Merry and Bright Link Up

I am linking up with a bunch of great teachers to share some things I did in my classroom the this last week of school to bring some holiday cheer into my classroom.  The last week of school is a busy and sometimes hectic week, but I feel that it is important to show my students that they are cared for and celebrate the holidays with them!  Here are some ideas that I used in my classroom this year to bring in the holidays.

I look for small ways to incorporate the holidays into our every day learning.  Right now my students are learning long division and getting ready for a test towards the end of the week.  Yes, I know giving a test the last week before Christmas may seem cruel, but I think giving a test the first week back from Christmas would be much worse! Anyways, I have created long division QR code task cards that are winter and holiday themed to help my students practice their division.  My students are enjoying working with these tasks and using the different strategies they have learned to solve these word problems.  My school has decided we are now going to start having our holiday parties the 2nd to last day of school.  Therefore, this year, I am going to start a  reading marathon tradition with my students for the last day of school before Christmas break.    You can purchase these multiplication and division task cards individually in my store or in a discounted bundle.

 We started our last morning before Christmas break by having a book exchange.  For my book exchange, I have students bring in wrapped new or gently used books from home.  The past couple of years, I have used "The Right Family" story to exchange the books.  At the end, every student has a new to them book that they can keep and enjoy over Christmas break.

This year, after the book exchange, we are going to have a mini reading marathon for part of the day.  My students are going to get to dig into their new books, decorate bookmarks and enjoy some hot chocolate.  I used a crockpot hot chocolate recipe and it turned out great!

I am excited to start this new tradition in my classroom! I am hoping this gives my students a good start with their new books and encourages them to finish their book over Christmas break!  Does anyone else do a reading marathon the last day of school before Christmas break?

For my 3rd Merry and Bright idea, I am sharing the Christmas gifts that I have created for my students this year.  Every year, I try to give my students a Christmas gift that they can enjoy and some kind of gift that encourages reading.  This year, I have created ornaments with peppermint hot chocolate ingredients inside.  I encourage my students to find a time over Christmas break to curl up with their hot chocolate and a good book!  This year, I am going to encourage my students to take a picture of themselves enjoying their hot chocolate with a book and we are going to hang them in our classroom after Christmas break.  I know my students love having their pictures hung up in the classroom!

These ornaments were very simple to make too.  All you need is clear plastic ornaments, hot chocolate mix, mini marshmallows, crushed up candy cane, cute string or ribbon and a note to attach.  I have created these notes.  Grab them  at my store for only a dollar!!

Long Overdue Post and October Monday Made It

It has been quite awhile since I last posted on here!  I have been very busy getting this new school year started, adding products to my TPT store and getting ready to move into a new apartment!  I am going to try to begin updating more regularly again.  I thought for my first post back, I would share some pictures about my classroom and a couple new products that I have added to my TPT store.  Also, I wanted to make a shoutout to another blogger and link up with Tara's October Monday Made it.

To start, here are a couple new products that I've recently posted on my TPT store: 

First, this is my reading logs and monthly reading calendar.  I wanted a way to track my students reading in the classroom and at home.  That's why I created both of these products.  I use the reading logs in the classroom and the reading calendar for my students to use for their reading at home, but you could use both products either way! 

 BlankReading Logs(There are 12 assorted borders/colors)

                                        
  Monthly Reading Log Calendar- This file comes with already done calendars and calendars                     where you can customize them by adding in your own directions.

Next, is my Problem Solving Powerpoint and my Problem Solving Poster.  I was inspired to create this Problem Solving PowerPoint after reading Christy Howe's blog post about her Problem Solving Mats and Problem Solving Rubric.  You can purchase Christy's Problem Solving Mats and Rubrics here.  I have purchased them and it is have been a great product for my student's in Math!  Make sure you check out her AWESOME blog while you're at :)

I wanted a way to introduce her Problem Solving Mats and show my students the importance of showing their work.  So, I created this PowerPoint.  I showed it to my students for the first time a couple weeks ago and It was even more powerful than I hoped for.  My students really saw the importance of showing their work and then when we jumped into using Christy's Problem Solving Mat's they were ready to complete them on their own.  I was blown away with how well they did with these mats and I am seeing so much growth with my student's problem solving already!

 Here are a couple slides to give you a sample of what the Problem Solving PowerPoint is:

Also, I created this poster as a reminder to my students of the steps that they should use to Problem Solve.  This poster is going to be FREE in my TPT store for the next week. Of                                            course, it has a Chevron background :)

Lastly, I have attached a photo of one of my favorite classroom crafts that I have done this year.  This stool was so easy to make and some comfortable! I use it way more than I even thought I would. These aren't the best pictures but you get the idea!

I'm going to end this post with some pictures from my classroom this year.  I love the set up of my classroom this year.  I have stuck with a bright chevron theme with some accents of polka dots and stripes for the past couple of years.  Enjoy these pictures!  

Here are some pictures of my classroom library.  I love how open and inviting my library is this year.  My students love to read in the library on the rug, on a bench or in our bowl chair (not pictured).

