Want to keep your Algebra 1 students engaged? This collection of free printable Algebra 1 activities will help you map out an entire year of fun lesson plans!
Last week, E from McHomeschool and I went live on Instagram to chat about our favorite resources. Since the videos remain temporarily these blog posts will summarize and provide links. You can find…
tw When it comes to math, geometry seems to be in a whole different league. Some kids fall in love with it instantly, while it seems challenging for other kids. One of the great things about geometry is that there are so many hands-on activities we can provide for our students, which makes it lots of fun! Here are some of my favorite geometry activities: 1. Start With Shapes I like to have students start with shapes they've known since they were tiny, like triangles, squares, and circles. We draw these on whiteboards as a whole class. Next we draw the more advanced shapes like pentagons, hexagons, octagons, trapezoids, and even the rhombus! This brings us to a discussion of polygons and we can classify shapes that way. Besides whiteboards, there are lots of ways for kids to work with shapes, like Popsicle sticks (which are also great to use to illustrate lines like parallel, intersecting, and perpendicular), LEGOS, Geoboards, and even clothespins which can be clipped together. 2. Marshmallow Geometry I like this activity because any time you add food, kids are all in! Using marshmallows and toothpicks, kids can make simple 2-D shapes, and also 3-D shapes. Plus, this activity is the perfect place to emphasize vertices since each time you add a marshmallow, you place it at a corner. If you have food allergies or school regulations which prohibit food, you can substitute the marshmallows for Play-Doh. 3. Use an Anchor Chart Once students have had lots of exploration time with shapes, it's time to discuss their attributes. I like to actually make this anchor chart with the kids' help. I explain how it will be organized, from the smallest number of sides to the greatest. We also notice patterns of sides and vertices as we create it. I do ask kids for examples of shapes, and sometimes they get really creative with this! 4. Go on a Shape Scavenger Hunt This is an activity that is great to do with some parent helpers if you have any. I like to send iPad cameras with each group, clipboards and pencils, and a record sheet. Kids record the shape that was found, the type of object it was, and where it was found. It's really fun to see what shapes they're able to find while walking around the school campus! 5. Incorporate Some Art I am a huge art proponent so I add art wherever it fits in. Geometry is a great time to do either geometric animals, robots, or people. I usually choose one of those categories but really you could make it a wide open project too! I shared another fun geometric art activity on a blog post I wrote called Incorporating Art in the Classroom. This one is from Literacy Loves Company. As a follow up to geometric lessons on lines and angles, I cut polygons from white construction paper for each child. I have kids use rulers and sharpies and follow my step by step directions of drawing lines and then finding obtuse angles, right angles, perpendicular lines, and so on. After the lesson is done, kids add color to these, making it a really fun art piece. 6. Add Some Kinesthetic Learning Kids need movement and it's easy to add some movement with this unit. For this activity, students will be on the floor working with a partner to make different kinds of lines (parallel, intersecting, and perpendicular), shapes, and angles (right, acute, and obtuse) using their bodies. An alternative is to have kids stand up and use their arms to illustrate these geometric concepts. Another kinesthetic activity is to gather Chinese jump ropes or packages of sewing elastic. If you use elastic, one package is enough for one small group of 5 - 6 kids. The idea is to have students use the elastic as a group to make the shapes you call out (types of triangles are especially good) or types of angles. Different kinds of lines can also be made if two groups work together. 7. Add Some Task Cards and Games Task cards are one of my go-to tools! Kids love the game-like format and I know that they're getting really focused learning on whatever math concept we're working on. I have used them as centers/stations, for whole class math time, for one on one, and as exit slips. If you'd like some pre-made math task cards specifically for geometry, click here; 3rd Grade Geometry Bundle 4th Grade Geometry Bundle 5th Grade Geometry Bundle 8. Read Mentor Text I love it when I can tie reading into math too! The books above are some of my favorite mentor texts for geometry. I love all of the visual examples included. 