Math Intervention Update and a Freebie

For thirty minutes a day, we have a math intervention block at my school.  Some of my students receive significant number sense interventions in another room but most of my kiddos stay with me.  It's a great time for me to fill holes, remediate and work one on one with some of my kiddos that require just that little bit extra to make a topic click. 

So what are the other kids doing? Centers mainly.   I've blogged before about using centers but I've tweaked it a bit since then.  Instead of doing partners, I've changed the centers to groups of four.  This is just what works for my class.  For some reason groups of four work better than partners, who knew?

This week, we are working through my Math is Snow Much Fun Pack of Math Centers.  Click {here} or on the picture to check them out on TpT.

This set of centers is set up much like my previous center packs.  

One of my centers always has to do with computation.  This time it was three digit by one digit multiplication. 

One center always reinforces a current unit of study, in this case, it was attributes of solids for my class.  

Another revisits a topic we have studied before.  The awesome thing about centers is continued exposure to previously taught concepts.   

I also try to incorporate one center of fact practice.  This time I made a generic game board and I switch out the self checking flashcards for groups as needed.  Most of my groups are working on division facts, as our multiplication facts are coming along quite nicely. :)

While most of class has been doing centers, I've been working with a group of darlings that need some extra love with geometry.  Think types of angles and triangles, slides, flips, turns, etc. :) Even though they are making so much progress, I know they feel a little jealous about missing out of the center action.  So I've been making Fridays a game day for everyone!  Mainly just resources I already had but this Friday we will play Roll and Cover with 12 sided dice.

Click the picture of {here} to find them on TpT. 
I've had lots of emails and comments about making my montly roll and cover freebies with 12 sided dice, so I made ten game boards of roll and cover fun this past weekend. :)  I know my kiddos will love these and they will provide the challenge many of them are really ready for!  I hope yours do too!

I did take a game board or two out for y'all so you could get a feel for these roll and cover games for bigger kids.  My kiddos LOVE these games. 

Click on the picture or {here} to download!

I'm off to finish some data for report cards! Have a great night, friends!

Thanksgiving Math Centers for Bigger Kids and a Freebie

Happy Wednesday! :)  I took advantage of my day off yesterday to finish up my Thanksgiving Math Centers.  I still have a center or two I'd like to add but Thanksgiving is coming fast, and I know many of you have been waiting for Thanksgiving's Math Centers. :)

Here they are! :) 

  
Click the cheerleader to check them out on TpT.  They are on sale until tomorrow at midnight! :) 

 
We started using them today and they were so excited. :)

This pack covers a little four digit addition and subtraction (with borrowing and regrouping), two digit by one digit multiplication, partial products (9x3=6x3+3x3) and multiplication facts.  

I haven't posted a freebie in a long time, which makes me sad because I LOVE sharing freebies with you.  My pack has a few roll and cover games for multiplication.  I took two out to make a freebie for you. 

 If you would like to download, just click on the cheerleader to check it out on TpT! If you download, I'd love to hear what you think! :)

I apologize if you tried to download this earlier and it wasn't working, there have been a lot of glitches and problems on TpT today.  Finally after trying my third browser, it worked! :) 

*EDIT: I have a ticket in with TpT about the issues people are having downloading this freebie, I am able to get it to download on Safari.  Chrome and Firefox are not working. Many have told me to refresh the page if it doesn't work and then try it downloading again and it should work in Chrome and Firefox!*

I'm off to finish conference forms! :) Have a great evening, friends! 

Trick or Treat: Sight Word Fun for Bigger Kids

Once upon a time, I was a student teacher in first grade.  I loved every minute of it.  I think if I ever went down to the lower elementary grades, first would be it.  I worked with an amazing mentor teacher, and still use a lot of the tips and tricks she taught me in my room today.  :)  

One of many things I picked up from my days in Room 604 was was a Halloween themed sight word game we played with our first graders with their Kindergarten inventory words, Trick or Treat. 

All of their kindergarten sight words, or as our district calls them inventory words, were put in a pumpkin with a handful of trick or treat cards.  As students play, they grab a card from the pumpkin, if they can read it, they get to keep it.  BUT if they get a trick or treat card, they either get a chance for more cards (treat) or loose cards to the pumpkin or another classmate (trick).  The student with the most cards at the end of the game is the winner. :) 

My fourth graders this year have some pretty low fluency scores, so I've been purchasing/creating resources to use during our ELA intervention block (about ten-fifteen minutes) to use with my class.  So I created a bigger kids version of the game my firsties loved so much when I was a student teacher. 

We played a few rounds as a whole class the past few days and my fourth graders LOVED it.  They are so pumped to play in small groups during our ELA intervention time over the next few weeks.  Especially the treat cards, they loved collecting as many cards as they could. :) 

We've been working with the 4th One Hundred Fry Words, but this resource includes games pieces for the 3rd and 5th One Hundred Fry Words as well.  If you're interested, I have added Trick or Trick {Fry Word Game for Bigger Kids} to my Teachers Pay Teachers store.  It's on sale until midnight tomorrow, 10/18. :) Just click on the cheerleader to check it out! :)

I've also had a couple people email about how I store my Halloween Themed Graphic Organizers that I blogged about a few weeks ago.  I just put them in a binder like so. 

