Teaching With Style: 3-5

Showing posts with label 3-5. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 3-5. Show all posts
I'm back with another linky party for Art with Aloha!

This week I'm showing you a project my class did at the beginning of the year.  I did this project last year in 3rd grade, too, and it went just as well!  


The project is from Mrs Brown's Art Class.  I LOVE her website - she has awesome projects!

Directions for this project:
  • Ask students to write their name in bubble letters in the middle of the page in pencil.  
  • Divide the paper into 6ths, with the lines all intersecting in the middle of the page.  I give the kids rulers to make a straight line.  
  • Outline the pencil lines with Sharpies.  Don't use Crayola markers, they will bleed.  I learned that the hard way!
  • Using oil pastels, color the name bubble letters within the fraction.  If you look at the second photo I posted above (second painting down on the right), the H in Haley's name is all red.  But only the part of the A that is in the same fraction piece as the H is red, the rest of the A is orange.  Color each section in rainbow order: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple.
  • Using watercolors, watercolor the same colors over the entire section.  In Haley's example, the section with the red H and part red A, she painted red watercolor over the entire section.  
  • If you want, you can ask your kids to only use red, yellow, and blue watercolor and have them mix colors to make green, orange,and purple.
This lesson can be tied to color mixing, fractions (equal parts of a whole), symmetry, or even a personal history project of how students got their names or what their names mean.
Now it's your turn!  Show off your latest art project, craftivity, or just something colorful.  Let us see what you are working on!  Grab the button below and link up!
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My school is lucky enough to have a K-2 computer lab.  However, our K-2 lab needed some work.  When I got here, it was a windowless cave with bulletin boards covered by sad, faded black paper and random staples.  After a couple of sessions with my kids in there and my trusty staple remover, I've made some progress!

This all started with a vision of posting keyboard shortcuts for students to reference.  I use shortcuts all the time and I wanted to have my students be able to use them, as well.  By posting them in a visual way like this, they can just look on the board to see them, instead of constantly asking me, "How do you print, again?"

But first, I had to make the computer lab presentable enough to hang my shortcuts.  I removed the old, black paper and left the blank bulletin boards.  I figured this was better than faded paper with tons of staples in it.  I added happy, polka dotted border to make it fun.

I taped the border to an old, green chalkboard, and since there was no chalk to be seen, I used my chalk markers and wrote the web address for the 2nd grade test we have to give each month, as well as my classroom website.  I want the kids to learn how to go to these sites on their own, so they can do it at home, too.  I'll add to this list throughout the year and also post websites that other teachers use.

I wanted to have pencils available in the lab, since my students have to take a monthly math test and I want them to work out the problems on paper to verify the correct answer.  We also use these math testing booklets full of allowable resources.
My classroom has 4 Mac desktops (refurnished and granted from Free Geek in Portland, OR).  I hung the page sized reference sheet for Mac shortcuts so students can refer to it to remember how to quit, print, even copy and paste!

If you are interested in hanging shortcut posters in your computer lab or classroom, you can check them out here!



Are you working on sprucing up any rooms in your school?  Maybe you are like me and have a computer lab in need of some love!  

I'm linking up with Katie from Queen of the First Grade Jungle!


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My class LOVES art and I try to do at least one art project a week.  Sometimes it's a craft project with a writing piece, sometimes it's painting, sometimes pastels, and sometimes clay!  In Hawaii, we do have fine arts standards that I always reference.  For this quarter, my fine arts standard to focus on is: Describe different responses to the same work of art.

To kick start this, I showed the kids a copy of Claude Monet's Bridge Over Water Lilies painting.
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We talked about the colors, the way the bridge arches, how there are plants in the water, but also reflections of the plants on the ground, how you can see hints of the sky reflected in the water, and also the style of painting: this painting doesn't look like a photograph, it's not realistic.

After our conversation, we did a project I found from The Crafty Classroom.

Using masking tape, you make a bridge shape on the paper, then using your finger, you dab on paint to create your picture.  We talked about which colors should be on the top for the trees and which colors should be in the water.  Unfortunately, I haven't gotten my new shipment of paint in yet, so I only had blue, red, green, and white for the students to use.  After the paint dries, you carefully rip off the tape to reveal a white bridge.
Here is my sample.  I did it quickly and didn't blend too well. That's ok, though, it's still cool!




