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A Teaching Blog by Jodi Southard

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Math

Daily Math Notebooks

January 2, 2020 by Jodi Leave a Comment

If I had to come up with the number one thing that the majority of my students struggle with when it comes to math each year, it would definitely be story problems.  The whole process of reading through the problem, figuring out how to solve it, and explaining their thinking afterwards is so challenging for first graders.  We work on this skill over and over throughout the school year because it is such an important skill.

We use our Daily Math Notebooks to allow us to work on problem solving as well as multi-step problems, which again, are SO challenging for young minds.

This Daily Math Notebook will provide your students with daily math practice. Students will practice word problems, multi-step problems, written explanations of their answers, and many other math skills. This works well in a whole group or small group setting as well as a math intervention group.

I love these because we can quickly review our important math skills each day.  We really focus on not only solving word problems, but explaining our thinking when we solve them.

In my former school, we used two school-wide strategies everyday that I still carry over to my classroom now.  The first one was called RUTA-C. This stood for Read, Underline, Think, Attack, Check.  This is a great way to help students work their way through story problems.  There are many other acronyms that you could use as well.  Some of the ones that I have seen include:

  • CUBES (Circle important numbers, Underline the Question, Box Key Words, Evaluate and Eliminate, Solve and check your work)
  • STAR (Stop and read, Think about your strategy, Act and solve your problem, Review the Answer)
  • RISE (Read and reread the problem, Illustrate, Solve, Explain)

Whichever one you decide to use, stick with it and use it consistently.  This will really help your students with working through story problems.

This Daily Math Notebook will provide your students with daily math practice. Students will practice word problems, multi-step problems, written explanations of their answers, and many other math skills. This works well in a whole group or small group setting as well as a math intervention group.

 

Another prompt that we use in our Daily Math Notebooks is, “I know______ because ______.”  This is one of my favorite ways to have students answer questions, because it allows them to explain their thinking in a logical way.  “I know that Abby has 9 pencils, because she has 5 red pencils and 4 blue pencils and 5+4=9.”  Without this prompt, so many of my students fall into the trap of explaining how they got their answers with sentences like, “I am smart.” or “I used my fingers.”

This prompt also works well when explaining their answers during reading comprehension.  “I know that Goldilocks was scared when she saw the three bears, because she screamed and ran out of the house as fast as she could.”  It truly is a great prompt to use in many areas.  Click on the picture below to download the freebie picture to post in your classroom.

Want to add Daily Math Notebooks to your math instruction?

Check them out by heading over to my Teachers Pay Teachers store. DAILY MATH NOTEBOOKS

What are teachers saying about Daily Math Notebooks?

“LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS!!!!!!! Was hoping you had a math version of your reading comprehension and here it is!!! LOVE IT! THANK YOU!!!” -Rhonda

“Perfect for my small group and I am able to use the same packet for both my high and lows and adapt what work I ask them to show or how we think about the problem.” -Taylynn

“Quick daily review of important math concepts. Can be used in the classroom in many different ways. For me, I project it on my white board and complete it daily with my class every day during our math meeting. This has been a quick, simple, and useful addition to my daily math instruction.” -Jeffrey

Click on the picture below to head to my store, or PIN it for later 🙂

This Daily Math Notebook will provide your students with daily math practice. Students will practice word problems, multi-step problems, written explanations of their answers, and many other math skills. This works well in a whole group or small group setting as well as a math intervention group.

Filed Under: Math Tagged With: Math, Math Notebook

Interactive Task Folder

August 24, 2017 by Jodi 3 Comments

Interactive Task Folders are great for early finishers and when you have a couple extra minutes in your day. Your students will take ownership in their work after making these.

“I’m done.  What do I do now?”  I know you’ve heard this.  My go-to answer is almost always “Go read a book.”  This is always a great choice, but I also wanted to come up with a way for my students to have some other options.  This Interactive Task Folder was the perfect answer.

