January 14, 2016
Fraction Action: Skittles Math!
Happy Monday everyone! Today I'd like to share a little about my math unit on fractions!
It’s all about fractions and how to identify them based on the number of equal parts they are divided into (i.e. halves, fourths, sixths, eighths, etc.). Students begin to identify fractions within a set and what better way to do that than using candy?! Some teachers use M&Ms but I personally like Skittles because they don't melt and get as sticky but both work just as well.
Fractions can be a very tricky concept to teach these little guys, but getting them engaged is half the battle!
Introduction:
First, I like to make things visual and I do this by randomly picking 5 students and have them stand in the front of the class. Students must observe the 5 students I picked and must determine what is in common with them. For example, I may have chosen 3 girls and 2 boys to represent the fraction 3/5 being girls and 2/5 being boys or maybe 4 wearing sneakers and only 1 wearing boots to show 4/5 and 1/5. The kids always tend to like that activity and it poses a bit of a challenge for them.Guided Practice:
After that initial activity I introduce how we can identify fractions within a given set. This requires students to be familiar with how to write fractions and what the numerator and denominator are within a fraction. For this I like to use Scholastic's free StudyJams videos to help give the students an idea about how to write fractions. BrainPopJr is another great site for kids but that requires a subscription.Guided/Independent Practice:
Then on to the fun! After you've built up some background knowledge students can engage with their learning through this hands on activity. I called mine Fraction Action: Skittles Math! Make sure you've discussed with your class that students aren't to eat the Skittles since many students' hands have been all over them and we use them for learning, not eating. Last year at the end of the activity I did hand out mini bags of Skittles for them to take home, which helped their impulse to eat them during class.
I have created this little student handout for them to use to track their fractions during the activity. The goal is for them to see how fractions are present within a set and ours being their bag of skittles. I only use 10 skittles total since I just scoop the candies from a massive bag versus always buying the mini pre-packaged bags. It also helps me differentiate for different groups of students.
I love the graphing because who doesn’t like a little graphing practice mixed in?
November 2, 2015
November Currently
Happy Monday and the beginning of November! I say this all the time about how quickly time seems to fly, but seriously...it’s November already. In celebration of the harvest, everything Thanksgiving, and the approaching holiday season, I’m linking up with Farley and her Currently linkup and sharing what’s going on with me on this brisk November morning!
Listening // My husband just recently discovered Lisa Ling’s new CNN docu-series and currently watching an episode about motorcycle gangs. Not quite the best thing to listen to first thing in the morning, but I suppose neither is my Real Housewives to him ;)
Loving // With a show of hands, how many of us are excited that Starbucks has officially rolled out their red holiday cups?! I know, many people I know (and many more across the internet) believe that the holiday/Christmas season doesn’t/shouldn’t officially start until AFTER Thanksgiving, but consider me one of the few who gets excited nonetheless.
Thinking // It’s been over a year since I’ve been able to visit Virginia to see my family since moving to California with my husband and I am so excited to get the opportunity to visit during Thanksgiving. We are trying to visit both my family and his family in Texas this holiday season before our baby is born in the spring. It’ll be a lot, both financially and in stress, to travel while pregnant and with a dog, but it’ll be worth it!
Wanting // This is the first week that we’ve had temperatures below 80 degrees and I am welcoming it with open arms! It’s only about 70 degrees outside, so not quite scarf and sweater weather, but I’ll take it! Celebrating fall has been an interesting thing, especially since it’s been unseasonably hot here in CA. More cold weather!
Needing // How many of you have seen and fell absolutely in love with Chip and Joanna Gaines from Fixer Upper?! I mean, seriously. I love their work and wish I lived in Waco just to have them makeover a house for me. They seem like an awesome couple and I love the example they set as Christians, spouses, and parents. Love them!
Yummy // I’ve been craving Thanksgiving Dinner, like the whole spread, for a few weeks now. This also adds to just how excited I am to visit my family since my dad goes all out for dinner and hosting our family. My heart skips a beat every time we walk into Trader Joe’s and I see the stuffing, gravy, turkey broth, etc. lining the walls. Just a few more weeks!
October 11, 2015
Baby Daniel On The Way!
A lot of you probably have noticed that the blog has been very quiet over these last few months (or maybe not). It’s for a good reason, I promise! If you follow me over at my lifestyle blog, Primarily Inspired, you probably already know this news. But for those who don’t....here’s the reason behind my absence from this space...
My husband and I are excited to be expecting a baby boy in March 2016! Since getting pregnant in early March of this year and unfortunately suffering a miscarriage, we were on the path for parenthood ever since. Our experience with miscarriage only brought my husband and I closer and made us realize that we were ready to embark on this next exciting chapter in our marriage and lives together. We are so excited and are truly appreciative to all the prayers and well-wishers from our family and friends.
My husband and I are excited to be expecting a baby boy in March 2016! Since getting pregnant in early March of this year and unfortunately suffering a miscarriage, we were on the path for parenthood ever since. Our experience with miscarriage only brought my husband and I closer and made us realize that we were ready to embark on this next exciting chapter in our marriage and lives together. We are so excited and are truly appreciative to all the prayers and well-wishers from our family and friends.
