Very Merry Classroom Ideas for December

Posted in Christmas, classroom ideas, elementary, hands on learning, holidays, math, student engagement by Mrs. Kirk

Well, Thanksgiving break was a great time for relaxing and visiting with family and friends. But … Now we have to go back to school? What on Earth will we do with these excited children while they count the days until their holiday break? Here are some ideas to help you make the days/weeks leading up to the holiday break fun and educational.

Joy, Sunshine, and Lollipops has excellent ideas on her blog for celebrating Holidays Around the World!

How about a Grinch Day? Falling Into First has great ideas on her blog for celebrating Grinch Day!

Get your students moving around the room with this Math Scavenger Hunt! Your students will love solving word problems with partners.

Looking for great Read A Louds for Christmas? The Printable Princess has a collection for you.

How cute is this writing activity “If Santa Was Stuck in My Chimney…”? Check out other related ideas on the blog, First Grade Wow

These Holiday Math Games are perfect for elementary classrooms!

This Gumdrop Math Challenge is a great way to get your students using critical thinking skills while having fun!

More Math??? Here are some great ideas!

If you are having a class party, check out these 15 Class Games from A Girl and A Glue Gun.

And, how about some crafts?

Want more great ideas? Check out my Pinterest Holiday Board:

25Nov2017

Candy Shop Math Centers

Posted in addition, Christmas, guided math, holidays, problem solving by Mrs. Kirk

I am getting excited about the holiday season! I have made some new games/activities to play with my 3rd and 4th graders using some really fun clip art! Seriously, the elves are so cute!

The four newest games/activities I have created are:

Addition Bingo
Subtraction Matching
Addition and Subtraction Balancing Equations
Addition and Subtraction Word Problems

The four activities can be purchased individually or as a bundle in my TpT store!

2Nov2017

Math Ideas for Turkey Time!

Posted in addition, elementary, Fall, games, guided math, math, multiplication, problem solving by Mrs. Kirk

Well, I am a bit behind on posting, but I have a good excuse! I have been working on some new resources for November! I finally uploaded my two new Thanksgiving themed games to TpT.

The first one is a Word Problem Scavenger Hunt! Your students will get a chance to move around and work collaboratively with partners while solving one and two step addition and subtraction problems. The problems all have a Thanksgiving theme and have great clipart to go with the questions.

$Thanksgiving math hunt.png$

The second one is called Turkey Tic Tac Toe! It is a Thanksgiving themed multiplication game. Make fact practice a little more fun with this game.

I will be creating more Thanksgiving math activities so keep your eye on my Fall Pinterest Board or Visit my TpT store.

19Oct2017

Mixed Numbers & Improper Fractions

Posted in fractions, guided math, math by Mrs. Kirk

Are you looking for few tips to help your students understand mixed numbers and improper fractions?

Here are a few of my favorites:

7Oct2017

Games for Middle School Math

Posted in games, math, middle school, student engagement by Mrs. Kirk

$middle school math games$

Who doesn’t love a fun game? Why not use games to help your middle school students stay engaged while they are practicing math concepts?

Here are a few of my favorites:

Exponent Match – students will match exponent notation with expanded notation and then solve the problem. Includes positive and negative base numbers with positive exponents.

Equivalent Expressions Card Game – Students will math and simplify expressions. Then write on the record sheet.

Simplifying multi-step expressions scavenger hunt – Your students will have fun moving around the room to find expressions and then solving them on their record sheets!

Simplifying Card Game – This penguin themed game is So much FUN!

For more engaging Middle School Math Ideas check out my Middle School Math Pinterest Board:

27Sep2017

Top Ten Fall Math Activities

Posted in addition, classroom ideas, elementary, guided math, math by Mrs. Kirk

Fall is such a special time of year! I like to bring Fall Math Activities into the classroom. Here are Ten of my Favorites!

13Sep2017

Super Fun Math Games & Activities

Posted in addition, classroom ideas, elementary, games, guided math, math by Mrs. Kirk

$fun math games$

If you have been in my classroom or read my blog you know I love math games! Games are a wonderful way to keep students engaged while they are learning and practicing math concepts. Students who are engaged will understand and remember more or what they have learned!