I am so excited about my new bulletin board.  I am going to use it to capture my students being voracious readers through pictures, reading responses and reading activities.  You can see already that there are a couple sticky notes from when we did a reading response activity.  

These Anchor Chart Bulletin boards that I have created my be one of my favorite parts of my classroom.  I will never go back to just throwing anchor charts up on the wall.  They look much more organized this way and my students know exactly where to look for anchor charts as references plus it fills up some space on this big blank wall.  The green one is for reading anchor charts and the red one is for math anchor charts.  

I am lucky enough to have 2 whiteboards in my classroom.  I use one to do work on and the other for my essential questions, anchor charts for the week and weekly vocabulary.  

 Here is a picture of my other bulletin board with frequently asked classroom questions above it and my class rules that I created over the summer above the projection screen.  This is also our rig area that we do our morning meeting on and read on often.  

On one side of my classroom, I have a wall of ugly blue cabinets.  I use them in many ways.  One way, I use them is to keep track of my students multiplication facts with their ice cream multiplication.  Read my blog post about motivating students about learning their multiplication facts if you would like to find out more about how I use this in my classroom.

These cute chevron pockets are going to be used for my students to recommend books to one another.  I am excited to get these started in the next couple of weeks! 

  This post ended up being a bit longer than I wanted, but I guess this happens when I haven't updated for a couple months.  Thank you if you made it all the way through this blog post!  Check back next week for an October math activity that I am working on :)

Monday Made it #3

Here I am with my 3rd Monday Made it!!  I have loved being able to link up with Tara a couple times this summer.  I just wish I would have started this earlier and gotten even more done for my classroom!

It is hard to believe that in 2 more weeks I will have 20-something new kids walking into my classroom!  Therefore, my mind is running with decorating, organizing and new classroom ideas.  Here are a couple new Monday Made Its.  Enjoy :)

So, I absolutely LOVE binder clips and use them for so many things in my classroom, especially for keeping papers to be graded together!  A couple years ago, I put stickers on some of my binder clips to make them cuter.  This year, I decided to use Scotch Washi tape to make my binder clips a little cuter.  I got 2 different roles of tape for $2 each and had binder clips at school that I used.  I LOVE my new binder clips and can't wait to use them in my classroom.

 Here are the materials that I used to make this binder clips.

Finished results!! So easy to make but much better than those boring black binder clips!

Here are a couple FREEBIES on my TPT site!!  Each year, I work hard with my students on learning their multiplication and division facts.  To help motivate my students we do an ice cream multiplication party and a division popcorn party.  If you want to know more about this, check out on of my latest blog post about how to motivate your students to learn their multiplication and division facts.  Below is a poster about my multiplication ice cream rewards and a note home for the party.  Check them out in my TPT store :)

I have been MIA the past couple Monday Made Its because of a family member that was in a bad car accident, but I am back and I hope that you enjoyed these Monday Made It's!

Need Help Motivating Your Students to Learn Their Multiplication Facts??

I was hoping to do this post last week, but of course time got away from me..  I am excited to do this post because this is a topic that I am very passionate about and something that I believe is important for students to learn at this grade level!!

I teach 4th grade and many of my students come into 4th grade not knowing their multiplication facts, because of the Math Standards in 4th grade, this causes many of my students to struggle with long division and multiplication.  It is my goal every year that all of my students memorize their multiplication facts and know them like the back of their hand, by the end of the year.  I am going to explain below two ways that I motivate my students to learn their multiplication facts!

#1 Weekly Multiplication Timed Tests

About the 3rd or 4th week into school I begin weekly multiplication timed tests.  I give these timed tests 2 days a week (normally towards the beginning and end of the week).  My tests have 20 multiplication questions.  I allow my students to get 2 or less wrong to move on to the next multiplication test.  If they do not pass, they take the same test the next time.  If they pass, they receive an ice cream scoop for that fact. There are many different versions of the Multiplication Facts Ice Cream Rewards on TPT, but I use the freebie from Michelle Harper called Multiplication Facts Freezer Frenzy (click the name and it will take you to the link on TPT).  Then about half way through the year (usually in December), I give my students an ice cream party to celebrate.  Depending on which facts they have mastered, depends on how much ice cream and toppings they will get at the party.  Below is a picture and freebie of a poster of what ice cream/toppings students get at the party depending on which facts they mastered. There is also a freebie for the note that I send home to parents about donations for the ice cream party.

Click here to download this poster for FREE!!

Click here to download a FREE note home  for volunteers/donations for the party!

After the party, any student's who have not mastered all of their multiplication facts continue to work on them.  I normally give students who have mastered their facts a break until January when they start memorizing their division facts.  I will be doing another post in the next couple of weeks to explain how I use division facts the 2nd half of the year to help my students learn their division facts!

This is a sample of my multiplication timed tests that are sold in my TPT store.  Click here to see them in my store!

NOTE: I know everyone's opinion on if these tests should be graded is different, but I do take them for a grade.  Instead of taking both test grades each week, I only put the highest timed test grade in the gradebook.  This way if a student bombs the first test, they still have time to study and get a higher grade on the test later in the week.

