Math Games Library

I love using math games. The kids love them and they're good practice for fact fluency. However, I wanted to have a bunch of different operations, levels of challenge, group vs. individual, etc. available whenever I needed them. I also wanted something kids could take home if they wanted to continue practicing because, let's be honest, Xtramath is a bit dull.

Therefore, the math games library was born! I pulled games from TpT, created some of my own, invested in lots of bins, bags, containers, clothespins, game pieces and colored paper. After plenty of printing, cutting, bagging, labeling etc., it's ready to go. Each game has a clothespin attached, and students "sign out" the game by placing the clothespin on their name on a chart on the shelf. That way we can keep track of who has what. We'll see how it goes!

UPDATE: The kids love the games! The U-Know games are the most popular by far, whether it is for in-class play on Fridays or to sign out and take home. The clothespins are working fairly well, but we did lose a game that just has a random clothespin in the bottom of the basket. Ahh, well.

Lumos Readability Report

Readability Score: -

Readability Calculation: -

Grading for all: -

US grade level: -

Score of "n/a": -

Words: -

Unique Words: -

Sentences: -

Reading Time: -

Noun: -

Conjunction: -

Adverb: -

Interjection: -

Adjective: -

Pronoun: -

Verb: -

Preposition: -

DIY projects

DIY Project #1:

I was cleaning out some old kindergarten supplies and came across the purple drawer container which used to house all of my alphabet stamps. I thought it could be a cute desk holder for all of those knick-knacks that get cluttered around, so I brought it home for a little TLC. I peeled off all the old ABC stickers and gave it a good cleaning, printed out some new labels and taped them on (I would have put them on the inside, but the label goo didn't come off), and then painted the outside with an acrylic paint. Total cost: $1.87. Not bad!

DIY Project #2:

After finishing the bin makeover, I was still feeling crafty. One of my biggest frustrations is the piles of paper on my teacher table. A pile to grade, a pile to file, and a pile to pass back. If only there were some better way to organize it all! A quick trip to the store for the container and 4 sheets of scrapbook paper, a few minutes of cutting and modge podging, and a hunt through my current hanging folders in other spots to find 4 that match the color scheme, and voila... A new organizer for my table! Total cost: under $8.

Maybe this will finally be the year that my table looks organized? 

Gratitude Journal

Last fall, I did a Gratitude Journal with my students. Every day, for 42 days in a row, they had to write down 3 things they were grateful for, or write about how they were grateful that day. At the end, they did two short reflections. For students who are used to only having homework Monday through Thursday, there was a bit of a grumble at the beginning when they had to do work on the weekends. But by the end, many were sad to see the project end. Here are a few things my students said they were grateful for during the six weeks:

-My parents pay for my school
-I have a cozy bed to sleep in
-My dog was very good today - I love him and he protects me
-My mom/dad made me a good dinner
-A good education
-We have enough money to live and do the things we like
-Finishing my NaNoWriMo story
-I have a computer
-My dad who tells me that I can do anything
-My coaches and great teammates
-The bright sunshine
-I was sick, but now I am better
-The right to believe what I want to believe
-My homework wasn’t too hard tonight
-My friend wasn’t mad at me, even when I broke a promise
-I live in the U.S.A. and there are laws here to protect everyone but they don’t make everyone do what the government wants
-I am really good at sports
-Going camping with my family
-My family has enough money that we can donate some to help others
-Someone took time to play a board game with me
-The telephone - to call my dad when he is away on trips

The students also made up their own gratitude quotes, which I printed, laminated and hung on their lockers. A few examples:
-Be grateful, not hateful.
-You might not get what you want, but you should be grateful for what you have.
-Gratitude is what you have, not what you don't.
-Always be positive, even at the worst times.

Overall, this was a great project that I will definitely continue to do every year. I'm even considering doing a smaller version of it again at this point in the year as a refresher!

If you'd like to get a copy of the journal, you can find it on my TpT store!

