Writing Journal Updates

Thanks to my proofreaders, I have been doing some massive updates on many of the products I have available on Teachers Pay Teachers.  One of the updates I have up to this week is my Intermediate Writing Journals.  I have updated the Narrative Journal and the Persuasive Journal.  Tonight, I am going to try to get the Informational Journal done, and then I am hoping to get the Response to Literature Journal completely updated for the big giveaway event that’s coming this Thursday (be sure to check back on Thursday for the details!) 

In addition to sprucing the appearance of these journals up, I have added Student Reference Sheets and I have made them into official E-Books with clickable links on the Table of Contents, so that you no longer have to scroll through to find the page you want.  Grab a free preview each of the two completed journals by downloading the free prompts – a week’s worth of writing on both the Narrative and Persuasive writing genres – from my Teachers Pay Teachers Store.

                 

 

Over 40 FREE Quality Teacher Resources

We all know teachers don’t make enough money, but are still expected to get the bulk of what’s needed for our classrooms from our own resources.  In an effort to help out some fellow teachers like myself, I wanted to let you know about some FREE resources I have available for you – stuff I have used in my classroom and am offering up to anyone who wants to use them in their classrooms for completely FREE.

1.  At my TPT store, I have over 40 FREE, quality teacher resources.  If you click here, you find them all bookmarked especially for you.

2. At my Teacher’s Notebook store, I have 17 FREE, quality teacher resources.  If you click here, you find them all bookmarked especially for you.

3.  At Raki’s Shop – my online store, I have over 30 FREE, quality teacher resources.  If you click here, you find them all bookmarked especially for you.

4.  If you receive my Raki’s Rad News Release – you receive a page to over 15 FREE, quality teacher resources, with more resources added each week.  If you click here, you can sign up to receive this page via your Raki’s Rad News Release.

5.  Every day, I post a link to a FREE product on the Raki’s Rad Resources Facebook page.  Click here to like our page and receive the FREEBIE in your newsfeed.

6.  Every day, I post a FREEBIE on Classroom Freebies Too – a blog with tons and tons of FREEBIES posted every day.  Click here to follow Classroom Freebies Too and find out about all kinds of FREEBIES every day.

I hope within all of these FREE resources – you will find something that will help you in your classrooms, because that’s what it’s all about – teachers helping other teachers!

Addition & Subtraction Success

My students have been so hard at work on those addition and subtraction fast facts!  We have made a bucket full of flash cards to use in addition to our addition self correcting puzzles and our subtraction self correcting puzzles, and it’s really paid off.  We take our one minute quizzes every day and the kids get so excited when they pass a new level and get to color a new shape.  My door is now becoming very full of stars (for addition) and moons (for subtraction).  I have one student who has mastered them all and is bugging me to finish the multiplication quizzes so she can start earning clouds.  Hopefully I’ll get them done this week!  Here’s some pictures of what we’ve been doing with addition and subtraction.  Grab a FREE copy of the reward system from TPT or Raki’s Shop.

   

Use Playing Cards in Writing??

I LOVE to play board games at home, but I also enjoying using them in my classroom. In addition to encouraging cooperation, turn taking and a variety of other social skills, I find I can often use the games to work on math and literacy skills. So, every Friday, I am going to post a Friday Game Night post, giving tips on how to use a particular board game in your classroom. Here’s this week’s Friday Game Night Tip:

Playing Cards – Part 2 (Literacy)

For weeks now, we’ve been looking at board games, but this week, were looking at one of the simplest – and cheapest type of games – playing cards! My grandmother was a product of the depression and all she had growing up was a deck of cards. She taught me every card game out there (Here’s a link with rules for lots of games). These games themselves can be great for teaching strategy and critical thinking, but there are so many other ways to use playing cards in the classroom. Last week, we looked at using playing cards in your math lessons.  Here are some ways to use playing cards in your literacy lessons.

1. Code Word Spelling – For this activity, you will only need half of a deck of cards.  Split the cards into a red pile and a black pile and then you can 2 students or two groups of students can share one deck of cards.  If students need to use the same letter more than once, they may need two “half” decks of cards.  Have students use the code sheet to spell their spelling and/or vocabulary words with their half of a deck of cards.  Grab the code word sheet for FREE from Google Docs.

2. Code Word Creation – For this activity, you will only need half of a deck of cards. Split the cards into a red pile and a black pile and then you can 2 students or two groups of students can share one deck of cards.  If students need to use the same letter more than once, they may need two “half” decks of cards.  Students will make words of different lengths.  Have students start by trying to make 3 letter words, then 4 letter words, then 5 letter words.  Students can also race to see who can make the most words – using the code with the cards they have.  Grab the code word sheet and mats for FREE from Google Docs.

