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: -

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!

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.

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

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!

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.

Everyday Math - Pretests

One of the goals I have for this year is to take more of a math workshop style approach to math so that I can differentiate more effectively.  That means that I need to pretest students at the beginning of each unit, and since I couldn't find any pretests, I decided to just make them myself.  I decided to include one question from each lesson in the unit, plus additional ‘Practice’ problems, covering items that the students should be able to do independently. I rated each question as easy (one star), medium (two stars) or hard (3 stars) so that I can see which questions they are missing and hopefully group them more appropriately.  So far I have units 1 and 2 done, but the goal is to complete the set by the end of the year!  If you are interested in using them, they are in my TpT (Ch. 1, Ch. 2) and TN stores (Ch. 1, Ch. 2).

I Can Posters - 4th Grade Math

Last year I put together a set of "I Can" Posters for Math and ELA for Third Grade, which hung on my wall and could help students keep track of what their goals were.  As I change grade levels, I wanted to remake them for fourth grade.  The math posters are done, and hopefully I can find the patience to muddle through the ELA standards before the new year starts!  If you would like to use them in your classroom, they are available both on my TpT store and my Teachers Notebook store.

Multiplication and Division Timed Tests

Moving up to fourth grade with the students I had last year certainly has it's advantages.  For example, I know that they still need practice with their math facts (and I'm sure having the summer off hasn't helped).  While it may not be part of the Everyday Math program, I think that some of my students may just need this type of activity to help them focus on smaller sets of facts and find motivation to learn them.  I can't sit and watch them count by 7's to 49 on their fingers anymore as they try to complete lattice method multiplication... so much wasted time!

The packet has 36 timed tests with 21 questions per sheet.  Included are the following:

• Multiplication - 1 through 12 (two versions each)
• Mixed multiplication review (two versions)
• Multiplication - doubles
• Division - mixed sheets - 1/2, 3/4, 5/6, 7/8, 9/10, 11/12, and division review (two versions)
• Mixed multiplication/division

There are also a recording sheets for both teachers and students, and an answer key at the end.  Each test and answer key has a code on the bottom so they can be matched for easy checking (ex. M.1a is Multiplication, 1’s, version a).
If you are interested, it is for sale on both my TpT store and my Teacher's Notebook store.  Enjoy!

Anchor Charts - Take 2

Well, it's been a busy few months, and I've added a few anchor charts to the list as the months have gone on, and finally got around to putting an updated version on TpT and on Teachers Notebook.  The new charts include:

Reading:
Homophones

Writing:
Their, There and They're
y to i (adding endings)
Crazy for Commas
When Do I Need a New Paragraph?
Fiction Writing

Math:
Math Mistakes (and How to Fix Them)

Anchor Charts

Am I the only one who dislikes making those big anchor charts? Inevitably, I run out of space somewhere, or smudge marker when the poster is all but finished. Well, no more for me. I've started moving all of my anchor charts into small, digital format. With the Apple TV (which I LOVE by the way), I can put the digital copy up on the TV for my mini-lesson and then print a copy to put in our class anchor chart binder. Some of the charts I can print for individual students to keep in their own writing binders, too. Yes, I know. They aren't all hanging on the walls, but maybe I'll still put up a few of the more commonly used charts. Anyway, I'm sharing what I have done so far on TpT. Below is the description and a link to the download page. Enjoy!

Anchor Charts
This is a collection of printable anchor charts that can mainly be used in Second through Fourth Grade. I got tired of making the large anchor charts for the walls and finding places to store them, so I began moving my anchor charts into digital format. I can introduce them by showing them with a projector/apple TV connection and then just add them to our class anchor chart binder.

I am working on moving all of my old anchor charts into printable format, so this file will continue to be updated as I add more. It currently includes:

Reading:
I PICK (available as a separate download)
Figurative Language

Writing:
Writing Process (available as a separate download)
Nouns and Proper Nouns
Other Ways to Say Said
Story Starters
Proofreading Marks

Math:
Subtraction Poem
Mean, Median, Mode and Range
Math Key Words
Equal Fractions Hopscotch