Rubrics

How often do you use rubrics in your classroom? After attending many common core training's this year, one of the biggest things that we took away is the importance of a rubric. Students need to understand what is expected of them as well as how they can earn the grade for their work. I'm not just talking about a rubric for writing samples. We went to a math training in which the presenter made a strong case for rubrics in the math setting as well. I already know this is going to be something I really need to focus on this year with my kiddos: how to read a rubric, how to understand one, and how to use one to 'check' their work and make sure everything is done as it needs to be. 

SO- I remember coming across some rubric poems a few years ago. I went on a search for those poems and I made them into posters for my classroom. I plan to post these around my room as a quick reference. These by no means are the actual rubrics I will be using to grade their work. But I thought if they could remember the poem for each number, it might help them to gain an understanding of the meaning of each number. 

If you're interested, you can click on the picture below to download them for *FREE*.

What are your thoughts on using rubrics in your classroom? We would love to hear any insight that you have!

Happy Friday!

Schedule Spotlight Series- Math

I am linking up again with Kelli from Castles and Crayons for the 3rd week in her Schedule Spotlight Series. 

This week I get to ramble, I mean inform you of how I run my math block. Math was one of those blocks of time I became frustrated with because I couldn't find a 'routine' that worked for me or the kiddos. This past year was my first year implementing the Daily 5 structure into my math block and I loved it! I keep hearing that The 2 Sisters are going to come out with a structure for math like the Daily 5, but I was too impatient to wait for it. SO- I took their 'building stamina' concept and put it to work in my math block this year. After just a month of school I honestly wasn't sure which I liked teaching more....math or reading! I will share what I did this past year. I promise, I will try to be short and sweet!

My math block this past year was set up like this:

8:45-9:05- Mini-Lesson

9:05- 9:55- Rounds 1-4

9:55- Clean up & get to specials by 10:00!

MINI-LESSON: I tried to introduce a concept with either a book or Smartboard activity. After that, we would find our workbook page(s) for the day and complete the first few problems together. (Or they would solve and we would check together). I would quickly go over directions for the rest of the page and then it was time to break into our rounds. 

During our 'rounds' the kids would rotate to each station. They went to the same station during the same round each day....after a few weeks of reminding them where they were headed, they could do it on their own.

MEET WITH TEACHER- This time was used for a cumulative review of things we have been working on all year as well as a chance to re-teach or enrich the lesson as needed. Many of the fabulous TpT packs that I have found are utilized during this time. We try to do as much hands-on activities or games as we can during this time, but sometimes paper & pencil is necessary too!

MATH WITH A PARTNER- Each Monday I introduce a new 'game'. Once the kiddos see how to play the game, it goes into our bins of math centers. (Many TpT packs are found at this station too!)

This also takes very little prep time. Once a game is introduced, it stays there until the end of the year. So, we keep adding new choices as the year goes on- no excuse to be bored with any of the games! Each time they head here, they quickly find a partner, agree on a game and get started. They work until it is time to move to the next round.

MATH BY MYSELF- Students work at their seats to complete the workbook page for the day. If they finished before the round was over they worked on math task cards in their journal. I didn't require them to complete a certain amount of task cards each week. They are used more as a supplement activity. So, where  they stopped one day, they picked up the next time they worked on task cards. These are amazing because there is no prep on my part. I get them out the first day of school and they are there until the last! Check them out: http://www.teachingoasis.com/math.htm Courtesy of Ms. Winston!

COMPUTERS- For a while I was just having my kiddos practice their math facts on various online sites. Then my school bought a license for Moby Math. This website is tailored to each child's need. So when one child logged on they may be reviewing place value, yet another child might be learning multiplication. I loved that their computer time was utilized to their specific needs as a learner!

And that's it! I was *in love* with how my math block ran this year and I can't wait to hit the ground running with it again this coming year!

Be sure to link up so I can get some ideas about how math block is run in your classroom!

Measurement Olympics

For the past few years I have always done a 'Measurement Olympics' with my kiddos. I used to do it as a wrap up to our measurement unit but this year I waited and did as an end-of-the-year activity. They had a lot of fun with it as they usually do and of course, I don't have pictures becuase I just now thought of it.....only about 2 weeks too late!

However, after searching online I have seen so many different versions of it done and there are so many different activites for your kiddos to do. I have taken the ones that I use with my kids and complied it into a small pack. By all means, these are not the only 'events' you can have your kids participate in.

Since we have been MIA for quite some time, I thought it was time for a small giveaway. Click on the link below to download your *free* copy and stash it away for next school year!

Happy Thursday!

