Math
Toothy
Literacy
Social Skills
Distance Learning
20 Ideas for Increasing Online Engagement
Some teachers have been teaching online since last March! This means some students have been learning online for over a YEAR of their school career! Although there are perks to online learning (and it is amazing how quickly kids learn new technology!) it has worn out...
Overcoming the Main Idea
Main idea is a key standard when it comes to learning in school. However, for how important the skill is, it can leave some of us teachers feeling overwhelmed on where to begin to make sure our students understand what exactly the main idea is and how to find...
How to Use the 5 Ws to Get to the Main Idea
Ask a group of second graders what the main idea of the Three Little Pigs is and they might say, “straw houses are weak.” Getting to the main idea is hard for students. Teaching students to use the 5 W questions helps them focus on the important information in a given...
Camp Read-a-Lot: Social Distancing Style
Love doing classroom transformations but limited due to social distancing guidelines? Guess what?! Classroom transformations are STILL possible during this crazy school year. One of our favorite products here at Team Lucky Little Learners is Camp Read-A-Lot, our...
Children’s Books About Women’s History
Women's History is a topic that I am really passionate about because I come from a family of many strong females. I was raised to ignore traditional gender roles and I'm raising my daughter the same way. This has led to me being a huge women's rights advocate. If this...
Strategies for Practicing Nonfiction Text Features
After you’ve introduced several nonfiction text features to the class, what are some fun ways to have kids explore and practice? In this blog post, we’ve got several ideas for you! Nonfiction Text Features Mentioned in This Post: Table of ContentsIndexGlossaryBold...
Practice Fact & Opinion Using Digital Toothy
Knowing the difference between fact and opinion is an important skill for our learners to master. It helps create stronger readers with improved comprehension skills and it’s a skill they’ll continue to use throughout their lives. Building proficiency in this skill...
Top Teaching Resources: Nonfiction Text Features
A teacher sits down to lesson plan for the upcoming week. Flipping through the manual, they see it is time to teach nonfiction text features. A slight panic develops. How can this skill be made fun for students? Never fear! Here at Lucky Little Learners, we have you...
5 Reasons Toothy is a Game Changer in the Classroom
A Tale as Old as Time: Every teacher knows the feeling that gets them right in the gut. You’ve begun centers just minutes ago and the students are getting into their groove. You are beginning guided reading with the ease of a seasoned professional. It flows and you...
Figurative Language 2nd Grade Reading Passages
As students begin to read more complex texts they will encounter figurative language. This can be tricky for kids because they can't interpret these words and phrases literally. A great way to practice this tricky skill is in context with 2nd grade reading passages -...
Figurative Language Fun!
Figurative language can seem daunting to teach, especially to elementary students! However, getting students engaged in AND understanding figurative language doesn't have to be boring or difficult! Check out these fun strategies below! Reading Passages Did you know...
2nd Grade Jokes and Riddles
We have a blast in our Lucky 2nd Grade Teachers Facebook group swapping ideas and stories - and every once in a while, 2nd grade jokes and riddles make an appearance! Having a great joke on hand isn’t just a cool party trick - it works wonders in a classroom...
Top Classroom Fluency Strategies
It's time to talk about... reading fluency! Fluency is a measure of how well your students can read a text accurately, quickly, and with expression. (A great skill to weave into fluency instruction is comprehension! We'll get to that later!) Here are some...
Compare and Contrast Fairy Tales
There are so many ways to teach 2nd grade students how to compare and contrast similar texts. One of the most effective and engaging ways to bring this concept to life is with compare and contrast fairy tales. Bonus - you’ll be addressing multiple standards at the...
Teaching Compare and Contrast in the Classroom
Time to teach comparing and contrasting in your classroom? Your students are going to have a blast with this important comprehension skill! It is a fun way to have your students dive deeper into stories and also serves as an introduction into higher-order thinking....
2nd Grade Reading Comprehension Passages
What if you had 576 highly engaging 2nd grade reading comprehension passages and questions to use all year in your classroom... And what if there were three different levels of text and questions for each title so every student in your classroom could be using...
5 Ways to Help Kids Find Nonfiction Text Evidence
When kids begin to use fiction and nonfiction text evidence to support their ideas, arguments, opinions, and thoughts, discussions are richer, writing is better, and ELA standards are met! Read on for activities and ideas you can use to help your lucky little...
