LITERACY
Captivate Your Students During Whole Group Lessons With Toothy
Toothy is a fun way to review different skills across all subjects. It is especially fun to use Toothy as a whole group activity. With just a click of a button, students will be engaged and excited about practicing their math facts, digraphs, nouns, and more! Once you...
11 Patriot Day Books for the Elementary Classroom
On Patriot Day, we honor and remember the people who lost their lives in the attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001. We also honor the first responders who risked their lives to help others on that day and beyond. This collection of picture book...
Informational Writing Types, Prompts and Projects for 1st & 2nd Grade
We are in an age of endless information. Teaching students how to identify key details in all the swirling information presented to them is no easy task! With practice, learners will be able to use facts, definitions, and examples in their own writing. Let's inform...
Beginning of the Year Writing Mini Lessons
Are you sitting there thinking, "how do I even begin with writing?" For years writing instruction felt like a weakness for me. Maybe it feels like that for you too. If so, let's fix that! In this post, we're talking about simple writing mini lessons that get your...
Level Up Your Reading Instruction With a Digital Sound Wall
If you would have told me a few years ago that a global pandemic would fundamentally change the way I teach my students I would have laughed. Teaching is teaching, right? I would say - kind of. If those challenging months of distance learning taught me anything it's...
Spiral ELA Review Routine Ideas
A great way to review skills is to have them spiral throughout the school year. Team Lucky Little Learners has the perfect resource for this, our Spiral ELA Review. Read on for the why and how on using this resource. Benefits of using Spiral ELA Review As teachers we...
An Easy Way To Set Up Writing Goals In 2nd Grade
Teaching 2nd grade writing is SO rewarding because you get to see great writers emerge throughout the year. At the beginning of the year, you're going to find that your students are all over the ability map. Some may still be mastering letter formation while others...
How Centers Support Explicit Instruction in the Primary Grades
If you’ve been in any PD lately you’ve heard the term "explicit instruction" thrown around a lot. With the big push for Science of Reading (SOR)-aligned curriculum explicit instruction is getting a lot of buzz lately. For good reason, too. It’s an effective teaching...
ABC Order: An Important Skill for 2nd Grade
Your second grade students have been singing their ABCs since they were toddlers. Now that they are growing readers and writers, teaching ABC order is an important literacy and life skill. Did you know that when kids can alphabetize words, they not only improve...
The Impact of English Word Origins on Modern Spelling
The English language is filled with some delightful sounding words. Melody. Precipitation. Choreography. Surprise - these words originated from other languages! Many of the words in our contemporary English language are influenced by centuries of oral and written...
Multiple Ways to Teach Multiple Meaning Words in 2nd Grade
Hey teacher friends! It is time for our next installment in our grammar blog post series. This post focuses on multiple meaning words: What are they? Why teach them? How to teach them? Read on for tips, tricks and resources that will help cement this skill with your...
Compound Words for 2nd Graders: Tips & Tricks
Hey, teacher friends! We are back with another grammar skill post, and this time we are featuring compound words for 2nd graders. This skill is actually pretty fun for kids, and one they can easily grasp. Keep reading for a definition, chart, resource ideas and free...
Scaffolding Strategies for Guided Writing Lessons
Helping students become authors can be challenging. Many students struggle with content ideas, getting started and lack interest or confidence in writing. However, there is a solution that helps students overcome these writing hurdles: guided writing! Keep reading for...
Adjectives, Adjectives, Adjectives!
Welcome to the wonderful, wild, weird world of amazing, awesome adjectives! This post is filled with ideas for how to introduce adjectives to your first and second grade learners, as well as fun activities to share with the whole class. Keep reading to find out...
Writing Centers: The Solution to Your Writing Problems
Writing can be one of the most difficult areas to teach. Some of the common issues teachers face when it comes to teaching writing in 2nd grade are: Students get bored with free writingThere's not enough time in the schedule for targeted writing instructionIt's hard...
Fun and Easy Biography Writing Projects for 2nd Grade
Informational writing is a big part of 2nd grade. It's one of the types of text that your students will be expected to confidently read and write by the end of the year. There are a lot of ways to introduce informational writing but one of my favorites is with 2nd...
Teaching Author’s Purpose in 2nd grade
2nd grade is an amazing time of growth for young writers. They are growing into their own writing style, and are starting to have strong opinions about which types of books they like to read best. But do they understand the author's purpose, both when they are...
