Happy Easter...and a Freebie

I hope everyone has a beautiful Easter day! I woke up to the nice surprise of seeing my Jumpin' Jellybeans game in TpT's weekly newsletter. In case you didn't see it, you can download it from my store. It's a fun, small-group game for practicing multiplication facts. Just click on the picture to get it.

 

 Have a wonderful day!

Show Me The Money

I am SO looking forward to spring break! Only four school days left. I can't wait to wake up late, wear shorts and flip flops all day, and sit outside with a good book. Doesn't that sound divine?

The only downside to all this fun is that my district has scheduled the Stanford 10 immediately when we return... as in 8:30 a.m. on our first day back. Ugh! Are they crazy? The kids are going to be wacko from having ten days off. Also, we haven't even begun to touch some of the math topics on the test. Time, fractions, MONEY! I have been frantically trying to cram it all into my little second graders these last two weeks. Learning to tell time hasn't been so bad. Fractions? No problem! Money... Lord help us!

We started out just identifying coins which went smoothly. Then, we learned the values. I had the kids put a little flap book in their math journals so they could quiz each other. It looks like this...

They cut the flaps and then underneath wrote the name of the coin and the value. I paired them up to quiz each other and when they were sure both partners knew them all, they came to me to prove it. Everyone passed! Yay!

We also watched this money video on youtube...

Next, we practiced counting like coins. Pennies, nickels, and dimes were a snap. Quarters - not so much. Some of them got stuck after 50 and would say, "25, 50, 60, 70," etc. So we did a little chant with jumping jacks. On the numbers 25 and 75, we jump with our arms out and hands showing five fingers. On the numbers 50 and 100, we jump with our feet together and bring our arms up to make a big circle (zero) above our heads. Mission accomplished!

Finally, it was time to count mixed coins. I passed out cups of play money and just let them go at it. They acted like they'd won the lottery! When one of them tried to pocket the coins, I had to explain for the 100th time that no store would accept this fake money. I think they were really disappointed that I wasn't handing out real cash.

Counting mixed coins has been the hardest thing we've done all year in math. Some of the kids really have it, a few are almost there, but a lot are still struggling. A handful absolutely refuse to start with the largest coins, group them, or use any kind of strategy beside random coin counting. This is what we'll be working on right up until the dismissal bell next Wednesday. For the kids who still aren't getting it, I might have to be the meanest teacher on Earth and assign some money homework over spring break.

For the kids who are getting it, I created a game which has turned out to be one of their favorite activities. They even ask to play it during recess. It's called the Grocery Game. Here they are playing it again today...

I don't think it's as exciting as the pretend grocery store my second grade teacher set up, complete with empty cereal boxes and food containers. (That was the high point of my elementary school experience. Thank you, Mrs. Conaway.) But, my class truly loves playing this game and that makes me very happy!

Looking for more money resources? Check out the awesome products from some of my TpT friends below:

The Trouble With Toothpicks

Next week is the big day... formal evaluation time. Ugh, I just hate this time of year. Not because I question my own teaching skills. It's the kids and their inability to act like humans when another adult enters the room. Why is it that they all turn into lunatics as soon as the principal shows her face? Don't get me wrong... I have a lovely class this year. In fact, I like them so much that I'm hoping to loop up to third grade with them. They are sweet and cute and pretty darn smart! But Lord help me, as soon as the Big Boss comes in, you'd think they'd been raised in barns.

So as I sit here planning my lesson for the big horse and pony show (aka Formal Evaluation), I'm second guessing myself. We are starting a unit on shapes in math and that is what I will be teaching. My plan is this...

1. Read "The Greedy Triangle" to generate interest and introduce vocabulary.
2. Explicitly teach vocabulary using my Properties of Shapes Posters.
3. Model how to use a circle map to describe a shape and then have the kids do their own in small groups.
4. Come back to whole group and create a table showing each shape and their defining attributes.
5. Based on the information generated, determine which shapes are quadrilaterals.
6. Formative Assessment: Students will individually sort shapes and categorize them on a tree map according to type.
7. Culminating Activity: Students will create their own triangle, quadrilateral, and pentagon using marshmallows and toothpicks.

What was that? Did I just say toothpicks? As in small, sharp projectiles made of wood? Okay, so this is where the second guessing comes in. Have I lost my freaking mind?!!! Let's just list the ways this could go oh-so-wrong...

