Math Models

One of my favorite topics in math is math models. I love them because you can use them throughout a grade level curriculum and from year to year. They can be an anchor for students as they are learning new material. I created this chart to help students (and teachers) remember/understand some of the most helpful math models.

What I really like about these models is that you can use them from kindergarten to fifth grade or older. (Okay, maybe the arrays and area models wouldn't be helpful until third grade.)

In order to give students chances to practice with the models, I also created this chart that you can use with any equations. The place value chart is only set up for whole numbers under 9,999, but the rest of the boxes will work for fractions and decimals as well.

Here are a couple of ways you could use the sheet...

The best part about these models pages is that they are free at my TpT store! You can get it here:

Five for Friday (Fourth of July Style)

Well, it is time for another Five for Friday. Actually, yesterday it was time, but what are you going to do?

 This week was the first week I have been home all day with all four kids on my own. It was only a three day week because of our trip to the beach for the fourth, but I am still exhausted! You can't do anything while watching for kids. And I mean anything - there was a day that I couldn't brush my teeth all day. Gross, but true. Good thing they are all super cute, and they have also been very good listeners which makes the day doable. But I can't wait to go back to work. I need a break!

Here are the three oldest. So cute, right?!

 As I said above, we are at the beach this weekend! We spend every Fourth of July (with a couple exceptions) on the Oregon coast with my husband's family. They have been having a family golf tournament here for 42 years!

We have gone every year since I have dated my husband except the year my second daughter was born (July 2nd), and the year she turned five. We have created the tradition that on our babies' fifth birthdays we go to Disneyland on their birthday. (Even if it is one of the busiest times of the year!)

This year, she turned six, so off to the beach we went. However, we still had to celebrate my amazing girl's birthday. The only thing that would do was a My Little Pony Party. The best part of the party was the amazing cake her grandma made for her.

Are you kidding?! That cake is amazing! I hope my kids know how lucky they are to have family that loves them so much they will create a rainbow masterpiece!

We also have spent a lot of time at the beach. Here is a picture of me and my parents. (Dad and Stepmom)

So, it turns out I have been a member of Audible for about six months. I have no idea how that happened! But, I wasn't going to let those six book credits go to waste! I downloaded a few books for my classroom listening library, but then I got frustrated because it would have been cheaper to buy the books than pay for the credit. So, instead I downloaded some teaching books I had been wanting to read. 

I picked The End of Molasses Clasess just because it had a funny title. Well, I will tell you, it is probably one of the best teaching books I have read. It is so easy to listen to, and I am so inspired I wish I was going back to school tomorrow.

Ron Clark, it turns out, is pretty famous as a teacher. I read another of his books last summer, and I don't know why, but I didn't like it that much. I think I will go back and read it again after I finish this book.

I am also very excited because he started a school as a laboratory for best teaching practices. It is a regular school with teachers and students (fifth through eighth grade), but they also invite other teachers and administrators to come in and see how the school works. I cannot tell you how much I want to go! Here is one example of how awesome the school is: They have a slide in the middle of the school. A giant slide. Every person who visits the school must ride down the slide form the second to the first floor! I love it!

My classroom is going to be so much better next year because I read this book!

I have mentioned a few times in social media posts, that my brother-in-law is fighting cancer and could use prayers and good thoughts. Well, as soon as school was done I flew down to see them with my mom. I was really glad that we got to go and spend time with them.

He has been in the hospital for eight weeks fighting GVHD - a disease that can happen after a transplant. He had a stem cell transplant to fight the cancer. 

He had been very, very sick, but, thankfully, e was starting to turn a corner. He had some great days while we were there and I warned him that he better keep improving after we went home.

I am really sad that they live so far away because it means that I can't visit very often, but I am always thinking about them.

The picture above is pre-cancer. Aren't they adorable?! They look like models - not real people. At least no picture of me looks this good!

On a lighter note - I have finally published the last two modules in my Engage New York Interactive Notebook. It has been a long time coming, but this year was crazy! Anyway, finally they are done! You can get them on Teachers pay Teachers, Teacher's Notebook, and Edmodo Spotlight.

I hope everyone has a happy and safe Fourth of July!