The Power of Post-its and a Valentine's Freebie

We have been working on asking questions before, during, and after reading various texts.  I used the Comprehension Toolkit for an awesome lesson on questioning.  I cannot say enough wonderful things about this reading toolkit…it really gets my kiddos engaged in nonfiction texts. 

First, I read a nonfiction magazine which was included in the toolkit.  Students had two columns of sticky notes on their clipboards.  They had 2 post-its to write down “what they learned,” and two for “what they wonder.”  It’s amazing what the power of post-its can do!  As soon as I pass them out my kiddos get sooo excited! You can see how hard they were working sitting in different places throughout the classroom.  I often allow my students to sit at various places in the room (where I can see them of course) to really be able to think by themselves.

We met back at the carpet once I was finished reading the magazine and stopping for students to write on their post-its before, during, and after the text. Students then had a chance to share with the class what they learned and what they wondered. It is so neat to see my kiddos write their comments in complete sentences. What a difference from the beginning of the year to now!

We have also been working on counting money.  I just love when we get to this unit! So….I have created a Valentine’s Day money freebie that can be used as pre-test, post-test or simply just for practicing money.  There are three differentiated levels for counting money.  Students are to write the two values on the lines and then compare the amounts using >, < or =.  I hope you can use it with your kiddos!

Spiders and a Halloween Freebie!

Halloween time is perfect for integrating skills using a “spider” theme. The Boys couldn’t wait to discuss the creepy, crawly critters, and the girls got excited to use their crafty skills to create pom pom spiders.

This year we are implementing the new common core standards along with still teaching the old standards to ensure our kiddos are ready for the Ohio Achievement Assessment in third grade. Writing an opinion piece is a part of the new ELA Standards for second grade. After brainstorming several opinions, students were quick to share how they felt about the hairy 8-legged creatures. (One of our favorite opinions was "they are gross because the guts splatter on your shoe when you step on them." ) haha

They were quick to engage in meaningful discussions about spiders after reading several nonfiction texts.

(I was so exicted when this student called me over to point out a label which was one nonfiction text feature we already learned!)

Students were sooo excited to make their very own spiders to go along with their opinion writing. Aren’t they adorable! (Hobby Lobby is one of our favorite places! ;)

To celebrate our week on spiders, we made our “cheesy spider  web” snack thanks to Christina Bainbridge’s snazzy snack recipes. Students had a blast creating their own spider webs and spiders.  It was a tasty way to end a great week on spiders!

Click on the image below for a Halloween freebie I have, Who has game with doubles and doubles plus one facts!

Happy Halloween! =)

Place Value Freebie

It’s been awhile since we have posted a freebie so we thought we’d share our latest math creation. We have found this year that a handful of our kiddos are really struggling to grasp the concept of place value. Since this is the foundation of ALL other math concepts we thought we’d better make sure our students have a good understanding before moving any further. What better way than to play a game right!? Of course our students are at different levels so we have created two different place value activities at 3 levels. We use the varied activities during our small math group time when students meet with us.

The first game requires students to spin the place value spinner while identifying base-ten blocks. The second activity can be used with base-ten blocks or just numbers for students to compare two numbers and fill in the signs >, <, or =. It is versatile so teachers may use however they choose! You can click on the image below to visit our TPT store and download this activity pack for free!

We are strong advocates for technology in the classroom so we have found a great link which practices place value and also has varying ability levels. We were thrilled to find a website that differentiates!

http://www.funbrain.com/tens/index.html

Daily Four Math and Math fact Practice

This is the first year we are introducing “Daily Four” math with our kiddos.  As many of you probably know “Daily Four” consists of math fact practice, Math by Myself, Math with a Partner, and Meet With Teacher.  We have previously called it Daily Three (excluding the math fact practice because we had a shorter math block).  We switched around our schedule this year which makes a longer math block and allows for math in the morning.  What a difference!!! No longer are the days after lunch where we have to literally wrack our brains to figure out why our kiddos cannot stay focused even with the most entertaining lessons (o.k. well maybe not every math lesson was the most exciting.)  ;)

Memorizing math facts is one of the skills our school really seems to struggle with. So….we thought we better try something new this year!!!! We are always eager each year to see what works or doesn’t work so we can improve or tweak it for the following year!  We seriously start to go crazy around May thinking of new ideas for the next school year. Ok getting back to “Daily Four.” We found some awesome websites which make our students look forward to practicing their math facts. Changing the websites biweekly or even weekly keeps our students excited to “play” their math games. Little do they know it is truly helping them to memorize those important facts!  We thought we’d share some of the sites/activities we found effective and easy for students to access without downloading or having to install software.  We hope you find them useful!