#2 Fluency Math Center

Since not all students will practice and memorize their facts at home, I feel that it is important to give them time in the classroom to practice these facts.  I do not want to take away too much instructional time, but still realize how important it is that my students know their facts.  So, I have created a Math Fluency center where my students practice these facts 2-3 times a week.  Since this is a center that I use all year, I wanted to make sure there were many options for my students for practicing these facts.  I'm trying to avoid having my student's get bored from the center this way.  Below I am going to list the different activities I have at my Math Fluency Center.  You can introduce all the activities at the beginning of the year or add activities throughout the year to bring excitement and interest to this center throughout the year!

1.) Multiplication Flash Cards

 I allow my students to do flashcards on their own or with a partner.  Many of my students love this activity because it gives them a chance to work with another student in their center.  I buy my flashcards from the dollar tree.  This way I can stock up on a lot of flashcards and I don't feel like I am spending a lot of money on them!

2.) Multiplication Apps

I am lucky to work at a school be that has 1:1 technology for each student.  This means that half of the technology in my classroom is Ipads.  Of course, my students LOVE using the ipads and anything on the Ipad is a game to them.  I have downloaded many different Ipad multiplication fact games/ flashcards for free for my students.  I put all of these in a math fluency folder.  Here are the names of some free ipad games/flashcards that you can download if you have Ipads in your classroom:

-Math Cards!! (These are online flashcards for all operations)

-Fast Facts Math (Great way for students to practice facts)

-Times Table Quiz (Multiplication Trainer)

-Multiplication for Kids (This one has a wizard in it and many of my students loved that!)

-Math Flash Cards

-Math Monsters (A lot of my students really loved this app too!)

The only thing about the free versions is that some of them only let students get to a certain level or use it for a certain amount of time before it stops them, but you are able to purchase the rest of the app if your student's really like it!  There are many more free and inexpensive multiplication apps too if you look in the app store!

3.) Math Wrap Ups

I purchased a couple of these for my classroom a couple years ago and my students love them! It is a great way for students to practice their facts on their own and self check to see if they got the answers correct.  These can be purchased at most teaching resource stores but I have also posted a link below the picture of where you could purchase them on Amazon.  You might be able to shop around and get them cheaper though!

http://www.amazon.com/Learning-Wrap-Ups-WU-K103-Wrap-ups-Multipication/dp/B0007P95JA

4.) Multiplication War

Most students know how to play the game of war, which makes explaining this game pretty easy!  I normally teach this to my students one of the first couple days of school.  This is a game that they can play at home with their parents too because all they need is a deck of cards!

Here are the directions:

1    1.) One student deals out the cards facedown to the 2 players.  Each player should have the same amount of cards in a pile in front of them.  Players may not look at their cards!

     2.) One student says flip and both students flip over their cards.  Students must then multiply the 2 numbers together and the student who yells out the correct answer first gets to keep the cards.

     3.) Students continue this process until one student has all the cards or students may stop at any given point and whichever student has the most cards is the winner!

I have added a free download of teacher and student directions for FREE here at my TPT store!

Here are just a couple ways that I help motivate my students to learn their multiplication facts!  This year, I am going to try adding in daily multiplication facts practice at home for homework.  I will update my blog later with how that goes. Remember to check back in the next couple weeks for a post about how I use Division Facts in my classroom!

 Comment below if there are any other good multiplication fact motivators that you use to help your students learn their multiplication facts.  I am always looking for new ideas :)

Monday Made It!

 I'm linking up with Tara from 4th Grade Frolics again!  Monday Made It is becoming a great motivator for me to work on my summer projects :) I only have one more month until school starts back up and only 2 more weeks until I am back in North Carolina.  So, I have a lot of projects that I want to begin or finish before that time. 

Last week, I gave you an idea of what I would be using for this project.  I have wanted to find some way to organize my vocabulary cards that I hang up in my room.  Right now, they are all thrown in a folder and I have to sort through to find the ones that I want.  Well, I LOVE binder clips and decided to use them to help me organize my vocabulary.  I have created binder clip labels for each math, reading and writing standard for 4th grade.  This way I can clip together all my vocabulary cards for each standard and put them in my folder that I had created a couple years ago for each standard.  This way, I just have to go to the folder and grab out my vocabulary cards.  This makes posting vocabulary easier and is a great way to help me stay organized!!

The blue labels are all of the 4th grade Reading and Writing standards.

 The red labels are all of the 4th grade Math standards.

I LOVE how these turned out and can't wait to use them in my classroom :)

If you're interested in purchasing these labels, you can buy them here for just $1!  If you're interested in labels for a different grade level or a different design, let me know and I can easily create them and add them to my TPT store.  These binder clip standard labels can be used in so many different ways!  Leave a comment, if you have another idea of how I can use these binder clips to keep my classroom organized :)

That is my only Monday Made It this week because I am working on a BIG vocabulary project.  I am hoping to be done with it in the next week or 2 and can't wait to share it with y'all!!