Interactive Task Folders are great for early finishers and when you have a couple extra minutes in your day. Your students will take ownership in their work after making these.

After creating a Solar Eclipse Lapbook to use with my students, I knew that I needed to make something else like this that we could use on a regular basis.  My students took so much ownership in their work and commented over and over again how much fun they had while making it.

This Interactive Task Folder is great for my early finishers.  They can pull out their folders and work on sight words, phonics skills, vocabulary words, math facts, and more.  These are also great for students to use when you find yourself with a couple of extra minutes before lunch or at the end of the day.

Interactive Task Folders are great for early finishers and when you have a couple extra minutes in your day. Your students will take ownership in their work after making these.

You will need a file folder for each student.  Open up each folder and fold the two sides in towards the middle of the folder.  Then, print off the pages needed to create the folder.  I used Astrobrights colored paper, but you could definitely use white paper and have your students color their pages if they’d like.  The front of the task folder includes a cover sheet, a 120’s chart, and a writing idea list.

Interactive Task Folders are great for early finishers and when you have a couple extra minutes in your day. Your students will take ownership in their work after making these.

For the inside, I have included a BOGGLE board that can be edited.  This way, you can change out the letters when needed and just have the students glue the new board right on top of the old one.  I also had someone give me the idea to put this on with velcro to make it easy to change out.

Students will also be able to practice their math facts and sight words.  These pockets are sized to fit a 3×5 index card, or I have included editable math fact and sight word cards.  The Reading Response sheets are perfect comprehension practice for students if they read a book in their spare time.  I have included 4 different response sheets in this file.

Interactive Task Folders are great for early finishers and when you have a couple extra minutes in your day. Your students will take ownership in their work after making these.

The Making Words activity is a great way to practice spelling and phonics skills.  I have included templates to create your own Making Words cards.  I have also included a template for you to make your own vocabulary word strips.  These can be changed out each week to keep the items fresh.  I like to include the vocabulary words from our reading selections for the week.

Interactive Task Folders are great for early finishers and when you have a couple extra minutes in your day. Your students will take ownership in their work after making these.

On the back, I have included a Word List that is helpful for students when they are writing.  It makes a great resource for them to use throughout the day.

These folders can take a bit of time to make, but once they are done, they are such a helpful resource.  I highly recommend having your students make these instead of you or a parent volunteer.  The students really take ownership in their work and are much more likely to use these if they are the ones making them.

What are teachers saying about this product? 
“Very helpful; It’s nice to have everything a student needs in one place.” 
“A great way to review basics on a daily basis! I love that I can edit parts of it, and can differentiate for all my students!” – Jennifer
“I think this is my favorite lap book ever! Such a useful tool and easy to individualize in my resource room.”

You can check these Interactive Task Folders out by clicking on any of the pictures in this post.

 

Interactive Task Folders are great for early finishers and when you have a couple extra minutes in your day. Your students will take ownership in their work after making these.

Filed Under: Back to School, Classroom Management, Curriculum, Math, Reading Tagged With: Interactive Folder

First Grade Math Curriculum and a FREEBIE

May 14, 2017 by Jodi 1 Comment

This 1st grade math curriculum includes whole group lessons, small group activities, games, intervention materials, digital resources, and much more.

How do you feel about teaching math?  I have to be honest and say that it’s not my favorite subject to teach.  However, I think my problem is that I feel like I am constantly struggling to find ways to supplement our math curriculum while still keeping it fun and engaging.  A couple of months ago, I started planning and organizing what I would want out of a math curriculum for 1st graders.  I am actually really excited about teaching math now.

This 1st grade math curriculum includes whole group lessons, small group activities, games, intervention materials, digital resources, and much more.As of right now, I have two units completed and available in my Teachers Pay Teachers store.  Unit 1 is all about Number Recognition and Counting and Unit 2 is about Base Ten and Place Value.  Addition and Subtraction within 10 is coming next.