9. Use Music I just found these songs by Numberock on YouTube and they are perfect for this unit! Really great pictures and catchy tunes: Parallel, Perpendicular and Intersecting Lines Angles Types of Triangles 10. Practice Angles Seriously, next to long division, measuring angles is probably the most difficult math skill students will face in the elementary years! It doesn't help too that it is introduced in fourth grade in common core and then not even mentioned in 5th grade standards. Oh well! One activity that helps is to have kids use graph paper and write their first name in all capital block letters. Students can measure any angles created by the intersection of the letter's lines. Another favorite activity for practicing angles is to take tape and make different lines, which create angles on a desk, table, or even on sheets of butcher paper. Kids use protractors to measure angles and then write with expos (or markers on the butcher paper) right on the desks/tables! Great way to add some fun to this difficult concept! Hope you've found at least a few ideas you can use for your geometry unit! I did want to let you know that I have Math Task Card Bundles for every grade from 3rd - 5th. Each bundle has 30 sets of 32 task cards that cover ALL STANDARDS (CCSS) for those grades. I love prepping them at the beginning of the year and then grabbing whatever concept we're working on for some added practice. If you'd like to take a look: 3rd Grade Math Task Cards Bundle 4th Grade Math Task Cards Bundle 5th Grade Math Task Cards Bundle Thanks so much for stopping by! If you like this post, I would love it if you would pin it or share it with a teacher friend! For more ideas and strategies focused on Upper elementary, be sure to sign up for The Teacher Next Door's free email newsletter right HERE. I'd love to connect with you! Facebook Pinterest Instagram TpT Store
A fun and engaing, problem solving spelling word game. No prep - simply print and play to learn. Use with any spelling word list.
Confused about differentiating for gifted and talented students? This post offers two powerful strategies to try. Free download included.
If you need STEM projects ideas, this is THE place to go! This is a collection of over 200 STEM projects and activities that kids love!
Looking for ideas for teaching the Pythagorean Theorem? I’m so excited to share with you some of my favorite activities for this topic. This is one of my favorite things to teach all year, and
Online math resources for both teachers & students - free math lessons, practice quizzes, videos, and digital activities for distance learning!
Love podcasts? Check out this post in the form of a podcast episode on The Classroom Commute Podcast :
Teach your students how to classify tricky quadrilaterals using the hands-on lessons, activities, and games in Classify It! This ready-to-use resource from Laura Candler includes a lesson, a sorting activity, a challenging (but fun!) math game, and two quizzes that will help your students master quadrilateral classification!
Fun and engaging ESL activities, games and worksheets in printable PDF format with full teacher's notes and answers for English teachers to use in class.
Well... back to school after spring break.. sort of. I've been out for 3 months, back for 2 weeks just half days and surgery again next Thursday- hopefully a minor one, this time! What a crazy school year! As promised, here are some of the center ideas I've been working on... These are a set of cards you can download, print, cut out and use to work on "musical math" or create a game where students work in groups and time themselves to see how quickly they can figure out the correct answer! Could also be used as a whole class competition; divide class in half and see how quickly students can get the correct answer. Play using "hangman" and see which group wins. Let me know how you use it!
Teach range median mode with free activities and resources. Here are 22 free range, median and mode materials created by teachers!
KINDERGARTEN MATH - UNIT 3 I am so excited to have my new Measurement and Data kindergarten math unit posted and ready to share with you. So far this year, my sweet kinders have learned so much in math. We have mastered 1:1 correspondence, reading and writing numerals to 20, counting to 10
Corkboard Connections is a blog written by Laura Candler who enjoys connecting terrific teachers with amazing resources!
Teaching hands-on math with free printable math mats is the best way to engage your children and keep them excited about math.
This is an updated FREEBIE for Number Sense practice. It is FULLY EDITABLE in Power Point so you can customize it how you wish.The font you see in the preview is "KG Miss Kindergarten". I did not pay for the license to use it for this product so it will not show up as that when you download it unles...
I've heard it from teacher after teacher: " I dread teaching measurement every year. " It's hard to blame them. There's nothing ground-shaking about measurement. There's nothing exciting about metric vs. customary. It's just one of those skills that our stud
Over the last year or so, I’ve done a lot of work with very low-end students. Between teaching summer school for two years straight in the inner city, and teaching support classes in my regu…
Looking for an easy and fun teaching idea for your students to practice their vocabulary words? My students loved it and never realized they were learning! This strategy can work for any grade, from kindergarten to high school!
With this FREE Measuring Worksheets pack students will learn how to correctly use a ruler to measure objects. They will also be able to comprehend size differences of objects and order them properly.
Everything you need to know about Saxon Math Homeschool Curriculum! The Good, The Bad, and How to Make it Work for You...My insights after 16 years!
FREE daily math warm-ups for second grade are the perfect way to start the morning with your students. Great 2nd grade math review.
Are you looking for a fun hands-on activity for teaching quadratic trinomial factoring? A factoring activity we did in class using cereal is described in this post as well as links to other fun quadratics activities.
Teaching fractions and geometry of 2D and 3D shapes in second grade is made fun with these hands-on activities and worksheets!
I am so excited to share that first grade no prep packs are here! This resource makes it so easy to teach the first grade standards for math, reading, phonics and writing. No more searching for high quality, engaging worksheets and activities.. they are all here. Plus I am sharing thr
Teaching coordinate graphing has never been so lively! Here are ideas to engage all kinds of learners.
We have been working on geometry this week and have been using pattern blocks to create some very cool polygons. I loved having them share these using "Team Talk" (read more HERE) and we worked on sharing our shapes on the overhead projector and the different ways you could create the same polygon using different blocks. While our curriculum only calls for knowing 3,4,5,6,8, and 10-sided shapes, it was fun introducing heptagons and nonagons, so I created this fun freebie to look at all of the polygons together and practice their names. I didn't require them to use rainbow colors, just a different color for each polygon, and it turned out to be a great way to cover a lot of shapes in a fun, one page activity. To pick up this freebie in my TpT Store, click HERE.
Here are some division games that will have your students playing and learning! Also, as a bonus, find great division activities and book recommendations.
In need of some capacity activities or ideas? This post includes hands-on and engaging ideas for teaching capacity in a third grade classroom
How to Avoid the Summer Slide! Summer is right around the corner! We all LOVE our summer vacation, but not the "Summer Slide!" According to Oxford
Spiral math homework has been a helpful resource in my classroom for many reasons. Learn all about Spiral Math Homework.
We’ve been working with shapes in math and focusing on writing dialogue with the correct use of quotation marks. Have you ever noticed that when you start teaching about these that suddenly, “every” “single” “word” “gets” “them”? Ha! As we practiced identifying shapes and their attributes, here’s how we tied in our writing and practiced the correct use of quotation […]
100+ of the best books, websites, games, curricula, apps and books for teaching math, especially for those who struggle with math.
Help your third-grader learn to recognize quadrilaterals with this geometry worksheet.
Fun and engaging ESL activities, games and worksheets in printable PDF format with full teacher's notes and answers for English teachers to use in class.
This resource can be used on its own as a weekly assessment to guide instruction. However, is it particularly effective if used as a Friday assessment in conjunction with my 5-A-Day Math Review. My 5-A-Day Math Review contains 5 daily math tasks for (Monday-Thursday). This resource is now EDITABLE!!! Easily edit the student pages using PowerPoint
Bobby, Danny, Jenny, Molly and Sally went to the fun fair in summer. From this game you can find out what they enjoyed the most, how many tokens they paid for it and finally what they won playing coconut shy. Look at the clues, fill in the tables, then write full sentences using the solution. To solve this logic game put an ´X´ where there is a relation and ´-´ where there isn´t. Hope you and your ss like it. There are flashcards to this topic as well. Hugs, Zsuzsapszi - ESL worksheets
Math vocabulary practice is so important for students! These ideas for activities and games will help you find fun and engaging ways to practice with your students.
Tips for Primary Teachers.
Here is a short video by Scholastic Study Jams that explains the concept of MULTIPLICATION as being repeated additions of the same number. The video also introduces the terms factors and product and the properties of multiplication. After watching the video students can take a short online multiple choice quiz to check their understanding. Click on the link below to view the video. ~ Scholastic Study Jams - Multiplication Also I have a Multiplication Concept Chart worksheet for students to complete that reinforces the teachings on the video plus introduces/reviews the use of ARRAYS in Multiplication. I hope you find it useful. You can download the worksheet from my website. Just click on the link below then go to Free Worksheets. ~ http://www.LearningWorkroom.com Have fun with math!