If you have a great student art project to share, I'd love for you to link up!  Old and new posts are ok!  Just grab the button below, add it to your post, and link away!
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I am so excited to share with you that I got to be a part of this year's Teacher Smart Back-to-School Must Haves!  This eZine is full of amazing ideas, products, and links from some of the best teachers in blogland - Deanna Jump, Miss Kindergarten, The Teacher Wife, and The Organized Classroom Blog, just to name a few.  I feel so fortunate that I got to be included, as well!

My section (page 23) is all the must have professional books.  I included all of my favorites:

  • Classroom Book Clubs by Laura Candler
  • Launch a Primary Writer's Workshop by Lucy Calkins
  • The CAFE Book and the Daily 5 by The Sisters
  • Reading with Meaning by Debbie Miller
  • Living the Questions by Ruth Shagoury & Benda Power
  • Bringing it All Together by Marcia Brechtel
  • Classrooms that Work by Richard Allington & Patricia Cunningham
It was perfect that I got to showcase these books, since I am so obsessed with taking graduate courses and doing professional workshops.  I love learning and love sharing new ideas with other teachers.  I hope to be a college professor some day and help train the next generation of successful and effective teachers!

Thanks to April from A Modern Teacher and Melanie from Schoolgirl Style for organizing, designing, and basically making this eZine possible.  I hope you all are able to pick up a few tips and do some back-to-school shopping! :)



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Hey there! This is Gretchen from Always a Lesson educational blog. 
photo of Always a Lesson
I am so excited to write a guest blog post for Nicole from Teaching with Style. I am new to the blogging world and this is my very first guest blog! Thanks Nicole :)

I am very passionate about behavior management, but even more so about silent behavior management-the kind you can't see because everything is under control. The teacher who yells at her class to quiet down or children calling the shots in the room is not what I will be referring to. When you walk into a teacher's classroom and it is a well-oiled machine...that's behavior management. You think to yourself, "Gosh, I want to be like that. How does she/he do it?" You may think there are no visible signs of managing behavior and that the students are 100% angelic. That is not the case. The teacher has done a fabulous job creating a  strong classroom community built on trust and communication. Expectations were laid out, students follow the agreed upon rules, and receive rewards/consequences based on their ability to follow the desired expectation.

At the beginning of each school year, I reflect on the behavior successes and difficulties of the previous year’s class. I then set goals for the upcoming school year. I select specific strategies I want to implement and then I visualize how I want the actions to look as they are being carried out so that I can teach students step-by-step. It is very important that the first few weeks of school are spent introducing the expectations for behavior, demonstrating them for students, and having students repeatedly practice the actions. It may seem redundant while going through the process, but by spending large amounts of time upfront on behavior management, less time is spent during the year on corrections because students are aware of expectations, are held to a high standard, and act accordingly.

I want to share with you a few hand-picked strategies, mostly procedural expectations that translated into appropriate student behaviors throughout the school day.
Redirections happened most often in actions with a *
The most difficult procedure to maintain expectations is marked by **
Successful behavior management procedures are marked with a √

If procedural behaviors were not followed according to the expectation set at the beginning of the year, the student records their behavior on a classroom street light. All students begin with their designated number not on the street light. Their first warning, they move their numbered clip to green, receive a note home, and five minutes off recess. After their second warning, students move their clip to yellow and receive a note home, 10 minutes off recess, and silent lunch. Lastly, if a student’s behavior continues to progress, they move their clip to red and receive a note home, 15 minutes off recess and the principal is contacted.

I believe in second chances. So, if a child has moved their clip but gets their behavior back on track throughout the day, I let them move their clip back one level. If I did not do this, students who struggle with behavior and move their clip early in the morning chalk their day up to a "loss" and continue to act out. However, by giving students an opportunity to try again, they are motivated to correct their behaviors.

