Looking at November

I'm looking at the calendar, and I just can't believe we're approaching November already!

 

There's a lot going on in November, but no need to fear, I've got your teaching needs covered!

 

Here are a couple of resources to start off November:

 

November Facts Boom Learning

 

November Morning Meeting Greeting Activities

 

 

Parent Communication Brochures - November Edition

Here is one of my favorite November resources: Science and Social Studies Activities for November!

 

Don't forget Election Day!

I'm sure I'll be having the kiddos vote for something, but they won't be voting for president... far too controversial! This one's a freebie! Election Day Graphing Option for Little Kids

 

  Veteran's Day is November 11th! 

Here's a fun activity to help the children understand what a Veteran really is! This will spark some great conversations!  Veterans True or False

 

Here's another fun resource to help children learn about Veterans! (On the fun Boom Learning platform! Armed Services Fun Facts

Once they figure out what Veterans are, they can write thank you notes to Veterans using this freebie!  Thank You Veterans!

 

Since Election Day and Veterans Day are both Patriotic holidays, enjoy these Patriotic Brain Breaks! See the image for the link to this freebie! Patriotic Brain Breaks

 

Of course, everyone's favorite November holiday is Thanksgiving! Check out these Printables!

 

Here's a math game to practice +9s! Turkey Nines  (Oh my goodness, they LOVE this game! It works like "Old Maid")

 

And guess what... there's a freebie version!  Turkey Nines Freebie!

 

Just one more: The Thanksgiving Story: an informational text for children to illustrate. This has a primary level recount of the Pilgrims from all those years ago. The children can visualize the story, then draw their images. See the image for the link! 

The Thanksgiving Story for Visualization and Illustration!

 

I hope you find something your students will love for the month of November!

Making Addition and Subtraction Facts Stick

I've been wracking my brain for years, trying to think of a way to get those basic facts to stick! There is way too much math that depends on knowing the basic facts, so we want the little ones to go beyond the "counting on fingers" or "counting on in your head" stage!

We've been using this sequence for learning facts at my school, and I must say, the kids are getting it! We all know it's not a good idea to introduce all the facts at once. There are 200 facts to be learned, and learning them in some systematic way is necessary. My knowledge of brain based learning tells me we need to help the children make connections, use visuals like color and pictures, practice frequently, add a social component, and make it fun. This will all help those facts stick!

 

I've taken 8 basic patterns and made 8 color coded sets of cards to be practiced based on these concepts:  plus one families, plus 10 families, plus 9 families, sums of 10, doubles, doubles plus 1, plus 2 families, and the remaining facts.  The "families" include 2 addition and 2 subtraction facts for each fact.  (For example, 1+8=9, 8+1=9, 9-1=8, and 9-8=1 are all connected.) These connections help children remember! I've even included a game that's connected to the cute little pictures on each card.

Practicing the facts is only half the challenge.  The other challenge is showing mastery.  

I've included assessments with each set.  There are 2 basic assessments with each family. The 2 assessments are both similar. I just thought you'd like a second option so they aren't taking the exact same assessment each time. Each assessment has 5 columns of 10 facts.  I give the children one minute to complete as many facts as they can. (The timing helps distinguish between the kids who know the facts, and the kids who still need to figure them out.) I have found that kids that get 20 - 25 facts in a minute are definitely ready to move on to the next level. (This, of course, is up to you.) Some kids really need a one on one assessment with the cards, as their writing skills just can't keep up with their thinking skills.

Want to check it out? See the image below for the freebie version of the first set along with the assessments. Addition and Subtraction Fact Fluency Freebie!

 

 

 

See here for the full system: Fact Fluency System for Addition and Subtraction

How do you help the facts stick?

Punch Out Those Facts, Thanks to Brain Research!

I read a lot of articles on the internet, most of them have something to do with how the brain learns and holds information. We are lucky to be teaching in the 21st century where research is published daily about the brain.  I find this absolutely fascinating, and follow several brain related publications.

Recently I read this article, Want to hold onto a Memory?  Make a Fist. It tells about a study about clenching fists to help the memory. First, a learner should clench the right fist for 45 seconds to activate the encoding part on the left side of the brain. (Left handed people do the opposite.)

Then, clenching the left fist will help recall the information.

Although there is a lot of research to be done on this area, I've been suggesting to my students to clench their "writing hand" fist while saying a series of facts, for example: the "plus 3s". It would sound like this:

3+0=3 3+1=4 3+2=5 3=3+6 3+4=7

3+5=8 3+6=9 3+7=10 3+8=11 3+9=12

Then, they can sit down and write them while clenching their non-writing hand.

Of course, they might need some fun help with the clenching.

The crowd pleaser collection:

For the sports fans:


For geography enthusiasts: (These are my favorite!)

 

I started using the term "punch out the facts" to remind the children to make a fist!

Even if this recent research doesn't pan out, there are plenty of brain strategies that will help the children learn their facts:

1. Talking! Saying the fact out loud helps!

2. Visuals! As they read the facts, they are using visuals to help the memory!

3. Movement! As they clench each fist, they are physically engaged! 

4. Repetition! As they repeat each fact, they are making more connections in the brain! 

Here's a freebie that lists all the addition and subtraction facts the children need to learn. 

Here's a freebie that lists all the addition and subtraction facts the children need to learn. 

Most other math skills depend upon this basic knowledge!

 

Good luck to you and your students punching out those facts!

Myers-Briggs Part 6: What's Your Type?

For the last 6 weeks I have posted once a week about my experiences with the Myers-Briggs Personality Types. 

