February 2nd is quickly approaching and that means Groundhog Day!  I like to do at least one day of groundhog themed activities with my students to celebrate Groundhog Day.  We always have fun predicting if the groundhog will or will not see his shadow.  I love to show my kids video of Punxsutawney Phil coming out of his burrow to check for his shadow.  A great website to do that is http://www.groundhog.org/.

  I wanted a math activity to do with my students that was groundhog themed and went along with what we are currently teaching.

  For this game your students will need the Groundhog Day Math printable (you could laminate or put in a plastic sleeve), a pencil and paper clip(s) for the spinners, red and yellow counters, and a dry erase marker and eraser.   I plan to have my students work in partners for this activity and then once they learn it, we will add it to a math station so students can do this activity in partners or independently.     Students spin the first spinner and put that many red counters on the ten frame.  They spin the second spinner and put that many yellow counters on the ten frame.  Then, they fill the numbers in the blanks to add the red and yellow counters together.  Be sure to have them say the addition sentence or number sentence to their partner!

  Included are two versions, one has the words and and is and one has the + and = symbols.  This is so you can differentiate your instruction based on the needs of your students.  Just click the image below to grab your FREE download!

  If you are looking for some Groundhog Day books, these are some of my favorites (they can be found on Amazon):

  Also, be sure to check out The Kindergarten Connection for a cute Groundhog Day Sight Word FREE download!  Click the image below to check it out.

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Recipe for Teaching

Dominoes are a great tool to use when teaching addition to your students.  They easily lend themselves to use with addition because students can take the dots on one side of the domino and the dots on the other side of the domino and combine them together.  I also find that my students think that dominoes are just the best thing ever.

  I wanted to share some domino activities with you that you can use when teaching addition.  I have math stations (see the picture below for how I organize math stations) in my classroom and I like to do math activities with my students that can be put in a math station basket once they have learned the activity and can do it independently.  Once we learn these domino activities, they will be put out at a math station.

  I suggest printing the following domino resources and then laminating or putting in a plastic page protector for durability.   For each domino activity, I have included a version where students are recording with and without the + and = symbols.  This is so you can easily differentiate the domino fun for your students who need to practice just combining objects and those who are ready to record the number sentence.   Here students pick a domino, draw the dots, and combine the dots.  Then, they write the total in the circle.  This is great to use for early addition because you will notice there are no symbols.  Students just need to combine the dots together and write the total.

  This is similar to the activity shown above, only now the + and = symbols are included.

  For this activity students pick a domino, draw the dots, and record the numbers on the correct lines to combine the dots.

  This is similar to the recording sheet shown above, but the + and = symbols are on this recording sheet for students who are ready to record the number sentences.

  For this activity, students use counters to represent the domino dots.  Then, they record the numbers on the correct lines.

  This is similar to the above activity, only this has the + and = symbols.

  Math Talks are a great way to hold your students accountable for their math work.  Students pick a domino, record the numbers, and then read the math talk to their friend.  Some of my students like to hold it above their head like a speech bubble.

  If you are looking for some good math literature, Domino Addition is a great book to use when beginning addition instruction with dominoes.  You can find it on Amazon by clicking here.

You can grab all of these activities for FREE by clicking the image below!  Happy Math Teaching!

You also might enjoy reading my Edible Dominoes post.  Just click the image to check out that post and grab another FREE download!

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Recipe for Teaching

My students love to use QR codes.  QR codes are an easy way to incorporate technology into your classroom.  I use the website QRStuff to create them and they really are super easy to make.  I have a blog post with directions for creating QR codes that you can check out here!

  I created some QR code word wall word cards for my students so they could practice their word wall words.  I really want my students to become fluent with reading their word wall words so I like to give them a lot of opportunities to practice their words.  At the iPad center, they pick a card, scan the card, read the word, and write the word on the dry erase board.  I am eventually going to have them write the word in a sentence.

  This is what the center looks like (when there aren't dry erase boards, iPads, and QR code cards all over the place!).

  And this is what it looks like when my students are at this center.  I love how they can independently use the iPad to find the QR code reader app and scan the card.  They have been so proud of themselves when they scan the card and a word they know pops up!

  Just click the image below to grab your FREE copy of this activity to use with your students!