Thank you to ASTROBRIGHTS® Papers for partnering with me on this blog post. I received payment, trade, and or products from ASTROBRIGHTS® Papers in exchange for promoting. However, all opinions stated are my own and I only promote brands and products that I use and love. This post also contains affiliate links. I receive a small commission each time someone makes a purchase through one of my links.

This 1st grade math curriculum includes whole group lessons, small group activities, games, intervention materials, digital resources, and much more.Each unit includes 10 lessons for instruction along with many supplemental activities.
Each of the 10 lessons include:
• Math Chat – Math Discussion Questions
• Brain Warm Up
• Whole Group Mini-Lesson
• Small Group Practice
• Take Away Ticket – Perfect for checking for understanding.
After 5 lessons, you will find:
• School-Home Connection
• Additional Practice Pages
• Spiral Review
• Intervention Materials
• Interactive Notebook Activity
Each unit also includes a Unit Assessment.

★The Math Chats and Brain Warm Ups for each day are also in an included digital version that can be displayed on your classroom projector.

Since the two units I have available now are geared more towards the beginning of the school year, I wanted to share a FREEBIE with you that will eventually be available in a future math packet.

This FREEBIE is from the new First Grade Math Curriculum packets from Jodi Southard at Fun in First.These Add and Clip cards make a great independent center activity for your students.  Print them on colored cardstock or laminate for durability.  I used Astrobrights paper in Lunar Blue™ and Rocket Red™ for these cards, but you could use any of your favorite colors.

The students will add the equation.  Then, they will place a clothespin onto the correct answer.  If you want these to be self checking, place a small dot on the back where the correct answer would be.

Click HERE to download this FREEBIE.

Here are some more pictures from Unit 1 and Unit 2.  If you love the colors, this variety packet from Astrobrights is a great option.

This 1st grade math curriculum includes whole group lessons, small group activities, games, intervention materials, digital resources, and much more.This 1st grade math curriculum includes whole group lessons, small group activities, games, intervention materials, digital resources, and much more.This 1st grade math curriculum includes whole group lessons, small group activities, games, intervention materials, digital resources, and much more.This 1st grade math curriculum includes whole group lessons, small group activities, games, intervention materials, digital resources, and much more.Be sure to follow my Teachers Pay Teachers store to be updated when each unit is available.

Filed Under: Back to School, Math

Games to Play in Your Classroom

February 5, 2017 by Jodi 1 Comment

Great ideas for games to play in an elementary classroom.

Playing games in your classroom is the perfect way to review skills while keeping students engaged in their learning.  I like to make sure that I always have some games prepped and ready to go.  Not only do I purposefully place games into my lesson plans for the week, but I also use games when I see that my students may be losing focus and we need to change things up.

Great ideas for games to play in an elementary classroom.The Benefits of Playing Games

Playing games has so many benefits for students.  First of all, students LOVE playing games.  Games grab their attention and keeps them engaged in their learning.  Students can also learn a variety of important skills while playing games.  Not only can they learn academics, but games allow children to work on critical thinking skills as well as learning good sportsmanship and teamwork.

There is plenty of research to prove that games are beneficial in the classroom.  “Studies show that, on average, using academic games in the classroom is associated with a 20 percentile point gain in student achievement.”  (Haystead and Marzano, 2009.)

What are My Favorite Games to Play in our Classroom?

I love to transform classic board games and give them an academic twist.  You can do this in many different ways, and the possibilities are truly endless.

These ideas are perfect for giving classic board games an academic twist.I have way too many Candy Land games in my classroom, maybe more than I care to admit.  However, I love using this game for reviewing many different skills.  To create a sight word version of Candy Land, just write a sight word on each colored square.  Before the player can move to that color, he/she has to read the sight word.  I have also created math fact Candy Land where the player has to tell the answer to the problem before moving to their color.  Other ideas for transforming Candy Land include: letter sounds, blends and digraphs, synonyms and antonyms, rhyming words, etc.

