Happy New Year, Winter Math Centers, and a Small Thank You Gift!

I hope you enjoyed a safe New Year’s Eve.  I promised that I would be back soon and here I am!

My Christmas vacation is coming to an end and I am going to miss being home and having time to relax.  I return to work on Monday so I have begun getting things ready for my classroom.  My goal is to have everything finished by Friday.  I don’t want to work on anything school related this weekend.

I needed some review materials for math.  We have mid-year assessments coming up very soon and I know my students will benefit from some review after having two weeks at home.

I created 11 math centers with a winter theme.  Eight of them are for review and 3 of them focus on fractions, which I will begin teaching next week.

 

Each center contains:

·      a student direction page

·      18 task cards

·      a student recording page

·      an answer key

I created the following centers:

Place Value – Students are asked to write the standard, expanded, or written form or a given number. (Aligned with Common Core Standard N.NBT.A.1)

Comparing Whole Numbers – Students are asked to read and compare both numbers. Write >, <, or = to compare each pair of numbers. (Aligned with Common Core Standard N.NBT.A.2)

Number Patterns – Students are asked write the numbers missing from the pattern and the rule for each pattern. (Aligned with Common Core Standard N.OA.C.5)

Rounding Whole Numbers – Students are asked to round the number to the nearest ten, hundred, thousand, or ten thousand. (Aligned with Common Core Standard N.NBT.A.3)

Add or Subtract Whole Numbers – Students are asked to Add or subtract to solve the equation. (Aligned with Common Core Standard N.NBT.B.4)

Multiplication – Students are asked to align the given numbers correctly. Then, multiply the numbers to find the product. (Aligned with Common Core Standard N.NBT.B.5)

Division – Students are asked to align the given numbers correctly. Then, divide the numbers to find the quotient. (Aligned with Common Core Standard N.NBT.B.6)

Word Problems – Students are asked to decide what operation is needed to solve the problem. Then are required to solve the problem on their recording sheet showing all their work. (Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, and Fractions)

Equivalent Fractions – Students are asked to write the equivalent fractions, find the missing number, and use equivalent fractions to rename one fraction or more in each pair. Then, add the fractions. (Aligned with Common Core Standard N.NF.A.1 and N.NF.C.5)

Comparing Fractions – Students are asked to read and compare both fractions. Write >, <, or = to compare them. (Aligned with Common Core Standard N.NF.A.2)

Add or Subtract Fractions – Students are asked to Add or subtract the fractions and be sure to reduce to the lowest terms. (Aligned with Common Core Standard N.NF.B.3a)

 

 

If you are interested in having this winter math review set, just click here.

I would really like to THANK YOU for returning to my “no longer abandoned” blog!  I would like to share this FREE fraction resource with you.  I hope that you and your students find some value in it. 

 

Happy New Year to you and your family!

I will be back in a few days.

Monday Made It: Supply Drawers, Mentor Text Buckets, Binder, and Just For Fun!

Let me begin this post by sharing this pin I found on Pinterest.  I never thought of myself as being "crafty", until I began reading blogs and looking on Pinterest.  Teachers are so creative and sometimes their ideas are just too good to pass up. I am finding myself in the craft stores way too often.

It’s Monday, so that means it is time to link up with Tara at 4^th Grade Frolics for Monday Made It!

I have been busy this past week making letters on the Cricut for my classroom boards and making over some items I already had in my room.  I am not going to bore you with the letters, but I will show you the makeovers.

First up are my supply drawers.  I bought these three years ago from Michaels.  They were originally white, but at that time I painted them brown to match my owl theme.  This is how they looked.  Poor things… you can even see some scratches.

This year I am changing as much as I can to denim, so I bought denim Duct Tape to pretty up my supply drawers.

Then I added cute labels to make it easier to find things.  I love how they turned out!

Here are all three sets of drawers.

Next, I bought this binder from the clearance section in Michaels. 

I paid $2.00 for it and I had plans to change it up from the moment I saw it. I will be keeping my lesson plans, long range plans, standards checklist, and schedules in it.  It stays on my teacher table at all times.  Here is the front.

And the back.

And the inside with dividers.

My third Monday Made It makeover are buckets to hold my reading and writing mentor texts.  After reading a mentor text, my students like to go back and independently read the books.  I like to have them out, so they don’t have to ask me to get them off of my private book shelf.  I try and keep at least 12 books in each of them. 