It’s very important to set boundaries and limitations for children, especially in a classroom of 20+ students. The more children a classroom holds, the stronger the teacher's behavior management. Otherwise, chaos will easily ensue. Also, beginning the year stricter than your natural style is a good idea to set the standard for behavior expectations. As the year progresses and your relationship grows with your students, easing up a bit allows everyone to become themselves within the established boundaries. Remember, you are the leader in the classroom- establish that role early!

What is your behavior management style?
What procedures do you have in your class that keeps student behavior in line with expectations?


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I hope everyone thoroughly enjoyed the Teacher Appreciation Jackpot on Teachers Pay Teachers yesterday!  It was so much fun to be a part of.  I also snagged TONS of excellent freebies that I can use next year when I teach kindergarten!

I am on my school's social committee and one of the other members found a poem online that goes with a bag of M&M's.  Being a teacher who loves "cute", she asked me to cutesy it up for her.  I couldn't resist!
Here is a copy for you, too!  There are four poems on a sheet.  Go ahead and print it out in color onto white cardstock, punch a hole in the corner and tie it onto a bag of M&Ms with a pretty ribbon.  Give it to your colleagues, your kids' teachers, or keep one for yourself - you deserve it!

What other things do you do to honor the amazing teachers in your life?
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I spend a lot of time teaching my students how to problem solve.  My grade level team does a Problem-a-Day format and works through a whole sheet together as a class.   This shows the students the steps to take in solving a problem, how to know what strategies to use, find the important vocabulary, show your work, and verify that their answer is correct.  My third graders had a really hard time with this, so whole group direct instruction worked well for me, as well as TONS of repetition.  We also have laminated giant posters to do it as a whole group instead of each student having their own sheet every day.  As another option, I have had the kids do it inside their math journals or on scratch paper.  After the kids get the hang of the routine, these are great ways to check in and keep up the skills.  To learn more about where this Four-Step problem solving method came from, read this article from Scholastic.


Once the kids have this scaffolded format down, we move to a less structured format.

I always have them do a Problem of the Day after they finish their Morning Work activity sheet.  I have a large flip book of math story problems from my district's old McGraw Hill math adoption.  It's great!   They just sketch this graphic organizer out themselves on scrap paper.  

How do you teach about word problems and problem solving?
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My class is almost done with the state reading test and we are gearing up to take the math test next.  They are loving singing the Four Step Method song to help them get ready for the reading test! To help my students practice for the math test, we have been using the allowable resources by my state in the classroom. If the kids don't know how to use the resources, they won't use them!  A great teacher in my building collected copies of all the allowable resources and put them in bags for students to use.  I thought this was such a great idea, however I needed to make my own so I could teach my students how to use them in the classroom as well.  Instead of using the loose sheets that were copied, I decide to make little booklets filled with the resources.  I wanted the students to be as efficient as possible, and shuffling through loose papers can be frustrating to find what you need and distracting to others who are testing next to you.

In my testing bags there is one copy of my Math Testing Resources booklet, a ruler, a protractor, and a calculator.  I numbered the math bags so they can be used year after year.  Each student in my class has a number on their student mailbox, and that is also the number they line up on in PE and the number of computer they use in the computer lab.  This way, if a calculator is missing from bag # 14, I know which student to ask to find it.

 Here are the resources inside the Math Testing booklet:
  • Grid paper
  • 2-D shapes
  • 3-D shapes
  • Fraction strips
  • Multiplication table
  • Addition table
  • Number line
  • Calendar
  • Hundreds grid
  • Thermometer
  • Clock
  • Place Value chart
  • Tens Frame
  • Number words
  • Money
  • Number line
  • Blank back cover that can be used for scratch paper
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For scratch paper, I have students fold a piece of blank copy paper into 1/8ths.  They can do 8 problems on one side and 8 problems on the other side.  This way they are using the resources in the booklet and bag, but they are also responsible for working it out on scratch paper.  It helps slow them down from working too fast and making silly errors.  So far, it has been helping!

 When we start the test next week, students will turn in the green booklets that are currently in their bags and I will give them each a new pink one.  All scrap papers have to be shredded after the test, so I will be collecting scrap paper and booklets each day and handing out new ones the next day.  Hopefully, it will only take us 3 days to take the test, so I have 3 class sets of pink booklets ready to go.


