As Earth Day approaches, I thought I'd share some exciting and educational activities that I plan use to celebrate this day with my students. The BEST part is that they are all PRINT AND GO! We are all so busy this time of year that I was so thrilled to open up my "April" binder and pull out these activities and add them to the copy bin! I am an outdoors person and I spend a LOT of time talking about my gardens and I used my love of gardening and hiking in a … [Read more...]
Classroom Fish Tank Project
For the past 15 years, I have been doing a project in my classroom that tops all of the other projects I do. It is the type of project that comes up in any conversations I have with past students who are back for a visit. Years ago, my brain conceived this project and it has only gotten better with time! When I do it, we create an ACTUAL FISH TANK in our classroom. Other teachers have used the project as more of a Project Based Learning project where students … [Read more...]
Engaging Math Review
Easter Week: Use plastic eggs to your advantage! I don't know what it is, but when I cut up questions that we were going to do on a worksheet and stuff them in plastic eggs, kids go wild! This week we are studying for our math test on fractions, so I am cutting up fraction questions (you could even use paper task cards) and putting them around the room in plastic eggs. I always fight for a “review game” day when we are in meetings doing our pacing calendars … [Read more...]
Extension Activities to Make Fractions More Fun
This month I wanted to share some ways that I make learning fractions more fun in my classroom! I have several activities that my students love to make during our small group time. I find that the more we practice in fun ways, the better my students learn and retain fractions skills. Real World Fraction Crafts: Fractions Greater Than One I created these food fraction activities out of necessity! Fractions greater than one ONLY make sense if … [Read more...]
8 Things You Should be Doing In March
February is on its way out, so I am starting to think about what we are going to be doing for the upcoming month. It seems wild to be thinking about March already, but it is just a few days away. Here are some of the things that I pulled to get ready for St. Patrick's Day. Area Houses These area houses make a great craft during my small group time. It really is "Print and Go," even though it looks like it might involve some prep. You can read more about … [Read more...]
Balancing Equations and Solving for Variables: 3D Valentine
We have all been there. I was there last week. My students took a mid-year math assessment on the computer. It was only practice, but as I walked around, I realized that there were a LOT of questions that involved balancing equations and solving for a variable. It wasn't that we hadn't learned the skill, because we did. It was more like we had plowed through those math lessons without a lot of independent practice. Sometimes that happens. There is a … [Read more...]