http://www.factmonster.com/math/flashcards.html

http://funschool.kaboose.com/gamesFiles/flash/kaboose/mathPopper/popper.swf

http://funschool.kaboose.com/formula-fusion/games/game_addition_attack.html

http://funschool.kaboose.com/formula-fusion/games/game_dr_brains_robot.html

http://oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/mathmagician/mathsadd.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/starship/maths/games/cross_the_swamp/small_sound/standard.shtml

http://funschool.kaboose.com/formula-fusion/number-fun/games/game_cannon_math.html

http://www.iknowthat.com/com/App?File=Dojo.htm&Type=S&App=Dojo&Topic=singledigitaddition

(Here is a two player math fact game) http://www.prongo.com/mathtwo/game.html

I’m sure many of you are thinking so what do you do with the other students who chose math fact practice while your only 3-4 computers are in use!?!? Well, we have grouped our students so there is an even number (most of the time).  Therefore, students can practice math facts with a partner if the computers are in use. We really like to use the math fact triangles from the Every Day Math Series because students become familiar with relating the three numbers.  Here they are if you’re interested!

http://www.freeholdtwp.k12.nj.us/gassner/factpower/factspdf/addsub_ft_wo_directions.pdf

Moving on to Math With a Partner…This is where students work with a partner to review previously learned skills through the use of various games.  Many of our games we found online at websites or have created to meet our individual student’s needs for the year. We have arranged them with the following labels that change throughout the year based on the skills we have taught: Time travelers, Number Sense Knowledge, Measurement Mania, Money Magic, Friendly Fractions, Problem Solving, Park, Addition Adventures, Geometry Junction, Subtraction Station, Place Value Paradise, Pattern Puzzlers.  (We found the names for these skills from a website we found which called them "Math Zones.")      

Below you will see a picture of how they are set up in our room.  The bottom basket is where the math fact triangles are kept.

Math By Myself: We have received many questions such as “what do you do when students finish their paper and pencil work for the daily lesson?”  We have found that making a packet based on students individual levels are useful for a spiral review.  So if students finish early they can finish a page in their “math pack.”  If they are still done early, they can practice task cards that we have on a key ring at a designated spot in our rooms. They write their answers in their “math lab” books.  This is a fun mini composition book  where students record their answers. 

So that is our “Daily Four” math in a nutshell.  We always appreciate any feedback on what you found that works for all of you!

Math Facts

Wow- We are thrilled to have 5 followers! We hope that you have enjoyed what we have shared with you this far and we are excited that we have found more blogs to follow as well.

Each summer we take a look at what we really liked about our classroom structure from the school year and start discussing changes that need to be made for the next school year. After implementing the Daily 5 structure into our reading schedule for the past few years, we felt that this was the year to implement a similar structure into our math block. (Thank you TwoSisters!) Looking back, we really loved how self-sufficient our kiddos were and how we were able to meet with small math groups each day. With that being said, one of the things we found most frustrating at the end of the year was the fact that many of our students still struggled with basic addition and subtraction math facts. While we believe that kids should have a variety of resources to use when solving math equations, we also feel that at the end of second grade they should no longer be using fingers to figure out 3 + 2. This year we are making our math block longer (about 1 hour and 15 mintues) and incoporating an extra round.  This extra round will be devoted strictly to math fact practice. Since we have about 5-7 students in each math group we need various activities so that each student is actively engaged for the duration of the round. There are so many free websites that let kids practice math facts, yet we only have 4 student computers in our classrooms- so we had to get creative. We decided to make a 'Fact Practice' game. This game will be used daily to help our kiddos master those tricky addition and subtraction facts through 20. It can easily be played individually or with a partner. All you will need to provide is a deck of cards (Hello, Dollar Store!) and some game pieces such as colored chips. That's it. The directions are simple and, if they finish a game before the round is over, it can easily be started all over! Since math facts are SO important in EVERY grade level, download it for *FREE* from our TpT Store! If you check it out, please let us know what you think! 

Lastly, we want to thank those of you who checked out our Pirate Themed 'Back-to-School Pack'. We received some wonderful feedback and we hope that you find many uses for it at the beginning of the school year. The pack is no longer listed for free, however you can grab it for only $2.50! Since we are each doing different themes this year, the Safari Themed 'Back-to-School Pack will be available in our TpT Store in just a few short days! It has all of the same components as the Pirate Themed Pack, yet is made to be used in a Safari/Jungle Themed classroom. Don't have a classroom theme? Not to worry, use the one you think your kiddos would like best. Be sure to come back later this week for a giveaway and a freebie!