Here are a few seven of my favorite math games & fun activities!

1. Multiplication War – This is a great twist on the classic card game “War”. For directions, see my post here.

2. Rounding Buzz – Students will love the cute bug theme! Practice rounding to the tens and hundreds. There are “Buzz” cards which add a fun element! The “Buzz” cards give directions to pass cards to a different player or put a few back in the stack. At the end of the game, the player with the most cards wins!

3. Multiples Card Game – Players will race to order multiples. Watch out for the smile cards … they slow you down! The cards can also be used for a sorting center!

4. Flash Card Favorites – Use your favorite games, such as Connect Four, or Candy Land, and put a set of Flash Cards or Task Cards with them to make a classic favorite a math game. Players solve a math problem before they get to take a turn.

5. Fraction Matching – This game is a great way for students to practice composing and decomposing fractions while having fun!

$matching fractons decompose 2.png$

6. Multiplication Spinner Games – Students can spin and win while practicing their facts! There are spinners for each set of facts on their own, and a few with mixed facts.

7. Word Problem Scavenger Hunt – Give your students a record sheet and let them search the room for problems to solve! Is fun for partner or group work, but could also be used as an individual activity for early finishers.

For more great math games and activities look at my Pinterest Board!

15Aug2017

Early Finishers

Posted in back to school, classroom ideas, elementary, games, guided math, hands on learning, student engagement by Mrs. Kirk

What in the world do you do with early finishers? This is a big question for teachers! I think it is important to teach your students to check their work when finished. Teaching students to improve their work when they think they are finished is a valuable lesson. But, after that, there are always going to be a handful of students who will finish their work sooner than the rest of the class. So, back to the question … What do you do? Sitting and waiting for the rest of the class to finish or doing busy work can be very boring and is not giving these students a chance to continue learning. Here are some of my favorite ideas for early finishers!

Set up a system for students so they can find out what to do without disrupting the class or asking you while you are helping other students. I love this display that can be set up at the front of the room. The signs can be switched out depending on what you want the students to do each day.

Make sure your students know your expectations so they are not off task or disruptive. This poster is a great example and it is free! You could also make an anchor chart.

Have a place to organize the materials and supplies the students need for the activities to minimize questions such as “where do I get paper for _____ …. ?”

Extension menus are great for independent work. I like this reading menu, but you could make a menu for any subject. For example, if you are working on place value you could have a menu with place value activities for students to choose from.

Bulletin boards such as Boggle or Noggle can be fun! You can change the numbers or letters out every week or two. You could even put some students in charge of updating the board and making the answer key!

Stem Bins are a great hands on activity. Lots of fun while building reasoning skills.

Partner games and centers are a way to let your students interact with others while practicing skills.

Computer games and websites can be great learning tools. Make sure you set procedures up for how to get online and which sites students will go. Here are some of my favorites!

For more great ideas check out my early finishers board on Pinterest!

1Aug2017

Tips to Plan and Prep for Math Workshop or Guided Math

Posted in addition, back to school, classroom ideas, elementary, guided math, hands on learning, math, problem solving by Mrs. Kirk

While there may be times that you want to use a traditional whole group model for instruction, there are other times you need to work with small groups in order to differentiate for your individual student’s needs. Math workshop (or guided math) is a very successful way to work in small group instruction time and maximize student learning. To make the best use of your time, planning and preparation are key. I have rounded up some of my favorite tips and resources here:

1.) Plan how to use your time! I like to start my Math class with a quick warm up and skill review and then move onto a mini-lesson when needed. Some new concepts can be taught to the whole group quickly and then reinforced in centers / stations. Some need longer time. This is where you have to decide what is best for your classroom, but a few helpful blogs have great ideas for scheduling:

2.) Find or create a simple lesson plan template and/or small group template:

3.) Set up a binder to keep schedules, plans, templates, and notes.

4.) Pick and post your rotation system.

5.) Group students by ability or interest. Grouping should be flexible and change often based on student’s individual needs. For example, sometimes you may need to group students who need re-teaching on a specific skill and other days you may need to group students based on interests when planning projects. Another idea is to sometimes work with students you know will need extra help and pre-teach them a skill you will be teaching the whole class later in the week. This can save you time re-teaching later and will help boost their confidence and success when the class learns the skill.

