fbq('track', 'ViewContent');
Showing posts with label freebie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label freebie. Show all posts

Avoiding TOO MUCH Screen Time

Lots of teachers have created digital online work for their students.
People are reading books online.
People are binge watching movies and shows on Netflix, Hulu, and Disney Plus.

This is all great stuff, but isn't this TOO MUCH screen time?


Avoiding TOO MUCH Screen Team: Technology is fabulous, and it's helping bridge education and communication during Social Distancing, but TOO MUCH is harmful. Here are some alternate activities to keep children offline.


Technology is fabulous! Thanks to technology, our children can continue learning during the pandemic. They can go to interesting sites and have great fun interacting with friends online.

But enough is enough!

Studies show too much screen time can create posture problems, vision issues, mood swings, sleep disorders, and possible social dysfunction. Because they spend so much time sitting in one place, children show lack of muscular development and often obesity. Kids (and adults) who are stagnant for too long show signs of sleepiness, crankiness and lethargy. That's a big clue to shut the screens off!

Here are some things they can do once their online lessons are done!

Avoiding TOO MUCH Screen Team: Technology is fabulous, and it's helping bridge education and communication during Social Distancing, but TOO MUCH is harmful. Here are some alternate activities to keep children offline.
Board games are such fun for all involved. Plus, they involve important skills children need!  Skills like communication, strategy, patience, and problem solving may not be taught in schools, but they are certainly are needed in life! Plus, most games require a little reading and math, too!

Avoiding TOO MUCH Screen Team: Technology is fabulous, and it's helping bridge education and communication during Social Distancing, but TOO MUCH is harmful. Here are some alternate activities to keep children offline.
I'm not talking about books online, (although those are also fun) I'm talking about real books! The kind you can pick up, open, read, read again, then read it to your little sister. Maybe even read to the dog! There's nothing like a real book to escape all the madness that is going on in the world like that!

Avoiding TOO MUCH Screen Team: Technology is fabulous, and it's helping bridge education and communication during Social Distancing, but TOO MUCH is harmful. Here are some alternate activities to keep children offline.
Children need to have their social needs met, and that just can't happen in the "regular way" these days. True, they can use phones and computers to stay in touch on line, which is great, but who doesn't love getting a real letter!  

Here's a letter writing resource to help you out!

 Avoiding TOO MUCH Screen Team: Technology is fabulous, and it's helping bridge education and communication during Social Distancing, but TOO MUCH is harmful. Here are some alternate activities to keep children offline.


Avoiding TOO MUCH Screen Team: Technology is fabulous, and it's helping bridge education and communication during Social Distancing, but TOO MUCH is harmful. Here are some alternate activities to keep children offline.

Do you realize how many skills are involved in cooking? Well, first of all, there's reading the recipe. Then there's all that measuring, counting, and fractions. Many recipes involve learning vocabulary, and even noticing some scientific chemistry changes! We all know that following directions is a skill that kiddos just can't get enough of! 

Another thing about cooking... it has its own reward when you do it well! Children are more likely to try new foods when they cook them. Plus, there's that rewarding happiness when they serve their meal to their loved ones. 

Plus, it usually leads to some fun family time. We all need that!


Avoiding TOO MUCH Screen Team: Technology is fabulous, and it's helping bridge education and communication during Social Distancing, but TOO MUCH is harmful. Here are some alternate activities to keep children offline.
Children need an opportunity to create. 
Getting away from the computer and creating is very healthy. 
What sort of creation are they passion about?  Music? Dance? Drawing? Painting? Fashion? All of the above?  There are many ways to create. Give them the materials and the time, and be sure to give them an appreciative audience!

Avoiding TOO MUCH Screen Team: Technology is fabulous, and it's helping bridge education and communication during Social Distancing, but TOO MUCH is harmful. Here are some alternate activities to keep children offline.
Children may be assigned projects from school, or can create some of their own. Or perhaps, the family can work on projects together! Family crafts are fun for all involved. Or, if you want to be more productive: clean out the attic, paint the bathroom, rearrange the living room furniture or plant a garden!