Brag Tags

We have a program at my school where students are encouraged to set weekly goals, and long term goals. I find that after a while, kids set the same goals week after week. "I want to pass my math fact test" or "I want to read x number of minutes." I am also a teacher who likes to present extra optional challenges to my kids, and sometimes they are accepted, and other times ignored. We also do the MindUP program, which encourages qualities such as optimism, gratitude, perspective taking, happiness, etc. Some tricky concepts for some children! If only I had some way to motivate them... and then voila! A friend introduced me to brag tags, which she will be using with her kids for their goals this year. So, here are my first few sets of tags for homework and their weekly/monthly goals. I am super excited to start using these this year!

UPDATE!
I have created SO many more of these as the year went on, and I've added many to my TpT store. To see all of the sets, click here.

Weekly and Monthly Goals
Work Habits (Handwriting, Cleaning up, Determination, Focused, etc.)
Character Traits (Character traits from A to Z)
Books Read (20, 30, 40, 50 book milestones)
Mindfulness (gratitude, optimism, generous, persistent, etc.)
Homework
Interactive Notebooks
Egg Drop STEM Challenge
... and more!

I've also decided that I like to call them SWAG Tags instead of Brag Tags... It fits my classroom better, I think.

I also have sets created for Geography, spelling, math, pencil challenges, genre challenges, NaNoWriMo... the possibilities are endless! They're easy to get set up, too. I print out the sheets, laminate them, cut into strips, hole punch with a super small craft punch, cut into individual tags and store. Time consuming to hole punch and cut, but it's easy work that can be done in front of the TV while binge watching the latest show that I'm into.

Here are a few photos of them in my classroom!

Each child has a hook for their chain. They start with one tag with their name on it.

Just a small sample of the tags in my collection!

My storage bin... I picked this container up on clearance at Staples and they fit PERFECTLY with little dividers made of cardstock.

The SWAG Tag sign

NaNoWriMo Update

I have posted before about taking on the NaNoWriMo challenge with my students. For the last two years, I have spent the month of November plugging away at a novel with a goal of 30,000 words. They wrote and published their own books and told me that I should do the same with my two novels. So I figured, why not? It was many hours of proofreading, formatting, researching information about self-publishing, more proofreading, and more formatting, but I think it was all worth it in the end. The proof of the second book is already on its way, and with any luck I'll have both done before the school year starts.

The best part? For at least this year, I'll have a book that none of the kids have read. I won't have to hear, "Oooh, I know what happens!" and it'll be a great literature discussion! Here is Book 1!

Everyday Math Chapter Review Cards

I finally finished my goal of converting all of my review cards for the chapters into digital files. I've been using random sized index cards with hand drawn pictures and scratched out errors for long enough, and my summer tutoring along with the TpT sale days were enough motivation to get me to finish the digital conversion!

Each chapter has a set of task cards, an answer sheet (and answer key), and a set of mini-cards to send home for students to study from. You can get one chapter at a time, or buy the bundle (only chapters 1-11 though... I usually only get to a lesson or two from chapter 12, and I'm more focused on year-long review than the chapter 12 assessment.) My kids loved the little hand drawn pictures in the corners of my cards, so I kept the idea with my digital files. Here is what the set looks like.

If you are interested in purchasing the bundle, you can find it in my TpT store. Enjoy!

Severe Weather Project - Pyramid Dioramas

This year, the 3rd, 4th and 5th grade classes got together to do an end of the year project which we named Biome Bonanza. We put the students into mixed grade level groups, and had each group choose a biome to study. Once biomes were assigned, the 5th graders researched the biome itself and created a trifold, the 3rd graders each chose a country within the biome and put together a country report and short powerpoint, and my 4th graders studied a type of severe weather in the biome and created a pyramid diorama. Then, they had to work together to create a diorama of the location, banner including a world map, and artifacts representing the cultures of the area. My fourth graders had just finished their unit on magnets and electricity, during which they had created electrical boxes, so they had to survey their group members and create a set of questions for the box as a quiz for the end of the presentation. We set up tables in the gym and presented to other classes in the school in the morning and to parents in the afternoon. It was pretty amazing!

