Problem Solving. The First Time This Year

Hello Everyone,

What a morning I have had already. I am so glad it is over : ).  Okay time to talk about math. 

I started problem solving in the classroom last week and I was absolutely terrified to see how my class would handle it.  I should know by now that my students amaze me every day and this time  was no exception.  We have been working on whole group problems for the last week and they were loving every minute of it!

 I created learning targets based on our grade level expectations here at Davey.  I chose to create a template that helps guide the students to explain their thinking four ways.  At this point of the school year I require them to draw a picture (using math art, meaning quick sketches.  I do not have them use markers at all!), write a number sentence, and circle and label their answer.  I will tell them that they can just label with the first letter unless they are ready to do second grade work and write the whole label word.  Even the struggling students strive to do second grade work.  This also gives me a great opportunity to work on math comprehension and see those students who struggle in this area.

Here is a copy of the problems I chose to do with my students today.  Keep in mind that we practiced much easier problems the whole week and each day I did a subtraction and an addition problem.  We compared both problems to see how we knew if we would be adding or subtracting.  I needed to facilitate some questions to get them thinking, but many of them could tell me exactly how they know.  I gave them a chance to talk to the person next to them to explain how they know and they all handled it so well.

Before I sent them off to do their work I reminded them that in writing we strive to get to a score of 4 (classroom rubric posted) and how in math we can get a score of 4 as well if they have everything down on the paper.  You should see how motivated they are- I am so proud.

Now that my hopes are so high I decided to start centers this week.  I created some October centers to sell on http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/ .  I put a price on all of them, but I am giving you the link to a few of them as a thank you for reading this blog!  If you are interested in a few other products I have you can find my store at http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Tina-Parker .  I am currently working on a missing addend unit as well as a problem solving unit for October.  My goal is to get them up by the end of this week unless conferences delay my progress.

Candy Corn Math Facts This center works both addition and subtraction math facts of +1/-1 and +0/-0.  I included a recording sheet that you can use as a progress monitoring piece.

Halloween Number Order Math Center This center focuses on number order at a variety of different levels.  I also included a recording sheet that has students list the numbers from greatest to least and another one that will have them list numbers from least to greatest.

Missing Number Spiders This center has students focus on number after/number before.  Recording sheet is included.

Halloween Skip Counting  My students are struggling with counting by 2's and 5's so I created this center to focus on skip counting.  I am making sure that students are skip counting both forwards and then backwards as well to extend their number knowledge.  To extend this center for students that need it I created recording sheets and I also have them skip count forwards and backwards w/o the cards.  Even my gifted students need practice on counting backwards.



I started keeping track of my progress monitoring with each MTB (Trailblazers) unit.  Here is an example of what I did with Unit 4 (Odd an Even) after the first two lessons.  First I handed out a random number of cubes to each student.  They were to count the cubes, write their name and the number on the post-it, and then pair up the cubes.  Then all I did was write even and odd on the board in a T-Chart form (simple, easy, and obviously does not need to be perfectly drawn).  I was able to see what students learned and what I still needed to work on.  I also kept in mind that students can just guess even or odd and have a 50% chance of getting it correct. 

I read off the numbers on the odd side first and wrote those numbers on the board.  I then had students raise their hands if they thought one number should actually be on the even side.  They also had to explain why they think that number should be on the even side.  This gave me a great chance to informally assess their thinking even further.  We did the same for the even side.  All the students were very engaged in their learning (even at 1:30pm) and I know the direction my instruction needs to go to meet the needs of my students.

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I marked the post-it with an X if the student placed the post-it on the wrong side.  I also marked an X on their post-it if they could not explain even or odd if they volunteered. 

Sorry this posting is a bit longer, but I have not been able to post as often as I would like.  I am looking to purchase a new laptop soon to work more at home so if anyone has good suggestions please send them my way!

Happy Monday!

