12 Days of Giving

This holiday season, my class and the other third grade class will be giving back. Growing up, my parents always made sure we knew that the holiday season wasn't just about getting gifts. Its also about giving back to others. And making sure we understood that we give without expecting to receive.

Myself, my third grade team partner, and our classes are going to do 12 days of Giving. Each day starting tomorrow, we are going to give back to the people in our school and community. My team partner and I are also going to try and dress up in holiday sweaters and dresses for each 12 days.

On Tuesday, for Giving Tuesday we talked about ways we can give back. We also read the book the giving tree and learned about how sometimes people give without expecting for things in return. We talked about how seeing other people happy can make you happy. We then made Christmas Lights and wrote down what we wanted to do to give back this holiday season!

Our goal for doing the 12 days of Giving is to get our students to become more appreciative and giving this holiday season. Allow them to want to do more for others, rather than expecting things to be given and done for them.

I am going to try and update every day and explain what we did to give back. I hope everyone has a great holiday season and gets into the spirit of giving!

What we are doing each Day:

   1.     December 5^th- Make cards for the school

   2.     December 6^th- Free Rice- United Nations Food Program

   3.     December 9^th- One Random Act of Kindness

   4.     December 10^th- Motivational Message Day

   5.     December 11^th- Write a Class book on Giving back

   6.     December 12^th- Christmas Caroling

   7.     December 13^th- Manners Day

   8.     December 16^th- Make ornaments to give out

   9.     December 17^th- Write Cards for the staff

   10.  December 18^th- Pass out mini Candy Canes

   11. December 19^th- Read to Kindergarten/1^st grade

   12. December 20^th- Make Cards for Ronald McDonald House

Battle of the Books: September

Battle of the books is a fun way to involve literacy in your classroom. Each month, you pick an author and books by that author. Make a bracket and have each book battle it out until you are down to the final book, which will be the winner! To make it more fun make a voting box to have your students vote for their favorite book! This is a really cool monthly activity because you can integrate it with Social Studies, science, math, and other ELA topics

September 1st, we started our first battle of the books. I chose to focus on Ame Dyckman for our first month. We read 8 of her books and figured out which book was the best written by her. My class had so much fun completing this for the whole month of September.

All you need to is a place to put a bracket up and you are good to go! I have a lot of bulletin boards in my classroom, so I decided to use one of them for Battle of the Books. I used black electrical tape to create the bracket lines. I printed out and laminated the pictures of the book covers we chose as a visual for students. If you choose 8 books you are able to do three full rounds.

Round 1

For the first round, I read two books every other day. I would read the books that were battling off with each other. As a class we would discuss each book in detail and talk about our favorite part and least favorite part. We did this during our morning meeting time. At the end of the day we would vote on which book we liked the most.

I created a voting box last school year during my student teaching that we use for battle of the books (and other voting matters). Click here for a detailed description about how to make your own voting box for battle of the books!

Students' vote on index cards what book they liked the most and place it inside the voting box

I count the votes up and we then proceed to do a drum roll. The winner is announced and that book then, moves onto Round 2!

Round 2

For Round 2 I do things a little differently. I did this round during writing, and we integrated reading and writing. Since we already read all the books, for this round a did a brief recap of the books in the Final 4. I went through each page and gave a brief summary of what happened. Students then wrote and drew what book they wanted to see in the finale. 

I counted up the votes and the books that students' wrote the most about, moved onto the final round!

Round 3

For this round, I allowed students to pick what book they liked the best. The students who liked Misunderstood Shark stood one side. And the students who liked You Don't Want a Unicorn stood on the other side. Both groups then had 10 minutes to come together and reenact the book. They then presented the reenactment to the class.

You could also have students use a website called flipgram, where students can record their own videos. As a teacher you can set up topics, and students login and click the topic and record their video underneath that topic. You could have students record their reenactment through this website. You can then pull up their videos and present it to the class. 

You can also have a live debate and have each side voice their own opinions on why one book is better than the other.

After, you allow students to vote again using the voting box. 

We had a drum roll and the best book by Ame Dyckman was announced!

You Don't Want a Unicorn was a big hit from round 1 and came out on top in the end! 

