Upside-Down Calculator Word Riddles Task Cards

How many of you remember doing this with a calculator?

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When I was young, I loved typing in numbers into the calculator to flip them over and see the "words" that they spelled when held upside down.  It entertained my brother and I for hours of our childhood!

I started thinking, wouldn't it be fun to have my students practice math problems and then check them with the calculator and see if their word was correct?  I made sets of calculator word riddle task cards and tried them out - the verdict?  The kids loved this activity as much as I had!  They thought their teacher was magic!

My students worked in pairs to solve their problems first.  Then they checked them with the calculators.

I LOVED the grins when they got the answer correct!

I made task cards for both whole numbers and decimal numbers to differentiate for my students' needs.

Watch some of my students trying out the activity:

You can easily recreate this activity for your students by playing around with the calculator and seeing what words you can make, or googling calculator words.

Or.... you can grab a copy of my cards already done for you using the link below! Your students will love these upside-down calculator word worksheets and task cards!

Calculator Word Fun

If you do decide to try this activity with your students I would love to hear about it and see pictures!  Please email me at kellys3ps@sbcglobal.net or tag me on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter!

Want to remember this idea?  Pin it!

And... before you go, make sure to visit my Giveaways page to enter our weekly giveaway to win a $25 Teachers pay Teachers gift card!

Help Your Students to Be Bucket Fillers - FREEBIE

Have you heard of Bucket Fillers?  Have you ever used any of the activities in your classroom?

This post contains affiliate links. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase using one of my links, which helps to support the blog.  All opinions are my own and I only promote brands and products that I have used myself and truly love.

When I first saw this post from Miss5th's Facebook Page I instantly knew that I wanted to implement this with my own students.

This time of year, my students are starting to get a bit stir crazy with testing stress and end of year expectations.  After a long school year, they start taking each other for granted and start treating each other not as kindly as they might otherwise.  I wanted to find a way to encourage them to be nicer to each other.

I showed them this video first:



The next day, when they came to class, they saw this in the front of the room:

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A closer view:

I had each child's name (as well as my own) listed on a bucket.  I asked each student to pick one person to "fill their bucket".  Here are a few examples of the sweet, sincere compliments they gave each other:

I let each student take their "bucket" home at the end of the day, and you should have seen the way they held on to them, smiling as they read them over and over again.  It was an activity definitely worth doing!  I might make it a monthly thing!

If you would like to do this activity in your classroom as well, I created a freebie for you with your choice of 3 different templates to choose from.  You can download it at my TpT store here.

I chose the two per page size and printed them on colored paper.

If you do this activity with your students, I would love to hear how it goes!!

 Be sure to check out the Bucket Filler site as well, they have tons of free resources.

Monthly $75 Teachers Pay Teachers Gift Card Giveaway - April 2016

It is time again for my monthly giveaway to win a $75 TpT gift card!  Thanks to all of my blogging friends who have contributed to this month's giveaway!

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Teaching Cursive

I believe that cursive writing is an extremely important skill for students to learn.  Not only is it a way for students to write in an elegant manner, but their is brain research that shows that it can actually make students smarter!  According to this article, scientists have discovered that learning cursive is an important tool for cognitive development, particularly in the area of training the brain to learn "functional specialization" - the capacity for optimal efficiency.  As a student learns cursive writing, their brain develops functional specialization, integrating sensation, movement control, and thinking.

When I  taught 3rd grade, our school ordered handwriting books, but, because I looped with my students, we had already used those books.  I was searching for something different to help my students maintain their practice and further develop their cursive writing skills.

When Zaner Bloser asked me to review their newest handwriting program, I wasn't quite sure what to expect, and I wondered how it would be different from other handwriting programs that are available.

The handwriting program comes with both a teacher's edition and student editions.  I especially liked the fact that there was a teacher's edition included which gave lots of helpful hints and tips for teaching my students how to properly form their letters.  In addition, there are ways to tie the handwriting into other subject areas as you can see below.  This example ties into both writing and technology.

I love that I am able to effectively teach cursive without taking too much time up during the day - we average less than 15 minutes a day for each lesson.  I love that my students really enjoy the program, and more importantly - love cursive writing!

In addition to the books, the program also includes a Handwriting Tutor in which students scan QR codes in the book in order to access animated letter models and how-to videos.There is also a Handwriting app that allows students to play a game while learning to write.

The Zaner-Bloser Handwriting curriculum offers programs from PreK to 6th grade.

 

You can request a sample for your grade level here.

Curious, do you teach cursive?  Comment below and let me know!

Monthly $75 Teachers Pay Teachers Gift Card Giveaway - March 2016

Would you like to win a Teachers pay Teachers gift card?

This Giveaway is Over!  Please visit our Giveaway page to enter our current Teachers pay Teachers gift card giveaway.   Sign up HERE to be alerted about all of our future giveaways!

It is time again for my monthly giveaway to win a $75 TpT gift card!  Thanks to all of my blogging friends who have contributed to this month's giveaway!

Don't miss out on this giveaway or any others!

Subscribe to my newsletter for exclusive freebies, sales notifications, and tips!

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* indicates required

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Last Name

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Pinterest Pick 3 March 2016

March is here, and with it, The Pinterest Pick 3 filled with tons of Pinterest pins for your March planning inspiration!

This Magic Rainbow Ring science project looks like it would be a great activity for St. Patrick's Day.

Find Original Pin Here

If your school is celebrating Reading Week, you might like this Dr. Seuss themed bulletin board.

Find Original Pin Here

If you are looking for a fun STEM project, you might like this Leprechaun trap project.  Best of all, it's a FREEBIE! This FREE packet contains all the information you need to make this a great engineering activity in your classroom!

Find Original Pin Here

I am constantly updating my Pinterest Boards, so if you would like to see more of the ideas I've pinned for this month and more, be sure to check them out!
Visit An Apple for the Teacher's profile on Pinterest.


Don't forget to visit our Giveaway Page for your chance to win Teachers pay Teachers gift cards and other fabulous prizes!

Super Giveaway!

I am not a big football fan myself, but I usually will root for whatever team my family or friends are rooting for.  This year is no exception as one of my blogging besties, Nichole's favorite team the Broncos are battling it out today! I have joined her and a group of other Bronco fans for a SUPER link up and giveaway!  We are sharing a SUPER classroom tip, a SUPER resource and a SUPER GIVEAWAY!

My SUPER classroom tip is to hand over the grading to your students.  I have delegated my grading almost entirely to my students and I LOVE it!  

Each of my students takes a marker to grade their work (this keeps them honest).  Then we go over the answers together.  The students get instant feedback (which is super important), and I get less work to take home.  I am able to see at a glance who needs help by simply asking them to raise their hands if they answered correctly.

Handing the grading over has helped my students to be more meta-cognitive and take ownership of their learning.  They even give themselves kudos and compliments!

As part of our giveaway, you have the chance to win some great resources from all of the TpT sellers that are participating.  I am contributing my Mental Math Digits Game.

In this activity, students each have ten digit cards on their desk as you read each of the problem cards.  The students use the digits to keep track of the math tasks they are computing in their head.  My students love to play this and I love how it has increased their listening, problem solving, and computation skills!

And now... Time for the Giveaway!  

We have some amazing prizes!

There are three chances to win!  We will pick one grand prize winner and 2 runner ups!

Make sure to enter the Rafflecopter below for your chance to win!  And... don't forget to visit the other bloggers for other great classroom ideas!

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