These ideas are perfect for giving classic board games an academic twist.Connect Four is another game that lends itself to academics.  I just write on the chips, and the students are ready to play.  In the first picture, I wrote addition math facts on each piece.  The player had to say the answer before putting in their chip.  The second picture has beginning blends and digraphs on each chip.  The players had to say a word that began with that blend or digraph before putting their piece into the game.

These ideas are perfect for giving classic board games an academic twistAnother idea is to use Jenga.  For the game above, I wrote ending punctuation on each block.  Before pulling out the block, the player had to say a sentence that ended with that punctuation mark.

These ideas are perfect for giving classic board games an academic twist.We also use Chutes and Ladders to review words with particular vowel sounds.  In the picture above, I wrote a vowel on each section of the spinner.  Before moving their piece, the student had to say a word that contained that vowel sound.  You could use this with short or long vowel sounds.  Another idea is to have the student say a math fact that equals the number they landed on before moving their game piece.  For the Sorry games above, I wrote letters on each square.  As the students move around the board, they have to say the letter sound.  For the one on the bottom, I just wrote tasks on each card.  For example, “Say a word with 2 syllables.”

These No Prep Games are perfect for the classroom. They review so many different skills.I also love to have other games on hand in my classroom.  Each month, I print off the games from my monthly NO Prep Game packets.  I almost always print the black and white versions, but sometimes I print off colored copies and then laminate them.  At the beginning of each month, I print classroom copies of each game and place them in a drawer.  Anytime I notice that we need a change of pace or we have a couple extra minutes, I can pull out one of these games.  Each month has a variety of math and literacy games that are perfect for reviewing skills that we have been learning.  You can check out each month or the entire bundle HERE.  The TIC TAC TOE game is from my Phonics TIC TAC TOE packet that you can check out HERE.

These No Prep Games are a perfect addition to the classroom. They are easy to use and review so many skills.These math fact games are also great to have on hand.  Our math series really lacks in math fact practice, so I like to use these to make sure that my students are getting plenty of practice with these skills.  You can check the addition and subtraction games HERE.

Want to Pin this post for future use?  Feel free to pin the image below or any of the pictures above.

These games are the perfect way to focus on academics in your classroom while keeping students engaged.

What are your favorite games to use in your classroom?

Filed Under: Curriculum, Math, Reading Tagged With: Games

5 Ways to Get Your Students Up and Moving

January 16, 2017 by Jodi Leave a Comment

5 ways to get your students up and moving throughout the day.

If you have any experience with children, you know that they need to get up and move throughout they day.  Even as an adult, I do not sit still very well.  I cannot stand when I have to sit through a meeting all day.  I need to move around.  Research has shown that movement can increase focus and retention.  Brain researcher, John Medina, stated in Brain Rules (2008), that “physical activity is cognitive candy and exercise boosts brain power.”  Did you know that in Finland, it is typical for students to get a 15 minute break for every 45 minutes of instruction?  With our push for longer school days and more time on task, this seems almost impossible.  But, we truly have to think about if our “time on task” involves the students giving 100% of their focus and attention to what we are teaching.  So, how can we incorporate more movement into our classrooms?

5 ways to get your students up and moving throughout the day.

1. Have Students Transition Around the Classroom Throughout the Day

We are constantly moving to different areas of our classroom during the day.  We do not stay in one area for too long.  As soon as I notice that my students are losing focus, we change it up.  I do whole group instruction at our desks or on the carpet together.  I do small group instruction at my reading table, while my students transition around the classroom doing learning stations.5 ways to get students up and moving in your classroom.My students also love to find a spot in the classroom to work on their Morning Tubs in the morning.

5 Ways to get your students up and moving in your classroom.The most important thing to remember, is to be very aware of when your students are starting to lose focus.  As the year progresses, students will be able to stay in one spot for longer periods of time, but definitely switch it up often.

2.  Integrate Movement into Learning

5 ways to get your students up and moving

The easiest way to get your students up and moving is to find ways to integrate movement into your learning.  Have students act out vocabulary words or play games that get them moving around the classroom.

