An inexpensive and highly engaging process art experience for young children.
Grab a box of toothpicks and a bag of gumdrops for some hands-on and festive gumdrop STEM (science, technology, engineering and math)!
These easy to use lesson plan templates will add some fun to your planning each week! Enter your content, print, and pop into your planner!
Making anchor charts has always been hard work for me. In fact, I never liked making anchor charts for the classroom. I did it because it helps the kids, but I am not a fan of my handwriting, my drawing is even worse, and let’s not even talk about the time it takes to make […]
Followers of Laney Sammons and Guided Math will be familiar with the use of Math Stretches. Just as an athlete stretches her muscles before a long run, mathematicians need to warm up, too! Head over to my blog to read more and grab several different math stretches. Math Coach’s Corner You Might Also Like:Easy Math ... Read More about Math Stretches
If you've ever done any kind of guided reading/math, or tried out any of the workshop models, or done any work with centers then you already know that management is everything in making these types of activities successful. I already gave an overview of how I set up guided math in my classroom for the first time but today I want to share specifically how I go about managing it. This is what my original guided math poster looked like. I have very limited wall space so I made a long and tall poster to hang in a gap between two of my windows. I've made a much cuter, polka dot version for next year. (I can't believe I'm even sharing this poster as my new polka dot version totally kicks its butt. This was before I put in any effort for graphic designing things for my classroom.) The four colored strips of paper have velcro attached on them for my students' names. The groups change with each unit. I rotate the corresponding dots (also attached with velcro) so students know what center they go to. This is our visual management for guided math. Now, let's get into some specifics. Week 1 I strongly believe in gradual release of responsibility when it comes to being successful with any center activity. When I first announced that we would be starting a new way of doing math (Monday of week 1), I described it to the class and showed them some of the fun and exciting materials we would be using. Then, we came up with a list of expectations together. Get started with your activity right away and try your hardest. Be respectful and responsible with materials and put them away in the proper place. Work cooperatively with your partner and ask "3 before me" if you have a question about your activity. Work the whole time. If you finish early, start a early finisher activity from the folder. When you hear the timer, stop working and clean up your materials. Return, quietly to your desk. The following two days (Tuesday and Wednesday of week 1) after the whole group lesson, everyone chose a partner and partners played math games from the hands-on learning center. I monitored the groups, answered questions, and redirected as needed. Thursday is my class's Tech lab time so we spent the period exploring and learning about the Math Fact Practice sites. My favorites are arcademics.com and scootpad.com. During our math center time on Thursday and Friday my kids chose a partner and worked briefly in their problem solving journals (my at your seat center). Then, the following Monday (week 2) I felt confident that my students were ready to work independently and I started pulling groups. Groups My students change math groups after every topic. On the night of the topic test, I send a short pre-assessment home with students for the next unit. I have emphasized with my parents how important it is that they don't help their child with this as it will hurt them in the long run. I then check the pre-assessment and consider how the students did on it as well as how they did on their previous topic assessment to modify the groups for the next unit. I try to group students based on what they need. I have a lot of kids this year who are really advanced so they need enrichment and some extra challenges. I also have some kids who need extra help with the basics. Grouping the kids likes this makes our time in groups more valuable. High Expectations I have really high expectations for behavior during our guided math stations. I expect the voices to be at a whisper and I expect everyone to be on task. My fact practice center works independently and they are expected to be silent and working the whole time. Because my other two centers require partner work, I always require that a finished product be turned in. I expect my students to be kind and cooperative and consider guided math a privilege. I haven't had to "take it away" from a student but I think it would be acceptable to give an alternate activity to a student who was not being cooperative on a given day. I also expect my materials to be treated with respect. My sweet husband and afternoon parapro helped me put together so many file folder games. I made and laminated them and we spend hours cutting them out. I told my kids about this. Then, one week I found some of my game pieces scattered on the floor. I took the games away for the following week and replaced them with another activity. We haven't had a problem with this since. These are just a few considerations for managing guided math or math workshop in your classroom, but I think they are good to keep in mind when getting started. What management suggestions do you have for math workshop?
It's crazy to think that kids are going to be arriving in class in just a few weeks!! I have been puttering around in my classroom all summer, but it's starting to feel a bit more urgent-- the piles on my tables need to start getting organized, not just moved around to a new pile ;) As you know, I am loving chevron and have been incorporating it quite a bit in my classroom. I have added these items to my TpT Store and hope you can use them, too :) Clock Numbers & Numbers 1-30: Do you number your kids? I have and it helps so so so much with organization! I use their names as well, so at the top of their papers they need to write their name and number, but this strategy has saved me so much time! I can easily find who hasn't turned something in, it's easy to alphabetize the kids' work, and when we are on a field trip or fire drill, I have them number off quickly and we know if we are all accounted for. In the picture, I am using the numbers on the back wall, so when kids take their bins to work around the room, they know where to return them. It's a lot "cleaner" looking than their names all over the place :) In this packet are numbers 1-30 in each of the chevron backgrounds (red, orange, green, blue, teal, purple, and gray) and a plain background. Also in the packet are clock numbers in the chevron backgrounds. I hot-glued these numbers to the edge of my classroom clock and love the 3D look of it! My thirdsters still struggle with analog time, so these will be a cute way to help them along :) Check out this packet in my TpT Store HERE. Table Numbers, Name Plates & Really Good Stuff Bin Cards: I am using these bins from Really Good Stuff since I will have tables this year and I love them already! They are plenty big for folders, notebooks, and some books- I can't wait for the kids to use these! This packet contains three items: Table Numbers (1-8), name plates with lines and the cards for the front of the RGS bins. I also like these cards for smaller labels around the classroom- I am going to use them to label their coat hooks. These, too, come in all chevron colors: red, orange, green, blue, teal, purple and gray. There is also a plain background to the Table Numbers if you prefer to print them on color paper. You can find this packet in my TpT Store HERE. Guided Reading Level Labels for Bins & Books: I am in love with these! I use GRL texts with my kids during Teacher Time and I will be using magazine boxes from Ikea to hold the books that will be labeled with the cute alphabet stickers for easy reference. iPhone pic, sorry! These are available in levels A-Z in alternating blue, red, green and purple colors with matching stickers. The stickers fit on the 30-per-page labels and you can see a preview in the TpT listing. To pick up this packet, click HERE. I think I am all chevroned-up! I love love love these accents and hope you can find them useful, too. Remember to pick up some of my free chevron items, too- Daily 5, CAFE, and Whole Brain Teaching Posters. And, there's a Welcome Banner, Cardinal & Ordinal Directions, and Binder Covers in the store, too :) Enjoy!
Maria loves creative ways to help her kinders with decomposing numbers, so she created these wonderful, Common Core-aligned worksheets!
For K-1 students, centers are one of the most developmentally appropriate things that you can do for them. Let me give you the break down on each of my 5 centers, and how I manage them!
Helping students solve word problems is tough. Here are my top three problem solving strategies in math to help make word problems easier!
Subscriber Resource Library 14 comments Welcome to the Subscriber Resource Library! To access any of the freebies on this page, simply click on the image. I hope you enjoy these resources. Share It:
Click here to read about about the 7 must-have things that I could not live without for my first grade or kindergarten classroom. These things are helpful classroom management tools for primary teachers.
These latitude and longitude posters are a cute addition to any classroom and will help your students remember the difference between latitude & longitude. And they are FREE!
Everything you need for a smooth school year.
Display the shapes with a touch of Farmhouse! You will love the touches of chalboard and weathered wood :) These 2D and 3D shapes come with an editable option so you can use your own font/language. If you like this design, check out my Modern Farmhouse Classroom Decor Bundle which includes this file along with everything else you need to make the classroom your Farmhouse Dream! Included in this product you will find: Primary 2D and 3D Shapes (2 designs, 40 pages) Editable Primary 2D and 3D Shapes (2 designs, 40 pages) Follow me on Social Media for more classroom design inspiration!! →Instagram →Pinterest →Facebook I hope you enjoy the product as much as I do. If you have any questions, please email me! [email protected] Enjoy! :)
Keep reading to find out how color-changing, remote-control puck lights will help with your classroom management and prevent LOUD voices!
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
As teachers begin planning for back to school, I see an abundance of creative classrooms filling my Instagram and Pinterest feeds. I love seeing how other
Teaching money is a lot of fun because there are so many money games for kids and, best of all, kids are so excited to learn how to count co...
Learn how to plan and manage literacy centers through differentiated instruction activities, rotations, & behavior management strategies.
Would you like to decorate your classroom with fun, hand-drawn anchor charts/posters? Do you simply not have the time to get them done? Well, you have come to the perfect place! I love making these engaging and appealing anchor charts. I also can draw/create any other topic you would like, just contact me directly and ask! My students absolutely love these posters and references them every day. Many of them are visual learners, so the colorful images really help them connect and remember what they have learned. This particular anchor chart is for readers/writers beginning to learn how to comprehend their reading. My students always struggle with this skill, when I first introduce it so I wanted to create a visual for them to better explain it. They always have such a fun time with the characters and it provides a chance for discussion into the topic. **These will be copies unless asked otherwise for a custom poster. They are not laminated, and are printed on normal, anchor chart paper. I ship these out ASAP after being ordered, but please keep in mind once shipped, it is outside of my control. Therefore, if shipping does not meet your expectations, I highly encourage you to please reach out to me first, and we have always been able to work something out to make up for anything that may have occurred after I have sent your package, thanks so much!! Hope you love it :)
WARNING: CHOKING HAZARD - Small parts. Not for children under 3 years of age. Mini Flip Charts Show You Which Students Need Help Color-coded like a traffic light, these spiral-bound flip charts let you know at a glance which students need help with their work. The same message can be viewed from two sides, so you can see it from any place in the room.
