Day Four of A Week of Chillin' Giveaways!

It's Thursday--Day Four of A Week of Chillin' Giveaways!

Today's Giveaway:

Playful Penguins Place Value Game

 To learn more, visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

Enter to win one of two copies of Playful Penguins Place Value Game.

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Convention Focus Sticks & Day Three of A Week of Chillin' Giveaways!

Thinking back to a post some time ago that I never followed up on--Traits Tuesday: Anything Goes! I shared an idea I found on Make, Take, Teach--focus sticks for writing. I decided to make focus sticks for editing conventions.  Each example/icon on the stick represents something students are responsible for editing in their writing. 

The first is spelling--represented on the stick by a sentence with a misspelled word circled. My students circle words at any time during the writing process that they know, or are not sure, are spelled correctly.  These words are then revisited when editing their writing.

The second is punctuation--represented on the stick by a yellow box with . ? ! , ' .  This is a reminder for students to check end punctuation, the use of commas in lists, and the correct use of an apostrophe in contractions and possessives. 

The third is capitalization--represented on the stick by a sentence with letters crossed out and capitalized. This reminds students to check their writing for capitalization at the beginning of sentences and proper nouns.

The fourth is grammar/readability--represented by an ear icon. I always remind students to reread their writing and listen to how it sounds and ask themselves if their writing make good sense. 

The above areas of conventions are those students are used to editing in their writing.  The focus sticks will be a great visual to guide students as they edit/assess their writing in the area of conventions. 

Please feel free to download the strip and label I designed.  I simply glued a large googley eye at the end of colored craft sticks (fat ones). I printed, laminated, and glued the strips on sticks with a hot glue gun for extended use. I hope you find these useful or are inspired to create focus sticks tailored to your students' needs.  

Thanks for stopping back for Day Three of A Week of Chillin' Giveaways!

Today's Giveaway:

Winter Fest Place Value Game

 To learn more, visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

Enter to win one of two copies of Winter Fest Place Value Game.

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Fabulous Finds Friday -- September 27, 2013

Today is Fabulous Finds Friday! Time to share some great finds...

 

There's a Dragon in My Art Room

 

I actually found this fabulous website earlier this summer, but I just sat down this week to continue browsing the WONDERFULLY CREATIVE ideas that are overflowing on There's a Dragon in My Art Room.  Phyl, a retired art teacher of 36 years, shares the amazing masterpieces created by students of all ages.  I was especially taken with the Slavadore Dali mustache portraits created by her second graders. I am always thrilled to find art websites/blogs.  Fly over and check this one out!

 Photo Credit: There's a Dragon in My Art Room 

 

Place Value Bull's Eye

A couple of days ago I was did a generic search for place value base ten activities and I stumbled upon Place Value Bull's Eye shared by Natalie and Rachelle from What the Teacher Wants!--a post from way back in 2011.

Loved this easy prep way to practice place value, so I whipped up some bull's eyes to coordinate with the place value arrows we use in the classroom.  We played a table-top version with ten regular sized paperclips.  The gist--the kids drop paperclips onto the bull's eye and then record the number of 1s, 10s, and 100s on their recording sheet.  Then students write the number in expanded form.  You can find these recording sheets, and an explanation of the game, on What the Teacher Wants!  Fly on over to check it out!  You can also download the bull's eye boards I made HERE!

Better Homes and Gardens: Food Gifts

OK--I know it's not even Halloween yet--BUT I found this goodie on my latest trip to Sam's Club--been finding some great things there lately!  It's never too early to start thinking about the holidays--I think... This holiday edition is all about creating tasty food gifts in crafty packages.  I picked this one up because it has some great ideas that can be used for parent helper, colleague, and student gifts for the holidays.  

Some of my favorites...

Toffee-Pecan Cookie Mix (in a decorative Mason jar)

Hot Cocoa Mix in a Jar (decorated like Rudolf)

Spiced Apple Tea Mix

Kitchen Towel Wrapped Cake Mix Kit (with store bought mix)

Feel free to link up your fabulous finds, and have a splendid weekend!

Monday Made It, a Freebie, & a GIVEAWAY!!

It's Monday Made It with 4th Grade Frolics! Sharing a couple Made Its from this past week...

 

Made Its: Place Value Cubes & Activities

Why use place value cubes? 

Unlike regular dice or playing cards, place value cubes repeatedly show values vs. a single digit.  In this way, students are continuously reminded that each digit that makes up a number, such as 4, has a specific value (4, 40, 400, etc.).  You may have seen these dice sold on the market... I purchased a set online many moons ago when I taught fifth grade.  They were wonderful because the dice represented place values from ones to millions. BUT I only bought two sets because they were quite pricey.  When I decided to teach second grade, I found myself using 1/3 of the die—still loving them—but wanting more.  That's when I went online to see about purchasing foam blocks to make sets myself.  I found some great ones and was off and running! I could now customize the cubes for my students' needs and make as many as I needed for MUCH LESS than buying them pre-made.

Here are some place value cubes I made to add to our collection next year...

Want to make your own place value cubes?  Download the FREE directions here!

You can also purchase my brand-new Place Value Cube Activities for Grades 2-3 in my TpT store for just $2.50--until the end of the day Friday!

An Awesome GIVEAWAY!

Enter the giveaway below to win 50 foam place value cubes (for you to customize) AND my Place Value Cube Activities Grades 2-3!  TWO lucky winners will be drawn!! Good luck!

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 Smiles! :0)

A POWERFUL, POWERFUL tool! I cannot say it enough...

A POWERFUL, POWERFUL tool! I cannot say it enough... 

In the past, many second grade teachers taught the traditional algorithm for addition and subtraction. A HUGE shift in focus has come with the Common Core Standards for Mathematics--and even without the Common Core, I believe this to be essential at this level.  The primary focus should be in helping students develop a strong sense of number and exposing them to strategies for addition and subtraction that are strongly rooted in their understanding of place value. 

With all of this known, if not the traditional algorithm for addition and subtraction, then WHAT?
 

My personal experience with second graders, in helping them develop a strong foundation in place value, has taught me how powerful and capable their young minds are.  From day one of second grade, students have been immersed in making sense of the WHY, not simply the HOW.  I believe one of the most POWERFUL tools in helping do this has been the introduction, instruction, and application of the open number line. 

I began to use the open number line with my students after coming across an INVALUABLE resources titled, The Number Line: Learning to Think Mathematically with the Number Line (A Resource for Teachers, A Tool for Young Children) by Jeff Frykholm, Ph.D.  This resource concisely explains the theory and rationale for using an open number line with young children and provides a series of lessons that can be followed in sequence. Differentiation options are included as well.  All I really needed was this resource to get started, that's it! It is available at Thinking Mathematically for $21 (hard copy) or $15 (download).

So our journey with the open number line began...

The concept of the open number line was introduced to students the first week of school.  They immediately began to explore its use with a "life-sized" number line constructed with Command hooks, clothesline, number cards, and clothes pins.  Students interacted with the life-sized number line as various numbers were place on the line and justifications were given for their placement.  

I also used various lessons in the text and supplemented with additional lessons modeled after those presented.  This provided practice for students and began to build their understanding of the tool.

Gradually, it was time to apply the tool when presented with "situations". 

 

 

Now, after extended use of the tool, I truly feel that it has been internalized as one of various strategies for approaching and making sense of problem situations.  I have tried to pinpoint when students became so proficient with its use (not all of them at the same time, of course), but I have not been able to do so.  I think it was magic! Ha! 

 

 A student created "situation" and her solution... :0)

If you haven't already, I STRONGLY suggest you introduce this tool to your students.  No frills, no catchy phrases, no cute graphics, no bells and whistles--just cheap and conceptually sound!  Put the POWER in your students' hands--furthermore, their minds!

Place Value Disks: Math Tool #3 to Support the Common Core -- FREEBIE!

What are place value disks? Place value disks are a tool that students can use to represent numbers and much more!  They are intended to be used when students have a sound understanding of the value of each disk.  Unlike base ten tools, the value is not visible in units.  Although, place value disks can be used when working with numbers to the millions.  Just visit Teachers Pay Teachers to download place value disks to one thousand.  Included in this freebie are printable place value disks, directions for making foam disks (like those sold on the market today), and SmartBoard place value disks.  My last year's second graders (and my fifth graders in previous years) benefited greatly from using this math tool which helped them visualize the value of the digits within numbers and "see" operations.

Strengthen the connection between concrete and number representations when used along with place value arrows. Stop back next Sunday to download Math Tool #4 for the Common Core -- FREEBIE!

The Ten Frame: Math Tool #2 to Support the Common Core -- FREEBIE!

As you know, the ten frame is a tool for helping students visualize numbers, understand place value, and build strength in mental computation.  I recently posted a product on Teachers Pay Teachers that included a bunch of math tool printables and directions for teachers so they could save money in comparison to some products on the market today.  Well, I decided to break up this product and list each section for FREE!  After all, the easiest way to save money is by not spending any at all!  

Hop over to my TpT store and download Ten Frames Freebie: Ten Frame Math Tools for Teachers.  I will be listing another section of this math tools product for FREE next Sunday, so stop back and see us!

Place Value Strips & Arrows: Math Tool #1 to Support the Common Core -- FREEBIE!

If you have not used place value strips or arrows, I highly recommend them! I have used place value strips in past years with my second and fifth graders, and I was introduced to the arrows in a recent workshop.  Place value strips and arrows help students see the value of digits within numbers.  Numbers can be composed by stacking the arrows, and numbers can be decomposed to reveal the value of each digit. They can also be used when learning to compare and order numbers. The possibilities are many! Can you see the numbers in expanded form?

Below is a larger version of the strips and arrows that can be used for teacher demonstration.

Here's the best part...

I recently made teacher demonstration and student-sized place value arrows, and I have listed them for FREE on Teachers Pay Teachers!  Download, print, laminate, cut, and bag. Viola! 

 

FREE! Place Value Game Celebration

In celebration of our new blog, please enjoy this FREE place value game, "Who's the greatest? Who's the least?"  The game comes with student directions, game mats, a spinner, and a deck of number cards.  Just print, laminate, trim, and it's ready to go.  Included are 2 and 3-digit place value game mats and directions for playing with two or three players.  Just follow this link to Teachers Pay Teachers!