Electrical Box

Pyramid Diorama

I have put together the pyramid diorama project on my TpT page, which includes:

• Introduction
• Diorama Instructions
• Photos
• Student Packet:
• Instructions
• Note taking sheets
• Pyramid Diorama Rubric
• Presentation Instructions/Rubric
• (Choose one) Group or Individual Overall Project Rubric

• Bottom section templates (unlined and lined)
• Side sections templates (unlined and lined)
• Teacher Rubrics for scoring/comments (note separate group/individual sheets for overall project) 

If you would like to download it, you can view here it in my TpT Store.

Math Challenge - Presidential Math

With every unit in math, I give out a math challenge that reviews some of the major concepts from the previous unit. I had a challenge for mean, median and mode, but it turned out to be far too complicated, which meant I had to create something new. I figured social studies and presidents would be a good tie-in. So here it is, the Presidential Math Challenge! You can view it on my TpT Store.

NaNoWriMo

NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. During the month of November, people from all over get together and set their own personal word count goals, with the big idea being that you get a novel drafted in a month (or at least a good start to a novel). Last year, I happened to find the NaNoWriMo website just a tad late, on November 1st. But as it was a weekend, I figured I had a whole day and a half to revamp my writing plans for the month and bring out a new challenge! My students had mixed reactions, but even the most reluctant were happy when they could set a small word count goal, such as 500 words. We didn't quite plan as much as I would have liked, but the enthusiasm was infectious, and final word counts ended up between 1,500 and 9,000 words. Of course, if they were going to do it, I figured I had to promise to do it too, and I ended up writing a novel over just over 32,000 words.

I knew it was a project that I wanted to do again, and the resources that are available from the Young Writers Program are amazing. So, this year we started in October with the planning stages. First, we put away our inner editors, and then we started planning characters, settings, plot arcs, dialogue... all the things that make a good story! We set our word goals, and when November 1st hit, we all started writing. At the end of the month, everyone in the class had once again met their word goals, and my small group of 6 boys had written a total of more than 45,000 words, including one Choose Your Own Adventure book. A student from the previous year wanted to do the project again and added 10,000 words, and I wrote a sequel to my first book to add on another 30,000 words for a total of just over 85,000 words! Incredible! 

We took a short break from the novels, and then started on the revision/editing process. Since students are always looking for new books to read, and I'm always looking for ways to get them to respond to literature, this was a perfect match. Each student got to take home another book and proof and comment right on the draft as they read. The kids conferred, revised, read, edited, smiled, and asked eagerly for the next book. We then worked on formatting the text in class, and during art class they worked on cover designs and publishing. In the end, each of the kids had their own published novel.

And me? Well, the kids kept telling me that I should publish my book, too. So that's my next project. Here are a few of their published books on display.

Veterans Day

Veterans Day is a big deal at our school, as it should be. Each year we invite Veterans from the community to join us for an assembly where we honor them in different way. This year, my students created a large mural and they presented information on the history of the Star Spangled Banner.

Mad Libs - Part 2

As a follow up to one of my most popular items, School-Themed Mad Libs, I have put together a set of 4 Animal-Themed Mad Libs which is available on TpT! There is a separate recording sheet for the list of words before students put their answers into the story so the teacher can then check the list of words for correct parts of speech before having the student their list of words into the actual story.You can also find my original Mad Libs which are school-themed on TpT.

Biography Partner Projects

My students recently finished a biography partner project, which was designed not only as a reading and research project, but also to help students work on their organization, time management and cooperative skills. I wanted to stress the process and quality of work with this project. I used the ‘Who Is/Who Was’ series of biographies, since they are all about the same length, and they include a starting place for the timeline requirement. The entire project took 4 weeks, with children working on this both in class and for homework.

I started by grouping students into pairs, keeping in mind their work habits and organizational skills. Each group looked through the list of famous people and chose their top three, and from those lists I assigned books. The first task was to work on reading the book and taking notes as they went. They had to set nightly reading goals with their partner, but I gave a general guideline for when their book should be finished. They were also working on the ‘Looking Back In Time’ sheets, researching other events that happened during the decades that their famous person was alive. I gave the last 5 minutes of each class for students to set new goals, split up tasks, and update their Time Management planners.

Once a group completed the reading and note taking, they moved on to organizing their notes into topics. This step was time consuming, but it was since mostly useful for those doing reports or flip-flap books, I think I would only use this as a tool for those students who needed it.

Projects were the next step. Students were required to do the timeline, including both events from the life of their famous person AND events happening in the world at the time. They also had to choose which project(s) to do. They could either choose to do one writing and one art project, or a mixed writing/art project. Students then worked on writing up steps checklists for each project and a list of needed materials before drafting or working on the project. The rule was that both partners must work on each project so that they had to communicate their ideas and find a way to evenly distribute the work.
 
On the due date, students came into class with all of their projects and materials from the process. They had to grade themselves on their grading sheet, organize all of their notes and planning sheets, and then highlight their actual contributions to the project on the steps checklist. They turned all of these items in, along with their Time Management/Materials sheet. We then spent the next few days presenting projects and even invited the first grade class to see our projects, since they were doing biography projects, too! Here are a few of the projects.

Cereal Boxes

Flip-Flap Book

Poster and Report

Museum Display

Accordion Book Timeline

Shape Timeline

I have put the packet of instructions, planning sheets, examples etc. up for sale on TpT.  Included in this packet are:
Instructions
Grading Sheet
Looking Back In Time (research/notetaking sheet)
Time Management Planner
Materials Planner
Steps Checklist
Notetaking Sheets
Notes Organization Sheets
Project Overview Sheet (Projects noted with *)
*Timeline Instructions
Timeline Planning Sheet
Timeline Template
Timeline Sample Page
*A-Z Booklet Instructions
A-Z Template
*Interview Instructions
*Flip-Flap Book Instructions
*Cereal Box Instructions
*Biography Hanger Instructions
*Poster and Report Instructions
*Museum Display Instructions
Museum Display Explanation Card Template
*Scrapbook Instructions
Scrapbook Planning Sheet
*I Am Poem Instructions
Teacher Checklists (3 versions)

I hope you find it useful!

Student-Led Portfolio Conferences

November is a time for Parent-Teacher conferences, which I must admit are not my favorite. I spend so much time trying to think of everything I need to say to a parent, organizing my ideas, gathering work samples and finding just the right way to phrase some of those difficult messages. And inevitably, the minute a parent leaves or an hour later it hits me... the one thing I forgot to tell them!

Spring is another conference, but this time around students are leading the way. Over the next few weeks I will spend time reflecting with my students, sharing in their joy of obstacles overcome and looking at what challenges still lie ahead. It is hard enough for me to organize my own thoughts, but to get students to do it and share it with their parents is even harder! The students have individualized short and long term goals, but that is just the start!

Last year, teaching third grade, there was one standard sheet that the students had to fill out for every subject area they reflected upon. While I think it was good to get the kids into the mindset of reflecting upon their own work with the same questions over and over, the drudgery of the same sheet of paper with each reflection wore some of them down. So, this year I decided to spice things up a bit and create a mix of forms for the kids to use. A few self-assessment sheets where they get to fill in smiley faces or number bubbles, some charts and lists, and then a few written responses and goal setting sheets.  We will spend the next few weeks reflecting, organizing, and preparing for conference day, when the students will take the lead and share their own assessment of their progress so far this year. I am looking forward to their thoughts, opinions and reflections!

