Teacher Toolbox Trio Linky Celebration

 

I am linking up with Eberopolis for her Teacher Toolbox Trio Celebration! It is basically a celebration of all things Teachers Pay Teachers!  I know that my teaching has been greatly improved because of it, and I am sure most teachers would agree!  Here are the basic rules of the link up:

 

1. Share a product that you've made that you couldn't live without.
2. Share a product that you've purchased that you love.
3. Share something from your wish list that you're hoping to get for next year.

If you're not a seller on TpT, no worries -- just share two products you've purchased that you love!

1. Something I've Made

 My Third Grade Math Journal Prompts - I love my kiddos writing about math - it really helps increase their understanding when they explain why they know what they know. I have four prompts for every standard along with answer keys.

 

And... because I will most likely be rolling up with my kiddos next year, I just finished the Math Journal Prompts for 4th grade!

 

2. Something I Purchased

 I don't know about your kiddos, but mine certainly had a difficult time with fractions this year.  That is why I couldn't wait to get my hands on this Hands on Common Core Fractions Unit.  The unit includes lessons, exit tickets, word problems, and more!  I can't wait to use this more fully next year!


You can follow Meg's blog: Fourth Grade Studio here. (She is amazing!!)

3. Something on My Wish List

Now this is where it gets a little dicey for me - I have 211 items on my Wishlist (Don't judge!)! How can I narrow it down to one?  I guess I will put the item that is most recent on the list...

 We give out common assessments at our school, but I like knowing ahead of time where my kiddos are at and what I need to work on with them.  I have a similar set for third grade which I LOVE - so this one is definitely on my list! Common Core Math Assessments Test Prep Fourth Grade.

The Linky Celebration

Now, I bet you are wondering why it's called a celebration - well Eberopolis -- is celebrating nearing 150 followers ,so if link up , you'll be eligible to win a $25 gift certificate from Teachers Pay Teachers -- enough to possibly clear off some items from your own wish list! And I am not judging you if your list is as long as mine :)

clip art from KPM Doodles

 

Can't wait to discover some new products and see some of your favorites! Be sure to link up !



Summer Vacay is Here! June Currently

Friday was our last day of school, so summer vacation is officially here! Woo Hoo! And what better way to celebrate than with Farley's June Currently?

Using T-Charts To Solve Elapsed Time Problems

My kiddos have been REALLY struggling with elapsed time, and we have finally made a breakthrough thanks to the video below:


The video shows how to use a t-chart to solve elapsed problems and my kiddos loved it! Especially the part where he sings, "Stop in the name of math!" My kids were singing that all day long!

First, we watched the video:

 

A little close-up:

 

Then I had the students solve the amount of time we spend in school. We start at 8:30 and are released at 3:15.

 

Next, I put up two sample problems, and I had the students work in pairs to solve them using t-charts.

 

 

I decided to share, because it was so successful!  After partner work, I gave them an additional problem to solve on their own and ALL of them got it right! I just wished I had found this video earlier!

 

What do you do to teach elapsed time?

 

 

Can You Poke a Stick Through A Balloon Without Popping It? Learning About Polymers

During our morning meeting I asked my kiddos what would happen if I poked a bamboo skewer through a balloon.  Of course they said it would pop.  Are you sure? I asked them and then showed them the balloon above. Oohs and Ahhs abounded along with, "Mrs. Malloy, how did you do that?"

So... in my best teacher bribery way I told them that if they worked really hard and productively all day, I would teach them how to do it (of course I planned on teaching them how to anyway since it was in my lesson plan, but they didn't have to know that right?).

When the time for science finally came around, I told them that we were going to practice their skills of observation.  I was going to SHOW them how to do it, but I wasn't going to TELL them how.  I silently demonstrated and then handed out supplies.

Balloons were blown.

And then they attempted to poke.  A few balloons popped, but most of the students were successful on their first try.

And once they tasted success, they had to add a challenge - let's see who can poke the most sticks into the balloon without popping it!

 

Eleven was our class record!

 

 

The trick? Put vegetable oil on the stick to make it a little easier (optional) - then insert the stick at the bottom part (where the balloon is tied) and exit through the strongest part at the other end.

 



We then watched this video to learn about what polymers are:


And finished the lesson by making our own human polymer chains!

 

We will be learning about how scientists use polymers to clean up oil spills using a kit from Steve Spangler soon, but I wanted to give them a brief introduction before.  They loved it!

Five For Friday

I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for the first time for Five for Friday!  I have always wanted to participate, but never could muster up the energy on Friday until this week!  Woo hoo!

1. Baseball, baseball, and more baseball!  Probably one of the reasons why I haven't had as much energy - between two boys and four teams (Little League and Travel Ball) they keep me hopping!

2. Prom - Well, not for me, but for one of my older boys.  Palmer is a Junior this year and went to prom!  He asked his date to prom in a very public way at Mr. FHS (think a school beauty pageant for guys).  He has got a lot of guts, but the girl was very surprised and pleased.

3.  Now that state testing has FINALLY come and gone, I have been able to have a bit more fun with my kiddos learning all things science!  My own kiddos had a blast with this polymer experiment poking sticks through balloons without popping them.  I will post how the activity went with my class this weekend.

4.  Luke put our weekly vegetable snack to good use.  I didn't have the heart to tell him it was zucchini! LOL!

5. And finally - this is one of those random pictures I find on my iphone after my kiddo is done playing with it.

 



And... in honor of teacher's appreciation week - I am participating in sales at both Teachers Pay Teachers  and Teachers Notebook - A great time to save and get those goodies on your wish list!  I know my wish list is overflowing!

 



May Currently

Where is this year going?  How did we get to May already??? Not that I'm not thankful that it is almost time for summer - but it has just breezed by!  And... that means it is time to link up with the always fab Farley for Currently!

The World Would Be More Awesome If...

To say that my students are obsessed with Kid President would be an understatement!  Because this week has been our state tests (the CRTs), I had them watch his pep talk.  They begged to watch the other videos he has, and I told them if they did their best during the tests, we could check them out in the afternoon.  When we watched the video below, I stumbled upon a writing assignment!  Gotta love that - best part? They WANTED to write!  Even better!

Here is the video we watched:



On the video, Kid President asks:

He originally asked the question on Facebook, and here was one of the responses he shared:

My students asked if they could respond as well.  I told them that if it was ok with their parents they could follow Kid President on Twitter or Facebook - a few said they would and a few said they weren't allowed to.  One of my gems asked, "Couldn't we just write about it?"  Love when they give themselves an assignment!

I made this quick brainstorm template on the Smart Board:

 

Then it was time for some turn and talk with their partners to fill in some ideas of what would make the World more awesome.  I listened in and had a few volunteers write their thoughts on the board.

 



Here was our final product:

Then I turned the students loose to brainstorm independently in their notebooks.  Here are a few brainstorms.  I love how they used a variety of graphic organizers to brainstorm.

 

 

We will use our brainstorms to compose an essay and also a tweet similar to the Facebook responses shown in the video - it will be a great way to work on summarizing!  I will show you their final work next week.

Have you used Kid President in the classroom yet?