In Conclusions

This is a great way to incorporate Author's Study in your classroom. It also allows for multiple opportunities to for interactive read-aloud in the classroom. For the next month, we have decided to focus on the author Mo Willems. 

Place Values

Learning About Place Values

Hello! I am getting ready to start teaching my first math unit. I will be teaching my third graders about place values. I remember when I taught place values to my first graders when I student taught, it was a hard concept for them to understand. I came up with the idea to make note cards to help make the learning interactive and fun. It really worked so I plan on doing the same for my third graders!

The Set-up

First you need to get a set of index cards, sharpies and tape. Depending on the grade, will depend on how many index cards you need. In third grade, in the beginning, they are supposed to know up to the hundreds place. So I made my cards up to that. You will first want to make single cards and number them from 1-9. At the bottom of the cards, you want to write "ones". These cards will be in the ones place. Make sure you label these cards in sharpie.

Next, you will number cards 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90. For each number you will grab two cards. On the first card, you will write all the numbers in the tens place (1-9). Underneath those numbers, you will write tens. These numbers will be in the tens place. On the other cards, you'll write 0. Underneath the 0, you'll write ones. The zero is in the ones place. Then you will flip the index cards over and tape them on the back. Make sure you label these cards in a different color sharpie.

Finally, you will number cards 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, and 900. For each number you will grab three index cards. On the first card, you will write all the numbers in the hundreds place (1-9). Underneath those numbers, you will write hundreds. These numbers will be in the hundreds place. On the second cards, you'll write 0. Underneath the 0, you'll write tens. The zero is in the tens place. The last set of cards, you will write 0. Underneath this zero, you'll write ones. This zero will be in the ones place. Then you will flip the index cards over and tape them on the back. Make sure you label these cards in a different color sharpie.

Utilize in the Classroom

Now that you have your cards set-up, you can start teaching with them! These are awesome with teaching math concepts and getting students to understand what each place value actually means. 

I am going to start my lesson by holding up one of the single digit cards.

I am going to ask my students what the number 8 really represents. You want your students to understand that the 8 represents 8 ones. I will draw 8 ones on the board, count them, and them show how it equals 8. You can also use ten blocks and ones cubes. I will repeat this with a couple more cards

Next, I will hold up a 2 digit card.

I will ask my students what the number 90 really means. I will point out how there are zero ones in the ones place. And 9 tens in the tens place. I will then use the terminology that the number in the tens place shows you how many groups of ten there are. So in the number 90, there are 9 groups of ten. I will then draw 9 tens on the board, add them together, and show how it equals 90. You can also use ten blocks and ones cubes. I will repeat this with a couple more cards

Finally, I will hold up a 3 digit card.

I will ask my students what the number 800 really means. I will point out how there are zero ones in the ones place. There are zero ones in the tens place And 8 hundreds in the tens place. I will then use the terminology that the number in the hundreds place shows you how many groups of hundreds there are. So in the number 800, there are 8 groups of one hundred. I will then draw 8 one hundreds on the board, add them together, and show how it equals 800. You can also use hundreds blocks to help represent this. I will repeat this with a couple more cards

The beauty of these cards, are that you can lay these numbers on top of each other. They are all labeled with what place value is shown. Take the number 575

You can lay down the 500, then 70, and then 5. You can then ask students how many ones are in the fives place. You can hold up the five if need me to add an extra visual. Then ask students what the five means. It means there 5 ones in the ones place. You can ask the students how many tens are in the tens place. You can hold up the 70 card. Students will see that there are 7 tens. That means there are 7 groups of tens. You can ask how many one hundreds are in the hundreds place. You can hold up the 500 card. Students will see there are 5 one hundreds in the hundreds place. That means there are 5 groups of one hundreds.

Expanded Notation

You can also show expanded notation visually with these cards

If you take the number 454, you can lay the cards out so students can see you are adding 400 + 50 + 4.  You can do this with all numbers 1-999 with these cards!

Student Involvement

I plan to have students on the carpet with dry erase boards and markers when I teach this lesson. They will be writing everything I write on the board, on their boards. If I show the number 70, I plan on having them show me by writing out what the number 70 really means. Which is 7 groups of ten. They will write out 10 + 10 + 10 + 10 + 10 + 10 + 10 = 70. 