All About 2nd Grade Reading Comprehension
Reading is a big deal in K-2. Yes, there's math, science, social studies, art, and music but reading instruction looms over all other subjects. It makes sense, it ties into all the other topics. Between Kindergarten and 2nd grade, students' reading abilities...
15 Fun Literacy Activities For 2nd Grade
We all know there are SO many ways to engage students in literacy lessons. This post is a round up of our favorite fun literacy activities for 2nd grade. AND we wanted to show you exactly how to do these activities, so read on for a look into a fun literacy classroom!...
Teaching Kids to Find The Moral of the Story
I don’t know about you but I’ve always had a few learners who just struggle with moral of the story. It seems to be a skill that some kids grasp quickly and others need a lot of repetition. A story like, "The Emperor’s New Clothes" is interpreted by some students as,...
3 Steps To Teaching Articles In Grade 2
Grammar skills in general can get lost in the crazy shuffle of our classrooms. That's okay! Teaching articles in grade 2 can seem like something so tiny but it makes such a big difference in our student's writing and speaking. Read on for a simple and engaging way to...
Teaching Subject Verb Agreement in Second Grade
Teaching subject-verb agreement is an important grammar skill, but it can be a tricky one for students to master. How can we make sure that the subject and verb are always in agreement in a sentence? Everything runs more smoothly when we all get along, don't you...
Decodable Text: How & When to Use It
With all the chatter around Science of Reading, there’s a lot of new vocabulary being thrown around. Two of the topics you may be hearing about a lot are decodable text and leveled readers. So what are decodable texts and leveled readers? How and when do you use...
Everything 2nd Graders Need to Know About Verbs
Teaching verbs in 2nd grade can be SUPER fun! There are so many engaging resources and activities that can be used to help students master this skill. Check out this post for engaging verbs resources that are meaningful and ready to use! What are Verbs? Let's start by...
Build Fine Motor Skills With These 2nd Grade Activities
Messy handwriting. Difficulty drawing or coloring. Low stamina for typing. Frustration when cutting with scissors. Does this sound like one of your students? Fine motor skills play an important role in academic and personal success. What can teachers do if they...
35 Opinion Writing Prompts for 2nd Grade
Truly, is there anything kids (and adults) like more than giving their opinion? Opinion (or persuasive) is some of my favorite writing to do with students because with engaging and kid-friendly opinion writing prompts, you can pull in even the most reluctant...
How to Teach Heart Words
I know you're here to learn how to teach heart words but before we get into the nitty-gritty of how to let's start with some basics. The term “heart words” is used to describe high-frequency words. They are words that we want our students to know by heart. If your...
Teaching Narrative Writing: Introductions
If you are a second grade teacher, at some point in the school year you are likely teaching kids about narrative writing. One of the hardest parts for kids when it comes to this type of writing is crafting a strong introduction. Stick with this post to find some great...
Best Books for Teaching Phonics Skills
When teaching phonics, teachers are always looking for new and engaging ideas. Are you ready for the newest idea from Lucky Little Learners? Using poems & picture books to aid in engagement, fluency and mastering phonics sounds. This post will share more about our...
15 Earth Day Read Alouds and Activities for 2nd grade
Taking care of our Earth is a big job. Celebrate Earth Day on April 22 with these Earth Day read alouds and activities for the 2nd grade classroom. These lessons and activities make it easy to celebrate Earth Day every day! All About Earth These books take a look at...
Poetry Read Alouds and Collections for the 2nd Grade Classroom
April is National Poetry Month. To celebrate, we rounded up some of our favorite poetry picture books, poet biographies, and poetry collections to share with young readers. Keep reading to find out how you can incorporate the joy of poetry into your 2nd grade...
How to Teach Students to Read Multisyllabic Words
Multisyllabic words are intimidating. Even students who’ve received great phonics instruction can fall back into ineffective habits. This is things like guessing, relying on cues from pictures, or simply skipping the word. All of this has a big impact on comprehension...
Teaching Pronouns in 2nd Grade
Here we are with another post to add to our grammar teaching post series! This time, the focus is on teaching kids pronouns! Kids usually are able to catch on to what nouns are pretty quickly, but pronouns can be a bit more difficult. Read on for tips & tricks to...
