I'm sure you've heard of GoNoodle by now but if you haven't tried it, what are you waiting for? It is a collection of ad free videos to either calm kids down, blow off some steam, or get some exercise. There are even indoor recess mixes! My kids get to have some GoNoodle time after we pack & stack at the end of the day. They hustle with the end of the day routines so they can grow their Champ. Right now our champ, Bart Reynolds, looks like this:
Yes, he's quite the stud. His name cracks me up, but I digress....
My favorite video from GoNoodle is "I Get Loose". It seriously gets stuck in your head, but the kids love to sing it and I think it is so cute when they dance around. I'm not sure what it is about the two guys who call themselves Koo Koo Kanga Roo, but their videos are ridiculous and fun. Check it out:
We're just starting to learn about multiplication in 2nd grade and I started by reviewing skip counting. One of my students said, "Mrs. Palmer, you said we are going to learn about multiplication, so why are we doing skip counting? We did this in 1st grade."
What a perfect question! Of course, he was right. I work across the hall from a 1st grade teacher and I hear those kiddos skip counting every morning! Students with strong skip counting skills will have a much easier time in many mathematical areas, including multiplication.
One thing I wanted to students to be able do in this unit of study is identify patterns. First, I wanted students to be able to see the patterns when skip counting and to be able to identify what they are skip counting by. We did a little warm up/review and then we started math centers.
One thing I love to give students in their math centers are task cards. They are easy to prep and store and multiple students can use them at once. This week I used Skip Counting Scavenger Hunt by Primary Essentials.
Side Note: You need to check out Francheryl's store! She has tons of these Scavenger Hunts that focus on different skills. This product is normally only $2.50 which is a STEAL because you also get an editable version that you can make endless variations with!
These task cards are meant to be used as a scavenger hunt with the cards taped up around the room. I love giving students opportunities to get moving during math, but since I already had a couple of high energy math games going on at the same time, I decided to use them as a center at one of my tables.
I demonstrated how to use them and because they were a little different than the task cards I usually make for them, they were excited! They thought they were cool and asked me to thank whoever made them. How cute is that? In this set, there are 4 versions of skip counting so you can use them at various times throughout your unit. I also love that the recording sheet is compact (3 to a page) and I used way less paper than my usual full recording sheet. The best part is that this product includes an editable version! This is an awesome and simple way to differentiate for your higher and lower achieving students. I plan to make a set of cards with 3 digit numbers for my high achievers and a set of cards that focus solely on skip counting by 3's because I observed several students struggling a bit with this.
Here's an even better part! If you leave a comment on this post (with your email) by Sunday at midnight, I will pick TWO winners to get this product for FREE! If you don't feel lucky, you can still grab them up for 50% off through Sunday! That is just $1.25!!!!
We all know that kids learn in different ways. I strive to meet the needs of all my kiddos by providing information visually, through songs and videos, orally and kinesthetically. I showed a couple of these skip counting videos, had the kids skip count orally while using hand motions, and of course we wrote our numbers in our notebooks.
For some of my struggling students, we'll physically count groups of objects. We also search for patterns within each skip counting series and color those patterns on hundreds charts. All this is in preparation for learning the conceptual understanding of multiplication.
Come back soon for another post about teaching arrays.
If you'd like to check out some other products that real teachers have reviewed, click the links below!
Ok, a midweek linky party that I can actually get done? Yes, please! I'm linking up with the Teaching Trio for their new(ish) monthly linky called:
I'm sharing three of my favorite apps to use with students! I have many more, but I'll just talk about the three that I use most.
#1 Is a freebie and I literally use it everyday! It has replaced my dry erase boards for my guided math groups. I love that I can have the students take screenshots of their work to add to their digital portfolios. The kids love all the chalk colors! They enjoy using this app with a stylus to help with their handwriting. Another plus: no messy dry erase markers that dry up!
#2 Isn't free but it is a must have app in my book. The kids actually beg me about the next time they get to use Explain Everything to demonstrate their math thinking. My school asked one of our Senators for some extra money for technology and my principal brought him into my classroom when we were using this app and it knocked his socks off! This is a simple screen casting app that records students' voices and annotations. I write a few problems on the board, students take a picture with the iPad and then import it into the app and start recording as they write and explain their thinking. Talk about powerful assessment!
#3 Has a limited free version that you can upgrade. My kiddos love to play all the Slide games (Slide 100 and Slide + & -) but this one is their favorite. When they are especially good or have been working super hard, we'll have Slide tournaments. This game is awesome because it can be played with 2-4 players. When we get down to the "final four" players, we'll jump on AirPlay and watch the kiddos play on the big screen! I'm sure you can hear them cheering for their friends all the way to the principal's office. Sometimes an especially confident student will challenge me to a round. It is way too much fun to resist.
I love this weekly linky called Movie Clip Monday hosted by the Techie Turtle Teacher! I show TONS of videos in my class and I'm always on the lookout for more.
This week, we're starting our Polar Bear unit. The kids love studying animals and had a blast studying penguins last month. There are so many polar bear videos on YouTube that I could watch them all day. However, I may only be able to squeeze in one or two a day for my students. I came across this one as I was planning my unit and you know it will be great because it is from National Geographic and it is meant for kids! The kids will love the humor and cuteness and you'll love the great facts it covers! Check it out:
To get the SafeShare version, click here. It has no ads or other questionable graphics that will pop up.
If you'd like to link up with us, just write a post with one of your favorite videos (don't forget the Movie Clip Monday graphic) and link up below!
It's 3 AM so it's pretty quiet around here, except for my stupid cough, which is why I'm still awake. We actually got snow here in New Mexico and my 14 year old couldn't resist making the cutest snowman.
