 I recently used a template from Talkin Pinata Teaching to practice making graphs and reviewing probability terms with my students. We had so much fun with this lesson; here's how we did it!1. Make the DonutsI printed out 2 donuts for each student. First, they covered the first template with school paper towels (the brown ones that don't actually work as paper towels AT ALL!) and cut out on donut lines. Next, they cut out the frosting from donut template #2. To decide which frosting flavor they would use students picked out of a bucket. We discussed that all the frosting options were in each of the buckets and that it was not certain that they would get the flavor they were hoping for, etc. Once students had chosen their frosting flavor they covered the frosting template with the color assigned to their flavor, cut it out on the frosting lines, and attached the frosting to their donut. Then it was time to add the sprinkles. Students chose their sprinkle colors the same way they chose the frosting flavors, except this time we did three rounds of picking. The first round students added 10 sprinkles in their chosen color. The second round we added 7 sprinkles, and the final round we added 12. Voila, completed donuts!   2. Graph with the DonutsWe took our donuts out to the hallway to use the tiles as we created a graph. The students placed their donut in its spot one-by-one and analyzed the results. Then we came back into the classroom to collect our donut data and create a graph on the SMART board.  3. Probability TermsThe next day we added probability terms to describe our donut shop. The students chose their vocabulary term out a bucket to begin. All the students who chose likely wrote on a purple heart, unlikely used a green heart, certain wrote on a blue heart, and impossible wrote on yellow. Students had to write a sentence describing our donut shop using the word that they picked from the bucket. When they finished their first sentence most students chose to write another, and another, and another! It was a great way to get them using probability vocabulary and practice analyzing data!  I hope your students enjoy this lesson as much as mine did! |
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Here's another freebie that I found on Pinterest, created by Sarah's First Grade Snippets! We used the Squanto passage as shared reading and research for their "then" square on our History of Thanksgiving organizer.
For this project I bought these close reading passages from Creativity to the Core. These have been AWESOME for students to use for research and vocabulary practice! These were a great deal, only $6! You get many age-appropriate research materials relating to Native Americans and Thanksgiving, reflection worksheets, and graphic organizers!
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Stay tuned for the final products! Happy 6-Days-Until-Thanksgiving-Break!
Every year rounding is one of the hardest concepts for my kiddos to understand. Here are some of the tools we use to help make it easier!
100's Chart
Kiddos color the tens columns GREEN, the columns 1-4 BLUE, and the columns 5-9 RED. It is so nice to have the tens on each side of the 100's chart! This makes is easy for the students to tell which ten the target number is closest to! We color the remaining columns as we compare them to a thermometer; color columns 1-4 blue because when the temperature goes down the thermometer turns blue, vice versa with red.
We glued a cardboard strip to the back before inserting the pipe cleaner. This gives the paper strength so that it won't rip as the students use the tool.
*I saw this idea in an Instagram post by Talkin Pinata Teaching and I modified it for my kiddos. Thank you, Talkin Pinata Teaching!
We glued a cardboard strip to the back before inserting the pipe cleaner. This gives the paper strength so that it won't rip as the students use the tool.
*I saw this idea in an Instagram post by Talkin Pinata Teaching and I modified it for my kiddos. Thank you, Talkin Pinata Teaching!
Rounding Review Game
We played this free rounding game in small groups and my kiddos loved it! At the end we saw who the "winners" were (everyone won). Ask the class, "Which group rounded to 20," call on a group to share their answer and repeat for each ten.
Rounding STEM Project
Students will use this tool to "teach their parents" how to round. It was very neat to see the rounding techniques students used as they built their tools! Many students chose to use a number line, similar to our pipe cleaner tool, but others chose to build the "Rollercoaster Model". Check out some of our awesome projects!
What are your favorite strategies to teach rounding?
Anyone who knows me knows that I am all about what is FREE, especially when it comes to my classroom. Huge shout out to the many teachers who post their creations for free - We appreciate you! Here are some of the freebies that I've found and used to decorate my classroom. Enjoy!
Colorful ABC Bunting
I attached magnet strips to the back of these letters and use them as an interactive word wall in my room. The colors are vibrant and the font is super cute!
Schedule and Job Cards
We use these schedule cares as a daily reminder for what comes next! They have magnets on the back so that they can easily be moved day-to-day! Classroom Job cards are also available!
