How is it July already?! That seems unfair somehow. Summer goes by so fast...

As the beginning of the year slowly creeps its way to reality, I started revamping my beginning and end of the year activities. I use activities at both ends of the year that compliment each other. When the end of the year arrives, I like to revisit our beginning of the year thoughts when we first arrived in 4th grade... and use those memories and feelings to help out the kids that will be entering my room in the new year. I am putting together this bundle which should be complete by August. 

 I like to make the first couple of weeks all about building a community. The success of my class is 99.5% depending on the relationships we all build so in addition to creating class rules, I want my students to know that I am here as one of their teammates to encourage them to grow and succeed. One of the first activities I have my class complete is a letter to me.

I ask kids about their favorite things, what made last school year good for them, some things a teacher should always do, and how I can help them succeed. This is also the first time they will think about goals for the year.

After completing this, I give them letter's that last year's kids wrote. The format is very similar and covers a lot of the same information but with an emphasis on what last year's students would like this year's student's to know.

We circle back to this at the end of the year and I have the kids review all of the things the wrote. We talk about how they felt that first day, what they wished they had known, how they felt that first day, and then spend some time reminiscing on what a great year we had!

To get our math brains warmed up, we do this All About Me in Numbers activity. This activity also serves as a great quick assessment and gives me information on how my students think as mathematicians and as a gauge to see how confident they are with math. Some years, I leave the space open for them to create their own question. Other years, I give them this worksheet with prompts. They answer the prompts with an equation- the answer to the equation is the answer to the prompt. For example - "My age" could be 32-22. The equation difficulty level varies greatly from kid to kid and again tells me A LOT about their comfort with math, but also helps me get to know them more.

During these first weeks, I also do a lot of Growth Mindset work and team building- I will circle back to that in another post.

This year I had one of those classes that you just rarely get. First, I ended up with only 19 students (in 4th grade! Unheard of) so I am sure that helped... I always feel like my class is a family by the end of the year but there was something about this class and this year that was different. The end of the year... sucked. None of us wanted it to be over. I have had classes that I loved, that I was sad to see go... but I was always ready for summer lol Always. Not this year though... I am still sad the year had to end. So the last week we just had one prolonged group hug. Ha! Kidding. But we did have a lot of fun.

I had the kids jump on a shared google doc. They went person by person and wrote one positive adjective that described them
(I know- risky- but it isn't hard to see who is writing what and again, this is the best class I have ever had in my entire career so I felt good about this.) I then turned this list into a fun WORDLE, printed them out and gave them the word art with this poem on the back.

I will post more about the end of the year is a separate post, but for now... the weather has finally cleared up, the sun is shining once again and I am going to head out to enjoy the last days of summer!

This lesson was created in memory of my dear friend, Kristin Bialick who started this project.

My favorite lessons are those that are fun, engaging and purposeful. Sometimes this is a struggle with Social Studies- keeping kids engaged in the content can at times be a stretch. So- I chose one of the most engaging bits of Colorado history- the Colorado Gold Rush- and intertwined various Civics and Economic Standards. I also turned it into a cooperative game. Students  get to travel through time as a 59er, earn gold AND test their knowledge of Colorado History!

This year, we were chosen to take the Colorado 4th Grade Social Studies State Test (I know, lucky us!) I am not one to focus the day on test prep, but I also do not want to leave my students unprepared. So, I created this lesson series to make learning and review fun. It typically takes me at least a week- but usually two, to complete all of the activities. On years that we aren't lucky enough to spend an extra week on state tests (cue sarcasm) I use this as an exciting way to end our Social Studies year with a fun and exciting review!

I will post pictures here as we go along through the experience this year. Until then, check out the resource!

As far as test preparation and review for CMAS - valuable learning activities like this far out weigh traditional drill and kill test prep. Students will remember this activity and the contents for years to come. They will be excited to engage in this every day instead of moaning upon hearing what's up next in their day.

​https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-Colorado-Gold-Rush-Gold-Rush-Simulation-and-Colorado-History-Review-4476427

This is a seven day adventure through the 1859 Gold Rush! Student's will experience life as a 59er while learning about Colorado History.

Key standards addressed

• Colorado History with a primary focus on The Gold Rush
• Economics
• Civics

Students will compare primary sources, read about various topics, make decisions as a team, answer questions covering a wide range of 4th Grade Social Studies Standards, and participate in fun activities to earn (and sometimes lose) Gold Nuggets.

This packet gives students a chance to answer questions in both written response and fill in the blank form. It will assess their ability to recall vital facts from CO Social Studies Standards and will also give them a chance to analyze information given to them through primary sources.

This is currently only available as a PDF file but will soon be available in other forms to allow students to answer questions digitally.

After completing this unit, celebrate with a Colorado Gold Rush Day!

"Eureka! Gold Discovered in Colorado!

The time? 1859.

The place? The Front Range of Colorado.

Gold has been discovered near Pike's Peak and gold fever is quickly spreading across the the United States. As a local resident of Missouri, you cannot wait to head west and try your luck in the gold fields. Fortune surely awaits, but you will have to risk your life on the quest to find it.

In this project, you will review all that you have learned about our great state! You will also experience what life was like for those who traveled west during the late 1850s. Do you have what it takes to survive this journey?

I want to create a date base of free, simple to do Cricut projects for teachers. I will be posting free svg files of projects I have done, along with some links to some pretty rad Cricut related websites that also offer free svg files.

Hoping this works! Here are two free snow flake freebies.
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These are SVG files. You should be able to right click and save

Fostering a true love and excitement for math in my students is well, not an easy task.  Luckily I love a good challenge!