Here is how to arrange the papers of the resource booklet to get ready to print.  The way the pages face need to alternate and set the copier to 1-2 sided printing.  Then fold the booklets in half and add a couple staples.  You can use a long armed stapler to get a really professional look.  I just used a regular one because I was lazy and in a hurry!

 Head on over to my TpT store to get your copy!


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Bum, bum, bummmmm. It's here!  State testing!  Run for your lives!

That's exactly how I felt during my first round of state testing this year.  Having never taught a testing year before, I was terrified that my students' learning would not transfer to a computerized, 40 question exam.  Well, I was right.  My state allows students to take the test up to 3 times, and my district mandates that we test in November, February, and May.  In November, I had barely scratched the surface of the comprehension strategies I would be covering and had not taught non-fiction text features at all.  And in math, I had just began to teach multiplication (having done a large unit on multi-digit addition and subtraction), and had not covered fractions or geometry at all.  Needless to say, not very many of my students passed that first round.

Fast forward to February.  My principal noticed that teachers were anxious, and to avoid test fatigue, since many students just finished with ELPA (the English as a Second Language exam), he pushed our next round of testing to the beginning of March.  With one round under my belt and tons of help from colleagues at school and around the web, I was much more confident to help my students succeed.

To help with test prep for reading, I taught my kids this Reading Comprehension song from HaveFunTeaching.com.  The kids seriously love it!  It has a really catchy, modern tune and you can play the song for free from the website.  I printed out the lyrics and the kids glued it into their poetry books so they can re-read it during Read to Self time.  I also purchased the mp3 of the song and downloaded it to my two iPod touches and iPod Nano for students to listen and sing along in their heads during Listen to Reading.

From Have Fun Teaching

Another thing I have been doing is sending home a half page article with four multiple choice questions in their homework packet each week.  This helps my students see the test format and they can practice the Four-Step Method at home.  I have this book from Even-Moor: Daily Reading Comprehension, Grade 2.  Because I send this home as homework and not all my students have parents at home who can help them for one reason or another, I use the second grade book to make sure all my students can access and read the text.  I do have four students who read at a first grade level and they get modified homework anyway.

What great resources have you found for test prep?  What works well in your room?

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To manage transitions in my classroom, I love to use songs.  When I taught kinder and 1st grade, I used songs ALL the time: when it was time to clean up, when I wanted students to come to the carpet, and especially when we were getting ready to line up.  Now that I am in 3rd grade, I still use songs when we are lining up and getting ready to leave the classroom.  It really helps my students calm down and remind themselves of hallway expectations.

My mentor teacher my first year of teaching taught me this song/poem and I made it into a freebie for all of you!  My students love to chant it before we leave the room.  Head over to my Teachers Pay Teachers store and grab yourself a copy!  While you are there, feel free to rate it leave me some feedback! :)


What do you do to manage transitions?
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I teach in a school with a very high ELL population, so teaching highly academic vocabulary is a must.  I use many OCDE Project GLAD® and structured language strategies to help all students learn the words.  We use poems, chants, anchor charts, and practice using the language with guided sentence frames.

Another way I enforce that vocabulary is by tying into my action word.  I used to say, "When I say go, you can..." When I started my OCDE Project GLAD® training five years ago, I started using a highly academic vocabulary word from my current teaching unit as the action word.  Now it sounds like, "When I say evaporation, you can..."  A couple years ago, a colleague learned from a workshop about Total Physical Response, TPR.  We incorporated this by saying the action word and having the students repeat us, say a quick definition and do a gesture or body motion to help them remember the word.  This action is always taught to the students at the beginning of the day or week (how ever long you use the same word) so that everyone does the same action.  For example, when I was teaching a weather unit earlier this year, when our word was precipitation, the students repeated me by saying, "Precipitation means rain."  When they said rain, they moved their fingers down in front of them, similar to the Itsy Bitsy Spider fingerplay "Down came the rain." 

