LITERACY
The Great 1st Grade Grammar Review!
Who needs a great grammar review strategy? Maybe you're a 1st grade teacher who is checking off all the grammar standards. Or maybe you're a 2nd grade teacher reviewing to get your students ready to kick off the new school year. Or maybe you are a teacher who has...
Teaching Shades of Meaning
Hello there, you good, great, amazing, fantastic teacher! Are you looking for lesson plans and ideas to teach shades of meaning to your class? Look no further than this full, complete, comprehensive guide to teaching this skill to first and second grade students. What...
Beginning Consonants Review for 1st Grade
POV: Summer is done, and a new group of students walks through your classroom door. You are excited to start fresh and get these lucky little learners as far as you can this year. However, when you begin your phonics lessons, you see that not all of your students...
Last Day of School Read Aloud Ideas
Believe it or not, the last day of school is approaching. Last day of school chaos is a real thing, and it can be hard to keep students engaged. Here's an idea: try a picture book with a corresponding activity to keep your little learners from running around the room...
Teach Adverbs!
Adding adverbs can easily enhance your writing. It clearly expresses the action to the reader. To find out how to teach adverbs in your class today, keep reading! What is an Adverb? An adverb is a word that modifies a verb or an adjective. What does that mean, to...
Classroom Easter Egg Hunt: Science of Reading Style!
Teachers - are you on the hunt for engaging, yet purposeful Easter-themed activities? How about activities that not only bring the fun, but also tackle a standard or two? Exciting news! Our team has created an Easter themed activity that checks off all of these boxes....
Let’s Teach Kids About Nouns!
Nouns are everywhere! Nouns are one of the easiest (and most fun!) grammar concepts to teach. Because nouns are so concrete, students can really get hands-on with grammar in this unit. Keep reading to find out how to teach nouns in your elementary classroom. I) Songs...
Fun Activities for Punctuation Practice
Hello there! Take a look around, and you'll see that punctuation is everywhere. Why is punctuation important? Without it, the reader will not know when to stop, pause, or give emphasis to certain parts of the text. Keep reading to find out how to teach punctuation to...
Science of Reading Quick Wins for the Classroom
By now you have heard the words, "Science of Reading" (SoR) uttered a time or two. If you have ever asked yourself, "Just what is SoR, and what are some quick and easy ways to get it into practice in my classroom?", then you are in the right spot! Check out our top...
Fun Ways to Teach the 4 Types of Sentences
Are you teaching types of sentences? Look no further than Lucky Little Learners! We have the resources you need to teach the four different sentence types to your first and second grade students. Keep reading for anchor charts, hands-on activities and centers to teach...
How to Teach Short Vowel Digraphs
Short vowel digraphs are a phonics skill that takes practice and exposure for students to master. Surely your students have come up with the question, "What's the difference between the words read and read? " The words look the same, but sound different given the...
Teaching Long Vowels
Your students are growing as readers and writers. Introducing long vowel rules and spelling patterns is a natural next step in their reading journey. Keep reading for lessons, activities, and tips to teach long vowels in the second grade classroom. What are long...
Tips for Teaching Inflectional Endings
Inflectional endings may sound like a complex concept, but it's as easy as adding a few letters to the end of the word. When inflectional endings are added to the end of a word, they change the meaning or quality of the word. Let's take a look at how to teach...
Teaching Kids About Consonant Blends and Digraphs
For young readers, blends and digraphs can trip them up while reading. What's up with that jumble of letters at the beginning of a word, anyway? In this post, we will take a closer look at consonant blends and digraphs, and how to teach them to second grade learners....
Tips and Tricks for Teaching Short Vowels
Teaching short vowels is a fundamental early literacy skill that students will continue to build on in second grade. Keep reading for lessons, activities, and tips to teach short vowels in the second grade classroom. What are short vowels? The short vowel sound of...
Busy Binders For the Classroom
Have you heard the buzz about "busy binders"? Even though most people may think of binders full of activities to keep little ones busy in the car, did you know busy binders are an amazing resource for the classroom as well? This post will take a look at ideas for what...
Science of Reading: Easy At Home Phonics Practice
The Science of Reading (SoR) is THE hot topic in literacy. SoR is not another one of those educational fads that will come in and out. It is years of extensive research that proves which pedagogical methods and practices are effective in teaching students to read. Now...
How to Teach Silent Letters
Do your students know how to read and write silent letter words? There's no doubt that your students will master this fascinating fact of the English Language with these silent letter teaching tips and highlights! This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. What is a...
Teaching Commas in 2nd Grade
I always get a chuckle out of the "Punctuation saves lives" memes and signs. They usually go something like this: Let's eat, Grandpa! Let's eat Grandpa. It may seem silly, but it is a great example of why proper use of commas in a sentence can make all the difference!...
How to Teach an Explicit Phonics Lesson
New and experienced teachers alike are diving deep into explicit phonics instruction. According to one of our Lucky 2nd grade teachers, "I am learning that explicit phonics instruction is important but it's SO much - it's going to take me hours to plan and prepare -...
Teaching Diphthongs
There are few phonics words that will elicit more giggles in the classroom than diphthongs. But what exactly is a diphthong, and why is it important for students to learn? Keep reading for resources and strategies to teach this essential phonics skill. What are...
Using Phonics Ladders in the Classroom
Looking for a new way to introduce or reinforce phonics skills in the classroom? Look no further than our Phonics Ladders. This activity will have students climbing their way to phonics success! What are Phonics Ladders? Also known as word chains or word ladders, they...
Graphic Organizers to Support Students With Reading Comprehension
2nd grade is a mixed bag when it comes to student reading fluency and comprehension skills. On one hand, you may have students reading and comprehending at or above grade level. On the other hand, there are students that need that extra push to read and comprehend on...
Quick Guide to Understanding Reading Levels
With so many different types of reading assessments and leveling systems, it can be hard to keep track of which books are just right for your growing readers. Let's take a look at some of the reading level systems to get a better understanding of each, and how they...
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...
The Perfect Routine to Jumpstart Explicit Phonics Lessons
Activating phonological awareness at the beginning of explicit phonics instruction is a SUPER important component of Science of Reading. But this is just 5 minutes out of the day.. What can teachers use that is quick, easy, and always engaging for kids? Read on to...
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 writing There's not enough time in the schedule for targeted writing instruction It'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...
