The days in a second grade classroom fly by! Look around and you'll see learning happening all around you. Sometimes my 22 second graders are seated as a whole group on the rainbow carpet for our phonics word study or interactive read aloud. Other times we're seated at different work tables for small guided reading groups, math groups, or writing conferences. We've also been known to spend time seated at our table groups, participating in whole group math lessons. But no matter where we are in the room, there's one thing that's always happening: learning.
Second graders are intrepid learners, especially when armed with a whiteboard and marker.
They eagerly attempt spelling patterns, or work through why two odd numbers added together make an even number. They construct input/output tables, and they sketch characters and list their traits. There's something about the impermanence of writing on a whiteboard that liberates students to take chances that they oftentimes wouldn't take when using paper and pencil.
My Project
When I first started teaching, I went to a home improvement store, bought a large piece of shower board, and had it cut into rectangles that my students used as whiteboards. Fast forward 18 years, and those same whiteboards are still in use.
Our new whiteboards are lined for writing on one side, and the other side is a perfect blank slate for math.
Students will use these new whiteboards to sort words with long and short vowel sounds during word study. Number bonds, fact families, and open number lines will be constructed during math. Low-tech whiteboards have proven to be an invaluable learning tool in my classroom. A nice, fresh batch of boards will be much appreciated! Thank you!
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Messina and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.