CUPS

Hey everyone,

     Recently I had the privilege of attending an amazing writing conference and I came out with so many great ideas to help my little writers!  Writing seems to be a big area of frustration for my kiddos and for me.  I love to write and always model what my students are going to be doing, and they seem to do okay with that part.  But... when it comes to cleaning up their writing... Oh man, it is a struggle.  They can never find anything they need to fix and when a friend reads over their work, the friend can find maybe one capitalization error but that's about it.  So... Here's my new favorite writing tool! CUPS!  I know this has probably been around forever and I am just now learning about it....

     In my classroom I am going to be dividing students up into groups of 4 when it is time to edit their work. Then, each student in the group will be given a job and they will have a "job description" card to remind them of their duties.  One student will look over each group members work and only focus on their spelling.  Another student will look over each group members work and only focus on punctuation... etc...  This way, students will be looking for specific things that need to be corrected rather than scanning everyones writing looking for anything to fix.

     So... Here is what I have made so far...

First- CUPS posters.  These cute posters explain each part of CUPS editing to the students.  It is a great way to introduce this idea to the kids and a great visual reminder for them.  I just love decorating things I make with +Melonheadz Illustrating clipart!  It makes it so much cuter!

You can click on any of the above pictures or click HERE to check out these posters in my TPT shop!

Next- I made student "job description" cards that match the posters.  These are the cards I will use when students are working in a group to edit their writing.  Each student in the group will get a card that will tell them what their job is.

Click on either of the above pictures or HERE to purchase these from my TPT shop!

Enjoy!

Some Freebies!

Here are some freebies from my TPT shop.  If you like them, please check out the rest of my shop and follow me!  I would love any feedback and comments too!  Enjoy!

Primary Vocabulary Page

Find it at:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Primary-Vocabulary-Page

Posting a different vocabulary word each day or each week is a great way to expand students' vocabularies. Being able to look up a word in a dictionary is a skill many young learners do not have but will need. This worksheet is simple for younger students to follow. They write the word, the definition, draw a picture of what it is/means, write one synonym and one antonym, and they write a sentence using the word correctly. Could use this in a literacy center.

Fact Family Poster

Find it at:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Fact-Family-Anchor-Chart

Use this anchor chart to help introduce what a fact family is. It can be printed to make a 18x24 poster.

Building a Graph Assessment

Find it at:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Building-a-Graph-Assessment

Aligned with 2nd grade core content. Students use the data provided to build a graph.  Students can use a piece of graph paper if needed.

Two-Digit Addition Without Regrouping Assessment

Find it at:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Two-Digit-Addition-without-Regrouping-Assessment

This is a great assessment for 2-digit addition without regrouping. The first few problems help students line up their equations in vertical form by given them a "guide line". The last two problems don't have the "guide line" so students must show they can line up their addition equations in vertical form. You are looking to see if they line up the tens and the ones places. This assessment aligns with 2nd grade core content.

Compare and Contrast Countries Graphic Organizer

Find it at:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Compare-and-Contrast-Countries

This document is great to use for a country study. Fill in one side with the name of the country you are studying. The other side says United States. Students can compare and contrast different cultural aspects of the country being studied to ours.

Recent Products

Hey everyone,

Here are some of my recent items posted to my shops.

The Doubles Rap Poster

Find this great poster at: 

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Doubles-Rap-Poster

This poster is great for introducing the doubles facts.  My 2nd graders caught on to it quickly and loved the rap.  We also made up gestures to go with each doubles fact.  This is a great poster to refer to in your classroom or you can print it on a regular sheet of paper for students to use as individual reference pages.

 FISH Communication Book

(Family Involvement Starts Here)

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/FISH-Book

This is the most amazing resource for daily communication between home and school.  Each day students turn in their FISH book and I get a chance to look over them and circle their behavior toward the end of the day.  Students then take them home and get it signed by a parent and get their reading log filled out and signed each night.  This is a great way to keep track of students' nightly reading.  It also keeps parents involved in how their child is doing in class each day.  You can also include notes to parents, they can write notes to you (instead of having to keep track of all those little post-it notes that come in), and include any special days or events that may be coming up.  If you don't want to bind it into a book, you can just copy the pages front to back and use one page a week.

Once you get them made and started, you will love them!  I don't know what I did before these. :)  Once you start using these FISH books, you love them too!