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Binder Covers and Spines
Use this cute design to organize your binders! This is an editable template so you can change it to meet your needs!
Chevron Labels
I have used these labels on almost every basket in my classroom! They come in several different colors and go well with the ABC bunting posted above!
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"Spice" Labels
These are the other labels I used in my classroom. I use these to organize my centers and group toolboxes. They are technically for labelling your spice jars, but they're editable so you can make them into whatever you'd like! I laminated mine so that I can write on them and make changes as needed. (Teacher Hack: Expo Marker erases Sharpie!)
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What fabulous free finds have you used
in your classroom?
This is a great lesson to use to review how to identify an even and odd number and how to identify place value. My students loved getting to know their classroom number today!
Begin by thoroughly going over the details of the project. Teach the students how to curl cardboard (cereal boxes) by wrapping a strip around their finger tightly. This technique will help students with "curvy" numbers. Teach the students how to create multiple L-Braces with cardboard strips and tape by lining up a 4 cardboard strips vertically, connecting them each with a strip of tape, and wrapping them to create a rectangular prism. This technique will help students with "straight" numbers.
Students glued their design brief into their STEM journals and made 4 corners on the page next door. In boxes 1 and 2 students created two plans. They had to think about how they would build their number, their base, and how they would incorporate their tasty treat. Once they had two plans they were allowed to begin building. When students were finished building they reflected on their design. In box 3 students wrote one problem that they encountered and in box 4 they wrote how they solved their problem.
I was so impressed by the problem-solving and thinking that my students put into this project; never underestimate the creativity of a 7 year old!
Please tag us if you decide to use this project!
Twitter: @enoeagles
Instagram: meganeno
My students would love to see STEM examples from other classrooms!
The other day I was planning on doing some painting with my students but when I got to school and realized I'd forgotten my paint brushes at home! I quickly went into our school's STEM closet and found some toilet paper rolls and bubble wrap (rather than going to the Art room --- which would've made so much sense! haha!). I wasn't sure how or IF this idea would work exactly, but I decided to test it out anyway...
When my students saw what they were going to be painting with they began asking so many questions. It turned into an awesome STEM discussion! I explained what my problem had been, I walked them through my solution process, I showed them my first (failed) design, and then we tested my final product! As they painted with our "paint brushes" they talked amongst themselves about how they would've solved the problem and what other supplies may have worked as a pint brush instead! I loved this impromptu lesson so much that I may have to "forget" my paint brushes again next year and have them design and build a painting tool!
(Here is our finished banner for our Laps for Liberty fundraiser! Students painted olympic rings, added motivational words, and determined their racing place using pop-up ordinal numbers!)
This is a great lesson to do with your class as you review the concept of even and odd numbers. Students loved getting to make spooky houses and were excited to add as many even or odd characteristics as they could think of!
Begin by reading the book Even Steven and Odd Todd to your class. Review what makes a number even and what makes a number odd.
Use a flipchart filled with a variety of haunted house images from Google. Have students sort houses into categories based on even and odd characteristics. If a student wants to sort a house into a specific category they could add (or subtract) characteristics to the house.
(Example for the orange house on the bottom left of the flipchart: A student wanted to sort that house into "Even Steven" so they added another pumpkin, another fence, and made the door into two doors.)
*This sort was mainly to get students noticing characteristics of a haunted house, while checking to see if students understood how to incorporate even and odd quantities of the characteristics.
Use a flipchart filled with a variety of haunted house images from Google. Have students sort houses into categories based on even and odd characteristics. If a student wants to sort a house into a specific category they could add (or subtract) characteristics to the house.
(Example for the orange house on the bottom left of the flipchart: A student wanted to sort that house into "Even Steven" so they added another pumpkin, another fence, and made the door into two doors.)
*This sort was mainly to get students noticing characteristics of a haunted house, while checking to see if students understood how to incorporate even and odd quantities of the characteristics.
Next pass out a house template for the students to build off of. I told my students that they needed to decorate their regular, boring house for Halloween. I also encouraged them to use our flipchart examples as inspiration. I pointed out the spooky eyes, the colors, and the many other spooky characteristics present in the images. (Click the template for a printable version on Pinterest!)
Students were given half a sheet of construction paper and scrap paper to create this project. I told students that they needed to have one moving part and they needed to use their classroom number as the house number. House Numbers dictated whether the house would have even or odd characteristics!