6.) Teach your students the expectations for groups.

7.) Set up an organizational system and teach your students how the system works.

9.) Reflect and Plan for Next Time: When you get to the end of the schedule, take some time to reflect before setting up the next rotation. What worked? What was confusing? etc… This is also a time to look at your student groups and decide if you need to change anyone to a new group.

For more ideas, check out my Pinterest Board “Guided Math”.

23Jul2017

6 Fantastic Place Value Activities

Posted in elementary, math, place value by Mrs. Kirk

The four activities can be purchased individually or as a bundle in my TpT store!

Well, I am a bit behind on posting, but I have a good excuse! I have been working on some new resources for November! I finally uploaded my two new Thanksgiving themed games to TpT.

The first one is a Word Problem Scavenger Hunt! Your students will get a chance to move around and work collaboratively with partners while solving one and two step addition and subtraction problems. The problems all have a Thanksgiving theme and have great clipart to go with the questions.

The second one is called Turkey Tic Tac Toe! It is a Thanksgiving themed multiplication game. Make fact practice a little more fun with this game.

I will be creating more Thanksgiving math activities so keep your eye on my Fall Pinterest Board or Visit my TpT store.

Who doesn’t love a fun game? Why not use games to help your middle school students stay engaged while they are practicing math concepts?

Here are a few of my favorites:

Exponent Match – students will match exponent notation with expanded notation and then solve the problem. Includes positive and negative base numbers with positive exponents.

Equivalent Expressions Card Game – Students will math and simplify expressions. Then write on the record sheet.

Simplifying multi-step expressions scavenger hunt – Your students will have fun moving around the room to find expressions and then solving them on their record sheets!

Simplifying Card Game – This penguin themed game is So much FUN!

For more engaging Middle School Math Ideas check out my Middle School Math Pinterest Board:

If you have been in my classroom or read my blog you know I love math games! Games are a wonderful way to keep students engaged while they are learning and practicing math concepts. Students who are engaged will understand and remember more or what they have learned!

Here are a few seven of my favorite math games & fun activities!

1. Multiplication War – This is a great twist on the classic card game “War”. For directions, see my post here.

3. Multiples Card Game – Players will race to order multiples. Watch out for the smile cards … they slow you down! The cards can also be used for a sorting center!

4. Flash Card Favorites – Use your favorite games, such as Connect Four, or Candy Land, and put a set of Flash Cards or Task Cards with them to make a classic favorite a math game. Players solve a math problem before they get to take a turn.

5. Fraction Matching – This game is a great way for students to practice composing and decomposing fractions while having fun!

6. Multiplication Spinner Games – Students can spin and win while practicing their facts! There are spinners for each set of facts on their own, and a few with mixed facts.

7. Word Problem Scavenger Hunt – Give your students a record sheet and let them search the room for problems to solve! Is fun for partner or group work, but could also be used as an individual activity for early finishers.

For more great math games and activities look at my Pinterest Board!

2.) Find or create a simple lesson plan template and/or small group template:

3.) Set up a binder to keep schedules, plans, templates, and notes.

4.) Pick and post your rotation system.

6.) Teach your students the expectations for groups.

7.) Set up an organizational system and teach your students how the system works.

9.) Reflect and Plan for Next Time: When you get to the end of the schedule, take some time to reflect before setting up the next rotation. What worked? What was confusing? etc… This is also a time to look at your student groups and decide if you need to change anyone to a new group.

For more ideas, check out my Pinterest Board “Guided Math”.

Are you looking for some great place value activities for your classroom! Let me share 5 of my favorites today!

1. Place Value using Task Cards: These task cards are perfect for reading 3 and 4 digit numbers!

2. Comparing using Task Cards: Use the task cards for a fun comparing game!

3. Ice Cream Matching Cards: Use these cards to match expanded form, standard form, word form and expanded notation.

4. Place Value Spinner Game: I love these cute spinners! Fun way to review place value!

5. Matching Game: Use these cards to practice place value!

6. Notes, Practice Pages and Problem Solving. Cute Graphics, notes and 24 pages of practice!

You can find them all in my place value bundle on TpT: