Fraction Action and Character Types

My last post was a long one about our Character Study Unit! We are almost finished with our book and have been getting into how to write a character analysis essay. I am forcing them to really dig deep with this one! Here is one last Character "Thing" that we have done...

I made this page for them to fill out on their own and paste it into their Reading Interactive Notebooks. (This will be added to my Character Analysis packet on TPT-See previous post) We fill it out together and talk about specific examples. There is also a good flat/round character YouTube Video that we watched that can be found HERE.

We made an anchor chart similar to this one found on Pinterest with nothing other than the image:












We are going to begin our Characterization Foldable Friday and being with Thesis statements and the Analysis on Monday!

We have been studying fractions this week and I found these awesome FREE Fraction Task Cards! They are from HERE. There were only 3 in this set, but it worked great for my classroom. The task cards are designed for students to create fractions based on pattern blocks. Then they have to justify how they know their design represents the fraction that they were given. Explaining or justifying is not a strong point for most. BUT some of them just amazed me with this!!

 Here they were tracing their design. Next they had to color it to match the blocks they had used.

Finally they had to explain or "Convince Me" as the Task Card says how they know it is an accurate representation. 

Here is some of their work:

Yesterday we did this Fraction Smarties activity:

FOUND HERE - Click on the Image to go to the ORIGINAL BLOGGERS POST WITH DOWNLOAD LINK :) 

What are your favorite upper level fraction activities?? 

Math Groups and a FREEBIE!

I started doing Math Groups last year (teaching math in small group rotations)! It was absolutely perfect for my classroom. There are obviously going to be days when teaching whole group is the best option, but as far as tracking student progress and differentiating math...it's the only way to go!

I got the M.A.T.H. acronym from Clutter Free Classroom's Math Workshop post. For those who don't know- M is Math Facts; A is At Your Seat; T is Teacher's Choice; H is Hands-On Math.

My kids are into 4 groups and the order is always M-A-T-H unless I tell them otherwise. It works wonderfully or at least it did with me 2nd graders. I hope my 4th graders do as wonderful with it! I created a set of board labels or headers or whatever you want to call them for our Math Workshop Board. I am not obviously going to sell them because it was not my idea. HOWEVER, I am going to offer it as a freebie if you want it!

Now this set is Western-ish Print to match my classroom theme. If you want something else, just let me know! I will be doing a set that is black and white dot and colored dot for my teammates, but that will be a tomorrow project!

Click HERE for the FREEBIE!! And below is a preview of the labels...

Also, last night I managed to finish my Contact Info Magnet Cards (great name, huh?) that I plan on laminating, attaching a magnet (I bought a roll of magnet tape at Hobby Lobby for $3), and giving to the parents at Meet the Teacher night. A pinterest idea of course (from this post)! 

I had a picture of them posted...but it has ALL my contact info on it...so I deleted it! I will post a not so close picture when they are completely put together :)

Well, on the agenda for tomorrow...recovering a crib bumper pad for my little man's room, making a few crib sheets, and returning an ink cartridge to Wal Mart because it only made it through 30 pages! I couldn't believe the ink cartridge situation...wish me luck! 

Geometry Games!

I love teaching Geometry! There are soooo many hands-on activities that can be done. I came up with 2 matching games. One for 2D Shapes and one for 3D Shapes. There are 4 different cards for each shape.

1- Shape Picture Cards 

2- Shape Name 

3- "Real Life" Shape Pictures

4- Shape Attributes

Here are the 3-D Shape Matching Cards...  

Then I created Scoot Games for both 2D and 3D Shapes... Here is the 2-D Shapes Version (Sample- Recording Sheet Included)

And here is the 3-D Shape Version... 

Each image is linked to my TPT Store. 

Be the first (or only :) to comment on this post and FOLLOW me if you aren't already will receive all of these games FREE! :)

I'm Back! A full Unit!!

I have been MIA for much of the new (and almost 3/4 finished) school year. I blame it on not purchasing curriculum (which I am soooo happy about) and having to create everything by myself and working on my masters degree. Now I'm done with excuses...

TaDa!! Here you have it...we just finished up a graphing unit that only took us a week. Our Pre-K through 1st grade teachers do lots of graphing, so it makes my job much easier! The best part about graphing...it is hands-on and an active unit. The kids absolutely love it!

In this unit I have included:
The Graphing Mini Book (FREE in my previous post)
Graphing Posters
A Pictograph Activity- Favorite Candy
A Bar Graph Activity- Favorite Food
A Line Plot M&M Activity- M&M's of Course!
-Each activity contains Data Collection page, Graphing Page, and Questions following the survey

Here is a preview of some of the pages:

Check out the Mini-Unit Here at my TPT Store! Tomorrow I will upload some pictures of the fun things we did in our graphing unit! Did I mention that I finished this unit well after we completed our own unit. I found lots of Freebies out there that were Valentine's related for the week before VDAY! :)

Here's to my sanity on a week that consists of 2.5 days of sub plans...2.5 days of presenting at a conference...1 1st and 2nd Grade Music Program...a VERY important Dr. Appt...AND a half-day reading lock-in day before Spring Break. Oh and did I mention that I WILL have my grade cards done before Friday?? HAPPY MONDAY EVE!

Graphing Excitement!

We are getting ready to move from fractions to graphing next week! I have created a Graphing Mini Book for my kids to use and thought since there were so many free options out there that I would give this as a freebie as well. I will be putting together a small Graphing Bundle for my TPT store this weekend, but for now here is the Mini Book.

The book has a tally page for students to collect their data, a page for a bar graph, line plot, and pictograph. It also has a page of questions at the end of the book. We ware going to use this as an assessment at the end of the week. Click on the pictures above to download!

On a side note, I think I am caught up on Masters Classes homework and getting the new computer set up and running! Woo!!

Telling Time!

I have actually completed something this evening...I finished my first week of plans on TELLING TIME (2.MD.7)! What was lesson planning like before Pinterest??? And BLOGS??? 

What are your favorite telling time teaching activities?

I am looking forward to making new clocks like these:
 

We are also going to lots of relating time to our everyday lives! We are going to create a daily schedule of our lives using clocks and pictures to show a glimpse of what a day in our lives looks like.

Those are just a couple of things to share! I am going to be creating a couple of TPT items for TIME and maybe even a FREEBIE! Looking forward to getting things accomplished this week!

Help with Words their Way

Is there any one out there who is following me or seeing this post that can give me some insight into WTW? I have given the spelling inventory, but now I am unsure of what to do next. I have grouped my kids according to their spelling stages. BUT how do I go about forming word lists for those students. I am looking endlessly across the internet to help me understand and have not had a lot of luck. Is there any one who can give me some insight?

AND, I have officially uploaded my first UNIT to TPT. My Addition Strategy unit is up. Several pieces are listed separately and then the Unit is up as a whole of course. Check it out. Coming Soon will be the Subtraction Strategy Unit. Not near as big, but still great! So HOP on over to my TPT store and let me know what you think!

1st Grade I CAN STATEMENTS!!

I have been slaving away...trying new means...and playing avidly with MERGING documents...and have finished all 1st Grade I CAN STATEMENTS!!

I have 1st Grade ELA and MATH I Can Statements done in Black and White and Color Coded. I have also created an EXCEL checklist file for tracking student achievement and for tracking what you have taught. There are 2 different checklists in PDF. AND the original in Excel. FYI: If you buy this- the excel doc will not have the same font on your computer! Here is a brief preview of them...
They are the same as the 2nd grade statements. They are just aligned with the 1st Grade CCSS.

Here is how to get to them:
Black and White ELA 1st Grade
Black and White MATH 1st Grade

Colored ELA 1st Grade
Colored MATH 1st Grade

I CAN Statements for 2nd Grade Math

I just thought I would let you know that I DID finish my "I Can" statements for 2nd grade Math!! Woo!! I actually finished them Friday afternoon, but have been relaxing my weekend away with a dear old friend of mine! SO...here they are...

Just like the ELA Statements they are available in Black and White or Colored (Color coded by Strand)! There is a excel checklist for these statements as well.
Check out the Colored ones HERE! And the Black and White HERE!

More Borders and Daily Math Groups!