Creating this spooky neighborhood was a fun way to prepare for fall AND it will be up for decoration until Halloween! Win-Win :)
Thanks for stopping by!
In our classroom we have an early finisher system is called "Go For It!" When students finish an assignment early, they have the option to work on critical thinking activities from our "Go For It" bulletin board. Students collect a total of 6 activities in their "Go For It" folder before earning the opportunity to create something of their own design at our classroom MakerSpace! "Go For It" is a fun way to keep students thinking, creating, and engaged during classroom down time. Here's how it works in our class! (Click any of the activity pictures for a free download!)
Read It.
Students will read our Spotlight book and complete a comprehension activity. The Spotlight book is a featured book that goes along with a current unit, an upcoming holiday, or a theme in our classroom. I start the year with the "Characters, Setting, Problem, Solution" sheet and switch to the "Retell" sheet around the mid-year point (to help students prepare for the DRA).
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Think About It.
With these activities, students are challenged to think creatively. I begin the year with "Finish the Picture", around November I switch to "Shapes", and in the spring I switch to "Tangrams". With all of these activities, I challenge the students to add as much detail to their pictures and writing as they can to really make their thinking POP!
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Search It.
This is one of my favorite "Go For It" activities! The students can choose an informational book from our classroom library to research a topic of their choice. It is always so interesting to see what topic they choose and what information they are able to pull out of their book. This activity helps students practice using text features, locating information, and identifying the main idea. After researching their topic, students have the opportunity to share their findings with the class during our daily morning meeting (see a "Share It" option below!).
Share It.
Story Board That is an online storyboard creator that you can use in your classroom in many different ways! It is free, easy to use, and allows students to publish their ideas in many different ways. Students can choose from a variety of templates, backgrounds, stickers, and speech bubbles to present their ideas. I have my students log in to my account to create their StoryBoard and save it as their name. During our morning meeting students they are able to share their findings with the class from the promethean board and I print them out a copy to take home. Check out this awesome student example!
*Click the picture to download an editable copy of the "Share It!" task card - Make sure you edit the "Where is it?" section as it applies to your desktop organization.
Plan It.
(Get it?!) Students are able plan their own STEM project, and it can be anything they want. I've had students design desk organizers, doll houses, pencil holders, gifts, and so many other awesome things! What I love about "Plan It" is that they are able to design a project that solves a problem that is relevant to them. Their designs may have absolutely no connection to classroom content or curriculum, but it has a personal connection to them and it's truly amazing to see the things they come up with!
Solve It.
Boggle is a great way for students to practice creating words using word families. Once they discover this trick they are amazed by how many words can be created with so few letters! I select a Boggle Board for the students to use and place it in a plastic sheet protector. I change the Boggle Board every so often (every other week or so) so that the students are able to start a fresh game if necessary.
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About halfway through the year I switch from Boggle to Noggle. I place the Noggle board sheet in a plastic page protector with sticky notes covering all but one. Every so often (every other week or so) I shift the sticky notes so that a new board is showing. To create my Noggle board I "updated" a Boggle sheet...add an "N" over the "B" and change "words" to "number sentences" - voila!!!
Make It.
Once students have collected one of each of the "Go For It" challenges they are allowed to go to the "Make It" station to build their design from "Plan It". This year I am including "Go For It" as one of my reading centers. That way every student has equal opportunity to make it to the "Make It" station. Students collect "Go For It" papers in the back pocket of their binders and bring their six challenges to me when they are complete.
I'd love to hear your early finisher ideas!
Thanks for stopping by!
Welcome to Room 15!
Getting ready to welcome kiddos into your classroom takes a ton of preparation and planning. Take one thing off your plate by using content posters from yearly curriculum to create a collage bulletin board! I love using this as my back-to-school bulletin board because... 1. it's QUICK and EASY! 2. it gives the students and their parents a snapshot of our school year.