Avoiding TOO MUCH Screen Team: Technology is fabulous, and it's helping bridge education and communication during Social Distancing, but TOO MUCH is harmful. Here are some alternate activities to keep children offline.
Yes, you read that right, let them get bored! It's actually good for them, for one thing, it encourages them to be independent and solve their own problems. Plus, scientists say boredom leads to creativity! 

So, if they run out of schoolwork, get them off the screens and let them go! Watch your geniuses at work!


Here's another blog post, giving more information about the advantages of letting children be bored:

https://www.elementarymatters.com/2020/03/let-them-get-bored.html

Here's a freebie list of 50 things children can do that don't use screens: Social Distancing "No Screen" Ideas

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Social-Distancing-No-Screen-Ideas-5354786?utm_source=blog%20post%20on%20no%20screen%20time&utm_campaign=no%20screen%20ideas

What are your "No Screen" ideas?

Avoiding TOO MUCH Screen Team: Technology is fabulous, and it's helping bridge education and communication during Social Distancing, but TOO MUCH is harmful. Here are some alternate activities to keep children offline.



Developing Multiplilcation and Division Fact Fluency

Developing Fact Fluency can be quite a challenge. 

In fact it can be overwhelming for students!


Developing Multiplication and Division Fact Fluency: Fact fluency is essential for success in mathematics. Here are 6 strategies to help the children develop fluency with multiplication and division facts. There's a freebie, too!

Why? Well, to start with, there are 100 multiplication facts, and 100 division facts!
That's a whole lot of facts to learn! Take a look at this:

Developing Multiplication and Division Fact Fluency: Fact fluency is essential for success in mathematics. Here are 6 strategies to help the children develop fluency with multiplication and division facts. There's a freebie, too!

There they are, all 100 multiplication facts.

Developing Multiplication and Division Fact Fluency: Fact fluency is essential for success in mathematics. Here are 6 strategies to help the children develop fluency with multiplication and division facts. There's a freebie, too!

And the 100 division facts.

It just doesn't work to just hand these lists to the kiddos and tell them to learn them all! 

Here are some ideas to help ease this heavy load!

Developing Multiplication and Division Fact Fluency: Fact fluency is essential for success in mathematics. Here are 6 strategies to help the children develop fluency with multiplication and division facts. There's a freebie, too!

Before the children start to work on memorizing facts, it's essential they understand what multiplication and division are! I like to spend plenty of time with manipulatives, as well as making and drawing arrays. I make sure they understand that 6 x 5 means 6 sets of 5. They use manipulatives to show six groups of 5 (as in the picture: 6 rows of cups, with 5 cups in each row), and draw an array with 6 sets of 5. When they have done a whole lot of this, and have a deep understanding of what it all means, then they can move on to fact fluency.

Developing Multiplication and Division Fact Fluency: Fact fluency is essential for success in mathematics. Here are 6 strategies to help the children develop fluency with multiplication and division facts. There's a freebie, too!

As you can see from the list of all the facts, it's just too much to assign them all at once! It's best to break them down into smaller groups, and best to create those groups by patterns. I recommend starting with the "x1 facts," which would be anything with 1 as a factor, and the related division fact. 

Developing Multiplication and Division Fact Fluency: Fact fluency is essential for success in mathematics. Here are 6 strategies to help the children develop fluency with multiplication and division facts. There's a freebie, too!

Research on learning has taught us that this is how the brain learn best. 

Each family has a total of 4 facts that can be created with the same combination of manipulatives. (Doubles only have 2 per family.)
This can be seen in the visual below:

Developing Multiplication and Division Fact Fluency: Fact fluency is essential for success in mathematics. Here are 6 strategies to help the children develop fluency with multiplication and division facts. There's a freebie, too!

The upper left shows 5 sets of 6. (5 x 6 = 30) The upper right shows 6 sets of 5 (6 x 5 = 30) The lower left shows 30 sorted into 5 equal sets (30 ÷ 5 = 6) and the lower right shows 30 items sorted into 6 equal sets (30 ÷ 6 = 5).

