Workshop Wednesday: Geometry

Happy Wednesday!

Today's topic: Geometry!

Geometry is one of my very favorite math topics to teach, because most kids do very well with geometry (and it's a nice break from all that computational math!).

I also love geometry because it does very well with foldables!

Now, I will admit that these pictures are from last year-because we haven't reached geometry yet.

I don't know when we will reach it. I am so behind in this pilot that it is not even funny. Of course, they put geometry at the end of everything (not sandwiched in between multiplication/division and fractions like I like to do) and we are just finishing up our division (and we're rushing a little). Ack! Magic needs to happen! (I just have to get out my wand! ;)

So-onto fun geometry foldables!

 This one talks about shape transformations-it was one of my very first pins! (But my pin is now a broken link :(

 Shape prefix definitions! (Original idea here)

 Triangle types! (Original idea here)

Line foldables! (my own ah-ha moment!)

After we learned all about geometry, we had kind of a unique test (at least for these kids!) I used task cards to test their knowledge! (which I think they loved, because hello?! they got to sprawl on the floor!)

Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn

Thursday Throwdown: SS Notebooks-Explorers

Happy Thursday! (or, as I like to think about it this week-almost Friday!)

Time for:

This month, I'm sharing something that we are working on (me included!).

We are currently learning about Explorers for our Social Studies topic, an while the students are researching an individual explorer and creating a PowerPoint, I wanted something to give the kids an overview of the major explorers.

To TPT! I thought. I was sure I would find something there.


But...I didn't. :( (that's not to say that there wasn't very good resources there, just not what I was personally looking for)

So I thought about what I wanted to do.

I definitely wanted it to be able to fit into our Social Studies Notebooks.

I wanted a full overview-from Vikings to Lewis and Clark.

So I decided to create my own articles!

I rounded up all my resources.

Plus Enchanted Learning-they have a lot of great info (and the internet in general :)

And I went to work!

I also added maps (thanks, internet!) because I think it is important for the kids to see where they traveled to and from, as well as a foldable that the kids have to fill out, using information from the article. (The foldable changes slightly from article to article-mixing it up!)

 I'll be honest-I'm not done writing all of them yet-as writing them takes quite a bit of time.

 I only have 3 out of the 8 I have planned done-so I'm less than halfway there. But the kids really enjoy them, and they are a fairly quick lesson and check.

I think they give a nice overview-without delving too much into the subject!

Also linking up with:

Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn

Thursday Throwdown: Mini-Books / Currently

Happy August!

(Where is summer going by the way? The school year doesn't go by this quickly!)

I'm linking up with:

for her Throwdown Thursday.




I've used these mini-books many times this summer and almost blogged about them-before I saw Erin's reminder :)

The kids love these books, and they are really easy to make. I first saw them at a workshop 6 or 7 years ago as a (very) young teacher. I've also seen them recently floating around.

First, start with a piece of paper.

 Fold it in half.

Turn 90 degrees and fold in half again

Turn 90 degrees and fold in half again

(Basically, you're folding it into 8 pieces :)

Open paper up so it is only folded in half (back to step number 2-but now with fold lines!)

You are going to cut that vertical line down to the fold

Open paper up and fold it so the cut line is on top

Now, you're going to push the two sides together so the paper lies flat

Now you just have to fold the pages down into book form!

Success!

Now you can have your kids create anything! It's an 8 page book (including front and back covers). I've had kids create mini-animal encyclopedias, a 'list' of favorite books, summarizing a longer book, etc.

I've most recently used them to have kids pick their favorite animal pairs from a book we read and draw and write about them.

I had them draw a picture and write at least one fact about why or how the animals were friends.

They were seriously into it!  I've never seen them so quiet. :)


August Currently:

Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn

Throwback Thursday: Interesting Interviews

Happy Thursday!

I really should be packing (I move into my new apartment next week!! :), but am procrastinating by looking at blogs and hooking (not on the corner ;).

Joining with Cara at the First Grade Parade for Throwback Thursday



This is one of my first posts from June 8, 2012:


This Monday we had a Reading/Math Share for our staff meeting (with prizes!). We were instructed to come with an activity/something to do to show and explain to our peers. 1st, 3rd and 5th were sitting at tables while 2nd and 4th walked around to 'see' all of the ideas. After about 15-20 minutes, we switched.

I wanted to share with y'all what I shared with my co-workers (we're all peers, right?). The 3rd and 5th grade teachers were really excited about my idea, and asked for the template so they could use it in their classrooms! (Which makes me feel really good since this was my first and last year at this school, and makes me feel better about myself as a teacher)

What I shared was a way to do character interviews. It's a really good way for students to think about character traits, summarizing, inferencing. The finished product looks like this:

What you do is read a story (or have the kids read a story) (this is the one I read for the example...it's a very cute story!)

