Holiday Math Activity {FREEBIE}

Happy One-Week-Before-Christmas-Break!

I know this upcoming week is going to be filled with anticipation, excitement, and crazy students....

Here's a fun game to help keep your students engaged and on track.

It's just like a memory game- students turn the cards over with a partner (or by themselves), and take turns flipping two cards over. The goal is to find two cards with the sum of 20. Click {HERE} to grab it!

4

Math Racers Progress Track {FREEBIE}

Hi there! Hope you're having a great weekend (and Thanksgiving break if you're off this week too!)!

 Years ago I started using Math Racers in my classroom, and over the years they evolved and changed and grew to fit the needs of my students. This was one of the first things I ever shared on my TpT journey and it's been so incredibly neat to see so many teachers and students benefitting from something I created for my classroom. 

You can read my posts about the Math Racers by clicking HERE. 

And here's what they look like. 

0

iPhone Camera Tips for the Holidays

Make sure to stop by See Mama Teach today! 

 I've shared some of my quick and easy tips for taking photos this holiday season with your iPhone! I've also shared some of my favorite photo editing apps and how I use them there! So make sure to hop over and have a great week!

2

Google Spreadsheet Hack

I've been at the Google Apps for Education Summit this weekend! 

And I just HAD to share this because I am SO excited to figure out this little trick!!!

About a month ago I did two tutorials on how to create a Google Form to collect BTS info from parents, and on some tips & tricks to help you once the info is in Spreadsheets. Now...

Watch this short 3 minute video to see how to transfer the info from a Google Spreadsheet to a Google Doc! This can come in handy when you'd like to see all of the info from one responder without having to scroll over or wrap text! 

Hope you're having a great weekend!!!

0

Sit Spots & "Think Spots" + a Giveaway

HAPPY THURSDAY my friends! 

Thursday = 1 more day until Friday!!!

While in Vegas this summer, some of my amazing teacher friends and I came across Sit Spots! 

Molly, me!, Amber, Jen, & Angela (and Aris!!!)

Today, we're excited to bring you....

As a digital learning coach this year, I go into many different classrooms to work with lots of students and teachers (which I love!)- but it can be scary walking into someone else's classroom where you're not exactly sure of procedures. 

This is where Sit Spots, or "Think Spots" as I usually call them come in! 

Before I begin working with a class where I know we're going to need different, designated areas to work in teams, I place the Think Spots out around the classroom.

When it's time to go work, the kids LOVE finding a "Think Spot" to work at. Here they are working away, and it brings a sense of organized chaos to my life. 

***Thank you to Mrs. William's and her amazing 1st graders for sharing their classroom with me!!!***

Make sure to hop on over to my AMAZINGLY talented and ADORABLE friend Amber at Peppy Zesty Teacherista to see how she uses Sit Spots, and enter the giveaway below!!! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you can't wait, you can use the code SITSPOTS6 to get a discount at Sit Spots now! 

5

Getting Started with iPads: Lesson #1

I had so much fun working in a second grade classroom this week to help the teacher introduce their iPads! The kids were of course ecstatic too!

We began by telling the students we were going to discuss iPad rules, why rules are important, etc. etc. etc. I allowed the kids to start brainstorming any idea they though might be a good rule for us to have when using the iPads. Any idea they had, I added to our Popplet- one of my favorite apps/websites! There is a free version & a paid version (only difference- the paid version allows you to create an unlimited amount of Popplet projects- very worth it!!!!).

As we are talking and discussing and and brainstorming and shouting out rules, I had students begin to learn how to Sketchnote. 

Basically you draw pictures, words, doodles, whatever, to help remember content. 

Here is an awesome one from Sylvia Duckworth :)

and I love this one too!

When students Sketchnote, they tend to really pay attention to the lesson or conversation, stay engaged longer, and retain the information better. 