3. Luck of the Draw Story Guidelines – For this activity, you will only need the number cards – remove face cards (K, Q, J) from the deck of cards and set to the side – the Ace remains and counts as 1.  Students will “draw” cards to put on one of the story maps.  These story maps will give students guidelines on what needs to be in their story (ie. 5 sentences, 1 character, 2 settings and 1 surprise).  Students will then take what the cards have determined and write a story using that criteria.  Grab 2 different story guideline mats for FREE from Google Docs.

4. Silly Number Stories – For this activity, you will only need the number cards – remove face cards (K, Q, J) from the deck of cards and set to the side – the Ace remains and counts as 1. Students will “draw” cards to put on one of the story maps. These story maps will give students guidelines on what needs to be in their story – rather than dictating length and elements, these story maps will dictate silly things they must work into their story – leading to creativity and critical thinking (ie. 5 cats, 1 grizzly bear, 2 unicorns and 1 bowl of soup). Students will then take what the cards have determined and write a story using that criteria. Grab 4 different story guideline mats for FREE from Google Docs.

I hope some of these suggestions will help you use playing cards to teach math in a new and interesting way. Click HERE for more suggestions on how to use board games in the classroom.

Play with Shapes

It’s time for the Wednesday Website suggestion!! For two years, I was the Technology Specialist at a school in Georgia. During that time, I amassed a large collection of websites that I use with my students. If you want to search through some of them, you can check out my IKeepBookmarks site. Or, you can check back here each week for the Wednesday Website suggestion.

 

My students are currently studying 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional shapes.  We have been using this cool website from Primary Resources to help them identify 3-dimensional shapes even when they see them from different angles or without the entire shape.  This concept can be hard for my students, but this great website that shows partially buried and angled 3-dimensional shapes really helped. 

Another way we’ve worked on this concept is with our shape booklet.  Students took the booklet home and searched for items in their house that were certain 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional shapes.  It’s been a great way for them to see that a can of green beans is also a cylinder!  Grab a free copy of the booklet from Google Docs to use with your class if you’d like.  

 

Hope you enjoyed this Wednesday’s Website suggestion – check back each Wednesday for a new Wednesday’s Website suggestion and click HERE to view previous Website suggestions.

  

Playing Card Math

I LOVE to play board games at home, but I also enjoying using them in my classroom. In addition to encouraging cooperation, turn taking and a variety of other social skills, I find I can often use the games to work on math and literacy skills. So, every Friday, I am going to post a Friday Game Night post, giving tips on how to use a particular board game in your classroom. Here’s this week’s Friday Game Night Tip:

Playing Cards – Part 1 (Math)

For weeks now, we’ve been looking at board games, but this week, were looking at one of the simplest – and cheapest type of games – playing cards!  My grandmother was a product of the depression and all she had growing up was a deck of cards.  She taught me every card game out there (Here’s a link with rules for lots of games).  These games themselves can be great for teaching strategy and critical thinking, but there are so many other ways to use playing cards in the classroom.  Here are some ways to use playing cards in your math lessons.  For all of these variations, the face cards (Jack, Queen, King, Ace) should either be removed or assigned a value.  For most variations, I use these values: Jack =11, Queen =12, King = 13 and Ace = 1.  For variations that require place value, Ace = 1, Jack = 0, and the King and Queen are wild cards.  Once your class is used to an assigned value, they will readily transfer that value from one card game to another.

1. Play War – Do you remember playing the never ending game of war as a kid?  This simple game is a great way to work on greater than and less than.  Split the deck between two players.  Players keep all cards face down.  Each player flips over a card.  The player with the larger number gets to take both cards.  Continue until someone runs out of cards.  The person who runs out of cards loses.  (If both cards are the same, you can either have the kids do a “war” with extra cards, or you can have them place the cards in “jail” and keep them out of play.)

2. Line them Up – In this game, each player gets seven cards.  Once all cards are dealt, the students should race to get them lined up from largest to smallest.  The first person to get them in line gets a point.

3. Add them Up – This is a variation on war – Split the deck between two players. Players keep all cards face down. Each player flips over a card. Both players look at the cards and try to add the values in their head.  The first person to get the right answer gets to take both cards. Continue until someone runs out of cards. The person who runs out of cards loses.

4. Multiply – This is a variation on war – Split the deck between two players. Players keep all cards face down. Each player flips over a card. Both players look at the cards and try to multiply the values in their head. The first person to get the right answer gets to take both cards. Continue until someone runs out of cards. The person who runs out of cards loses.

