Week 3 Reflections

This week seemed to be slightly easier because we are now in a routine. 

Highlights!

1. We started our new novel - Indian in the Cupboard. I love how this ties into our SS unit, and gives them a taste to learn about different Native Tribes, and then how that information connects to nowadays. We start our research team projects next week... 

2. I read Totem Tales to them, and then they created their own totem poles and tales. I used the clipart from here to make a small sheet to give them as ideas. 

3. We had a moment and did I wish my teacher knew… it’s sweet and heart breaking all at the same time. Man, I love these kids. Have you ever done "I wish my teacher knew...?" Basically I give them an index card, and they finish the sentence, then turn in.  I told them that it can be anonymous or they can put their names on it if they want.  They tell me information that means something to them.

4. We also tackled our Context Clue Travel Adventure! The foam flyers worked wonderfully as a mini STEM project to build, then sort the kids to mix them up a bit from their normal team groups before they hit the stations to review context clues.  

5. The kids got to attend music class for the first time in years. It was amazing and they absolutely loved it. And I loved the extra prep. :) It's amazing how much one can get done in a short amount of time... It feels good to tackle the to do list and actually get something accomplished.  

6. I read Noteable Notebooks. It's a great story to show pictures of real scientist notebooks.  

7. We also worked on our science observation note booking skills- working on those A,B,C,D’s. 

*Accurate

*Big

*Colorful

*Detailed 

This week we closely observed shells.  Last week we observed classroom objects, and the first week we observed rocks.  Our drawings are getting more accurate, bigger, colorful, and definitely more detailed. 

8. I ordered a bulk pack of ear buds for our class set of laptops.  This is the link I used, so far they are working great. It's helping now that I'm letting them use the computers more for Code.org, Scratch, and for Prodigy as a May Do.

9. We tackled a Growth Mindset Escape Room on Friday afternoon. This is the product I used.

It kept them moving and they needed to use that growth mindset because it was tricky! I ended up taking the 4 included puzzles and putting all 4 on a single page before I made copies for my class, it saved on paper. Then each table group had a specific task and code, and the kids rotated around to complete it all.

10. I taught them the game "Hello Mr. President". 

Hello Mr. President is a listening game, and it's quiet. Key word - silence... A kid stands in the front, eyes closed.  Silently, pick a second student to stand in the back of the room and say "Hello, Mr. President" - in whatever voice they want to use... kids get into the disguise. The "President" with their eyes closed has to guess the owner of the voice. For some reason the kids LOVE this game. 

11. The kids are reading!!! Silent Reading seems to be our favorite time of the day.  Kids are stretching out all over the room, in chairs, under desks, on the rug... I'm over in my chair also reading (currently Poison in the Colony), and there's a groan when we get to the point we HAVE to move onto workshop.  They love to read, and I'm getting to hear all about their books during our Book Talks.  Book Talks, with the 40 Book Challenge, and Book Beads are filling my time during Workshop.  It makes my day!

And now I'm ready to go curl up with my own home book... Have a great weekend!

Disclaimer - These are not sponsored links, just things that I LOVE and that I'm currently using in my classroom. I love to share ideas.  :)  

Four Virtual Classroom Games

This year I really wanted to give my students a sense of fun, to feel that classroom magic.  So every day for the last couple of minutes we play a quick game.  It changes by the day, but each day ends with smiles.  I wanted to share what we've been playing.  

I Like My Neighbor Who:

Everyone switches their screens to large gallery mode and turns off their camera.  I choose a kid from our name jar, and they say something like "I like my neighbor who..." and they choose something kind of random.  If a student in class agrees with that statement they switch their camera on and the screen fills up with faces.  We've done everything from I like my neighbor who like cheese pizza, to has an Elf on the Shelf, to loves dogs more than cats...  It's fun and they ask for it a lot!

True/False:

This is a newer game... Students put their virtual hands up and I go in order.  They say a true statement and a false statement, the point is to trick their classmates.  The kids guess which is the true statement, they tell us, and then we go to the next person.  They have learned so much about their classmates this year.  