Students can also pick out three cards for you to dissect and break apart. They can choose a card from the ones, tens, and hundreds pile. Make a number and then break apart what that number really means.

You can also give each student hundreds, tens and ones blocks. They can model what number you show. 

Extra Information

I also laminate these cards so I can reuse them. You can also have these cards at a math center for students to practice with.

In Conclusion

I really hope you love this helpful tip on how to make teaching place values interactive and fun! My first graders loved this and I hope my third graders love it too. If you choose to make these cards, let me know how your students like them in the comment section below!

Get in Touch With Your Emotions

Relaxation Zone

I am so excited to share with you my relaxation zone in my classroom! Every child needs a space where they can go when they're feeling overwhelmed and need a break. There is a lot of things you can create in your classroom to help your students relax and calm their bodies. You can have a sensory path, do brain breaks, have them walk to another teacher's classroom to take a break, etc. You can also create a safe space within your classroom where a child can go to get away from it all. That place is typically called a "calm down corner", and in my classroom it will be our 'Relaxation Zone'!

My relaxation zone is inside out themed and I will have a separate secluded desk where my students can go to relax and unwind. If a student is feeling overwhelmed and needs to take a break, they can go here and calm down until they're back into their happy zone and ready and able to learn.

Inside Out

Why Inside Out? What better way to help students learn how to handle their emotions! I love Disney and I think there is a lesson in a lot of their movies, that can be utilized in the classroom. Kids sometimes have trouble dealing and handling their emotions and don't know how. Inside out helps explain their emotions and what they are feeling when each one is present. On YouTube, there are short clips (no more than a minute) of each emotion. I plan to start the school year off showing each emotion to my students: Fear, joy, anger, disgust, and sadness.

I will first choose an emotion to show. As a class we will all watch the clip of that emotion. I will then ask my students follow up questions. How can you tell the girl in the video was feeling joy? Tell me a time you felt joy. What can others do to make you feel joy? What can you do for others to help them feel joy? What can we do to help people in our school feel joy? And I do the same process for each emotion (I do one emotion each day). It takes about 10 minutes total and can be done during morning meeting.

How it Works

I am going to have a desk that is my designated relaxation zone. On the desk will be various breathing techniques for the student to utilize.

I will have a bunch of coloring pages for the students to color on. There will also be writing paper for the students to write. They can also"Write and Let it Go". Where they can write and or draw what is going on with them. They can then crumple it up and let it go by throwing it away in the trash. This can help with releasing negative energy they have building up inside.

There will also be a bunch of fidgets and stress balls for my students to play with and squeeze to help them relax their bodies.

I will also have an interactive relaxation board to help students get in touch with their emotions

If a student is feeling overwhelmed and cannot continue on with what they are doing, they can come to the relaxation corner. They can do this by doing one of 2 things. Raising five fingers motioning to me that they need to "Take a Five" in the relaxation corner. Sometimes students are so overwhelmed and they don't even want to talk. Raising five fingers will let me know that they need to go cool their body off. The last way is just by telling me they need to go to the relaxation zone. 

They can come here and utilize any of the things at this table. This is time for them to figure get in touch with their emotions and get back to a happy one!

How to Utilize the Board

My relaxation board is interactive and has many components to it. The front of the board has a paper that tells you how to control certain emotions.

Students can read this and get tips on what to do if they are feeling anger, disgust, fear, and sadness. If students are feeling one of these emotions, this is a place they can go. The goal is to get them back to Joy and have them regroup with the classroom.

Also on the board are blown up emotions. These can detach from the board!

Students will choose which emotion they are feeling when they are at the relaxation zone. They will then take that emotion and place it on the side of the board. The side of the board has a 'How are You Feeling' paper.

Students will take the smiley and mark what emotion they are feeling. They will then take the check mark and mark if they want to talk or not. This part was really important for me to include. We have to remember that not everyone wants to talk all the time. This piece will let me know if they need some space to relax and unwind for a little bit.

Students will mark all of that and place the emotion they are feeling. I will look and quickly see if they want to talk or not. If they don't I will leave them alone and keep doing what I was doing. 