5 ways to get your students up and moving throughout the school day.One of my students favorite games is 4 corners.  There are a couple different ways you can play this game.  One that we played recently was Vowel Sound 4 Corners.  (You could definitely do 5 areas instead of 4.)  I hung signs up in each corner of my room labeled short a, short e, short i, and short o.  Each student stood under a sign of their choice.  Then, I drew a short vowel word from a jar.  For example, “cat.”  All of the students under the Short a sign, went and sat down.  Then, the students picked a new sign to stand under.  This continued until there was one winner.  This can easily be adapted to many reading and math skills.

Another favorite game that gets students out of their seats is Splat.  I group the students into 4 or 5 teams.  I place skill cards on the board.  In the example above, we were working with soft and hard c and g.  I read a word, and the first person to “Splat” the correct answer scored a point for their team.  (The Splat flyswatter were purchased at Walmart.)

These Reading on the Move packets are a great way to integrate reading fluency and exercise.An easy and fun way that I integrate academics and exercise is with my Reading on the Move and Math on the Move packets.  The students roll the dice after reading to see what “movement” they are going to complete before rereading the passage.  (The passage above is from my Reading on the Move – Winter Edition).  You can check out all of my Reading on the Move packets HERE.

5 Ways to get students up and moving throughout the day.

We also use my Math on the Move packets to integrate math and exercise.  The students love getting up and moving after each section of work that they complete.

Math on the Move is a great way to integrate math and exercise.3. Allow Flexible Seating in your Classroom

This is something that is still evolving in my classroom.  I have Wobble Chairs at my reading table that the students may use at their desks if they need them.  I also allow the students to stand at their desks if they work better this way.  A couple of my students also prefer to use clipboards on the floor.  My only absolute “no” with seating is that students may not sit dangerously in their seats.  (Leaning back on two legs, turned around backwards with their feet stuck in the back, shoes tied to their chair legs.  I mean…not that I’ve learned those from previous experiences or anything.)

5 Ways to Allow Movement in your Classroom.4.  Take Brain Breaks

When you notice that students are losing focus, take a Brain Break.  We absolutely love using GoNoodle for our Brain Breaks.  There are so many great options to choose from depending on what the students need at that time.  I love all of the KooKoo Kangaroo videos when I need my students to “wake up” and recharge.  However, sometimes I need the opposite effect, and I want them to settle down.  The Flow and Maximo videos are perfect for this.

5 ways to incorporate movement into your classroom.Another great way to add a little bit of movement to your day is to use this movement dice.

Using a Movement Dice is an easy way to incorporate movement into your classroom.This can be used as a whole group when you notice that students are starting to get off task.  It also works great for students that may need to keep it at their desk to use when they need an extra break.  You can download it for free HERE.

5.  Head Outside

Weather permitting, I love to take learning outside.  Living in Indiana, this is not always possible, but on nice spring and fall days, we love to head outside.  You can take books outside and let students read.  We have also taken our white boards and dry erase markers out to a picnic table to work on math.  Sidewalk chalk is a great way to practice spelling words and math facts.  Another idea is to have students use their senses while outside to enhance their writing.  The possibility are endless.

How do you use movement in your classroom? 

5 Ways to Get Your Students Up and Moving - Great ideas for incorporating movement throughout your day.

Filed Under: Classroom Management, Math, Reading

Morning Tubs – Round 2

September 16, 2016 by Jodi 25 Comments

Morning Tub Ideas from Fun in First

After blogging about my new morning routine a couple weeks ago, I had quite a few people ask if I would continue to keep sharing the items that I am placing in my morning tubs.  Since I just switched to our second round of tubs this week, I thought I would share our items and how it’s going.

Morning Tub Ideas from Fun in First

In my first post HERE about Morning Tubs, I told you that I decided to keep each group at a tub for 3 days.  With 6 tubs, I only have to rotate the activities in the tubs every 18 days.  The 3 days at a tub also allows students that may come in late one day to still get a chance to do their tub another day.  My students complete their Morning Work at their desks.  Then, they may go to their Morning Tub.