Tina Parker

Shapes and Unit 3 Tips

Fall is officially here and boy do I wish I could go back to the hot days of July! We are just starting the third full week of school and things are really coming together in my classroom.  At the beginning of the school year I brought in another table to give students more working space.  Well, I found out that it is much harder to get to everyone who needs help.  To solve this problem I stacked 6 at three tables, 5 at the fourth, and left one for a help pull-out table.  It worked so well and the students are much more on task because I am so close to them ALL the time! 




Here are some shape resources for you to use for Unit 2 in Math Trailblazers.  I know many of you are finishing up this unit and moving to Unit 3, but they are still good to have.  The only problem I see is that my google documents now is google drive so some of the images are off.  I will look through more of my files on my home computer to see if I have the originals. 

Pattern Block Shapes 1

Pattern Block Shapes 2

Pattern Block Recording Sheet.

Before starting unit 3 we talked about the meaning of the equal sign or same as sign.  We used balance scales to show that the equal sign needs to balance on both  sides.  This is a great visual.  If you do not have a balance then check around with kindergarten or in the upper grades. 

The following pictures go with Unit 3 of MTB - Pennies, Pockets, and Parts, but can apply to any math program.  Here are just some tips I found useful when completing these lessons with my students.  Prior to Unit 3 we talked about the 

When intruducing this lesson of pocket parts I started whole group with this example.  We talked about how we could draw in the pockets to help add up the number of pockets as well as writing the number of pockets in each box.  We had to find the missing total of pockets and came up with 9 total pockets.  When we wrote out the first number sentence I wanted to see if they remembered our discussion about the equal sign and wrote the 9 = in red.  From there I asked the students what numbers would fit in the other two boxes to equal or be the same as value as 9. 

Today I also talked about part-part-whole with the class.  I like the visual model of the two squares as parts and the rectangle as the whole.  My students really caught on to the hidden pockets lesson after we saw that two parts (squares) make a whole (rectangle).  My struggling students understood much better after that lesson.

This is something I needed to do for a couple of my students to have them understand part-part-whole and writing number sentences.  I know it is hard to see, but I highlighted one part in yellow, one in green.  Then I highlighted a yellow box plus a green box to write the number sentence under the visual model.  I then only highlighted the top to see if they could set up the number sentence with less help and finally the last problem was not highlighted at all. 

Here is my math homework bag lessons for this week I wish I had time to take pictures to show you the activities, but ........

The first one from Shari Sloane (kidscount1234.com) is the shape fill-in game  Here.  Students play with one other person.  They roll two dice, add up the total, and color in that amount of squared on the shape. I make it two-sided so they get more practice!  The first shape is a star.  I also have a heart Here.

The other homework bag is a count and color activity Here.  Students roll two dice, count the dots, explain how they counted or added the numbers, and then color the box.  The goal is to fill in every box.  I usually make two copies so they can play against someone at home.  This makes it more interactive and fun for the students.

 I am not sure I told people this before, but I also have a classroom blog that I will share and explain activities I create or use for Daily 5. My classroom blog is followingfirstgradeparker.blogspot.com. 

I hope all is well and that these tips and activities are useful to you!

Take Care,

Tina Parker

Week 2

Hello Everyone!

I hope all of you are settling in to your new routines.  I am still working on it in my classroom.  I have been re-arranging my classroom and redecorating.  I had to replace my first word wall due to glare from my windows so I found a new one.  If you want some great resources check out Zeek's Zoo.  I just google it and it comes right up.  Best of all the resources she has are all free!! 

I am starting to send home math homework this week.  I divided my class in half to lessen my prep.  Here are pictures of how I set up my math bags.  Each group has a different colored marker that will help me be more organized.

This subitizing activity can be found here Directions and the cards found at  http://ecasdmathresources.wikispaces.com

This math center is working on naming the number between (missing number) two numbers.  I have the Directions and then the activity can be found Here

I also created some part-part-whole teaching mats that I will share with you.  I have some students struggling with addition problems and I thought this would help.  I have three different ways of viewing the number sentences.  I have the whole on the right side of the equal sign, the left side, and I have one that will show the vertical (traditional) method.  I am using this resource as a means to show different ways of the same problem.  I started whole group and then to the document camera with the class participating, and then had them try by themselves.  Even my better math thinkers were engaged because they were understand the part-part-whole process of addition.  They can be found Here

Have a wonderful week!