5. Make the Biggest or Smallest Number – Each player takes 5 cards.  The players then race to see who can make the biggest number, or the smallest number – depending on the ability of your students.  I have a mat that I use when I put this into centers, so that it is easier for my students.  Grab a free copy of the mat from Google Docs by clicking on the picture.

6.  Category  – Each player takes 6 cards.  The students group their cards into 2 categories.  For lower level students, assign the categories (odd & even, greater than 5 & less than 5, multiples of 3 and non multiples).  For higher level students, let them decide their own categories, but they must be able to justify them.

7.  Describe Your Number  – Each player takes 1 card.  They then must come up with 5 ways to show or describe their number.  (ie.  If the card they draw is 6, their ways could be: 2 x 3, half a dozen, 5 + 1, 10 – 4, six, or seize).

8.  Make Your Own Problem – Each player takes 4 to 6 cards and uses their cards to make an addition, subtraction or multiplication problem.  Then, they challenge their partner to answer the problem they have created.  Each round the creator and the answerer change places.  I have a mat that I use when I put this into centers, so that it s easier for my students.  Grab a free copy of the mat from Google Docs by clicking on the picture.

 

I hope some of these suggestions will help you use playing cards to teach math in a new and interesting way.  Click HERE for more suggestions on how to use board games in the classroom.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

I hope you are all having a Happy St. Patrick’s Day!  I hope you have all collected some great ideas and free resources in the St. Patrick’s Day Blog Hunt.  For those of you who have missed any of the days on the St. Patrick’s Day Blog Hunt – here is a road map for you:

Day 1 – Mrs. Jump’s Class

Day 2 – A Modern Teacher

Day 3 – Sharing Kindergarten & Kindergarten Smiles

Day 4 – Mrs. Lirette’s Learning Detectives

Day 5 – Raki’s Rad Resources

Day 6 – A Special Kind of Class

Day 7 – Thinking Outloud  & Dilly Dabbles

Day 8 – Kids Reading Activities

Day 9 – Fabulous 4th Grade Froggies & Globicate

Day 10 – Teaching: The Art of Possibilities  & JD’s Rockin’ Readers

Day 11 – Cooperative Learning 365

Day 12 – Sub Hub

Day 13 – Teaching in Room 6

Day 14 – Kindergarten Monkey Business`  & Kindergarten Lifestyle

Day 15 – Kids Cog Works

Day 16 – Rainbows Within Reach & Teaching First

Day 17 – Kreative in Kinder

Hope you’ve all found some great stuff!

St. Patrick’s Day Blog Hunt Day 5

Top of the Morning Blogging Friends.  I hope you’re having a great time with the St. Patrick’s Day Blog Hunt, gathering lots of freebies and teaching tips. If you’re hopping over from Mrs Lirette’s Little Learning Detectives, I’m so glad you found me!  I have a great St. Patrick’s Day puzzle for you today: 

Here’s your fabulous freebie, just right for St. Patrick’s Day – a Self-Correcting Puzzle that allows students to match the amount of money to the amount needed in the leprechaun’s pot.  Give your students practice counting by 2’s, 5’s and 10’s as they help out the Lucky Leprechaun.  Click on either picture to grab your FREE St. Patrick’s Day Puzzle.

  

So far our blog hunt has taken us to:
March 1st- Deanna Jump

March 2nd- A Modern Teacher

March 3rd- Sharing Kindergarten & Kindergarten Smiles

March 4th – Mrs Lirette’s Little Learning Detectives

 

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!  Don’t forget to click on the shamrock to find out where tomorrow’s treasure will lie!

 

 

St. Patrick’s Day Blog Hop

Top of the Morning Blogging Friends!  Play a fun blog hunt with us by following the shamrocks on different blogs each day until Saint Patrick’s Day. You will see lots of great blogs along the way, discover some great ideas for your classroom, and pick up some free materials.  May the “Luck of the Irish” be with you!  We started on Thursday, March 1st with Mrs. Jump’s Class, but it’s never too late to start – so go on over to her blog and she will get you started.  Come back here on  Monday, March 5th to find my great FREE Leprechaun Money puzzle!

 

P.S.  While you’re blog hopping today, check out my guest blog post on independence in centers that was featured on Kreative in Kinder on Tuesday!

FREE St. Patrick’s Day Writing Prompts

I hope everyone enjoyed the 10 FREE Writing Prompts from the Picture Writing Prompt Linky Party.  To celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, I have created 7 St. Patrick’s Day Writing Prompts with the St. Patrick’s Day Clip Art my husband, Khalil created.  Get all 7 for FREE in Friday’s Raki’s Rad Resources News Release – sign up by clicking HERE.