New Year Planning and Prep

 

We are in the last days before Christmas Break. How are you holding up? I'm sure you are more than ready for a well-deserved break. 

I love the holiday break, and often I just want to get on with it. Therefore, I do not plan before I go. Leaving me at least a workday over the vacation. When I do this, I start to think about all the things I haven't done and it can put a damper on my vacation. Does that happen to you??

Here is what I am learning!

 Be Intentional

Before going on break start to make an outline of the weekly outlook. Begin pulling copies for that week. Maybe even get someone to do your copies for you (such as a parent volunteer)

 Limit your work time

If you must work over break, set boundaries for yourself. Block out or ink in a date/time that you will work and stick to it. This year more than ever, we all need a break from all the thins school-related!

 Grade Smart

Grading is important because it is the feedback or conversation about growth between you and your students. However, there are easier ways to do it. Try these tips: Keep comments short, use volunteers to grade the easy stuff (homework, quizzes..etc), DON'T grade every assignment a student completes. Only the ones that will drive your instruction for the next things you need to accomplish.

Do you need some activities for planning and prep?

Non-Fiction Reading

All About the Winter Sports- These article pages were designed as a way for you to "hook" your students on the topic Winter Sports. You can display the article pages on your document camera as a whole group or print and display during small group instruction.

Real life photographs will enhance your students understanding of winter sports games. I've also provided sheets for students to write a summary.

Graphic Organizers- These graphic organizers and worksheets can be used however you wish! I tried to offer you many different options to help meet the needs of your diverse group. 

Are you looking for LOW PREP writing activities this month? January LOW PREP writing crafts are easy to incorporate into your January lessons plans. The work great if you are following common core standards for opinion writing. Nice and quick practice for your students that they will enjoy. You can display on a bulletin board or locker as well.

These winter STEM and Activities are LOW PREP and include: a crack the code puzzle (1-2, 2-3, and 4-5 version), writing craftivity (I like winter because...), graphing with winter objects, STEM challenges (Design and Igloo, Ice Cube Challenge, and Snowball Chute).

How about some Videos to help Aid in Learning about the New Year??

Boom Cards-The Perfect Resource

 

Have you heard the buzz about Boom Cards? Boom Cards are easy for kids to use and even easier for you to go digital with students. 

If you use boom cards in your classroom, I know your students will be asking to use them again! They are digital task cards that are self-correcting. They get to work on a skill and you get immediate feedback on how they are doing! 

Boom cards are used in a variety of ways. 

In the classroom they are used in centers or independent work times or for homework. 

In special education, they can be used as an interactive game between a SPED kid and a peer or for repetitive practice on a needed skill. 

SO.... What are boom Cards!

Let's get started! Go to wow.boomlearning.com and open up an account using your email and a passcode. Then you will be ready to go. It is that easy.

How Boom Works!

Students will have a task that they have to complete and they will simply choose the button, fill in number or letter, or drag and drop to answer their question. The best part is...IT IS SELF CHECKING! This means your students get immediate feedback! 

Struggling Students

Boom Cards are great for struggling students because they CAN come with the option to read to your student. This way your struggling readers or special needs students can do the problem at hand rather than read. 

Last your students will thank you! So many of my students beg to use boom cards. So do your students a favor and let them begin the journey of using Boom Cards!

Teaching Non-Fiction Reading Skills

As curriculums became aligned to the common core standards around 2012, one big shift that was emphasized was the teaching of informational reading. As a third grade, we begin our non-fiction unit with a review on the difference between non-fiction and fiction texts. I do this by giving my kids a stack of books and asking them to observe and write down what they think about books in pile 1 vs pile 2. We have a great discussion and write our ideas down together. 

The next lesson, students learn how to use text features. They review the types of text features and then learn HOW text features are used (R.I.3.5) This takes time and practice so we spend a few days answer questions related to how the text features are used.