 

This is something that helped me not only as a teacher, but as a person, learning about the world around me. 

 

Tonight, we're summing it up!

First, I told about my master's program and my first introduction to the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator. 

  Explore the image below for the link to that post:

 

The next week, I posted about the difference between Introverts (I) and Extr0verts (E). I even listed famous Introverts and famous Extroverts, and suggested possible careers for both. Of the four preferences, this is the one I personally struggled with the most. I've learned much more about it, and now I'm proud to be an Introvert. There are many successful Introverts in our world, including teachers! 

 

Explore the image below to get to the post about Introversion and Extroversion.

Next up was Sensing (S) vs Intuition (N). This one is quite important to us as teachers. People process information in different ways, and it's essential that we respect both preferences. Most teachers teach to their own preference, which leaves out many students. 

 

Explore the image below to read more about how people process information.

A week later, I posted about the third preference: How we make decisions. The two preferences are Feeling (F) and Thinking (T). 

 

Explore the image below to read about Thinkers and Feelers.

Finally, last week posted about how people live their outer life. That's Judging (J) or Perceiving (P). This was another area where I struggled, until I realized that Judging didn't mean Judgmental. It just means I prefer structure and order. Understanding who I am really helped me appreciate the Ps in my life! 

 

Explore the image below for more information about Judging and Perceiving.

Although I recommend taking the official Myers Briggs Instrument (See HERE for information.) However after some thought, you might have a guess on where you land on some of the preferences.  

There are a total of 16 different "types".  

Here they are! (See HERE or explore the image below.)

If you explore the image and go to the Myers Briggs website, there is a link for a description to each of these 16 personality types.

I'm an ISFJ. They call me The Nurturer. If you google ISFJ and read the  description, you'll see a perfect description of me. It's almost as if someone who knew me very well wrote a detailed description of my personality.

Here's a summary of my type: ISFJ

and a more detailed summary here: ISFJ

What's your type?

Playing Math Games to Strengthen Important Skills

I find games to be a great way to learn and develop skills.

Brain research tells us that adding the element of fun helps to connect the memory. Isn't that a great reason to play learning games?

I like to teach a game during small group instruction time, so I can watch the children play and make sure they are focused on the learning goal. I'll have them play a couple of times with guidance before I let them  play on their own.

After a game has been introduced and practiced, it will be available as a choice during math stations or centers.  There are times when certain children are assigned a particular game as well.

It's a good idea to allow the children to play games below their level, as these are important skills that should be mastered in order to perform the higher skills with ease. Just because the skills are easy for the child doesn't mean they don't have value! In fact, if the game isn't somewhat easy, it won't be fun for the children. Also, if the game isn't somewhat easy, the children will be more likely to make mistakes, which won't help them master the skills. I've learned "practice makes permanent," and we don't want to make incorrect skills permanent, do we? If you've ever had to unlearn a bad habit, you'll know just what I mean!

I have a series of BINGO games that I designed to go along with second grade skills. They all have a sports theme, which is a big draw for the kids. I find once they learn the format of a particular game, it takes less time to teach a similar game, meaning more time practicing each skill!

You can find this freebie here: Par 3 Adding 3 Addends Freebie

You can find the full set with 9 game boards here: Par 3 Adding 3 Addends

As mentioned above, once the students know the format and how the game works, they can play similar games to strengthen similar skills. It just so happens that I have several math games that follow this same format with different sports themes that can be found here:
Sports Themed Bingo Math Games

Still looking for more math games to strengthen their skills?

Here are plenty more Math games, including several freebies! Math Games Category
 

Games are a great way to build skills AND have fun!  Enjoy!

Learning Math Facts With Cuisenaire Rods

Brain Research tells us that being physically involved with the learning process helps learning. 

It also suggests that use of color helps make connections. 

Teachers know that kids (and adults) tend to key into color, and children love to use manipulatives!

 

With Cuisenaire Rods (see picture) the white rod, the smallest, is one cubic centimeter.(This is the same size as a standard base ten block.) The longest rod is orange. When the children put the rods by length, they make a colorful "staircase". (See picture.)

 

The children can then assign values to each rod by color based upon the relationship of the other rods.

I like to start with sets of ten, since our number system is based on ten.  It's good for them to know those combinations of ten!

 

Since the orange rod has a value of 10, this
picture shows 9+1=10. It also shows 1+9=10.  

It also shows 10-1=9 as well as 10-9=1.

 

What fact family do these blocks show?  6+4=10, 4+6=10, 10-6=4, and 10-4=6.  

 







This one shows 6+6=12 and 12-6=6

 



 The Cuisenaire Rods can also be used for multiple addends or even multiplication.  This could be 3+3+3+3=12 or 3x4=12.

When it comes to storage, the containers the rods come in are tricky for the kids to put away.  I put my Cuisenaire Rods into a container much easier for little hands.

I made these center sheets for the students. I prefer the children work with partners on activities like this since the conversations they have help the learning.  If you run these off back to back, you can make two sided, half size papers.

Click the image or click here for the freebie: Fact Families with Cuisenaire Rods Freebie!

For more sheets like this, click here: Fact Families with Cuisenaire Rods

I also have a resource to develop Number Sense with Cuisenaire Rods that can be found HERE.

Plus, a chance to build with the rods and add up the sums with multiple addends HERE. (This one is a favorite... they LOVE building with the rods!)

All three resources can be found as a bundled set HERE.

For a more advanced bundle of place value activities see: HERE.