Manic Monday Freebie!

Manic certainly describes today in the Malloy household for sure!  I woke up this morning like any other ordinary Monday, took hubby to work and was working on getting the 8 year old ready when my 13 year old came up to me crying, "Mom, I really need to go to the doctor!"  He had been complaining about his ear hurting yesterday, but he said it was worse this morning.  So... I rushed to my computer to dash off some sub plans and request a sub. I went to the school to drop off said plans and other son and began to make copies. Of course the copier in my wing was down so I had to rush to the other hallway! AGG!  I really hate having to get ready for a sub and I keep cursing myself for not making emergency sub plans, but I never seem to get around to making them.  Anyway.. finally left there and took my son to the doctor where it was confirmed that he has an ear infection and tonsillitis.  Well, at least I had the time off to complete a new freebie for you!

You can download it on Teachers pay Teachers here or Teacher's Notebook here.

Hoping your day was less manic than mine!

A Peek Into My Week - Mar 17 - Mar 21

Next week is going to be short but crazy!  We ended our third quarter on Friday, so we will be having Parent Teacher conferences on Wednesday and Thursday - that means half day craziness.  Friday I will have a sub because my hubby is having a procedure to reduce his migraines.  He has tried everything from physical therapy to meds to botox - with no relief!  We are really hoping this works!  With 6 boys to keep after - migraines are just not a part of the plan!

I am linking up with Mrs Laffin's Laughings to share a few things we have planned for next week:

Reading/Science

Animal Presentations

The students have been hard at work putting together their animal research reports and boards.  We will present them this week.

We used this Animal Research Project from forkin4th.

Conferences

When I hold conferences, I try to have the student run the conference if possible.  I have them complete the sheets below which I found from Lesson Plan SOS.  This really helps them guide what they tell their parents and I have found the students to be VERY honest.  Their reflections usually match their grades closely, and light bulbs seem to go off in many of their heads about their work habits.

They are often tougher on themselves then I would be, but that is often a great teaching point in itself!



 I also ask them to write a short note to their parents telling them one thing that they are proud of this quarter and one thing that they are still working on.  It works great for the conference and is also as a mini-assessment.

I also found these forms from Ms. York's class that I think I might use this year.

Do you have your students write self-reflections for conferences?  Do you have any other tips for having successful conferences?

Math

Due to the short week, we will be reviewing fractions - St. Patrick's Day style!

Wacky St. Patrick's Day Fraction Fun

and

This one is a FREEBIE!

5 For Friday - March 14

Another week down - and this marks the last day of our 3rd quarter - this year is flying by!  Time to link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five For Friday for a look back at our week.

This week started out with baseball tryouts for Tyler.  This year he has moved up a division in Little League and will be on the Juniors (a step above Majors).  If you've read my blog for any amount of time, you know that Tyler LIVES for baseball.  Luke will be playing this year too, but he is on Farm, so he didn't need to try out yet.

We celebrated reading week this week and every day had 30 minutes of Stop, Drop, and Read.  The weird thing about it was that my kids normally do Daily 5 and have incredible stamina - a sub once commented that they read non-stop for 50 minutes. So, you would think they could handle this. No... They groaned every single time the announcement came over the loud speaker and I had to bribe them with extra recess just to get them to read the whole time.  GRRR!! Amazing what semantics can do.  Nevertheless, some of them did enjoy their books.

We have been working on Close Reading and Response to text this week.  We independently read an article about the dangers of soda.

Then we worked in groups to carefully read and discuss the article.  One group noted that companies paid schools to sell soda.  They labeled it "bribery" - I was impressed with their astuteness! 

I have been working at Cody's school directing the Drama Club.  While we were there he decided to tape Luke to a chair.  Ahh .. the perils of being a younger brother!  Luke was laughing the whole time, so I couldn't really be mad.  I just did what any other mother would do and snapped a pic - blog fodder right? Don't judge!

And finally, I have a little St. Patrick's freebie for you! I am linking up with Teaching Blog Addict for Freebie Friday!

These task cards are perfect for reviewing for state tests, or just general instruction.  You can get them from my TpT store here.  While you are there, don't forget to like my store so you can be notified of new freebies and updates.  Also, you will be qualified to win a $25 TpT gift certificate in my monthly giveaway!  I will be picking March's winner soon!

Have a great weekend!

Math Journals

Math Journals, or problem solving notebooks are a great way to get students writing about their mathematical thinking.  They are also especially effective for giving you a glimpse into their problem solving process.

I use math journals almost daily in my class and often start with this strategy to help my students more coherently explain their thinking.

Teaching 4th grade in Nevada means teaching the dreaded constructed response math questions for our state test.  One thing that I have been trying in my class that has been very successful is the making a MESS model for problem solving.

As you can see from the anchor chart the MESS acronym stands for:

M - Model

E - Equation

S- Solution

S- Sentence

The students learn to use the acronym to help them set up a written response to a math problem so that they not only know where to start, but also all of the parts to include.  It is really easy to remember and they LOVE the idea of being encouraged to "Make a Mess".

I started my students off with the anchor chart above, then gave them my math journals which are set up using this method, and include 4 math prompts for each standard.  I print out the ones that my students need to work on most and place them in a folder for math journal time.

This student started to divide the given numbers (963/10) but then raised her hand and asked if she could round first.  I told her, "Try it!" 

The students become better and better at writing responses as we share methods and responses throughout the year.  Towards the end of the year in preparation for testing, I start giving them prompts without the model to guide them.  After working with the MESS model all year, they know what to do, and are better prepared. I really emphasize perseverance and trying things out before raising their hands to ask for help.  I compare it to a video game.  I say, "If you don't pass a level on a video game, you don't call me up and ask for help, you try something different, you persevere until you figure it out.  That is exactly what mathematicians do!"

I have been blown away by some of the feedback

that I have received!

Grade Level Math Journals Available:

1st Grade Math Journal

2nd Grade Math Journal

3rd Grade Math Journal

4th Grade Math Journal

5th Grade Math Journal



6th Grade Math Journal
 

Here are a few links with sample constructed response questions

http://tn.gov/education/assessment/ConstructedResponseAssessment.shtml

http://www.sandi.net/cms/lib/CA01001235/Centricity/Domain/217/Math%20Documents/Archives%20K-5/Grade%204%20Modules%201-10%20Response%20Guides.pdf

http://www.opi.mt.gov/PDF/Assessment/CRT/RI/07/07Gr3MathCR.pdf

I also have a Pinterest Board where I pin Math Journal Ideas.

I am linking up with Fourth Grade Flipper for Tried It Tuesday.  Head over there for some other amazing ideas, or to share something you have tried recently!

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 I would love to hear from you! ❤️

Have a question? Idea for a resource you might find helpful?

Be so kind and leave a comment below.