The next skill taught is how to use the illustrations to gain information (R.I.3.7)

The next skill after text features is text structures.  As students grow older, they need to learn how to recognize the text structure. This helps them better comprehend the topics being taught. On the first day of teaching students text structure, they are introduced to each type (Video Intro) We look at one passage together and I model how I use clues to figure out the text structure, then students read another passage and do the same. We continue to practice in many ways for the next couple of days. I show how I introduce and use these powerpoint slides to instruct HERE. (R.I.3.8) 

Once my students have a good grasp on text features and structures, we move onto strategies for determining domain-specfic words (R.I.3.4) This is when we learn how to use glossaries/dictionaries/context clues! (L.3.2G)

Most importantly to comprehend, they should be able to pick out the main idea and details. When I begin these lessons, I use the analogy of a table with four legs. The table top is the main idea and the legs are the details. We learn how to find the main idea and then we shift to finding details.  We discuss how the details hold up the main idea so that we know what everything is all about. (R.I.3.2) I have several activities I use for teaching this concept below:

After we learn all these skills we take two different texts on the same topic and we compare and contrast them. (R.I.3.9)

Teacher Approved Videos

Video List

 

 

 

1.) Kids Academy- Short cartoons with funny plots

2.) Simon’s Cat- Short cartoons with characterization 

 

3.) Math and Learning Videos- numbers, colors, abcs for primary learners. 

 

4.) Scratch Garden- math, phonics, and more.

 

5.) Flocabulary- Hip hop music to teach concepts and increase achievement

 

6.) Mrs. Becky and the Bears Story Time- Books read aloud and delievered by a bear and a certified teacher.

 

7.) Grammarpolis- School house rock for the 21^st Century.

 

8.) Science Sparks- inspiring young children to develop a passion for STEM. 

9.) Mr. DeMaio Social Studies- educational videos delivered in a funny way.

 

10.) Lunch Doodle with Mo Willems-draw with author Mo Willems

 

11.) Go Noodle- Videos to get kids healthy and moving

 

12.) Koo Koo Kanga Roo- Silly Song Videos 

 

13.) Pursue GODkids- Bible Lessons taught in quick clips. 

 

14.) Saddleback kids- Connecting Bible Lessons with student learning

15.) National Geographic Kids- Videos for curious children

Properties of Multiplication: CCSS 3. OA. B5

Let’s examine the properties of multiplication. As I teach each of the 5 properties. I introduce them using a power point presentation. We practice together either in the power point or with an activity worksheet. Then I have kids continue practice using a boom card deck. If you aren’t familiar with boom cards, learn about them HERE!

 

 

 

The Commutative property of Multiplication

 

It is the simplest of multiplication properties. It has an easily understandable application: it reduces the number of basic multiplication facts to be memorized. For example, due to the property, students will understand that 2× 5 equals 10 to also know the product 5 × 2. I teach the X2 and the X5 facts before I introduce this property. 

 

 

It is also important to familiarize students with arrays so they can see the picture of both equations. 

 

 

The Identity Property of Multiplication

 

I introduce this property along with the zero property of multiplication in the same lesson. It is easy for students to get these two mixed up so I find it works better to distinguish them right from the start in the same lesson. 

 

 

 

The Zero Property of Multiplication 

 

I tell students that this property means If 0 is multiplied by a number the product is ALWAYS zero. Then I draw out or show pictures (using my power point presentation) what this really means conceptually. 

 

 

 

 

The Associative property  of Multiplication

 

It can be interpreted similarly to the commutative property by calculating the number of objects in an original and rotated array. I teach the X2, X5, X10, and X9 before introducing this property. That way I have some numbers to work with before we dig in.

 

 

It is a group of 3 numbers that can be grouped in two different ways and have the same product. In order to understand how this works, students must understand parentheses and their function first. I often teach that skill before showing students what the associative property is. 

After that I teach kids to think more algebraically by having them replace a number inside one of the equations. 

Finally, we talk bout a two-sided equation with an equal sign in the middle. Then we apply the whole property together over and over until I feel they are catching onto the patterns. 