Well I have not had a super productive weekend on the Teacher End...and I am happy for that!! It was wonderful to spend time with my husband, helping some friends move, hauling a camper for my Dad, and enjoying the first measurable rain in OVER a month and a HALF!!

However, with the thought of heading to a quick grade level meeting tomorrow, I got at least one things done! I have taught math with a guided math format two years ago, but it didn't fit well for my kids last year. I am going to kick it off again this year and can't wait! It helps give my lower kiddos much more attention and that is just what they need. I am following the format found at Clutter Free Classroom. I will setting up my Math Workshop Board much like hers. I made polka dot labels and will be creating my board like this tomorrow!

My favorite part of this was the MATH acronym...M-Math Facts, A-At Your Seat, T-Teacher's Choice, H-Hands On.

Since I did not come up with this idea on my own, I do not find it fair to "sell" these labels. SO I am offering them for free through my google docs. I will be posting a picture of my math board when it is finished. I encourage your to head over to Clutter Free Classroom and check out these Guided Math resources.Click on the images above to download the full document.

I have made these borders and one addition border available at my TPT Store! Here is the link to get those!

Upload COMPLETE!!

I have finally uploaded the Math Journal to TPT!! After like 9,762 tries it is there! Here is a quick preview of what it entails:

Basic Addition Facts
Basic Subtraction Facts
Skip Counting (1-100)
Math Vocab
Calendar Math
Numbers/Number Words 1-10, one hundred
Number Details (Written, Number, and expanded form, place value, tallies, money- ALL ABOUT __ NUMBER)
Addition/Subtraction Words (With Word Sort)
Addition Strategies
Even/Odd Numbers
More Place Value
2 Digit Subtraction Rules

These were created from the 2nd Grade CCSS. However, it will satisfy many other grade levels! This is not necessarily just a print-and-go file. There are pages that are more like posters or teacher helpers, but can be given to students. AND some are like workbook pages or activity pages. Other pages like the two FREEBIE pages I gave earlier this week would be great to do daily on the interactive white board OR given in a clear plastic page protector for them to complete every morning. However you use it, I hope it is helpful! I will probably put some other pages as FREEBIES later this coming week and even sell some separately.

If you have a request for any other concepts to be added please let me know!! I am ALWAYS open to suggestions. I will be creating an extension to this file as time allows to include fractions, shapes, geometry, time, money, and all the other CCSS that I did not include in this edition!

ENJOY...HERE is the LINK! to the TPT Store!!! BUY IT HERE!!

ANOTHER FREEBIE!!!

Another busy day spent at the K-2 ELA Common Core Academy!! I have been working on some teaching helpers for the conference attendees and myself of course. I will share those if I am given permission to do so from the instructor. BUT, I have also made time to work on my math "journal" a little more tonight. I think I am ready to post it...and then eventually create a Part 2. However, in case I do not get to that post, here is another freebie page from that "journal."

Introducing- Place Value. This was made according to the 2nd grade CCSS (NBT.2.1). It could be used in a plastic sleeve just like yesterday's freebie. Or used however you please!

IF YOU HAVE ANY PAGES THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE IN A MATH JOURNAL PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!! I AM ALWAYS LOOKING FOR IDEAS!!!

Here it is...

Download it HERE!!!

TPT Freebie...Math Number of the Day!!

Ok, so I have barely had time to function outside of the Common Core the past two days, BUT I have finished a FREEBIE for you!!

I am slaving away to create a math journal that aligns with the common core. I am making it as generic as possible so that multiple grades can use it or reproduce parts of it for their own use! It is going great now that I have had time to get back with it! However, tomorrow will be a craft night because I have a baby shower gift that I haven't even started and need on Saturday!

So in the mean time...I will give FREEBIES away every night until I get it done ;) OK...well maybe not every night.

I have seen many people selecting a number of the day for their Math Wall. I have created a worksheet similar to what is on the Math Wall. This can be used in MANY MANY ways. The way you use it is up to you. I personally am thinking about putting this in a clear plastic page protector and the kids can use a dry erase marker to complete it as morning work every day. Just an idea!

Here is the preview:

Click HERE to download it from my TPT store!