I have tweaked a few of the sheets so that they are more generic for any other teachers who may be looking to do something similar with their own students, and I have placed them in my TpT store. Included is a long-term goal sheet, a short-term goal sheet, and a full set of printable sheets for students to use as a reflection tool for a student-led portfolio conference. Reflection sheets are a set of questions that a student can answer related to that area, and can be used in conjunction with work that they have pulled from the year. Sheets include:
*Cover Sheet
*Student Checklist
*Math Self Assessment (4th Grade Everyday Math topics up to Ch. 7)
*Math Reflection Sheet
*Reading Reflection Sheet
*Writing Reflection Sheet
*Spelling Scores Recording Sheet
*Science Reflection Sheet
*Social Studies Sheet
*Work Habits Self Assessment
*Growths and Goals Sheet
*Goal Setting (with parents) Sheet
*Special Area Reflection Sheet
*Generic Reflection Sheet

Birds of a Feather...

One of my biggest pet peeves about classroom jobs is the kids not doing them regularly (my custodian agrees when the trash cans aren't put out into the hall at the end of the day!) So, when I started the year, I decided to put job descriptions right on the job cards! I also wanted to include some more challenging jobs for students who wanted to go above and beyond in the classroom. And so, a new set of jobs was born... 9 regular jobs (green with yellow name tags) which would be changed every two weeks, and the 5 specialist jobs (pink) which would be changed every month.

The 9 regular job titles have all students rotating through them. Some jobs can or should be held by more than one student:

* Movement Coordinator - 1
* Caboose - 1
* Attendance Secretary - 1
* Office Supplies Manager - 1
* Librarian - 1 or 2
* Homework Secretary - 1
* Substitute - 1
* Bloggers - 2
* Clean Up Crew - As many as needed

There are also 5 specialist jobs which students can apply for if they feel it is an area of interest. A 6th job was added when we studied the 13 Colonies and American Revolution. I wanted to tax the students to give them a sense of what it felt like to be a colonist, so I first had to pay them! A banker job was the perfect way to hook them into the ticket payments, and the job was taken away soon after the tickets and taxes ended. In order to hold a specialist job, students must first apply by filling out the application form. I must say, I have been really impressed with some of the answers the kids have given! These jobs were revealed a few weeks into the school year, once students were comfortable with their regular jobs and had a chance to apply.

*Classroom Photographer
*Technology Specialist
*Absence Assistant
*Receptionist
*Deputy
*Banker

Here is my original "Birds of a Feather WORK Together" board in August before the kids names were put up, and before the specialist jobs were revealed.

If you would like to use these jobs in your own classroom, I have shared them on TpT. I have included all 15 jobs cards and blank name cards, 2 extra blank job cards so you can create your own jobs, the Specialist Application, blogging instructions, a reminder card to hang by the phone, and a title card for your bulletin board.

STAR Binders and Agendas

My students have a S.T.A.R. (Students Taking Active Responsibility) Binder where they keep all of their homework, goal setting sheets, reading logs, spelling assignments, notes to home, etc. We started the year with a simple agenda sheet where they would write down homework, and the agenda has evolved as they have come up with different ideas of what they would like to include to help them stay organized.

Throughout the year, the students have given suggestions on how we could change the agenda to make it more useful. I have put together a file with all of the different iterations of the agenda (a one-page weekly homework sheet, and 3 different two-page versions) and the STAR Binder cover sheet. The agenda sheets should be copied front to back and stapled together to create a small booklet. I usually copy extras of each sheet one-sided to make the front and back of the booklets. There are spaces to write in helpful websites (class websites, school lunch menus etc.) on some of the forms before copying.

If you would like to use them with your students, you can find them in my TpT store. Enjoy!

Chapter 4 Everyday Math Pretest

Another one finished! Chapter 4 Everyday Math pretest is now available! If you are interested in using them in your own classroom, Chapters 1, Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 are all available. Enjoy!

Math Pretests... Continued

Well, I'm 3 for 3 now with pretests! My goal is to make one for each of the 12 units, so I'm a quarter of the way done! If you are interested in using them in your own classroom, Chapters 1, Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 are all available. Enjoy!

