 8 first and second grade classrooms):
The steps to produce this project included: A) I (plus my para and a parent) spent almost a week tracing and/or cutting out circles for this project. B) Now that classes are finishing up, each has to be hole punched and string tied (oy vey). Thankfully next year only 1st grade will do the project, because doing this times 200 is getting ridiculous. C) I had to grade these all of them, checking all of the options. Here is a snapshot of each of the projects (awesome examples from all 8 first and second grade classrooms):
Most students did a great job...I also used a checklist:
...while it obviously didn't help all students, it made a big difference for some--especially with punctuation, and making sure they capitalized/spelled correctly the proper nouns.
This was an amazing project. I truly recommend it, especially if you are in the classroom (aka, not creating 200+ of these, and only 30). It meets 1st and 2nd grade standards beautifully. (See below. These are Colorado State Standards, since CCSS hasn't expanded to Social Studies.)
Content Area: Social Studies
Grade Level Expectations: Second Grade
Standard: 2. Geography
1. Geographic terms and tools are used to describe space and place.
Content Area: Social Studies
Grade Level Expectations: First Grade
Standard: 2. Geography
1. Geographic tools such as maps and globes represent places.
1. Geographic tools such as maps and globes represent places.