Studying the fact families really makes the whole thing easier! If they learn one combination, they've got 4 facts!

Just for fun, here's how the doubles work. 

Developing Multiplication and Division Fact Fluency: Fact fluency is essential for success in mathematics. Here are 6 strategies to help the children develop fluency with multiplication and division facts. There's a freebie, too!

No matter how you turn the sets, it's still 5 sets of 5, so there's really only 2 possible combinations!

Developing Multiplication and Division Fact Fluency: Fact fluency is essential for success in mathematics. Here are 6 strategies to help the children develop fluency with multiplication and division facts. There's a freebie, too!

Research tells us that repeating the complete information orally helps the memory. They don't necessarily like to do this, but they'll admit it really helps them remember the facts!

Developing Multiplication and Division Fact Fluency: Fact fluency is essential for success in mathematics. Here are 6 strategies to help the children develop fluency with multiplication and division facts. There's a freebie, too!

If you've ever had to learn a new skill, I'm sure you've seen the value of practicing a little bit every day. Five minutes a day for 5 days will have more value than 30 minutes of practice once a week! Less time, more value! I work my fact practice into my math rotations in a variety ways: games, practice alone, practice with a partner, or practice with an adult.

Developing Multiplication and Division Fact Fluency: Fact fluency is essential for success in mathematics. Here are 6 strategies to help the children develop fluency with multiplication and division facts. There's a freebie, too!

Children develop their own tricks to help remember basic facts, and when they talk, they share those tricks! That makes everyone smarter!

Here's a trick I learned from my students! They've got plenty of ideas like this, that are worthy of conversation!

Developing Multiplication and Division Fact Fluency: Fact fluency is essential for success in mathematics. Here are 6 strategies to help the children develop fluency with multiplication and division facts. There's a freebie, too!


Developing Multiplication and Division Fact Fluency: Fact fluency is essential for success in mathematics. Here are 6 strategies to help the children develop fluency with multiplication and division facts. There's a freebie, too!

Most of the children will have a good deal of success with the above 6 strategies, but if they don't, don't let them fall through the cracks. I suggest doing some sort of assessment once a week, and keeping a record of how they do. Even when they don't show mastery, they should be showing growth each week. If they don't, something needs to be done. 

Here are some suggestions:
1. Limit the amount of fact families. One or two fact families is enough for some children.
2. Work one on one with that student: 5 minutes a day.
3. Assign an adult to work one on one with that student.
4. Send home a set of facts to be practiced with a parent.

The above would be in addition to your regular routine. 

Here's a freebie set of practice and assessments for the x1 Fact Families:
 
Developing Multiplication and Division Fact Fluency: Fact fluency is essential for success in mathematics. Here are 6 strategies to help the children develop fluency with multiplication and division facts. There's a freebie, too!

It contains practice cards (with the answers to be printed on the back) 2 assessments, and access to Boom Learning Digital Task cards, which the children absolutely LOVE! And it's free!

If you're interested in just the Boom Learning format,that's a freebie, too!
Developing Multiplication and Division Fact Fluency: Fact fluency is essential for success in mathematics. Here are 6 strategies to help the children develop fluency with multiplication and division facts. There's a freebie, too!

If your students have success with this freebie, here's a link to the whole bundle: Fact Fluency System for Multiplication and Division: The Bundle


Here's a link to a similar bundle for addition and subtraction facts: Fact Fluency System for Addition and Subtraction: The Bundle

Plus, a chance to try out this system with this freebie: Fact Fluency System for Addition and Subtraction: Freebie

Want to read more about fact fluency and the brain? 
Here are a couple more blog posts with more information!

Developing Multiplication and Division Fact Fluency: Fact fluency is essential for success in mathematics. Here are 6 strategies to help the children develop fluency with multiplication and division facts. There's a freebie, too!

Helping Parents Help their Children Be Successful!

Communicating with parents can be tricky, especially when it comes to giving them advice! 

There's a fine line between "helping" and "making them feel inadequate." 

