Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Get cracking... comparing numbers

Today we worked on comparing numbers.  Each table of students got a basket full of plastic Easter eggs.  Inside the eggs were numbers.  They also each had a supply of connecting cubes.  The directions were to pull two eggs out of the basket, open one, write the number, build it with cubes, and repeat for the second egg.  Then, they compared the two numbers by looking at their cube towers.  I was amazed at how well the lesson went.  Kiddos who normally struggle with math skills were rocking it out!

Here's a quick freebie for you to get cracking with your kids!

Directions:  Write the first number in the first egg and the second number in the second egg.
Then, make your symbol in the circle between the eggs.


Apologies for the blurry pictures.  I didn't have either of my cameras or my iPod with me so I used my old school phone to snap a few pictures.



Only 2 more days until Spring Break!  WOOHOO!  How about you?  When's your break?


Saturday, March 2, 2013

Five for Friday... on Saturday

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for today's Five for Friday. It was a busy week at school celebrating Read Across America week and Dr. Seuss' birthday.

1. On Tuesday we had hockey players from our local team come read to our students.  The kiddos loved it!


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2. On Thursday we dropped everything to read.  After the reading fairy floated into our room we dropped what we were doing and headed out into the hall with the rest of the school to read.  The local news even showed up to feature our event on the evening news!
(Yes, my school is only one hallway and this is the entire student body!)




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3. I did my 'Where do readers read?' lesson that I've blogged about before.  It went really well and my students were engaged throughout the entire lesson.  I did this activity this week since we're studying Dr. Seuss, but I think I'm going to move this lesson to the beginning of the year in the future.

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4. On Friday we read Dr. Seuss' 'Green Eggs and Ham' and had ourselves a little green breakfast!  Aside from the 3 kids who absolutely refused to even try it they all loved it... they always do.  We graphed our results after eating.  Since it was also pajama/stuffed animal today we cozied up all around the room to read for awhile.

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5. We've got our data boards up and running!  One board is for DRA Reading Levels.  The other board is for results from our state's diagnostic assessments.  It's a great visual for seeing where our students are academically and will be a useful discussion tool during our meetings.



That was my week.  Next week I'm looking forward to putting a few new TPT purchases to use in my classroom.  I'll let you know how it goes!