Yellow Book Bins - Target Dollar Spot
White Book Bins - Home Depot
Green Picture Book Bins - Really Good Stuff
Teal Bins (math centers) - Yard Sale
Orange Bin - IKEA
White Book Bins - Home Depot
Green Picture Book Bins - Really Good Stuff
Teal Bins (math centers) - Yard Sale
Orange Bin - IKEA
Here is the front of our room. Our "Go For It" bulletin board is for centers and early finishers. (Look out for an upcoming blog post!) Our "Eagle Data" bulletin board ties into our school PBIS initiative. The class can earn White Eagle tickets for positive behavior and individuals can earn Blue Eagle tickets for positive behavior. This bulletin board shows students what they can earn with their Blue Eagles (10 - show and tell, 20 - prize box, 50 - Liberty prize, 100 - lunch in the classroom). We pin our White Eagles up to create a bar graph to track our White Eagle data; the categories are Hallway, Specials, Office, Cafeteria, and Other. The class determines a White Eagle goal and when they reach their goal they earn a reward (recorded on mini-whiteboard). We also have a weekly marble goal and reward (recorded on the mini-whiteboard).
Round Rugs - Bath Mats, Target
Bench - Yard Sale
Storage Bin Tower - IKEA
Bench - Yard Sale
Storage Bin Tower - IKEA
Originally this cart was filled with 15 of the clear bins. I decided I wanted more storage options so I removed most of the clear bins and replaced them with smaller, green bins. The remaining clear bins are our group tool boxes. Having group tool boxes make distributing supplies incredibly easy! Right now our tool boxes have white boards, expo markers, mini-erasers, rulers, sticky notes, tape, and pens, but the supplies will change depending on unit. The green bins hold our reading center supplies and our community supplies (extra crayons, markers, tape, etc.).
Green Bins - Really Good Stuff
Toolbox Green Baskets - Dollar Tree
Toolbox Green Baskets - Dollar Tree
I'm so excited about using magnetic, vertical centers this year! I thought vertical centers would provide interactive classroom decor while making certain centers easier to monitor. (Look out for an upcoming blog post; I'll let you know how they work!)
Magnetic Board - Oil Drip Pan, $11, Walmart
Paper Protectors - Target Dollar Spot
Letter and Number Magnets - Yard Sale
Round Rugs - Bath Mats, Target
Paper Protectors - Target Dollar Spot
Letter and Number Magnets - Yard Sale
Round Rugs - Bath Mats, Target
This is our classroom Maker Space! Students love visiting this section of our classroom to participate in STEM challenges or to create a project that they designed themselves! My husband trimmed a bin organizer so that it would fit under the back counter of the room. The most important part of a Maker Space is providing clear organization and easy access to supplies. I love being able to store supplies vertically, it really maximizes the work space.
Green Magnetic Board - Oil Drip Pan, Walmart
Scissor Holder - Magnetic Knife Rack, IKEA
Round Supply Storage - Spice Holder, IKEA
Green Bins - Really Good Stuff
Teal Organizers - Michaels
Pink and Yellow Mini Boxes - IKEA
Scissor Holder - Magnetic Knife Rack, IKEA
Round Supply Storage - Spice Holder, IKEA
Green Bins - Really Good Stuff
Teal Organizers - Michaels
Pink and Yellow Mini Boxes - IKEA
Every teacher needs her space. This year I am using a storage system to hold reading group supplies, leveled books, and other teacher supplies. I also got a rolling cart to hold manipulatives and other daily supplies used for guided math and reading. I'm excited to be able to roll the cart up to my kidney table while I'm working with small groups of students! My picture board was created form an old crib frame. I wrapped material around the border and left the metal, cross-hatch center black. It is light-weight and easily hung with Command Hooks. Use clothespins to display all the special pictures your kiddos draw for you throughout the year!
Stair Storage Bin Tower - Yard Sale (IKEA originally)
Cart - Target
Crib Frame - Freecycle
Cart - Target
Crib Frame - Freecycle
Thanks for stopping by!
As I reorganized my classroom library this year I realized how droopy my book bin labels had gotten! I like the idea of yarn - taping labels is always annoying...."Is it straight?", the hard-to-read shiney-ness, and gross goo if you ever try to remove the labels... Here is my solution: PIPE CLEANERS!
*I'm probably not the first person to think of this, but I was super excited about it!
Here's why I'm loving the pipe cleaners so far!
1) label hangs straight.
2) pipe cleaners won't get droopy over time.
3) it fills the hole on the label (which weirdly always bothered me with my yarn...).
2) pipe cleaners won't get droopy over time.
3) it fills the hole on the label (which weirdly always bothered me with my yarn...).
How?
Simply thread the pipe cleaner in and out of the label and then push each end through your bin; twist the ends tightly on the inside and wrap the excess under your twist.
Hope this helps your classroom set-up! :)
renew.
recycle.
reclaim.
repurpose.
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