Have the students pick a character from their story. They are to 'interview' their character, asking them questions about their feelings, experiences, etc. They then have to answer the questions the way they think the character will answer the questions based on the meaning they gain from the story. Here's the kicker...they only have 4 questions!

They make a foldable and they have 4 panels to ask and answer their questions. The questions go on the outside of each flap, and the answers go on the inside of each flap.

In the center of the foldable (the part they glue down to the back paper) they draw a picture of the character they interviewed.

The kids really enjoy doing this because it is like an arts-n-crafts activity, but they still get to show their learning. You might have to be careful though...some kids get really involved with the drawing and forget about the 'interviewing'!

We did this after we finished our fairy tale unit, and I had the kids pick their favorite fairy tale character. They did such an excellent job on them and some of their questions were really creative and in-depth.

I got this idea from this book, which I HIGHLY recommend for any and all teachers. Mine in the 4-6 version, but they also have a 2-3 version as well.

This was one of my first purchases after finding out I was teaching 4th grade (most of my experience and books are in the K-1 grades), and well worth the price ($18.99 through Amazon, and I think that you get also get it through Teacher's Express (watch for their Dollar Deals!)).  The book also has some recommendations how on to use this foldable in different content areas as well. I hope you found this helpful!


I hope you enjoyed it!


Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn

Starting the Revolution

In Social Studies, we have been studying the causes of the American Revolution, and what led up to the colonists finally throwing up their hands.

I've been going through the book, and various other resources, and taking notes on what I think the kids need to know- and what's appropriate for their age.

I started by doing a colonial tax simulation (more info found here). They were a little bummed about it at first, but most of them were okay with me taxing them (until earlier this week, but that's something different! ;)

I've been using my SMART Board to help teach about the causes, and things leading up to the revolution. They've been using their notebooks to take notes on the important information (which I emphasize greatly).

We started with the French and Indian War. Fortunately, most of the notes where on the SMART Board file, so the kids just had to copy from the board.

Next, we talked about some of the taxes that resulted from Britain needing money from fighting the French and Indian War.

This one was strictly a 'lecture' (although I did have some files to pull up).

 I had prewritten the notes and left some blanks. I copied my notes (and shrunk them a bit so they would fit in the notebook) for my LD kids. That way, they could focus on the important information without having to worry about coping down what I was saying.

Then, I was writing out my notes for the Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party, Intolerable Acts and the 1st Continental Congress.

I took a look at the amount of information that I wanted them to have and got a little scared. My writing barely fit on one page...how was their's going to? What if they missed something?

Lightbulb!

I used my information and created fill-in the blank foldables!

This way, they get all the information I want them to, focusing on the important info to copy down, and it's nice and neat!

We did add some notes in between the foldables (random stuff they needed to know but didn't fit anywhere)

Closer Looks:

They were really excited about it!

Back to the taxation simulation-I've been slowly increasing the amount of taxes they get. Some of the kids became Patriots right away, while others were Loyalists (to Queen M-the ruler of all the land :).

Yesterday, I really increased their taxes-they had to pay every time they left and entered the room. (I called it Intolerable Acts ;)

Some of the kids who were on my side decided that what I was doing wasn't fair-and they switched sides!

We had some awesome discussions about how the colonists felt like this, and that is why they finally felt compelled to take action.

Next up: Paul Revere's Ride and the Battles of Lexington and Concord! I'm loving teaching about the Revolution...what's your favorite topic?

In other news-my 1 year blogiversary is coming up! (hard to believe!) Does anyone want to help me with a giveaway? If you do, please email me (or leave a comment) by Friday, May 24th. Thanks in advance!

Today's Outfit

Sweater & Tank: Target
Shirt: Maurices
Jeans: JCP
Shoes: Payless




Happy Friday!

Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn

Social Studies Foldables

Lately in Social Studies, we have been learning about our state and how it was settled. It has slowly moved into learning about Colonial Life...which will transition into the American Revolution (SO excited!).

Here are some of the foldables we've been working on.

This one has some of the first settlements

We did do a few more, but I either totally forgot to take pictures, or they disappeared somewhere.

Yesterday's Outfit

Top & Pants: Kohls
Shoes: Burlington Coat Factory

Yesterday was Oobleck Day in 4th grade, to introduce States of Matter. Some of them had some really good insights on Oobleck's behavior. It was messy...but fun!







Today's Outfit

Sweater: Target
Shirt: Maurices
Pants: JCP
Shoes: Famous Footwear


Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn