Week 2: Saving Fred

I have been doing morning meeting and closing circles with my students this year. I teach two different classes. I love doing this to build a sense of community. I found this post about organizing the materials needed for morning meeting so I decided to make my own. I used my Cricut to cut the letters for the front of the bucket.



Inside I have a sharing sign up sheet, my resource books, index cards, duct tape, and a few of my noise makers.



I have also been using the iPad app called Music Cues for morning meeting and closing circles. When students hear the song Walking on Sunshine (Morning Meeting) or Final Countdown (Closing Circles) they know it is time to begin greeting their classmates. When the music stops and the chime rings they form a circle for sharing and a group activity.

Both of my science classes saved Fred this week! Check out all the supplies my parents sent in! They rock!



Here is the story about Fred: Fred (gummy worm) loves to go out on his boat (cup). He is out on the water (desk) every day. But Fred can't swim so he must wear his life jacket (gummy Life Saver) every time he goes out. One day Fred went out on the boat on his own and forgot his life jacket. His boat flipped over and the life jacked was stuck under the boat. If Fred touches the water he will die because he can't swim. The students must find a way to get the life jacket out from under the boat and around Fred so he can swim to safety. Here is the catch... students can't use their hands to touch anything. Each student gets 2 paperclips.



It was great to see the students working together to problem solve. If Fred hit the desk they had to set everything back and start over.













This week our daily data question was about their favorite subject: science or math (the 2 subjects I teach them). Students used push pins to cast their vote. At the end of the week we recorded this venn diagram in our notebook and made a bar graph to display the results. Students then made 2 inferences about the graph we created and answered the question "Who cares?" One student said people who created apps might care because they would sell more science apps than math apps.



STUDENTS: What do you like the most about morning meeting or closing circles?

First Week of School 2013-2014

Last week we had our meet and greet at school and I wanted to share the way I posted my wish list for parents. I printed wish list items on sticky notes and posted them on the board. That way parents could take a note if there was something they wanted to purchase. Click here for the template I used to print on the sticky notes.



In math class I had the students create a Math About Me page. They drew a picture of their face and then used math to share things about themselves. Here are just a few of the pages.







As a science assignment I had the students think about themselves as scientists. They had to draw a picture and write about what they were doing, wearing, tools they needed, and where they would be working. They turned out so cute! I have posted some of them in the hallway and I wanted to share two of them here.





When I went to a conference this summer I discovered Facingmath.com. So I decided to do one of these with my math classes this week. They start with a blank circle and follow the directions to create a drawing.



As they answer the math questions the image begins to develop. There are also questions that tell them what color to use for different things on the picture.



My students said this was the most fun they had ever had with math! They loved it!





As you can see, all the pictures will be the same (shapes and colors) but each artists makes the picture all their own. I think I loved these just as much as my students.



We also had a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach (one of our class pets) shed his skin. We were lining up for lunch and someone spotted it. So I set up the ipad on the top of the aquarium and left it filming while we were at lunch so we didn't miss it.



Here is the video of the event! Hope you enjoy.



STUDENTS: What was your favorite thing about 5th grade this week? What was just like you expected it to be and what was different?

A Closer Look at Math Synergy

This week one of my friends on Facebook shared a sudoku board that a teacher made for her classroom and I knew I had to have one. It had to match my classroom so I went to the scrapbook store and purchased 12 x 12 paper and cut the red lines to create the board. I'm tickled with the way it turned out. I plan to change the puzzle each week.



We are also a Leader in Me school and I needed something leadership related in my classroom. So my best friend Kelly had these posters in her classroom and I knew I had to get some too. I found them at my local school supply store and had to get them. I used my Cricut to cut the black quote for the center of the wall.



Several people have asked questions about my Mathematics Synergy board so I took a few up close pictures so I could explain it here in detail. The only thing I forgot to take a picture of was my target. It has numbers 0-9 on rings and each day the kids have a different target number. This also corresponds with the number of days in school.



I also create a number to go in the top boxes here. We don't answer all of these questions in one day but is a great review for my students.




We use 2 100s charts to mark prime and composite numbers. Using the target number, we determine if it is prime or composite by creating all the arrays possible with that many squares. So if the target number is 8 our arrays would be 1x8 & 2x4, which would make this a composite number. Prime numbers are circled on one chart with a certain color and the composite are circled on the other with a different color.



After we create our array with the target number we find the area and perimeter of the array. If there is more than one array possible we find the area and perimeter of each.



Measurement Record: We color in a cup each day on our measuring cups (see below) and then write all the different ways to name it. If we had 4 cups we would say we now have 4 cups, 1 quart, 1/4 of a gallon, etc.



The fraction record is similar to the measurement. I use the fraction bars and we add 1/16 each day and then write the equivalent fractions.



This is the large graph paper we use to create our array of the day. I have the kids draw them on their desk but then I let one student come up and add their array to the board.



I have several other posters I add throughout the year and I'll post pictures of them soon. I don't do everything every day. We start with these things and because of this I spend very little time teaching lessons on prime, composite numbers, area, and perimeter. It takes a bit of my math time but I've found it is well worth the time.

I've also had a few questions about my brownie points. I found this a few years back and my students love it. When they get a class compliment from someone they earn a brownie for the cookie sheet. They have magnets on the back and we just stick them up. Once all the brownies are on the sheet I make them real brownies. This is a big deal because I never cook and they love the fact that I make brownies for them. Find the link here: Brownie Points.

A Peek Into My Classroom

I can't believe I only have one more week off before I go back to work. The kids come back in two weeks. So I finally got some work done in my classroom



I also made this place value chart to go along the top of the wall in my classroom for place value. There are 3 pictures so you can see the whole thing. I used black construction paper to make the commas and decimal.



In the back of the room I have my brownie points board for my class to earn brownies (made by me) and I added the mathematical practices on the cabinet door.



This is the Mathematics Synergy board. I add calendar numbers with patterns every day and we mark prime/composite numbers, array of the day. measurement, fractions, and several other things.



My beautiful curtains were made by my super sweet neighbor, Nicole (Puffs & Ruffles). The ones I had last year were really faded because of the sun coming in the window so she made these for me. You can also see my class rules and our daily data board. I post a questions with 2 options and this year I plan to have the students use colored push pins to vote on the venn diagram. I have 2 math classes this year so I had to rethink the way I was going to do this.




This last picture is my work in progress. I'm trying to figure out what to do with this. I have used it in the past for homework. However, I'll only be teaching science, math, and social studies so I don't need all this room. You can also see my class pets on the left side of the photo. We have Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches. They are the best pets because they are very low maintenance! I'm planning to work a little more next week and put the finishing touches on my classroom so I'll share again next week!



Hope you enjoyed the peek into my classroom.