July 8, 2015
The First Week: Full Lesson Plans to Get Your Classroom Up and Running
Amazon affiliate links may be used in this post. You can read my full disclosure here.
The beginning of the year is both exciting and exhausting all at the same time. I always describe the beginning of the school year to my non-teaching friends like this:
Imagine being given 24+ puppies that you will proceed to pour all of your time, effort, blood, sweat, and tears into. Training, said puppies, and molding them to be the very best little puppies they can be. Learning skills that will not only enlighten them, but instill in them the framework to be good dogs when they grow up. Then turn around and receive 24+ new puppies the following year and start all over again.
That’s kind of like the first few months of the school year when trying to establish rules and routines in the classroom.
Today I am excited to share some of the beginning of the year activities and resources I use to introduce my classroom to my new kiddos. I incorporate a lot of fun read alouds, activities, and engagement to model to my students the expectations I have for the year. I’m always surprised as to how quickly my kids pick it up!
Launching Routines & Rules
This has everything you need for the first week of school and getting your rules and routines established. Of course, it takes longer than a week to practice and revisit your rules, but this resource allows you to introduce your students to the framework of your expectations through reading and discussion using some of my favorite books.
After a main lesson and read aloud, students are to discuss and fill out each page of their workbook that highlights the rule being introduced. This is an example of rule #1 which is to make good choices. Good choices come in all forms and it’s fun to see how students come up with different ways in which good choices can be made!
Rule #1: Making Good Choices
Read Aloud: The Book of Bad Ideas
This is such a silly story of when Good Ideas turn Bad! Engage students further by handing them the GOOD CHOICE, POOR CHOICE paddles and throughout your reading have students participate by deciding whether or not the character made a good or poor choice and how that incorporates to how they should treat each other in the classroom.
Rule #2: Be Respectful to Others
I love this story and have been reading it for years to my students - kindergarten through second grade. It's a silly story that allows students to understand the Golden Rule and the importance of treating yourself and others with respect. I also love it's available on Vooks if you're looking for an animated version of this read aloud!
Hang your rule posters in a prominent place in your classroom or have students use the coloring pages to create posters themselves!
Rule #3: Always Try Your Best
Read Aloud: The Mighty Street Sweeper
Trying ones best can be difficult for some and for others it simply comes naturally. Each child is coming into the classroom with different sets of skills and experiences that affect their mindsets. This could easily be the year that one kid goes from a fixed to a growth mindset and fostering this kind of thinking is oh, so important! The Mighty Street Sweeper is a cute story that shares the message that you don't have to be this big, powerful truck to do something important. That each of us have talents, interests, and skills that make us unique yet just as valuable.
Rule #4: Keep Your Space Organized
Read Aloud: Franklin is Messy
Discuss with students how organization leads to preparedness and a readiness to learn. This skill is often overlooked and this packet helps students realize that keeping a clean workspace is important and is expected. After all most report cards include this skill each quarter/semester. Why not teach them about it?
We join Franklin in this story who learns a valuable lesson in tidiness. He is good at so many things, but one: he's messy, which causes him to lose things. This is the perfect story to share with students at the beginning of the year because they can instantly relate to losing something. It lends itself to a wonderful discussion of how we can be ready for school and learning by respecting materials in the classroom - including their desks and shared work spaces.
The Classroom Contract
I love developing the rules together through a classroom contract that every student gets a copy of. After reading, discuss the main four rules and have students draw a picture and write their understanding of that rule in their student workbook also provided in this packet. Once finished students may keep them somewhere visible in the room or take home. Also, laminate and hang the classroom rule posters somewhere in the classroom where students can be reminded of the rules they created together as a classroom community.
Interested in a BUNDLE of all of my favorite, and most popular, behavior management tools?
NEW! Hopes and Dreams Pennant!
Something new that hit the shop in 2020 are these Bitmoji Pennants for student hopes and dreams. I love beginning the year with a discussion on what students hope to accomplish that year. It's a conversation that lends itself to goal setting and reminders throughout the year of what efforts students to make in order for their hopes and dreams to come true.
Head on over to check it out for yourself! I can't wait to add this to my lesson tool belt once we get back to the classroom next year!
How do you begin the school year and establishing those classroom rules and routines?
June 26, 2015
Five For Friday Linkup 6.26
It’s Friday and finally I am linking up for the first time in forever with Doodle Bugs Teaching for her weekly linkup! This week was the home stretch for our preschool summer experience and today marks the very last day of camp! It’s been such a great time working with my fellow teachers and assistants, meeting the newest kiddos to come into preschool next year, and get to do some pretty fun stuff each week.
ONE //
This week has been our American week and we’re celebrating with all things America! We did this fun little flag craft, made an Uncle Sam hat, and yesterday we decorated boxes for today’s parade!
TWO //
Yesterday was my little man’s birthday and he turned one years old. You can read my letter to him here. I can’t believe how fast a year went but I’m so blessed to have such a loving dog in my life.
And of course he had a birthday bone ;)
THREE //
FOUR //
FIVE //
If you’re a Daily 5ver like me then this is will help you with those resources you need to set it up and be prepared on the first day of school. See my original post to find the download here!
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