Tina

Welcome Back to First Grade!

September 2012

Hello First Grade Teachers!

Welcome back to start a new school year!  I have been nervous already!  If you are in the Eau Claire school district your classroom will look so much different than years past : (.  I took pictures of my classroom to show you that I am just as depressed as you are with the new fire code restrictions.  Twenty percent coverage of each wall is all we are allowed to cover. . . . I wish I had access to a bunch of smaller bookcases and cubbies, but this is all I have to work with this year.  I am going to be positive though! I am making up for the smaller display area by making and using smaller learning targets and anchor charts. I am also stepping up my table displays. Number lines, color words, and shapes displayed on each table to use as reference. Trying to get used to these new requirements : ).

Here is the front of my room.  On the left I have my birthday signs displaying only August and September.  Two months at a time is all I will be able to post.  The tree will come down after Family Day.  On the Right is my word wall and daily schedule. 

A close up of my carpet area. 

Here are pictures of my carpet area. Don't mind the far right mess.  They are by the door and soon the garbage. 

Here is the coat room.  Can you get any more depressing???

Here is the wall where my cubbies are along with my desk.  I am guessing I will need to move both, but I am going to wait and see.  Between the desk and the cubbies is a large mess of cords that will be exposed if I need to move everything.  Keeping my fingers crossed.

Hopefully you all feel much better about your rooms now! 

Here are some math resources I created over the summer that you may find useful in your classroom. 

The first is the number cards, but I also have days of the week and some Daily 5 resources in there too.  You can find it Here.

The next resource is the Math Facts Instruction outline I am planning to use.  I will also be posting all the lesson plans from these lessons.  You may be wondering when I plan on using these lessons?  I am going to get through them as time allows.  I will do the DPPs at the beginning of math, conduct the MTB lesson, and then if there is time I will choose between math facts, CGI, or math centers.  I am also going to get creative and "braid" math concepts into the S.S and Science time block as well.  The outline is Here.

Finally, here is a copy of the first grade CCSS that have the learning targets in the form of I can.... statements.  Here   

Well I am off to find more things to do in my classroom.  I actually have the whole day to myself!  No kids or hubby.  Only teachers can appreciate why I am in my classroom rather than out shopping : ).

Tina

Holiday Week!

Hello Everyone!

I am not proud to admit I am not as far as I would like in math due to being on maternity leave earlier this school year.  That being said the activities I share with you could be used as a review of Unit 15 (3-D Shapes) if you have already completed the unit. 

I completed this mini unit created by Tina Rubie Here.  This activity is super! This teacher does add a triangular prism and a cone in addition to the rectangular prism, sphere, cube, and cylinder.  I just took out those shapes for now, but plan on introducing those shapes at a later time.  Here are a couple of the activities I used that really seemed to get the concept across.

This riddle activity involved the students choosing a shape of their choice and writing three clues on the front that would describe the properties of that shape.

Then on the inside of the booklet they glued a picture of their shape and wrote what shape they chose.  They enjoyed this activity so much that every single one of them wanted to volunteer to share their riddles.  What a great way to reinforce concepts!!

After the first activity I chose a shape for them to have that was different than the once they chose.  Then, they had to identify the shape and write down the properties of that shape.  I used this as an assessment to make sure they understood the concept.  

Another activity I have not tried yet, but plan to do parts of this unit is by Nicole Bunt Here.  I like the guess my shape activity, the alike and different, and the shape cards to play memory or sort by properties.

Please check out my spring activities from Teacher pay Teacher TpT and if you have any concepts you would like to see me create please let me know @ tparkerfirstgrade@gmail.com.  When I create these items I make sure they are all aligned with the new Common Core Standards.  Currently, I am working on a summer school packet in both reading and math for teachers to use if they need activities to cover the necessary first grade concepts.