Spelling Headaches Finally Solved

It's always a challenge moving to a new grade level, and I've been feeling like I'm trying to dig my way out of a hole ever since the year started.  All of the wonderful plans I had put together in my head, and in some cases on paper, finally had their chance to be implemented, and while some of them worked out well, some of them didn't go as well as I'd hoped.

Spelling has been my biggest nemesis so far this year, but I think I have finally gained the upper hand! Last year I continued using Words Their Way, but I just wasn't happy with it in the end.  My summer planning put me on a path to use a modified version of Spelling Connections so that students would have their own, individualized list of words, practice with using words in context (something I just couldn't get to work for me with the way we were using WTW), and get extra practice with grammar skills.  I used the WTW spelling inventory at the start of the year, and I just couldn't figure out how to mesh the missing spelling patterns for some kids with the lessons in the book.  So, a new plan was needed.

I finally decided on using both programs (Spelling Connections and WTW), alternating between lists each week, but the details were still fuzzy on how exactly to implement everything.  First, I had to go back to the original assessments and place each student at an appropriate spot in both programs.  Out of 10 kids (yes, 10... it's part of the reason that I CAN do this!) I have 4 groups in SC and 6 groups in WTW.  I decided to use the SC program the first week since it was easier to wrap my head around, and the lists were already premade, which made it easier to get everyone started with Spelling City.  Thankfully, that all went smoothly!

No matter how many times I thought I'd had a plan for the WTW weeks, I just kept finding problems with my solutions.  When I left work on Friday, I knew that next week would be a WTW week, and I still didn't have the details sorted out on how to implement it smoothly! After hours of working on it this weekend, I FINALLY have a plan!

I started going through the WTW program and creating lists of 15 words from each sort that represent all of the different spelling patterns being covered, including some of the extra words that are listed in the book but are not part of the sorts.  I then double checked my lists against the different lessons that use those patterns in the SC book and made any necessary changes.  Each list is being printed out and put on a 4x6 index card with a heading like WW Sort 19 (Within Words Sort 19) or SA Sort 4 (Syllables and Affixes Sort 4).  The lists are also color coded by which book they came from to help us keep them organized.  Those short headings will then be used for the Spelling City lists, and hopefully will be easy enough for the kids to remember.

So, on Monday morning, each child will get their sort card (they may have to share with a friend) so that they can copy their 15 spelling pattern words into their agenda.  I will meet with each student/group to discuss their sort.  They will then add any words they misspelled from last week's test to their list, followed by any words on their misspelled words card (which is where I've been writing down any words they have misspelled in their writing).  If they still have spaces to go in their list of 20 words, I have a few math vocabulary words they can choose from.

Their homework/classwork will be from a spelling packet where I've broken the activities down into groups... Practicing the Pattern, What Does It Mean?, Break It Down, Playing With Words, and Just for Fun!  That way, I can assign work based on what they need... spelling patterns, vocabulary, etc.  They will also be able to use Spelling City for practice, although they will have to go in and practice their list in two parts... the WTW sort words and their individual list.

Whew!

An example of the WTW lists I am printing for the 4x6 cards

The Dreaded Basic Math Facts

I knew at the end of last year that there would still be some students who really struggled with basic facts.  Watching a child sit there adding 7+7+7+7+7+7 on their fingers can be almost painful, so I wanted to try doing the 1 minute timed tests this year as just another technique that might help reach some students.  I spent the summer putting together a set of multiplication/division tests, but alas, it seems that many of my students need to brush up on their addition and subtraction!  So, I put together a smaller review set of +/- timed tests and added it to the multiplication/division packet I had already done.  That means there is now a total of 54 tests with answer keys, and student and teacher recording sheets.  If you are interested in purchasing the new, extended version, I have it available on my TpT store.

When You Enter...

I came to the sudden realization the other day that except for the little welcome bird I made, my doors were quite empty!  Worse yet, I have two doors to my classroom.  So, a quick Pinterest search, a hunt for fonts, a little scrapbook paper... and voila!  It's nothing too fancy, but I like that it gives credence to so many different roles that students may take on within the course of a day in my classroom.