When Kids Become Authors...

Hi everyone!

Oh my gosh, I cannot apologize enough for not blogging for over two weeks.  Time has been absolutely flying in 2nd grade, but we are working on some really neat things and preparing for parent teacher conferences so hold on to your seats folks, the next week or two is going to be a wild ride! :)

In 2nd grade the past couple weeks, we have been working on the students becoming authors and writing class books for our library.  Now of course, this content is related to our reading curriculum, but I think it's so important that the students get a chance to read each other's writings.  And they are so creative, oh my gosh, I can't wait to share them with you! :)

Two weeks ago, we talked alot about the cause and effect reading strategy.  What made that event happen? Why did it happen? What happened because that happened? Those questions the students heard over and over and over again!  And of course, we read the classic book "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie" because that shows cause and effect perfectly!  But then, the students had a chance to write their own..."If You Give A ______ A _______..."  They were so creative with this story starter that I just have to share some of them!  Check them out below :)

If You Give A....  By Miss Nederhoff's 2nd Grade Class

If you give a girl a brand new phone, it will probably want to text her friends,
call her friends, to get a purse, to order pizza and frozen yogurt,
and she will wanta tv and tablet!

If you give a kid a football, it will probably want to play catch so he
gets better at football.  Then he would want to be a wide receiver.
He would probably make a touch down.
Can you say future football player!? Look at the awesome illustrations! :)

Then came our second class book.  The students are always asking me, "Miss Nederhoff, can we write our own stories!?"  So finally, last week, I let them take off with their imagination and write their own imaginative stories!  I told them that if they did a very good job writing their rough drafts, I would let them do their final drafts on the computer!!! Now that got their attention! :)  They love to use the computers and as a 21st century teacher, they need to be on the computers and learning how they work. So of course, they did awesome on their rough drafts so we took some time out of our day to have them type their stories in Google Docs and then print them off!  They then got to be the illustrator to their story as well!  These stories are now stored in the Second Grade Class Story Book, which I hope we can continue to add stories to throughout the year.  Check out a few of the stories below! :)

Second Grade Story Book

I LOVED this illustration! :)

Check out this kid's vocabulary skills! :) Wow!!!

This story just made me laugh! So creative!!! :)

Two of my students reading the class book together! :)

Now, not only are the students getting to be authors of their own stories, but they are getting to read each other's writing which ultimately improves everyone's writing.  They see what other students are writing about, how they are using grammar correctly, and learn from that so much faster than if I was to stand up in front of them and teach when should you use "was" or "were" or "is" or "are."  Little things like that can be picked up from reading not only books, but their peer's stories as well.

This class has truly impacted the way I teach.  They learn in so many different ways than my students did last year and I love that as a teacher because it makes me change and it makes me try new things. These students are so talented in so many different ways and their imagination is incredible!  Before I leave, I have to share a few quotes from these past few weeks that have truly not only made me laugh, but have made their parents laugh and my family laugh as well!

"Miss Nederhoff, I am SO STRESSED!" (Because every 2nd grader knows what the word stressed means!) :)!

Walking in from recess, the students who were quiet got to stay out and enjoy the "Vitamin D" aka sun a little longer.  One little kindergarten boy who was not being quiet walks past me, "I HATE VITAMIN D!"  Since he totally knows what Vitamin D does for you! :)

These are the quotes I get to hear daily and I can't help but laugh and know they bring complete joy to my life each and every day!  The quote below describes my teaching philosophy perfectly.  Let them be little. Let them enjoy each and every moment during their school day.  Let them get crazy when they succeed.  Let them be sad when they see they made a sad choice. Let them be little, because if you make them grow up to fast, then they lose their time to explore who they are and what they want to be. <3

Last thing before I go...because I'm an aunt who loves to brag...I got the chance to spend Saturday morning with my niece Emma, my nephew Evan, and their mom (aka my sister!) Brooke!  I wish these people lived 2 minutes away from me instead of 2 hours but hey, we take the time we have together and make the most of it!  So here is an updated picture of my cute niece and nephew!

Emma, Evan, and Aunt Titi! :)

Thank you all for listening, and until next time...stay safe! <3