It would also make me feel better to get more than two followers of my store.  I know I do not have a lot, but if I get to 25 followers I will be putting on a sale and adding two free items to the store.  All you need to do is sign up as a member and click on "follow me" next to the red star located to the right of my yellow tulip profile.

Take care and be back soon!

Tina Parker

Have a great break!!

The Week After Spring Break. . . . . . . . .

Hello and welcome back to school this week! The weather was wonderful over spring break, even for those of us that did not travel to Mexico or Florida!

I spent my break fixing my husband's packing mistakes as well as working on activities for Teachers Pay Teachers. If you have never heard of this resource you need to check it out. Most of the activities are absolutely worth every penny I have spent. The best part is that all the money you spend goes to the teachers who created the activity! I now have a store and if you would like to check out my products you can follow the link Here.

You will need to create an account to download any products, but it is free. I do have a free item am working on posting a couple more free items this weekend. Right now I only have math activities posted, but I still need to make my language arts activities more attractive first.

The following are examples of my work on Tpt.  You can follow the link above to see example pages as well as my other products.


Here is my free item.  This activity works on adding three addends by looking for groups of ten.




This activity has enough math story problems to last you until the end of the school year. Time, money, change unknown, measurement, and more all covered.



This activity is always good for first graders!

I am still going to be posting activities here that hopefully will help in the classroom so no worries! The first activity I am going to give you will support Unit 15 of MTB. 3D Shapes. Follow this link to print off the activity. 3D Shapes Unit.  This activity was created by goodmorningmrsrubie.blogspot.com


The second activity I am posting is one I plan to use next week in my math centers. Who does not love jelly beans and this activity by Jennifer Kadar will have your students sorting, graphing, tallying, and patterning with jelly beans.  Jelly Bean Math

Have a great rest of the week!

Tina

March Madness!

Hello Everyone!

We finally are moved into our new house after a week of being homeless!  I have not had the Internet for the last week either so I apologize once again for being behind on my postings. 

I do have wonderful news to share though!  I figured out how to link all my activities I do in my classroom!  After the many, many months of stressing out and giving up I FINALLY got it!!  Thank you to Blogs by Heather on my google search that helped me understand what to do!!  So watch out- now you will be getting activity after activity from me!

This week I focused mainly on measurement for my math centers.  I feel like we have not had quite what my class this year needs so I found some great activities.  One of the activities has to do with looking at a design of pattern blocks and they will need to build the design themselves.  I found these activities from Mrs. Wills website Here .  The other measurement activities I had in my math centers this week were activities I bought from other teachers so I will not be able to post them.  Sorry.

In order to open up these links I am giving, you will need to have a gmail account.  It is free!  I use my account as a junk email that I give when I don't want to be bothered by a company.  When you bring it up in Google Documents you may not see the whole document.  Click on file, download, then save the document.  That should give you the full document.  If not you may be able to print it out and it will look just fine.  Another thing is that you do not need the colored ink.  Many activities I will just print off in black and white and send home with my students.
Pattern Block Designs

Here are more pattern block designs:
More Pattern Block Designs

Finally a recording sheet if you like:
Pattern Block recording sheet


I am also working a lot on time in my classroom in whole group whenever I get a minute.  I am also giving time activities and centers right away in the morning until I get all the folders signed and attendance taken.  Here is an example of a telling time activity I have done with my class:  Both Activities are from The Bubbly Blond website Here
Time Center

Here is a center I created that I can't wait to share!  Please give me feedback both on this activity and any other centers you would like to see me create.  All the graphics were createdby Scrappin Doodles. Here
Time Center by Tina Parker

And finally I am going to get more into money next week.  Here is a preview of one of the money centers I will have for next week.
Money Center

Other activities I am planning on using in my centers next week are place value, problem solving-march theme, breaking up numbers into number sentences, probability, fraction concepts, and shamrock fact families.  Again, I purchased all of these activities, but I am in the process of making many of my own. 
Feedback is much appreciated so keep it comming!

Have a great weekend!

Tina Parker