 Then I put the binder in the tub I keep my seasonal books in for easy access.  My kiddos having been loving the extra practice with various comprehension strategies and story elements, and I have too. :)

 We also started our Boo Ha Ha center rotation today! So grateful for the sweet grandma of one of my kiddos who assembles all my centers for me! :)

I hope you are having a great night friends! :) The weekend is in sight! :)

Boo Ha Ha {Halloween Math Centers for Older Kids}

We started math centers this week in my classroom.  We are currently working through my Back to School Math Centers. 

We have a daily math intervention class that I refer to with my kiddos as bonus math time.  I struggled last year with how to set up this time, but I think now we have a plan that works.  On Monday and Friday, I intervene with my whole class on current topics of study.  Right now, it's subtraction with regrouping. Our math program, Investigations, doesn't formally introduce the formal algorithm and so my kiddos really need a lot of extra practice with it.  We are finally getting it with three digits...and we are working on four digits next week. *Fingers crossed and prayers please* :)

On Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, some of my kiddos receive intensive number sense interventions in another room, and I work with the rest of my class.  I use this time for reteaching on skills from previous lessons/units that some of my kiddos didn't master.  Last week, it was rounding larger numbers.  We used a lot of materials from my friend Layla's Halloween Number Sense Review Packet.  My kiddos loved all the Halloween themed number sense practice! :)

 Even though I had a good chunk of students who really needed extra practice and review on rounding, I had a cluster of kiddos who clearly mastered the skill, so they worked on centers during our bonus math time.  They loved it and so did I. :)  They're independent enough to read the directions and set up with little help from me, allowing me to really work with my friends who needed extra instruction on some more difficult place value concepts. 

My kiddos loved doing centers last week and more are eager to join in on the center fun next week.  We'll still be doing my Back to School Math Centers for another few weeks.  Then we'll be moving on to some Halloween math center fun! 

I know my kiddos will love these centers.  They adore anything having to do with Halloween. :)

These centers review rounding larger numbers, comparing numbers to the millions place, subtraction with regrouping practice, finding multiples of a given factor, and figuring out the missing factor in a multiplication equation.  

I have uploaded Boo! Ha Ha{Halloween Math Centers for Bigger Kids} to my TpT store.  They will be on sale until tomorrow night. :) Click on the cheerleader below to check them out! I'll be uploading them to Teachers Notebook tomorrow night.

 My Buckeyes beat the Huskers last night, so I'm a happy, happy girl! :) Here's hoping the Steelers win today too for the hubs. :) 

Since my Buckeye won, I'll be giving away a set of my Boo Ha Ha centers to the first person who correctly guesses my favorite fall baked good. :)

Back to School Product Maddness

Holy Smokes, I can't believe that I've been on summer vacation for a month now!  I'll be teaching summer school next month, and before I know it school will be here.  My husband and I will be closing on our house right around school starting, so I've been trying to get most of my back to school products ready now, so I can be ready for the new year in the midst of the crazy sauce that will be back to school this year.  

One of my favorite writing assignments to do all year to have my kiddos research the story of their names.  They always get a kick out of learning how/why they were given their name.  In fact, I get a kick out of it too! I've had students named after actresses, after athletes,  after a family member, and after places.  They always love hearing what their name means too.  


While the book Chrysanthemum is great to introduce this project, my favorite book to read is actually When Jo Lewis Won the Title. It's a book that is less popular and therefore my kiddos pay a lot more attention while I read it, plus I use Chrysanthemum in another back to school activity that I'll be blogging about later this summer. :)

Amazon

This is one of my all time favorite books.  It's a touching story of how a grandfather tells his granddaughter all about the story of her name.  It's not only a great story of self acceptance, but a beautiful piece of multicultural literature as well.  After reading the book, I have my students complete a homework assignment where they ask their parents some questions about their name.  Then we review the structure of an informational paragraph, and my kiddos write an informational paragraph all about their name.  Once finished, we make mini versions of ourselves and hang our completed writings up outside. It makes an adorable back to school bulletin board! :)  Here's a little sample picture.  :)  The one on the left is the actual true story of my name. :) The little guy on the right is the story of my dad's name.  My hubs was sleeping at the time that I made my sample. ;)

 I've uploaded all my Story of My Name resources to my stores. 

Teachers Pay Teachers

Teachers Notebook

We have a half hour math tutorial block at my school, and I'd like to do more with small groups during that time rather than doing whole group lessons.  To do more with small groups, I need purposeful activities for the rest of my kiddos to do. I dabbled in centers/workstations last year, and love it, but I felt I was always grasping at straws trying to get activities ready.  So I decided to get a head start this summer by preparing my centers.  I started with this Back to School themed centers to refresh my fourth graders on some of the skills they learned in third grade. 

Teachers Pay Teachers

Teachers Notebook

 To keep myself sane, I plan on using half of my back to school centers and half of Hope's monthly centers for two weeks and then introduce the other half of my centers and Hope's for the rest of the month.   

I also like to spend a little bit of time reviewing sentences, and the various types at the beginning of the year. Oh and reminding them over and over that sentences have capital letters and punctuation.   Texting certainly hasn't done my kiddos any favors.  I can't tell you how many papers I see without any capital letters or any type of punctuation.  I created a little activity pack to make what can be a dull subject, a little more exciting. 

Teachers Pay Teachers

Teachers Notebook

Okay so the first person who comments gets all THREE of my new products for free.  Don't forget to leave your email address. :)

Place Value Block winners I will be sending you your files in the morning! :)  So sorry about the delay! 

This weekend has flown by! I had the best time with my hubs at a Greek festival today, and he's off again tomorrow! I'm a lucky, lucky girl! :)