Saturday, October 24, 2015

Trick or Treat Blog Hop - iPad Tricks and Math Treats


Hi!
Welcome to my blog and our Trick or Treat Blog Hop!
Hope you'll find some goodies you like!

The trick I'm sharing is one related to technology.
I have 7 iPads in my room, all of which I've obtained through grants.
I was looking for a way to store the iPads during the day, and found what I believe to be the perfect item.
It's a dish drainer from Bed, Bath, and Beyond!
It was sturdy, and pretty inexpensive (with a coupon of course!).


I have a chatty group this year, and I've noticed my third graders were spending quite a bit of their iPad time yucking it up with those that were sitting near them.
So, I made these signs and hung them up in various isolated spots around the room.
There are times when I want them to work in pairs or small groups on the iPads, but many times they are working on the devices alone.
I've found they're more productive and on task when they are separated.


My treat for you is a product that was just added to my Teachers Pay Teachers store, and will be free during this blog hop.  
I have just added Multiplication Count-By Cards!
My third graders are learning the multiplication facts, and I created these cards as a way for them to review the multiples.
Students can sort and order these count-by cards to become more familiar with the multiplication facts.


I am also giving away one of most popular products.
Do you teach series books?
My third graders just devour a variety of book series, and I've developed a unit of "I Can...." Statements and related reflection sheets to use when reading series books.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now hop on over to find some more awesome tricks and treats by clicking on the picture!

Happy Halloween week!


Saturday, October 3, 2015

Five for Friday - Apples and More!

It's been a long time - since I've blogged, and even longer since I've joined in for Five For Friday.
We've been involved in lots of fun activities that I wanted to be sure to share!
 First, my students have been loving science!
We use FOSS, and started with the Measuring Matter unit.
I love how the activities build teamwork and cooperation.
My third graders had never used a tape measure before.

 We've been working on variables in math.
We use Math Expressions Common Core in our district, and we start off right away with multiplication.
It can be challenging, and I needed an activity that would take the pressure off - at least for one day.
So we made this Apple Facts book.
 The adorable apples are from Creative Teaching Press, and my students loved coloring them!
Each student was assigned a product, and then they had to write two related factors that matched that product.
The letters on the cover of the booklet are from Creative Teaching Press too.

You can find the apples, and many others shapes, on the Creative Teaching Press site here.
They are called "Color Me Apples 6" Designer Cut-Outs".


 Our school did a Color Run fundraiser this week.
Our PTO did a great job of organizing the event.  
We used colored cornstarch to spray the runners - the kids LOVED it.
And yes, I was covered with orange cornstarch afterwards.  
 I sent home a parent check-in survey early in the week to get some feedback on how the parents feel the school year is going.
It can be a scary thing to send home a survey like this, you might get negative feedback.
But, most of the time parents are happy that you are interested in opinions.
I got this comment, and it made my day and week!
An updated version of this survey is FREE in my Teachers Pay Teachers store here.
I hope your feedback on it is as positive as mine.
I had some extra apples left from our Apple Facts project (they come in a pack of 36),
so I used them to decorate bags for our Fall Book Raffle.
Come back to this blog and I will explain how I conduct book raffles in my classroom.
I hope you'll follow me for updates!


And check in on Kacey's blog for more Five For Friday posts.


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