She did this while my sis and I wrangled my oldest daughter's hair for her Winter Ball. She is so pretty it kills me!
Sorry, I got sidetracked...anywhooo, we have big changes happening around here. Besides the fact that I have a SENIOR in high school, 2015 is going to be the year of change. I'm not sure exactly what, but I'm hoping answers will come soon. I'm a planner and not knowing what is coming my way makes me feel like a worm dangling on a hook.
I kinda love this last category! I would never be the pageant type, but if I was, my pageant title would most definitely be Miss Knowitall, at least that's what the hubs would say. I can't help it if my brain remembers a ridiculous amount of useless information.
Happy February everyone! We're one month closer to summer break!
I'm linking up with Doodlebugs (2 weeks in a row!!) for FFF. This week was a doozy!
On Monday, I had an observation by my principal, who I really adore, BTW. The first observation of the year didn't go so well. It was one of those days that they wrote Murphy's Laws about. Anything that can go wrong, will.
However, the 2nd observation was A-W-E-S-O-M-E! It went so well that I was even impressed with myself. It was just one of those perfect teaching moments that remind you why you became a teacher, and for once, there was a witness!!! I haven't received my scores back, but his verbal feedback was all I need. He said it was fun being in my classroom watching me teach!
Tuesday we had our long awaited field trip to a children's museum called Explora. It really is the best museum in the state and so many of our kiddos have never been! It is jam packed with hands on science, exploration, and building activities. We had a docent lead us around for 2 hours and then we went across the street to a really great park for lunch and play. It was so much fun!
I've been chugging along, trying to pretend that the tickle in my throat is not a sign that I'm getting sick. Mind over matter, right? Not so much. I woke up Thursday to find that I had lost my voice. My hubs convinced me to stay home and NOT TALK. Ummm ok? That's like asking the sun not to shine.
We're learning about 2D and 3D shapes in math, which is a nice break from drilling subtraction strategies nonstop! I found this awesome FREE Geoboard app that I used in the lesson I blogged about yesterday using technology in teaching about shapes (read about it here). Now, I don't know about you, but I'm not a fan of getting those geoboards out. Why? Well, rubber bands + little boys = teacher nightmare. The beauty of this app is that it has lots of colors to choose from, it is easy to use, and the rubber bands can't fly, shoot off the board "accidentally", or break. Check it out:
Even though we're working on geometry, students are still practicing subtraction. I made this cocoa themed Double Digit Subtraction Warm Up Task Cards set so students can continue to practice. It features problems with and without regrouping and QR codes so students can check their answers. I've marked it down to $1 until 2/2/15. Grab it before the price goes back up!
I'm always looking for ways to integrate technology into my lessons. These are my three goals: to enhance my lessons with the use of technology, get students more engaged (which leads to more learning), and for students to use technology to interact with others.
Often, technology is an afterthought to a lesson. We're busy. We have major demands placed on us that we must meet and often we just simply don't have the time to incorporate technology into our lessons in a meaningful way. It can be a daunting task. It is best to start simply.
I found a great FREE geoboard app last summer and I knew I wanted to use it, but couldn't think of any ideas at the time so I just filed it away in my brain for later. This month, as I planned my geometry unit, I lugged out my box of dusty geoboards, looked at the sad state of my rubber bands and then a light went on! The geoboard app! I downloaded the app and played with it for a little while. It is crucial to test out the apps you're going to use to see the potential pitfalls and benefits before you hand it over to the students.
Next, I thought about how to use it in a lesson I had planned, but also wanted to get more use out of it than one or two lessons. I decided to design a math station around it that focused on the skills I wanted students to master. In this case, my objectives were simple: define and describe 2D and 3D shapes using attributes such as edges, faces, and vertices. Check out my 2D and 3D Shape Task Cards with QR codes:
After a few introductory lessons about the attributes of 2D and 3D shapes, I was ready to put these task cards in my math stations. I know a thing or two about kids and technology. You need to let them play with a new app a little bit before you expect them to get to work. I did a demo using AppleTV and the AirPlay function on the iPad on how to use the app. I showed them how to make shapes and let them use it with a partner for a few minutes. Then, I showed them the tasks cards and explained how to show their work on their recording sheets. The task cards also feature QR codes that students can scan to check their answers or scan to see the shape.
The math station was a hit! Now it was time to use what they've learned to solve some shape riddles. I used these Geometry Interactive Notebook Pages from Lucky Little Learners. I can't even begin to tell you how much I love using Angie's interactive notebook products. I think I have almost all of them!
We cut and pasted the riddle flip flaps into our interactive notebooks and did the first two riddles together. Each pair of students had an iPad and worked together to make the shape on the geoboard app that was described, draw it under the flap and label it. I walked around the room and asked certain students to show what they did on the geoboard app by "jumping on" AppleTV with the AirPlay function on their iPads. This is a skill I had previously taught so they knew just what to do. I chose specific teams of students to show what they did and we had a great discussion about whether the shapes they made really fit the description. At one point, we had a great debate about whether the shape's sides were all the same length or not.
We had to get the meter stick out to measure what they were projecting on the board to settle the question. At one point, I looked around the room and realized that ALL my students were engaged in the lesson, they were consulting our math word wall and were having meaningful discussions with each other. It was a simple lesson that was so much better because students were able to visually share their work with their classmates on our interactive white board. They had a sense of pride when they got to share and used higher order thinking skills to defend their work. Beyond the fact that my students now have a stronger understanding of geometry, they were able to also increase their critical thinking skills.