1. They could poke themselves in the eye and be blinded for life.
2. They might jab themselves and end up with MRSA or some other horrid affliction.
3. They might accidentally swallow one and pierce their internal organs.
4. They could pretty easily use the marshmallows and toothpicks to build a giant phallic symbol.
5. I could be sued and/or lose my license for most of the above happenings.

So what should I do? Use the toothpicks! I mean, what's an effective lesson without a little danger, right? I have exactly 26 hours to change my mind and then I have to hit "submit" and send my lesson on its way. So, if anyone objects to this plan of mine, speak now or forever hold your peace.

 

Who wants some pie?

Yeah, I know, this is supposed to be a teacher blog. So, why am I offering up pie? Well, I am SO in love with my new little oven that I have to share. You heard that right. I'm head-over-heels for an appliance. Here's the situation... I'm sort of a lazy cook. The easier the better is my motto. I also really like gadgets that do fun things. So, when I saw this thing on Amazon and watched some of the videos, I couldn't stop myself. Isn't it pretty?

So let me just tell you... it's faaaaaaabulous! I have not used my big oven even once since I got this last month. So far I've made homemade bread and rolls, pizza, a roasted chicken, pigs in a blanket, bagels, toast, steak, chicken fingers, pork tenderloin, baked potatoes, cookies, brownies, and lasagna in this little oven. And they all turned out perfectly. Look at the apple pie I made...FROM SCRATCH...

Beautiful, huh? And delicious, I might add. (Just disregard the disposable pie plate. I did mention that I'm a lazy cook.) Here's the recipe I used. You must try it!

Grandma Ople's Apple Pie

The sauce it makes to pour over the apples is amazing, like liquid caramel! Mmm... Ok, so the oven (Breville Smart Oven) is a little pricey but so worth it. It heats up super fast, remembers your preferred settings, has convection, is easy to clean, and can bake, roast, broil, toast, warm, reheat, and a lot more! Did I say that I'm in love?

Okay, enough about that. Here's my other new baby...

This thing is ridiculously easy to use! I didn't really need a laminator but amazon has it right now for $19 and who ever runs out of things to laminate? Not me! The film pouches aren't that expensive and they're nice and thick. Plus, you can cut close to the paper and it doesn't separate which is a big deal. My school has a big laminator but it takes forever to heat up, the film is thin and cheap, and it's just a pain to use. I'm going to get a lot of use out of this little one. Look, what I did today...

Now I just need to cut them out. Have you bought something really cool for your classroom or house? If so, I'd love to hear about it!

Black History Month in the Classroom

February is Black History Month. If you're like me, you have little time in your day to fit in extra learning when it doesn't align with the required curriculum. But there is so much rich history to be learned by studying the important historical figures that we celebrate in February!

Since our social studies block has all but been eliminated by walk-to-intervention time, I'm planning to integrate Black History Month into my language arts block. If you look at the Common Core Standards, you'll see that many of the "Speaking and Listening" standards provide a perfect opportunity to read, learn, and talk about African-American history.

One of my favorite books to read aloud is My Daddy, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. written by his own son. It gives a new perspective to the story of Dr. King, one that the children can relate to... a proud son talking about his loving father.

I will read this book in January, since that's when we celebrate MLK's birthday. But, it's a great way to start a study of African-American history. After reading this book, I give students an opportunity to write about their own fathers. This allows for making text-to-self connections and integrates writing into our studies. 

We follow up the book and writing with the video Our Friend, Martin (You can view the entire movie for free on youtube!) and a comprehension packet that involves main idea, text features, vocabulary, and context clues.

 

After completing our studies of Dr. King, we start researching other important figures in African-American history: Rosa Parks, Mae Jemison, Frederick Douglass, Jackie Robinson, Booker T. Washington, and Mary McLeod Bethune are a few that we focus on. The students get to choose one of the above people to research with their group. They use the facts they learn to create a poster, write a short biographical report, and then present it in front of the class.

We have the advantage of being just a few miles away from Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach. A field trip to the college and Mary McLeod's home isn't always possible, but we can pretty easily bring in a speaker from the college to talk about her life and accomplishments.

Most communities have some sort of African-American organization that can provide speakers to schools. One to try is the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women's Clubs. Listening to a speaker, asking questions, and talking about what they learned are important skills for our students to learn.

Have fun celebrating Black History Month!