Engage New York Math: Interactive Notebooks

Last year my grade level decided to teach using Engage New York (also known as Eureka Math). Our school district does not provide a math curriculum, and we decided that we needed some help teaching the new Common Core standards for the first year.

I really liked the Engage New York curriculum. It is designed to get kids thinking, not just memorizing. Plus, it covers all of the Common Core standards, so I don't have to search through tons of resources to make sure I cover all of the standards.

However, the lessons can be a little dry and repetitive. One way that I found to help insert some creativity and fun into Engage New York was to build interactive notebooks to go along with the modules.

Every module has guide pages to help you see how I put the notebook together. I tried to focus on the most important take away ideas of the topics in the modules when building the notebooks, so they would help kids review.

You can buy one module at a time, or the entire set at Teachers pay Teachers, Teacher's Notebook, or Edmodo.

Setting Up Classroom Routines for Third Grade

A major focus I have for next year is setting up classroom routines that encourage students to persevere and problem solve independently. I want them to have the structures in place to learn how to think through problems instead of memorizing what to do.

One way I intend to do this is by using Daily 5 for ELA and math. Although, I won't be doing five rotations of either of them.

I will have three rotations of math. I have created a graphic organizer for every day of math for the entire first trimester.

I got the basic plan: Teacher Time, Lesson Work, and Math Centers from 3rd Grade Thoughts. I also put a question above the graphic organizer, so students would know what to expect during Teacher Time. I did not put the learning target because I read that kids are less interested when they know what they are doing. It is like giving a child an open present - not nearly as fun as a wrapped present.

Then, for ELA I made four rotations.

I chose four rotations (and included Teacher Time and Lesson Work again) because we just don't have time for five stations. Lesson Work is like Read to Self, but sometimes the kids will have other assignments in addition to reading. For example, when they are learning how to use dictionaries they will do this work during Lesson Work time.

I will only have three groups of kids to move through the rotations. That way I will always have one rotation that I can meet with individual students. This was the only way I knew that I would definitely get to meet with individuals every day. This was always the hardest part for me in years past.

I built the graphic organizers for the students, and I will project them during our rotation time. This way kids will know exactly what to do at every rotation. I will write more on how that will work in my classroom soon.

I also built a plan for me as the teacher:

I am having so much fun working on this project, but it is very slow! I will share more later!

Planning for Next Year

The school year is coming to a close. Every day on Facebook there is a message from another teacher who is done for the summer.

Well, in my class we are still going strong. We start the SBAC math test next week. Insert sad face here, but that is a whole different topic.

Anyway, even though we still have a few weeks left of school, I am at that point in the year where I have covered the major things I want to cover, so a lot of my major planning is done. It is a great feeling.

Now, it is time to focus on next year.

My school district, like many other districts in Washington, has no elementary curriculum. None. This has made the last two years a little bit stressful. I moved grades last year, so I couldn't even reuse what I came up with the year before.

Last summer I tried planning with my new third grade team, but we just didn't get as much accomplished as I had hoped. I still ended up scrambling to gather resources and create a coherent plan. 

This summer, I am working on the plan on my own, so I know I will get it done. And, I am putting everything I create up on Teachers pay Teachers, Teacher's Notebook, and Edmodo, so I can share it with you! 

My plan is to create a curriculum that works for both teachers and kids.

I have already started working on the math plan, and I am so excited about it. This year I was really excited to use Engage NY. It worked really well this year because it gave me a plan. Having that plan made math this year a lot more successful than it was last year. However, I think it can be even better. 

Have you noticed that there are some lessons in Engage NY that just don't make a lot of sense? I found myself working so hard to teach a lesson to my kids, and then saw that it was never brought up again. I understand that Engage NY was designed to help kids understand math, but some of their steps just didn't work for me.

I also hated the tests. I felt like the exit tickets did not get the kids ready for the tests which were really heavy on the reading. This was a nightmare for all of my ELL students.

My goal is to create a curriculum that takes the best parts of Engage NY, uses specific direct instruction, creativity, and fun to teach math. I have already come up with the framework for the year, and it looks so good! I have time for every Common Core standard with buffers built in because you know we are always behind. 

Now, it is time to create the lessons, worksheets, quizzes, foldables, anchor charts, etc...