Teachers Pay Teachers additions

My Teachers Pay Teachers store is looking SAD, so I am also trying to update my store as well.

It's getting late, so just one for tonight and I will do some more tomorrow. I know that most every other teacher in the world has started incorporating Common Core into their curriculum, or implementing it all together (like me!) and it has been crazy! With our math units, I have tried to create centers or activities that I can use as a small group and then incorporate into centers. The worksheet below will take you to my TpT Store where you can find a mental math activity.

Have you ever heard of or seen cup stacking? Well I applied this concept to teaching missing addends and mental math. I have pictures somewhere....of my students working on this and I will upload them as soon as I find them. I prepared small disposable cups with a series of numbers and symbols. The students had to stack the cups and draw the symbols and numbers on the worksheet. Then they were asked to find the missing numbers and show how they found them. I had to model this several times before they understood. The numbers generally started small at the bottom of the stack and became larger towards the top of the stack. I used it with addition and subtraction facts, but the possibilities are endless as to what else you can use it for. I promise to upload pictures of my students using them and the cups themselves as soon as I locate them.

Click here for link to the worksheet and my TpT Store

Did I mention that I LOVE my kiddos?

I had an awesome group of kids this year and we had some ups and downs, but we learned so much together. They were hard working and always made me laugh. Here are some of my favorite random pictures from throughout the year.

Because of Winn_Dixie

We begin our school year by reading Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo. The students thoroughly enjoyed reading this text and we were able to create many great activities to go along with our unit.

While in our Winn-Dixie unit, we were teaching a unit on heating and cooling in science. We found several activities via Pinterest about making candy that went along with the text. For those of you who have never read the book, there is a candy discussed in the book called a Littimus Lozenge. We are lucky to have a classroom on our hall that is not being used, so our 3rd grade team converted it into a science experiment room of sorts. We were able to take several classes in at a time to make our version of Littimus Lozenges. The students voted to make Root-beer and grape flavored candy. It was a success!

Edible Science Experiments - Cupcake Rocks

Early in the year we do a unit in science on rocks and minerals. One of the best ways I have found to teach this is using cupcakes with several yummy ingredients. A student teacher I had several years ago came to me with this idea (she found it online) and we ran with it.
The cupcake of course represents the rock and the ingredients are the minerals (hence rocks are made up of minerals). We made a list of the things (ingredients) it takes to make a cupcake. We made an anchor chart, then I had my students picture a cupcake and pretend it's a rock. We discussed what it took to make a cupcake (rock) and the students were able to make the connection that the rock is made up of minerals, just as a cupcake is made up of ingredients.
The students are given a mini cupcake that I made with vanilla cake mix (I tried marbled, it didn't work well), chocolate chips, sprinkles (MANY, MANY sprinkles of all different kinds). The students have a graphic organizer where they predict what the inside of the cupcake looks like, then they take a "core sample" of the rock using a clear straw. This allows the students to see what is inside the rock. Next they make another prediction of what is inside the rock, they draw a picture and explain for both predictions. As a class we cut the cupcakes open and discuss the minerals, the ones that we can see and the ones that we can't (eggs, flour, etc.). The students then discuss with their partner or groups how the rocks are made and make connections with the cupcakes and write them down on their graphic organizer. I have used a graphic organizer I found online and have had the students just fold a sheet of paper in fourths, and fill in each space accordingly. It is ALWAYS a success! Let me know if you try it and how it works out for you and your kiddos!

Sweet Summer Time!

So it has been FOREVER since I have blogged, so my goal this summer is to get back at it. Incorporating Common Core and getting my Gifted Endorsement made this past school year super busy! I plan to recap this year and upload some pictures and graphic organizers, then get started on my summer projects and keep y'all posted along the way! Here goes nothing....

Today's goal: organize the pictures to get myself ready to update everything :)