3 Easy Ways to Incorporate Grammar into Your Day
Grammar instruction is one thing that many teachers struggle to work into their ELA curriculum. For your lucky little learners, grammar concepts may be some of the most challenging when it comes to reading and writing. Fortunately, there are easy ways to incorporate...
How to Give a Fluency Assessment
Fluency is the ability to read with speed, accuracy, and proper expression. Fluent readers are able to read conversationally, at the same pace and tone as if they’re having a conversation. You can determine if your students are on track towards becoming fluent readers...
Ideas to Help With Teaching Text Evidence
Teaching your lucky little learners to read is not just about sight words and basic comprehension. Your primary and early elementary students are ready to learn about text evidence! Text evidence practice can start early and helps your students develop advanced...
How to Use the 5Ws to Teach Text Evidence
How can we get our students to naturally refer back to a text for evidence to back up their answers to questions? With habit-building text evidence activities! One of the easiest ways for kids to start this habit is to use the five Ws to teach text evidence....
Animal Classification 3-Day Lesson Plan (Free Materials Included)
Animal classification is a fun science topic most primary classrooms are expected to cover. The animal classification concept helps kids understand how scientists make sense of the animal kingdom by naming and grouping species. In addition, sorting and classifying is...
Online Math Routines That Increase Engagement
Many teachers are becoming increasingly frustrated with how to get their students to participate and stay engaged, especially during distance learning. Sometimes when math work gets challenging for your lucky little learners, it's easy for them to check out! Have no...
High Impact Digital Math Routines for Distance Learning
Teaching math using our favorite routines like number talks and counting collections might seem impossible in a distance learning environment. But, we can leverage online tools and keep those high impact math routines alive and well in our digital classrooms! In this...
Using Digital Math Toothy for Math Fact Practice
Are your lucky little learners ready to dive into math facts practice using technology as a learning tool? Whether your students are online or in-person, there are so many benefits to using digital math toothy for math fact fluency! Get started using this incredible...
Step-by-Step Number Talk Routines for the Classroom or Online
Number talks are a GREAT way to expand your students' number sense. When used as a daily routine, teachers will see their students' math confidence soar! Below are step-by-step examples of in-person AND digital number talk routines. These number talks feature one of...
Math Facts Mastery: 5 Tips to Use in Your Classroom Today!
Math Facts Mastery: An often-visited topic at PLC meetings, parent-teacher conferences, and in the teacher's lounge. Just how can a teacher get those math facts to stick? Over time teachers have gotten creative to provide math fact mastery strategies that are more...
Digital Math Manipulatives for Google Classroom and Seesaw
Math manipulatives bring math concepts to life for our young learners! But, are there ways to use these tools in an online and germ-conscious world? Absolutely! Digital manipulatives are a powerful way to build number sense without having to stress about...
Math Fact Mastery: Teacher to Teacher Advice
When children fail to master basic math facts, they often struggle with multi-step, higher-level math concepts in later grades. So what are the best ways to help kids master their math facts? We asked hundreds of veteran teachers this very question in our...
5 Easy Ways to Incorporate Social Emotional Learning in the Classroom
If you know your school day could be more productive but the behaviors and social interruptions are getting in the way, incorporating social emotional learning (SEL) into your classroom routine can help! The biggest benefits I’ve seen now that I’ve been...
Social Emotional Learning Curriculum for 1st and 2nd Grade
Elementary teachers know that addressing a child’s social emotional needs in the classroom is an essential part of a well-balanced learning experience. After all, the ability to focus, manage emotions, and treat others with respect plays a large role in a child’s...
How to Support Social Emotional Learning in the Classroom
These days it’s more apparent than ever that social and emotional learning (SEL) is an essential part of a child’s physical and mental health, as well as academic achievement. Teachers agree that weaving SEL instruction into daily classroom routines is an important...
Tips for Teaching Sentence Writing Skills: A Round-Up of All the Best Advice From Teachers
Do your students consistently forget to start their sentences with a capital letter... end with punctuation… correctly spell common words… and apply basic grammar rules in their writing? This seems to be a universal problem because teachers from all over the world...