They were also found in the clearance section at Michaels. (Can you tell I live in walking distance of a Michaels?  Both of the assistant managers know me, and they are both full time teachers.)   I bought them two weeks ago for 60% off plus the teacher’s discount.  The end cost was under $4.00!  When I got them home I found out that the yellow was too light to match the other items I bought for my classroom.  This is what they looked like.

Here they are sprayed painted, with a ribbon, and labels.

They are larger than they appear in the pictures, so I grabbed some of my teacher resource books so you can see just how large they are.

Lastly, I wanted to add some new place value cards to my math rotations.  Place value is such an important skill and mastery is definitely important. 

I made this new set which includes:
*a place value chart
*cover sheets with directions for each set of cards
*6 sets of cards (24 cards in each set = 144 cards total)
*student recording sheets
*answer keys

You will find the following sets of cards:
*place and value
*expanded form
*standard form
*comparing numbers, ordering numbers
*rounding numbers

They can be purchased here.

My first set of place value task cards include:

*a place value chart

*cover sheets with directions for each set of cards

*9 sets of cards (a total of 148 cards in all)

*student recording sheets, and answer keys.

You will find the following sets of cards:
*place value
*base ten blocks
*base ten blocks with regrouping
*standard form
*expanded form
*word form
*comparing whole numbers
*rounding whole numbers
*ordering whole numbers

This set can be found here.

Just for fun… I will give away one of each of my place value sets.  If you would like a chance to win one of the sets, all you need to do is:

*leave me a comment with your email address

*tell me what is your favorite part of the school day

*If you would like two entries, pin one of the task cards sets and leave me a link to the pin on Pinterest with your comment.
The giveaway will end on Wednesday, July 16^th at midnight.

Thank you for visiting today!  Don’t forget to visit Tara at 4thGrade Frolics to see all of the other Monday Made Its!

Workshop Wednesday Linky - Math Card Game

Hello Everyone!!  Today I am linking up with Jessica at Ideas by Jivey for Workshop Wednesdays.  Our goal for today is to share our favorite card game. 

(Disclaimer:  I learned this game from a coworker over several years ago and I have taught it to my students every year since.  This is not my original idea.)

How to Play “Bull’s Eye”:

1.  Students are divided into pairs.  Students should spread out.  They will need space to lay out playing cards.

2.  Each pair of students will need a box of playing cards.  In my class, we use the aces as a number 1 and the king as a 0.  I remove all jacks, queens, and joker cards.  (Students can make the numbers higher than 9 by using two cards.  Example: Make 14 by placing an ace and a 4 next to each other.) They will also need a set of math operation symbols.  I often provide them with a number sheet to record their answers.

3.  I call out a number, which I call the “Bull’s Eye Number”, from 1 to 20. 

4.  Students will work with their partner to make number sentences that equal to the Bulls Eye Number.  My students are required to use at least two operation symbols in each number sentence.  In the beginning of the year, I ask them to make 2 number sentences.  By this time in the year, they must form 3 number sentences to provide more of a challenge.  When the pair of students have formed the required number sentences, they call out “Bull’s Eye”! 

 

(Forgive me for the glare on a few of the cards.)

4.   Students record their number sentences on their recording sheet.  I stay on the same Bull’s Eye Number until majority, if not all, pairs have completed the challenge.  I then call out another Bull’s Eye Number.   Students are to stop and work on the current number, but they are strongly encouraged to go back and complete all incomplete challenges.

(Click on the picture to download a free copy.)

5.  I ask that all recording sheets be completed and turned in to me before the end of the next day.  This allows students time to complete all challenges. (Note:  At the beginning of the year, some of the pairs need the second day.  By November, I hardly ever have pairs that don’t finish each challenge before I call a new “Bull’s Eye Number”.)

6.  As time permits, I have a few pairs share their number sentences on the white board. 

To make the game more challenging you can require students to use certain operations symbols (ex. must use multiplication and subtraction).  You can also require that they use certain numbers in their number sentences.  I do these types of challenges the last month or so of the school year.

I hope that you will try this game with your students and that they enjoy playing it as much as my students do!

Don’t forget to stop by Jivey’s blog and learn some new awesome math card games!  Which math game do your students enjoy the most?

I hope you enjoyed your visit to my blog and have decided to become a follower.  I have been blogging for 10 days now, and I am proud to say that I am at 13 followers.  The number is small, but I am excited that someone has found me!  I am looking forward to my first give-away. Thank you so much for stopping by and please leave me a comment letting me know where I can find you!