Here are some of the Sketchnotes the 2nd graders created as we discussed iPad rules:

This was surprisingly difficult for students (I thought it would be easy...) because they were convinced there was a "right answer" for these papers, and if they completed one drawing they were all done. Students are used to getting worksheets, filling out one right answer, and then screaming "I'M DONE!" from across the room and moving on to the next assigned activity. With Sketchnoting, you're never really done is there is absolutely no right answer... So I kept having to remind them to keep drawing, keep writing, keep THINKING when they would tell me they were finished! :) This *for the most part* kept them engaged for the entire lesson while I led this discussion about rules #win.

Whenever students would magically come up with a rule I knew needed to be a rule, I had them come up with a hand motion to go with the rule, and we came up with a chant ("iPad Rule 1 is USE CLEAN HANDS!") and we just kept adding them on as we went. Here's a video of the chant I've used with my class in the past (start it at 14:04). :)

Feel free to download the iPad Rules Sketchnote paper {HERE!} I hope you and your students enjoy it!

And you can also find my editable iPad rule posters {HERE!} 

Have a great weekend!!!! 

1

Time Saving Tips for BTS ~ #NoShameInPaperPlates

Happy weekend!!!! {Thank goodness for weekends, right???!!!!}

Sorry I was MIA last weekend {I've been trying to blog every weekend and be consistent!...} We were celebrating my sister-in-law and her new hubby at their wedding! 

I'm so excited to be blogging over at 

today to give you a few tips and tricks as we get this *already crazy busy* school year started....
Here's a little sneak peak :) 

Please head over and check out these time saving tips that keep me *semi*sane! :)
Click {HERE}!
#NoShameInPaperPlates people ;-) 

And have a great week! 

0

Comparing Numbers to 1,000 {FREEBIE}

I've only been working on this product for MONTHS now!!!

Seriously! 

I posted this pic on Instagram in APRIL!!!!!

And now it's FINALLY done!!!!!!!!!

Five hands on math center activities to work on comparing numbers to 1,000! With student directions, recording sheets, and lots of activity cards! 

I used Math Tubs in my classroom as my form of Morning Work- students came into the classroom, got themselves situated, and then began their Math Tub with their table team. If you were to walk into my classroom during this time, you would see kids spread around the classroom on the floor or at tables, talking and working away on these. I always loved this time in our classroom because everyone was engaged, I was able to get situated and deal with anything I needed to first thing in the am {attendance, collecting paperwork, parens at the door, etc}, students enjoyed doing the hands on work, they loved being able to chit chat while they worked first thing in the morning, I was able to get some legit review math skills in, AND they never got bored because I switched the tubs daily. In other words, I would prep five tubs (plus one day was computer time), and then just rotate the tubs around the tables each morning. These lasted me about two weeks since the tubs would revisit each table the follow week. Does this make sense....? 

Tubs are from Dollar Tree! Beautiful labels are from Amy Groesbeck! 

Math Tub time!!!

Anyways.... here are the five Comparing Numbers to 1,000 tubs! 

Tub 1: Students place sets of four numbers in order from least to greatest. This tub focuses on comparing the hundreds place. 

Tub 2: Students group numbers cards according to whether they are greater than, less than, or equal to 500. The number cards include numbers represented with words, in standard form, and base ten blocks. 

Tub 3: Students create a number sentence using the words 'greater than," "less than," and "equal to." This tub gives students experience comparing numbers based on the hundreds, tens, AND ones place.

Tub 4: Students place 25 number cards in order from least to greater, similar to a hundreds chart. Students compare hundreds, tens, and ones. 

Tub 5: Students create a number sentence using the symbols <, >, and =. This tub gives students experience comparing numbers based on the hundreds, tens, AND ones place. 

Click HERE to download Tub #2 for FREE! (It's the one that was in the Instagram pic!)

And click HERE to check out the whole pack on TpT! 

I will email this unit to the first 15 people who pin any picture from this post! Just leave a link to your pin in the comments on this blog post with your email address and I'll send it your way!!!

Annnnnnnnd!!! Make sure to head over to a new collaborative blog I'll be a part of! See Mama Teach! A blog about balancing being a mom and teaching! There's an awesome giveaway going on {to Target AND TpT!!!!} and you can meet all of the mama contributors and see a ton of cute kids! :) 

Have a great week! 

21