If I walk over and see that they do want to talk, I will talk through whatever emotion they are feeling with them. I will refer them to the paper on the front of the board that gives them tips on how to deal and handle that emotion. I will walk away and when they feel like they are ready to be alone and will check in on them occasionally.

It is important to check in on them occasionally because how they are feeling can change. They can mark what emotion they are feeling and note how they don't want to talk

They can then mark how they are still feeling the same but are ready to talk

The ultimate goal is for them to reach Joy. You want to make sure to tell your students to mark when they are feeling better. This is a time for them to leave and join the group again

They also might want to talk through with you how they went from one emotion and what they did to become happy again. You might also want to note what the student did in case they are back in the relaxation corner. This way you can remind them on what worked last time!

In Conclusion

I really hope you like my relaxation zone! I am so excited to utilize this inside my classroom. Social and Emotional health is so important. I hope this is a great way for my students to understand why they are feeling the way they are, and figure out healthy ways to cope with it!

How to Utilize Pool Noodles Without a Pool

Fun Extension Activities

Hello!

I have created two fun extension activities involving pool noodles. One for ELA and the other for math. The best thing about these activities is that you can get ALL of your supplies at the dollar store!

Spelling Frenzy

In my class, I will be giving out weekly spelling tests. I remember growing up, I had a spelling book. Each night we had to do a page out of the book to practice our spelling words. I was not a fan of these spelling books. I was more of a hands on learner. 

When teaching spelling this year, I wanted to think of the best way I can teach spelling while incorporating multi-modalities. Every child learns different, and I want to make sure I reach all of them. My spelling schedule will go as follows:

1. Monday- Introduce the Spelling words
2. Tuesday- S P E L L it
3. Wednesday- Spelling Frenzy
4. Thursday- Sparkle 
5. Friday- Spelling Test

In this blog, I will be teaching you how to play Spelling Frenzy. All of the supplies you need, you can find at the dollar store:

Towel Racks

Buckets

Pool Noodles

The first thing you will need to do is cut up 3 pool noodles of the same color. I chose lime green. Grab a ruler and mark off every inch on the noodle. Then cut the noodle with scissors. Then grab one noodle of another color, I chose red, and cut that noodle the same. The lime green noodles will have all of the consonants written on them. The red noodle will have all the vowels on them. Make sure you write the letters horizontal, or else it will not work with the game.

Consonant and Vowels

After you create the letters, you can put them all in your buckets for storage. Once you take them to school, you can explain to your students how the game will be played. You will divide your students into 2 groups (or more if you get more towel racks). You will ask for one person from each group. You will dump all of the letters on the floor in front of them. Each team will get a towel rack. You will then write one of the spelling words on the board. When you say go each person will dig through the letters to find the correct ones to spell the spelling word. (For a challenge you can just say the word instead of writing it on the board!) 

Spelling Frenzy

This is a fun interactive way to have your students practice Their spelling words

Fraction Action

The last game utilizing the pool noodles is for learning fractions. The first thing you need to do is get a ruler and cut 4 different color noodles. Make them each a foot long. Then cut one into halves, fourths (quarters), and sixths.

You can use this in multiple different ways. You can use it to demonstrate how a fraction is one part of a whole. You can take the two halves and show how 1 of the halves is one half of a the whole noodle (for Ohio Standards this is 3.NF.1). 

You can also show equivalent fractions. You can show how 1 whole equals 4 quarters. (Ohio State Standard 3.NF.3)

You can also use these for a math center. You can create cards that tell students to make equivalent fractions. For an example: Find a fraction that is equivalent to 1 half (Answer: 2/4)

You can get a nice bucket to store these as well. And feel free to get extra colors to make different fractions.

Job Offer

Hello!

I have accepted a 3rd grade position for Columbus City Schools! I am so excited and school starts in less then a month. I am lesson planning all throughout summer. I get to see my classroom this Thursday and will start decorating. I will be updating my blog all throughout the school year to inform you on all the exciting things my class will be doing!

My school also doesn't have an ELA curriculum. I have decided to create me own and use it in my classroom. I will be sharing my tips, tricks, and struggles on creating your own curriculum. I am really excited that I decided to this. It will allow me to use more of my creativity and create more hands-on learning in my lessons.

Thanks for following and I hope you enjoy my journey as a first year teacher!