Digital Toothy on Seesaw – How to Assign
Teachers are loving that they can assign Digital Toothy on Seesaw! This post walks you through, step by step, how to assign Digital Toothy on Seesaw. There is a video tutorial and a written tutorial for you below. Disclaimer: The directions below are given for...
2nd Grade Math Worksheets – No Prep!
Do you need some printable (or digital) 2nd grade math worksheets? Look not further! Lucky Little Learners has math worksheets for addition, subtraction, place value, money, time, measurement, rounding, graphing, and more! Check them out below! These math worksheets...
4 Easy to Implement Reading Comprehension Strategies
What are the best ways to support students who struggle with reading comprehension? The answer is not always straightforward, because one tool may work really well for one student, while something totally different works best for another! Honestly, sometimes the key...
Last Minute Student Gift Ideas
Tis' the season...for grading, writing report cards, creating parent gifts, making all the art, AND spreading kindness and cheer. One way teachers do this is giving a student gift. While this is not a requirement, it is FUN! Below you will find several ideas for easy,...
How to Print Poster-Sized Anchor Charts
Do you have some PDF resources that would make fantastic anchor charts? But, you’ve never actually made them into charts - because that would require some serious art skills (and time!!) Well, did you know that it's possible (and super quick!) to print your...
A New Way to Use Digital Literacy Centers
Literacy centers are a fantastic way to keep our students practicing phonics, grammar, reading, and writing skills. They’re creative and FUN - and with all the awesome digital options, kids are engaged more than ever during center time! But, with so many...
Jamboard Ideas and Activities for Teachers
Teachers and students are experimenting with TONS of websites, platforms, games and apps during this season of distance learning. Throughout all of this, one platform seems to be finding its way to the top of many teachers' favorite tech tool lists. What is this...
Teacher Questions Answered: Tips For Teaching Main Idea and Key Details
Determining main idea and key details in a text can be difficult for second graders. And this means it’s also a challenging skill to teach! So, we scoured our archives, drew upon our own teaching experiences, and relied on the expertise of teachers in our...
Christmas in the Classroom: Ideas for ELA and Math
Children’s’ eyes light up during the holiday season - especially when they get to engage in special holiday activities at school. But, these days, many teachers are feeling the pressure to continue with regular standards-based instruction. Guess what? You can...
Google Sheets Tips for Teachers
Have you discovered the power of Google Sheets in your classroom? Google Sheets is one of my favorite yet often under-utilized products in Google Suite for Education. Check out some of these Google Sheets Tips for Teachers to get you started using Sheets! Change the...
Digital Math and Literacy Centers on SeeSaw
Using digital Math and Literacy centers with your lucky little learners helps them practice skills related to reading, writing, number sense, basic skills, and more! How can you make your digital Math and Literacy centers even more engaging for your students? Add them...
Using the Q&A Feature on Google Slides
Google Slides has a feature that makes it easy for you to get responses from every student in your class, even the ones that struggle to speak out. The Q&A feature on Google Slides has so many practical uses for students, even in primary grades. Here's how to get...
Activities for Practicing Two-Digit Addition
Two-digit addition is a tough concept for second graders. All of a sudden, there are multiple steps and numbers to keep straight, and the concept of addition can go from simple to complicated when kids are first learning this skill. For this reason, students...
A Week of Gratitude: Five Literacy-Rich Lessons for Teaching Your Students About Being Thankful
November is the perfect time of year to teach our students about gratitude. After all, its the season of giving thanks! Truth be told, gratitude isn’t just a fun seasonal theme. Studies are showing the benefits of passing on this skill to our children go beyond...
Engaging (and Easy to Prep) Phonics Center Activities
What’s an engaging and effective way to ensure your students are practicing their phonics skills every day in class? Including a phonics center in your regular literacy center rotations! Phonics centers are an awesome way to get kids practicing phonics concepts...
Virtual Teaching Must Haves
Distance Teaching/Learning is the new (temporary) norm for many teachers and students this school year. Teaching from home or through the screen, while it has its challenges, can be very successful. How? Love, sweat, tears...and the right tools! Check out our favorite...
Easy Way To Make an Audio Recording into a Video
You can easily make your own audio recording to share to YouTube, embed in Google Forms, or use on other apps or platforms that allow videos but not audio recordings. There's no need to sit in front of the camera or do a screen recording. Here is an easy way to make...