All this is described well in a video HERE

 

 

The Distributive Property of Multiplication

 

It is the hardest of the 5 properties of Multiplication. Before introducing the distributive property of multiplication, I make sure students are familiar with array illustrations!  I usually show a fact we haven’t learned yet, such as 5 X 4. ( I do this using a power point presentation) I will draw out the array for this. Then, we break it apart by showing the arrays 5 X 4 and 1 X 4 within the 6 X 4 array. 

 

 

After that, Students work on worksheets to do this in partners or through guided practice as well. 

More practice either with a boom card deck or with worksheets!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tools to teach writing Virtually or In-Person

 

Teaching Writing Skills (click to view video)  can be a challenge in person, but how can you do this effectively if you are in hybrid or a remote learning situation? I am going to show you three tools I use to teach in any given situation. They are boom decks, powerpoint presentation, and group activities.

The first tool is called Boom Cards

I LOVE boomcards. They are such a simple tool to engage learners. The best part is that they are self-correcting so students gain immediate feedback on the skill they are working towards. 

Boom Cards live in the cloud. They can't be printed. They play on most modern browsers, Android, iPads, iPhones, and Kindle Fires. You open a Boom Learning account to play them (to protect the children). Create Fast Play pins to assign your Boom Cards to students.

Boom Learning also has premium accounts. Premium accounts offer advanced assignment tools, individual and whole class performance tracking, and more. If you are a new Boom Learning customer, when you redeem your Boom Cards purchase you get a 90-day free trial of a premium account. When your trial ends, you can renew or move to a free account. You may upgrade, downgrade or cancel at any time. Free accounts use purchased Boom Cards with Fast Play pins.

The second tool is a powerpoint presentation

I just love using these for because they are interactive! I use my powerpoint presentation to instruct and guide students. This can easily be incorporated to a zoom meeting, or screencastify, or loom video for students to watch if they are hybrid or remote. 

The third tool is an in-person activity. 

My activities vary! Depending on the skill, I have sorts, scoot activities, or worksheets. These are great for in-person instruction, but could be used to hybrid with too!

7 ways welcome back students in 2020!

Nothing is more important than getting to know your students. There are many creative fun ways you can do this. If you are teaching virtually this year, you may wonder: how will I welcome kids? Guess what? there are many ways you can "break the ice" on and off screen. 

1. Welcome Postcards

Grab these in my store HERE!

Welcome kids with mail! Students love to get snail mail. Build excitement for your first meeting (virtually or in-person). 

2. Classroom App

Classroom app makes it easy to communicate to both students and parents!  They just click on the icon to find out what is going on for the week. Learn more about set up here.

Set up Part 1
Set up Part 2


3. Virtual Classroom

Click here to learn how to set this up1

Students will love visiting their virtual classroom. There are interactive elements to make the classroom fun. Students click to go to assignments. There are so many examples out there!

4.) Flipbook

Click here to Purchase

Provide parents with all the information they will need this upcoming school year with a paper flipbook that is editable or cut-free. This includes easy steps to set up in your google classsroom.

5. Dice-breakers!

One of my favorite ice breakers to do the first day of school. It can work both in-person or virtually. All students need is a die, which they can grab out of a board game at home if needed. In dice breaker, students write out 6 questions for each die number. Then, they answer the question that matches the number on the die when rolled.

Examples include: Would you rather wake up early or sleep in?


6. Kahoot

Games are always a blast and help students get used to the group. Kahoot is an easy game maker and it is free. Your students can make their own or you as the teacher can make one they have to try to do. I create a trivia game based on procedures and rules for students to master that first week together. Example questions would be: What is the first thing you do when you get to the classroom? You can continue to use the platform for assessments in the future.


7. Create Meet and Greet Videos on Flipgrid

Flipgrid is a great site for social learning where teachers can pose a question and students answer/respond to videos. You start by creating a welcome video.