Every year I look for new ways to peak student interest in math. Whether it is teaching geometry through art, or hyping up the great Pi Day, I strive to make learning fun.

In the last couple of years, I have been piecing together weekly activities to get kids thinking about math in different ways. Math truly is everywhere, and often there are multiple ways to approach a problem. I created these Math Curiosities and Wonders to get kids really thinking and talking about math.

Once a week, we take a look at one of these and spend 10-20 minutes (usually 10) discussing and looking at the problem in as many ways as possible. Students are able to build those Mathematical Practice muscles, discuss, defend their thinking, and come up with different observations and answers. I love seeing and hearing what each class comes up with!

I use a variety of resources to engage my students in deep mathematical thinking. For quick math talks, I use my Curiosities and Wonders resource every Friday. 

I highly recommend visiting youcubed.org for their Week of Inspirational Math series. These activities tend to be a bit more involved but are absolutely worth it for building a positive mindset and stretching mathematical thinking.

Teaching dialogue can be rough! I like to ease the pain by adding a little fun through comics!

Day 1
Teach the rules of Dialogue, using quotes, and proper punctuation.

​I like this free resource from Young Teacher Love

Day 2
Review when to begin a new paragraph.
This can be tough for kids... I had a hard time explaining it all until I stumbled upon PATS

Start a new paragraph when there is a change in
Place
Action
Time
Speaker

I take some time pointing out real examples from real books during our read aloud, I project a page to display and then do a slow read. Kids have a lot of fun explaining why the author started a new paragraph!

Day 3
Introduce the assignment with examples. 
On this day, I show the students a simple Peanuts comic. I explain how the story is told through the pictures as well as the dialogue. Together, we talk about inferences we can make about what happened before the comic, what might have happened in between each picture, and what each character must be thinking. From there, I show them an example written by me. 

At this point, I also have to explain perspective and point of view. I point out which character I am telling the story from or explain why I decided to tell it from third person point of view. I read the story out loud, each student has a copy of the comic as well as my writing. We go through and discuss descriptions of action I used, when I changed paragraphs and why, and how I incorporated the dialogue from my story into my comic.

Day 3 or 4 (depending on class and time.)
I then pass out comics to each student and let them get busy!

I want my students to love reading. Cultivating a love for reading while also improving reading levels requires a delicate balance between skill practice and well... fun.

My first round of Book Club is done with my small guided reading groups. Each group is given a choice of books at their level, and we meet daily (with my higher groups every other day,) practicing various skills and engaging in book talks. Through these groups, I set the stage for more independent work and student led discussions. Throughout the series, we gather information to create a Dodecahedron Final Project   Throughout the years, I have created several novel study packets that end with a Dodecahedron as the final project.

The kids love these, and the final project is so great for display!

A main goal of mine is to get kids to love reading. For the struggling reader, just getting started on a book can be half the battle. Here are some resources to help ensure all kids, especially the struggling reader, are getting what they need.

I have always found huge amounts of success behind graphic novels. http://dyslexia.yale.edu/resources/tools-technology/suggested-reading/graphic-novels/
Below you will find some of my favorite fiction and non fiction books.

​Affiliate links included

What graphic novels have you tried in the classroom? Share below!

I have really been struggling with what to do about keeping track of student reading this year. I have never been a fan of Reading Logs and the feedback I received from parents in my first years of teaching made me drop them completely. The Reading Logs (and at one point nightly reflections) were making my kids hate to read. 

I still wanted to keep kids accountable for their reading, so I had students and parents sign a sheet stating they did in fact complete their nightly reading... And I am sure most of them did!

Reading Logs just don’t work. Aside from keeping track of daily minutes, they are not effective as a tool to create life-long learners who love to read. This year I am going to try something new. I am going to have my students fill out a Reading Goals sheet. We are going to start with a mini lesson on different types of Reading Skills. We will brainstorm areas a 4th grader might need to work on and we will talk about strategies that might help a person obtain that goal. The key to this goal setting activity  is that the document will be a constant work in progress. We will check in, update goals, add to strategies as we learn new ones, and change goals to better suit us as we grow... I am hoping to instill the importance of self reflection. We will see where it goes! You can download my sheet for free below or in my Teacher's Pay Teacher's store!

Happy Teaching!

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/My-Reading-Goals-3360196

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I have been severely neglecting this blog lately but as a working mom in a new school on a new position teaching math to grades 1-5..... something had to give and sadly it's been this website.

Never fear! I have a few great things coming including:
​March Mathness activities
My favorite free math resources
Easy differentiated math games
More math art!

More indepth blog posts to come but here are a few sneak peak pics as to what my kiddos have been up to this year.

Over the past twelve years of my career, I have always felt the most pressure to meet the needs of my gifted kids. This is a nuanced group- as is so often the case with teaching, I have found that there is definitely not a one size fits all solution for the gifted students. More often than not, what does work for them also works for the majority of learners. To put it simply- being a good teacher for gifted students simply requires good teaching. What does that even mean you asked? I spent the last 12 years trying to answer that question. Below are some resources that I have found helpful. 

I currently am teaching Math to gifted students in grades 1st through 5th. Finding enrichment and extension activities that are worth while has been my greatest challenge this year. I have had to create a lot of what I do from scratch and will post to my Teacher's Pay Teachers store when they are store ready. In the mean time, here are the resources that I love most.

Byrd Seed - I saw him present at a gifted conference. If ever you get the chance to see him speak or better- if you live in the Irvine, CA area and can some how observe him teach... jump on the chance. His strategies are highly engaging to all students- and specifically aim to please the gifted learner.