Scavenger Hunts:

When we need to get up and move, we play Scavenger Hunt.  We usually stick to the colors to make it easy to grab something quickly.  I choose the first kid, they make a choice, and they only have 30 seconds to grab the chosen color.  Then that person chooses the next person and so on.  A lot of these games we are racing the clock to see how many rounds we can play before it's time to say goodbye.  

Would You Rather:

Yep - they come up with them.  Would you rather live on Pluto or Mars? Eat a worm or a cricket? They can be kind of gross.  The kids raise their virtual hands for their choice.  Now that TEAMS just rolled out quick actions - applause, hearts, etc... the kids mix it up by saying what action to do for each choice. Do hearts for worms and applause for crickets... It's fun and it goes quick.

If nothing else these virtual classroom games have gotten us to know each other this year, and to that I'm thankful. Do you have any other virtual games I can add to the mix?

Hope you had a great day!

First Week of School: Team Building and Growth Mindset Activities

The first week of school is a time to build relationships and become a class family, learn and practice routines and expectations, and hopefully have some fun in the process.  Of course you have to figure out what works well for your own classroom, but these activities help me to fulfill many purposes at once.  I wanted to take today and share what Team building & Growth Mindset activities we complete the first week of school.

*Help Harry STEM -
This is a free building activity from The Teacher's Studio.  Basically the kids have to work together to help this little puff ball by building a perch for it to see the classroom.

*Toilet Paper Squares -
I don't do this the first day, but I do have the toilet paper sit out on my front cart for a day or so, the kids of course notice and start wondering what it's for.  When it's time, I pass around the roll and have the kids take what they need.  Some take one square, some take a whole handful.  For each square they have to share in their groups that amount of facts about themselves.  The ones that only take one have the option of sharing more about themselves, the ones that took A LOT don't have a choice, they have to share.  It does help to teach the importance of moderation in group discussions - that we need to have a balance between the talkers and the listeners.

*Growth Mindset Yoda -
This is a youtube video.  After we read the first week book, What Do You Do With a Chance, we complete the paper folding Growth Mindset challenge (from Teaching in Room 6), and then after discussion we watch the video.

*Name Game -
It's the basic game that we play midweek that first week.  We stand in a circle around the edges of the classroom (gets them out of their desks) and I start with my name and a hand motion (which everyone copies), then the person to my left says their name with a hand motion.  Then everyone says their name with the hand motion, and my name/hand motion, then it goes to the 3rd person, 4th, etc.  Sometimes an oldie is a goodie.  Since it's hard for me to remember names, I do this to help myself and others.

*I Like My Neighbor Who Game/Back to School Scoot -
Another oldie but goodie.  We move the chairs into a circle - either inside or outside, one chair is missing.  The person without a chair says "I like my neighbor who _____" and completes the sentence with either something people can see, an opinion, or a fact.  "I like my neighbor with black shoelaces" and those students with black shoelaces have to quickly change spots to another chair, the speaker moves with them.  The next person comes up with another idea - I like my neighbor who loves pizza" and more kids move, I like my neighbor who plays football, etc...  I play with the kids, it's fun, and if I am the one missing the chair then I usually choose something that ALL kids get up and move - I like my neighbor who is in 5th grade.

*Beach Ball Questions -
It's another simple thing.  I have a cheap beach ball that I have written a lot of random questions all over.  Throughout the first couple of weeks I have it close by and will toss it when we have a couple of minutes (that first week timing is off as I get to know the kids and how long things take them).  The kid who catches it has to read the question under their right hand and answer it, then they throw it back to me.  I keep track who has shared and toss based on my list.  I want all kids to participate.
Sample questions: Best pizza topping? Best summer activity? Future career? Best video game? Captain American vs. Iron Man? Sharks vs. Whales? Birthday? How many siblings?

*Find Someone Who -
There are so many out there on TPT.  I use this one from Blair Turner as part of her Back to School booklet.  The booklet the kids have on their desks from day 1 and work on it when they have extra time that first week, before I collect it on that first Friday.  Find Someone Who is a game where kids wander around the room finding people with those specific facts.

*Pineapple Project - This product from Leslie Ann is a great one regarding hospitality and being a friend.  I love the partner activity game and the interview sheets.

*What Can You Learn from a Cactus - This product from Layla Henry is great for Growth Mindset.  We read the close read passage, and then use the included questions to have a class discussion.  I bring in a cactus (that stays on my counter for a reminder), and the kids are welcome to bring in their own mini cactus to take care of throughout the year.  This year I want to do this cute craft (The Best Idea for Kids ad from FB), but I don't know if it's going to be a whole class project, or just be trying to be creative this summer (with my own boys).  Either way, it's cute!

Hope this helps someone!

  

Let's Talk about Games

I've always loved using task cards in my classroom - I jumped on that bandwagon years ago.  I use them for intervention, for review, for centers, for Scoot, etc.  Something that I've added to that list the last couple of years is using them in conjunction with interactive kid games.  That's a way to bump up engagement.

It's also only a special treat.  I only do this for review times, not for the everyday math lessons (we have other games/activities for those).  I want kids to have a foundation before they are having to multi-task.  Sometimes I'll add one of these games into a center rotation, but that's pretty unlikely as I won't be able to monitor as much when I'm working with my own group.  The focus has to stay on the math skills, the games are just the fun vehicle.   

Kerplunk

 So here's the breakdown of what I've tried:

Kerplunk - I have one giant game.  It's actually a pain to set up, but the kids love it.  I got it on major sale after Christmas one year.  It also takes a long time to reset the game, so when it's up I try to use it for many different things. 

I have used it for Classroom Management (Head Over Heels for Teaching idea) - where a hard working kid gets to pull a stick.  When the balls fall the entire class gets a reward.  

***With TASK CARDS all these games pretty much have the same routine:

1.  The player or team chooses a task card and EVERYONE solves it.  

2. The player checks their answers against every other player's answers, and they see if they match.  If they do, they notice the different ways they have solved the problem (what different strategies did they use) - using a number talk format.  

3. If they don't have matching answers, then they still have a conversation and teach each other how they did the problem, usually errors are figured out as to why it was the wrong answer (error analysis). 

4. At the very end, they can check their answer on the answer key, then the player gets a chance to play their turn (even if they got the math problem incorrect).  

Connect 4

The last couple of years I have only had one game of Connect 4.  It's on my list to get a couple more sets since the kids love it so much.  It's also good for rainy day games, since it's a quick reset.  They play similar to above - but are working in teams to choose the math problem and to place their game pieces.  Since it's a faster paced game, I have each member of the team get their own piece (so 2 pieces are played at a time).  Everyone still solves the problem, everyone still takes part in the discussion.

Basket Case

 Basket Case - My grade level has a couple sets of these in the workroom.  It's so much fun and the kids have a blast.  It's a quick set up, but there is definitely more skill involved with that pesky hand-eye coordination. Lots of laughs with this game.  Same idea as to how to play using task cards.  They all solve the problem, they all have those conversations, then the person who has it on their head is the one tossing the ball into the air and trying to catch it.

Jenga

Jenga - I actually have 8 sets of these in the classroom.  You probably do not need one for each group of 4, but they have come in handy over the years.  Sometimes we have an entire room of Jenga going at a time.  It does take a little bit of time to reset, little sand timers help with having the kids reset quickly.  If you are doing these on desks, I've found it's faster to use a small tray under the game so that kids build on that.  It seems to help when the blocks fall so they aren't falling all over the place.  

*Not pictured but other fun games:

-Battleship when learning coordinate graphs.

-Dominoes (not played traditional way) - the kids add a piece vertically to a growing trail, and then at the end the players knock the pieces to let it fall.  

-Board Games (Chutes and Ladders, Checkers, Candyland, etc)

Same idea with all of these - kids play a round after they've done the work.  

I hope this helps someone.  Try to add a game next year, your kids would love it!

Winter Party {TP challenge and Sugar Cube Missions}

What a party!  Yesterday was so much fun.  We had our Book Exchange in the morning, then finished up our Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie with (crock pot) hot chocolate.  We had a couple of minutes before lunch, so I pulled out a quick time filler and the kids played the toilet paper snowman game.  Each group of 5 were given a roll of toilet paper, and only 10 minutes to create a snow person.  They got so into it, and took it very seriously.  Accessories were used, toilet paper was flying into designs, and the kids were showing some major teamwork.

After lunch we made our sugar cube missions.  I've done them in past years too - it's just my thing I love to do (instead of gingerbread houses).  We are right in the middle of studying about missions, and it just ties it all together.  I ask for sugar cube and white frosting donations, and from there the kids create their buildings.  They decorate them with our candy box candy, spice drops (for the bells), and lasagna noodles for the clay roofs.  At the very end the kids do an earthquake challenge, and walk their mission on an obstacle course.  If they can complete the walk without it falling down the mission would have withstood the natural disasters.  :P  The kids get a kick out of it.  

I love my home traditions, but also love the traditions that I have at school.  It means a lot to me to share these activities with the kids - to have fun with them after half of year of pushing them constantly.  I recently ran into one of my past students - that I had over 10 years ago - and she still remembered some of the fun moments.  It does make a difference. I hope you have a wonderful, relaxing break!  

Halloween Activities {Pumpkin Plants, Catapults, and Ghost Rockets}

Oh, Halloween... how I really don't like you...  Halloween on a Monday this year just about killed me.  It is already my least favorite holiday, but I try to still have fun in the classroom.  I've not into the whole scary thing, never have been, so in class I more focus on spiders, bats, owls, and pumpkins. 

early stages of sprouts

 We had a pumpkin that we were gifted from the school's Fall Festival, so this year I decided to cut the top off and dump in some dirt.  That's it - I didn't stir or anything, just stuck it outside on our portable's porch, and the kids took turns dumping their water bottles in it to water.  Within 10 days it sported a bunch of sprouts emerging from the top and a colorful array of mold on the outside.  We transferred it to a planter (since the bottom was rotting), and now it's a full on plant, and you can't tell it was once a pumpkin... but the kids know and tell all our visitors.  

In class for Halloween, I wanted to focus on STEM activities, and since I was having parent help I decided to go big.  I found an idea to make Ghost Rockets and quickly ordered the film canisters from Amazon (thank you Amazon Prime).  It was super easy - the kids added a little bit of corn starch to the canister, then filled it with a little bit of water, stirred it with a popsicle stick, added an Alkaseltzer tab, put the lid on, and then stepped back.  We did this station outside, and those canisters flew as high as our two story buildings.  There was good discussions about the pressure inside the canisters.  

An inside station was building catapults to launch different materials.  We watched a youtube video (there are plenty to choose from) to make a simple catapult.  At home for prep, my husband took our heavy kitchen scissors and cut notches in large popsicle sticks, then at school the kids took 8 small sticks and stacked them.  They took rubber bands to secure the large sticks with the small ones.  I added some measurement activities to the station, and taped some long tape measures to the ground so they could record their distances.  They tested out the pumpkin candies, giant fluff balls, candy corns, etc.  It was such a fun activity, and the kids were able to bring their own catapult home as a souvenir.  The kids were able to handle creating it themselves with some adult guidance, will definitely do this again.  

The last station was actually a game.  I couldn't find the eye ball ping pong balls, but that didn't stop the kids from having fun.  Each kid had their own spoon to place the handle in their mouth, and they needed to transfer as many of the ping pong balls as possible from bowl to bowl.  It became a competition.  When they were done, they had a chance to complete their spider web art projects.  It was a headache free day, and was fun too.  :)  

2 Truths and a Lie

Today my class played the game 2 Truths and a Lie during reading... using our NOVEL!  How novel is that?  We are in the midst of Island of the Blue Dolphins - have almost reached the middle.  It was a moment that I knew would happen, we needed to get out of our desks and review the story from a vertical, moving position.  So I passed out index cards and had my students write 2 true facts from the story and one lie. They tried to be sneaky and mix up the lie vs. the truths.  Don't worry, they didn't fool me! :)   They had everything under the sun from chapters 1-13.  Then they handed them in.  