I also like to reinforce highly academic vocabulary by changing my cooperative table names to vocabulary words about every 3-4 weeks.  When I taught Kinder my tables were named after the 2-D shapes.  All of my kids knew all 6 of the shapes that were required to learn by the end of the year!  When I looped up to 1st a couple years later, I changed the tables to 3-D shapes to go along with our new standards.  When I moved up to 3rd this year, I was searching Pinterest and found the perfect idea: Pom Poms! I made colorful tissue paper pom poms and hung them above each table.  I then attached a vocabulary word to the bottom of each pom to hang above the table.
See this pin for making pom poms
You can see that each table has a different color pom.  The first table has a blue pom, so their vocabulary word is also mounted on blue construction paper.  I put the word on one side, then the kid-friendly definition of the other and laminated it.  Table two has a green pom, so their word is mounted on green construction paper.  I planned the colors of the tables around Lesson Plan SOS' freebie table signs, since I use those on each table's "math crate" of folders, packets, and such.  

To attach each pom to the ceiling, I put a step ladder on top of each table (any safety professionals out there - stop reading here!) then climbed to the top and screwed a cup hook in the ceiling directly above the center of the table.  I then tied some clear fishing line to the cup hook and looped it around the pipe cleaner I used to attach all the tissue together.  See the link above for how to make the poms.  To attach the word card to the bottom of the pom, I punched a hole in the center of the card, tied some clear fishing line to it, then tied it to a large paper clip.  I then threaded the paper clip through the pipe cleaner inside the bottom of the pom.  Now I only have to kneel on the tables in order to change out the words each month and never have to get on that step ladder until the end of the year when it all has to come down.

What other strategies do you have for teaching vocabulary?  Do you have table/group names, too?

I've linked up with Charity from the Organized Classroom Blog and declared myself a 5 Star Blogger!  head on over and check out all the other amazing bloggers and their unique ideas!
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I am in the middle of my fraction unit and I realized that my students need more practice with ordering fractions.  Finding which ones are bigger, smaller, and the same size is tricky!  In addition to practicing with fraction strips, like this one from Super Teacher Worksheets or this one from Nyla's Crafty Teaching, I created a game that pairs of students can play that focuses on Greater Than and Less Than.

Greater Than/ Less Than Monster 


I created a printable and glued it to strips of black tagboard, then laminated it.  With my game, I am using the fraction cards from The Teacher Wife's Fraction Fun unit that I am using to supplement my curriculum.  The game is played like war. Students will move the monster mouth to show who ever's card is bigger.  Since "the little one eats the big one" whoever has the less than card gets to keep both.


You could play this game with playing cards for single digit numbers or make your own cards for double and triple digit numbers, percentages, or decimals.

What other ideas do you have for teaching this skill?  What other fraction activities do you do?

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My district uses Bridges in Mathematics from The Math Learning Center for our math curriculum.  I absolutely love it!  It has tons of fun games and lessons that really teach students to conceptually understand math.  Their website is full of all kinds of freebies, but can be hard to navigate.  I found this list on their website and wanted to re-create it for all of you, with some extras added in that I love to teach with, as well!  This week, we will look at some books for intermediate grades.

Enjoy!


Counting & Number Sense
  • How Much Is a Million? by David M. Schwartz 
  • A Million Dots by Andrew Clements
Multiplying
  • Two of Everything by Lily Toy Hong 
  • Amanda Bean's Amazing Dream by Cindy Neuschwander
  • Anno's Mysterious Multiplying Jar by Mitsumasa Anno
  • Sea Squares by Joy Hulme 
  • The Best of Times by Greg Tang
Dividing
  • One Hundred Hungry Ants by Elinor J Pinczes 
  • A Remainder of One by Elinor J Pinczes
  • The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins
Time
  • Cluck O'Clock by Kes Gray
Money
  • Jenny Found a Penny by Trudy Harris 
  • Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday by Judith Viorst 
  • If You Made a Million by David M. Schwartz
  • Once Upon a Dime: A Math Adventure by Nancy Kelly Allen
Problem Solving
  • Anno's Hat Trick by Mitsumasa Anno
  • The Grapes of Math by Greg Tang
  • Anno's Math Games by Mitsumasa Anno
  • The King's Chessboard by David Birch


What books do you like to use to teach math?
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