Helping Parents Help their Children be Successful: Here are some ideas to help keep communication open and share information with parents. Plus, there's a freebie!

So how do we help parents help their children?

We know that parents aren't experts, but we know they are experts about their own children! 

Plus, we know they love those children unconditionally, and would do anything to help them!

When giving suggestions, it's important that one doesn't put them on the defense. I prefer to use phrases like "experts say," or "recent research shows."

Another idea?  Pass the buck!


Have someone else give them the advice!

That's just what I've been working on: brochures to help parents help their children be successful! 

My first issue is the back to school edition, and it's free!

Helping Parents Help their Children be Successful: Here are some ideas to help keep communication open and share information with parents. Plus, there's a freebie!
It comes with ideas and suggestions for use, and can be printed in color or in black and white.

Helping Parents Help their Children be Successful: Here are some ideas to help keep communication open and share information with parents. Plus, there's a freebie!
Printing in black and white on colored paper is awesome!

Helping Parents Help their Children be Successful: Here are some ideas to help keep communication open and share information with parents. Plus, there's a freebie!

It might be a good idea NOT to send this home the first week of school when parents are overwhelmed with paperwork. It will be more likely to be noticed the second week of school!

I'd love to see what you think of these brochures... I'm working on the next edition and I'd love to hear your ideas!


These brochures are in a bundle, available here: Parent Communication:  Monthly Brochures for the Whole Year!


Helping Parents Help their Children be Successful: Here are some ideas to help keep communication open and share information with parents. Plus, there's a freebie!

Seven Steps to a Happy Last Day of School - Part 6: Meet with each child

Hopefully, you're getting report cards done and getting packed up with minimal stress, since that last day is coming soon.

Seven Steps to a Happy Last Day of School Part 5: Find one-on-one time with every child. This post suggests how to organize the last day, and has a literacy center organization freebie!

It's all crazy, I know, but the kids make it all worth it, and that last day should be all about them!


You can read about Step One here:  Read Your Favorite Book
 
You can read about Step Two here: Leave Out a Few Favorite Games.

You can read about the third strategy here: Keep Out a Few Decks of Playing Cards.


Seven Steps to a Happy Last Day of School Part 5: Find one-on-one time with every child. This post suggests how to organize the last day, and has a literacy center organization freebie!

I know, that's not easy when there are a whole bunch of them, and they all want attention! But there are ways to do it! 

I like to use as much routine as I can on that last day.  Although I don't do any Guided Reading groups during the last few days, I organize my day the same way.

This blog post tells how I organize my groups during Guided Reading time:
 

Although some of the options just don't work on the last day of school, I do use my literacy center cards to help organize things. You can find those as a freebie here: Literacy Center Cards Freebie.
 
Seven Steps to a Happy Last Day of School Part 5: Find one-on-one time with every child. This post suggests how to organize the last day, and has a literacy center organization freebie!
 
I might set up a few stations to go with the things I've kept out for the kiddos: (The freebie doesn't have cards for all these, but you can use the blank cards.)

Independent Reading 
Whiteboards
Games
Playing Cards
Work With Teacher

At the independent reading station, they can read any picture books I've kept out, or memory books. (See Step 5.)

At the Whiteboards station, they can play hangman or dictate sentences to one another. (See Step 4.)

At the games station, they can play the games I've left out. (See Step 2.)

At the Playing Cards station, they can play Salute, or Twenty-One. (See Step 3.)

What happens at the Work with Teacher Station? This is where you can give them individualized time! I've been known to play Apples to Apples with the children and laugh a lot. It's a great way to spend our last day together!

Another option?  Have no "Work With Teacher" station, and circulate throughout the classroom meeting with the children one at a time. I always make sure I ask questions about summer plans and make sure they know I'll be thinking about them!

This is your last crack at them... make it count!

Here's a link to Step Seven:

Seven Steps to a Happy Last Day of School Part 5: Find one-on-one time with every child. This post suggests how to organize the last day, and has a literacy center organization freebie!



Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...