  Also, I had shared an image on Instagram of some posters I created for my students for independent and buddy reading.  These are the rules we had decided on at the beginning of the year.  We hung these posters in our library corner.  Just click the image below to grab your FREE copy of these posters.

 

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Recipe for Teaching

The 100th Day of School is one of my FAVORITE days of the school year!  Some of our 100th Day of School celebrations typically include: 100th Day math stations, reading 100th Day books, writing about 100 things, building a tower with 100 marshmallows and toothpicks, and dressing like we are 100 years old.  It's just such a fun day of learning.  You can check out my blog post about our 100th Day of School from last year by clicking the image below.

  I made a 100th Day of School poem that you could use with your students.  I am planning to use it during the week that the 100th Day of School falls and then I will send it home in my students' poetry folders.  We learn a new poem each week and then add it to our poetry folders that go home on Fridays.  You can grab your FREE copy by clicking the image below.

  I also used this 100th Day of School STEM Challenge with my students last year and it was really fun!  I gave my students 100 marshmallows and 100 toothpicks and they had to work in teams to build the tallest tower.  

You can grab the FREE recording sheet for this STEM activity by clicking the image below.

  If you are looking for some activities for your 100th Day of School celebration, check out my 100th Day Activities pack in my Teachers Pay Teachers Store!

   What are some of your favorite 100th Day of School activities?

 

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Recipe for Teaching

Math games are a great way to teach students math concepts in a fun and engaging way.  Coverall games are one of my favorite math games to use with my students.  My students always love them and there are so many ways that you can play them, so it is easy to differentiate the games.

  I made a "Snowflake Coverall" game for my students.  After my students learn this game, we will put it out at one of our math station baskets.  This way they can independently review the game.  

  Here are the directions for the "Snowflake Coverall" game: Students could work in partners or also play this game independently. Materials: Snowflake Coverall board, Chips/Counters, 2 Dot Cubes 1. Roll the two dot cubes.  Combine the dots.  Students should say to their partner, "__ and __ is __." 2. After combining the dots, find the snowflake with that number and cover it with a chip.  3. Students continue taking turns rolling the dot cubes, combining the dots, and covering the snowflake with that number.  Play until all numbers are covered.  
Ways to differentiate this game:  *Have students use cubes to represent the numbers they roll to have a hands on representation. For example, if they roll a 4 and a 2, they would lay out 4 cubes and 2 cubes, combine them, and see that there are 6.    *Give students a number cube and a dot cube to roll.  When they combine what they roll, students could start from the number cube and then count on using the dot cube.   For example, if they roll a 4 on the number cube and a 2 on the dot cube they would count on 2 more numbers from 4 to get 6.     *Have students record the equation for the numbers they roll. For example, if they roll a 4 and a 2, they would record 4+2=6.  

 

If you would like to use this game with your students, just click the image below to grab your FREE download!  There is a color and a black & white version included.

  Stop by my Teachers Pay Teachers store for more FREE winter themed resources!

 

  While you are there, be sure to check out this Winter Bundle for more winter resources!

 

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Recipe for Teaching

Happy 2016!  I love how I've seen the suggestion to pick one word for the New Year.  I picked the word FOCUS.  I want to FOCUS on relationships with family and friends, FOCUS on my teaching, FOCUS on my TpT journey, and FOCUS on myself.

  When returning back to school after Winter Break, I always like to read the book Squirrel's New Year's Resolution to my students.  It's such a cute book and really lends itself to sharing about resolutions and trying to be your best in the New Year.

When we go back to school I am going to have my students share how they are going to be super students in the New Year.  I think it is important to review rules and expectations after coming back from an extended break and I think this will be the perfect way to do just that in a positive way with my students.      I am going to chart their ideas for how to be super students using a web and I am going to put this image in the center of the chart:

  I also created 3 different writing paper choices for how to be a super student.  I am going to use them with my students to have them draw and write how they will be a super student after we chart their ideas.     The writing pages could even be put out at a writing center after doing the activity with your students.  Just click the image to grab your writing freebie.  I have also included the anchor chart image for you to create a chart with your students before they independently write.

  Don't forget to check out my Winter Break Writing post to grab another writing freebie to use with your students.

  Be sure to stop by my Teachers Pay Teachers Store to grab your free Happy New Year Poem. **This poem has been updated for 2017!

  Happy New Year Friends!   

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Recipe for Teaching