I wrote Truth and Lie on opposite ends of the whiteboard for students to move to either one side of the room or another.  Then I started reading one sentence from each card.  Oh, the kids had fun moving back and forth across the classroom.  Each sentence was followed up by a "voluntold" being asked WHY they knew it was the correct answer.    

We LOVED playing this game!  What other games do you play during reading?   

Relating Fractions to Decimals

Hello!  This past week we have been relating fractions to decimals in my classroom.  It's been a bunch of interchanging between the 2, and the kids are really getting it!  

A couple of days ago I had them do an exit slip by taking an index card and showing hundredths in 4 ways...fraction, decimal, word form, and in a model.  They used their classroom number as the numerator. 

Today we were adding tenths and hundredths, so we played with dice.  This is the type of thing I draw on the board anytime we play with dice.  Every _ is a dice roll.  They filled in the fractions, and then turned it into decimals before adding.  It was a way for them to check both answers.  

Here's an example of them working on their whiteboards... You can see my homemade dice on the ground by her shoe... gotta love round dot stickers.

Then they had a chance to practice adding decimals.  I love LOVE that he is adding horizontally.  

We are moving on with math... just need to compare decimals next week and then take our final NF assessments.  Almost done!  Where are you these days in math?  

Making Puzzles

I'm back!  This past week was a doozy.  My husband had pneumonia, my youngest son had bronchitis, and I had a math observation.  Fun times?  NOT!

For my observation I wanted to take our normal lesson on Mixed Numbers and Improper Fractions and add my own spin to it.  We still did our Interactive Notebook, used the curriculum to do Problem of the Day, Quick Check, Workbook Examples, etc... but then for Quadrant D I had them create their own examples and make index card puzzles.  My admin. LOVED the lesson and said that she wished there was an "O" option (Outstanding) instead of just Satisfactory.  (Can I tell you how much I love my admin?  So encouraging!)

Anyhow, I know I've shown this idea before, but it bears repeating.  Basically I hand out index cards and the kids take 1 or 2 (depending on how many examples I want them to create).  With the index cards they cut them in half to double the amount of cards.  Then each square is cut down the middle in some kind of shape (zig zag, snake, etc).  The 2 sides of the puzzle must meet together perfectly to make a self checking puzzle.

Then on one side they write the Mixed Number, the other is the Improper Fraction.  The kids then take their pieces to a partner or group, mix up the pieces, and match them up again.  When they get done with those partners, they switch groups.  We've done this with story vocabulary - words vs. definitions, addition/subtraction/multiplication/division - problem on one side, answer on the other, equivalent fractions, etc.  The kids LOVE making their own puzzles.  

Do you have school today?  I'm off!  LOVE 3 day weekends.  

Have a great day!

Fun Little Place Value Game and Day 3 Winner

The other day I needed to go out and buy more of these sticks.  Getting the 1,000 pack was a much better deal, but then I started wondering if it was going to take me another 13 years to go through the box.

After hot gluing a bunch of stuff, I realized that they could be the perfect place value activity.  

My students need to learn place value up to the millions, so I took 9 sticks and wrote the place values and added some commas.  

Then it was a matter of shuffling them up and putting the sticks in order.  The same kind of thing that I do with index cards and using whiteboards, but somehow it never occurred to me to use sticks.  Nice, small, easy to store sticks.  

My own almost 4th grader kept putting them in order last night to practice.  He had forgotten comma placement.  You know, the little things in life.  

Well, that will take care of 288 of them for this coming year.  What other uses do you have for popsicle sticks?  

Onto our winner!  

Have a great day!