Decoding Multisyllabic Words in 2nd Grade Text
By now, I hope you and your students are starting to feel confident about those decoding skills! I know I’ve said it before but decoding multisyllabic words can be such a big hurdle for our 2nd grade learners and beyond. This is the fourth post in the Decoding...
5 Resources for Teaching Irregular Plural Nouns & Irregular Verbs
If you look up "irregular" in the dictionary, you'll find a definition something like this: "not conforming to the usual pattern". Ok, so how do we teach students something that doesn't follow the usual grammar patterns (like irregular plural nouns and verbs)? Keep...
Characters in Fiction Responding to a Challenge
Teaching students about characters in fiction stories can be really fun. There are so many creative ways to do this whether it be through readers theater, a deep character study or art. When looking at a character it is important to study how they respond to a...
A Weekly Routine to Build Fluency Using Phonics Poems
Are you ready for a new way to incorporate your weekly phonics sound into your lesson plans? Do you want it to be a routine kids will love and look forward to? How about if it lasts all week and builds fluency AND phonics skills at the same time? If this sounds too...
Springtime Read Alouds and Activities
Spring is in the air! We've got read alouds and activities to help you hop into spring. This season is filled with plenty of celebrations to weave into your everyday math and ELA lessons. Check out this list of favorite springtime read alouds and activities! This post...
Morning Meeting Conversations
Peer-to-peer sharing is a commonly used practice in elementary classrooms. Many teachers utilize "think-pair-share" or "turn and talk" during core classes. But what if encouraging student-to-student conversations in a relaxed way could improve student learning...
Blending Routine for Multisyllabic Words
Multisyllabic words are a big milestone for students. Supporting them as they become more skilled and confident is an important job and I know you’re up for the task! Luckily, there are short and effective routines we can add to each of our student’s toolboxes to help...
An Easy Routine for Syllable Division
So your students are cruising along confidently reading CVC, CCVC, CVCe words, and - Boom! They hit a multisyllabic wall. Before your students start getting into the habit of guessing, let’s build good habits and use syllable division to sound out words! With this...
How to Introduce Vowel Teams Using a Sound Wall
Ready to teach your students about vowel teams? Interested in learning how to teach vowel teams with the aid of a classroom sound wall? Here at Lucky Little Learners, we just so happen to have a sample lesson ready for you! So, grab a snack, sit back and read all...
How to Teach R Controlled Vowels
Teaching sounds can be fun, especially when it comes to r-controlled vowels! These 3 sounds, spelled 5 different ways (ar, or, er, ir, ur) can be introduced and reviewed using several engaging strategies and resources. Read on for tips, tricks and jokes to make your...
How to Introduce the 6 Syllable Types
I equate teaching syllable types to learning the steps to a new recipe. Initially, I’ll look at the picture of the final product and think, “well, I can’t make that.” That’s how our struggling readers feel when they come upon multi-syllable words. “I can’t read that....
Teaching Strategies for Stretching and Expanding Sentences
Your students have mastered basic sentence writing skills. That's great! Help your young writers take their composition skills to the next level with these tips for stretching and expanding sentences. What is an expanded sentence? An expanded sentence is when...
14 Valentine’s Day Read Alouds and Activities
This list of 14 Valentine's Day read alouds and activities are perfect for celebrating friendship and kindness in your classroom this February, or at any time of the year! Roses are red Violets are blue We love to read How about you? Here at Lucky Little Learners, we...
Teaching Linking Verbs
When it comes to grammar, verbs are my absolute favorite to teach. There are so many ways to make them multi-sensory and fun. However, I am definitely guilty of spending more time on action verbs than the all too important linking verbs. What are Linking Verbs? Here’s...
Building Phonological Awareness with Literacy Center Activities
Picture it: it is time to start reading centers in your classroom. You have a classroom full of learners with diverse phonological awareness needs. How can you meet each student where they are at? By using a few of Lucky Little Learner's 1st grade literacy center...
Student Data Tracking Booklets for Math & Literacy
Student data tracking is useful so teachers have the information needed to drive their plans for instruction. Similarly, it can drive student motivation when they track their own data. When tracking their data, students will take ownership of their learning. Academic...
Spelling Activities for the Science of Reading Classroom
The Lucky Little Learners Spelling Activities pack is a wonderfully effective and flexible resource to add to your literacy block. It has no prep worksheets and centers. These can be used to combine your spelling routine with the science of reading. Spelling and...