This post does contain some affiliate links for your shopping convenience.  I do receive a small commission when someone purchases an item after clicking on a link.  These commissions help with the cost of maintaining this blog and allow me to continue to bringing you valuable content, activities and ideas.

I filled my first tub with popsicle sticks.  I gave the students the freedom to use these as they wished.  Some have been using them to make tally marks, some have built houses with them, and others have been making their names.  I love seeing the creativity of children.

Morning Tub Ideas from Fun in FirstOur second tub is a writing activity.  I printed these picture cards with pictures that I had purchased from Shutterstock a couple years ago for my Picture Perfect Writing packet.  I placed them on a ring to use for writing ideas.  I put these pictures in the tub along with writing paper.  I am shocked by how much they love this tub.  You could easily find old pictures in magazines to use for this tub.

Morning Tub Ideas from Fun in FirstMy next tub is filled with pattern blocks.  The students always love using pattern blocks to make designs.

Morning Tub Ideas from Fun in FirstMorning Tub Ideas from Fun in FirstThe next tub was kind of a last minute idea.  I had some extra rolls of yarn in a cabinet that I knew I wouldn’t use anytime soon.  I put these into a tub and am letting the students use it as they wish.

Morning Tub Ideas from Fun in FirstMorning Tub Ideas from Fun in FirstSome have cut out shapes.  Some have glued pieces of yarn onto paper to make pictures.  One group decided to make a spaghetti dinner.  Even though it was a cute idea, it was messy.  This tub definitely does not look neat and organized now, like it did in the picture above.

My fifth tub has geoboards and rubber bands in it, which the students love.

Morning Tub Ideas from Fun in FirstMy last tub consists of foam 3D shapes that came with our math series.  I thought this would be a great way to let them explore with these before we actually use them in lessons.

Morning Tub Ideas from Fun in FirstMorning Tub Ideas from Fun in FirstIt’s another great rotation of Morning Tubs.  I will come back to share our next round with you in a couple of weeks.  Are you using Morning Tubs?  I’d love to hear your ideas as well 🙂

Morning Tub Ideas from Fun in First

Filed Under: Classroom, Classroom Management, Math, Reading, Writing Tagged With: Morning Tubs

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Definitely not my favorite of his costumes, but he Definitely not my favorite of his costumes, but he loves it, so that’s all that matters 🦴🎃
We will be completing our Halloween Challenge on F We will be completing our Halloween Challenge on Friday. It’s such a great way to make learning fun while working cooperatively.🎃
Check it out by following the link in my profile.
Thank you, Halloween!!🎃👻 Thank you, Halloween!!🎃👻
🌟Easy small group activity🌟 Give each studen 🌟Easy small group activity🌟
Give each student the vowels using foam or magnetic letters. Say a CVC word.  The students hold up the vowel to show the middle sound that they hear.
Super easy and effective💙
I could not be happier that Halloween falls on a S I could not be happier that Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, but that definitely does not mean that the kids will be calm this coming week🤪
If you can’t beat them, join them, right? We will be working on reading fluency using my Halloween Reading on the Move.
Check it out by following the link in my profile.🎃
I’ve definitely need some coffee to get through I’ve definitely need some coffee to get through this past week that I swear was actually 15 days long 😂 But, I’m officially done with my parent-teacher conferences✔️👏👏
We normally do a student pumpkin decorating contes We normally do a student pumpkin decorating contest at school, and the pumpkins are always AMAZING. Due to Covid, we had to cancel it this year, but each classroom created a pumpkin.
We finished ours today, and I actually think it turned out pretty cute🦁
At this point in the year, I am definitely feeling At this point in the year, I am definitely feeling like my soup of the day should be coffee.
I’m *almost* done with Parent-Teacher Conferences. Only 2 more left👏👏
How are you holding up? Do you need some coffee soup along with me?
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