Fun for Constitution Day

I love going all out for Constitution Day!

My students wear red, white, and blue, and the whole school recites the pledge together, outdoors at the flagpole.

 

 

We have 1700s USA flags for the kids to color, and copies of the school promise to sign with a quill pen. Sometimes even George Washington and Benjamin Franklin stop by the classrooms with a little skit about the signing of the Constitution.

Of course, I might read a book or two:

      

Here's one of my favorite Schoolhouse Rock Videos!

Here's a Constitution Trivia Boom Learning Activity:

US Constitution Fun Facts

And, of course, I have a couple more Patriotic resources:

Here's an explanation of 6 USA holidays, and some suggestions on celebrating our country.

Patriotic Holidays!

Here's another fun resource: a variety of writing paper with a USA theme:

USA Themed Writing Paper

What are your ideas for fun on Constitution Day?

Five Ways to Practice Counting By Fives

I've got some kids that totally need practice counting by 5s!  

This is a pretty important math concept, as it is needed to count money as well as tell time.  As they get older, it will help with multiplication.  

 

Plus, it's in the Common Core State Standards for second grade:  CCSS.Math.Content 2 NBT.A.2: Count within 1000; skip count by 5s, 10s, and 100s.

Yes, that does say within 1,000!  That means they should be able to start at 825 and keep going by 5s through 1,000!

That's why I brainstormed this list of 

Five Ways to Practice Counting by Fives!

1.  Here is a YouTube Video that's great!  It combines music, rhythm, visuals, and fun!  That's a brain-based recipe for learning!

Counting by Fives Song  by Have Fun Learning

I'll bet if you googled "counting by 5s" on YouTube, you'd find plenty more!

2.  Learning Games!  I posted about this game just the other day. It's great for learning any sequence that needs to be memorized. To download the directions, explore the image for the link, or go here: How to Play Countdown.

3.  Let them see the pattern!  I like to have loads of laminated copies of number grids around the room for the kids to look at, talk about, and mark up with their wipe-off markers.  They can call out the numbers by 5s as they circle them.  It really helps those visual kids to see the patterns. (Brain research tells us ALL students benefit from visuals! You can download a color-coded number grid here: Color Coded Number Grid.(or see  the image.) Plus you can download your color-coded grid to 1,000 grid here: Numbers 0 - 1,000.

4.  Get physical - and funny!  Kids need to move, and we know that movement and exercise help bring oxygen to the brain, therefore helping the memory!  We do loads of movement while counting, such as follow the leader, brain gym exercises, jumping jacks, push-ups, and just about anything we can think of to get the counting to be automatic.  Since laughter also brings oxygen to the brain, it's fun to do the counting with a funny voice. For some reason, I often break into a southern accent while counting by 5s, and the kids giggle like crazy and join right in!  (Waving y'all to all my southern friends... feel free to break into my Boston accent with your kids!)

5.  Don't stop at 100, and leave out the "and"!  I know, this isn't actually a 5th idea, but it's a pet peeve of mine.  My second graders are learning that counting by 5s keeps going after 100!  Those first 2 rows after 100 on the hundred grid are the toughest for the kids to learn, so it's important to go at least past 120!  Did you realize the proper way to say 105 is "one hundred five" without the word and. Technically, the word "and" stands for the decimal point, so "one hundred and five" really means 100.5.  (OK, you'd really say "one hundred and five-tenths", but let's get the kids in the right habit now so the kids won't get confused when they learn decimals!) 

 How do you practice counting by 5s with your students?

Earth Day Resources and Deals!

I'm a big fan of Earth Day. 

I think looking out for our world is VERY important and it needs to happen now. 

Each and every one of us needs to do what we can to help this place be around for our grandchildren and our grandchildren's grandchildren.

As with most special days, I always celebrate every Earth Day with plenty of good literature.  

Here are some of my favorite children's books with an Earth Day theme:     

• Earth Day is an ABC book, and makes a great introduction to the concept of protecting the environment.
• The Lorax, is classic Seuss!  He tells about a mystical land of fantasy, which, in true Seuss fashion, is a much deeper real story.  Even my second graders understand this valuable lesson.
• The Wump World is a fun book to read to the children and NOT show the illustrations (even the cover) until the children have had a chance to show the Wumps and Pollutians that they visualized while listening to the story.  Another great story about a fantasy world with very real lessons!

This one is a new discovery to me, and my new Earth Day Favorite. 

• A River Ran Wild is a story that dates back to the days the Native Americans ruled this area, and respected the earth. It continues through European settlers, the industrial age, and attempts to clean up the river. This book is based on a local river, which makes it near and dear to my heart, but it's got a valuable message about protecting our world. My students became very upset when they saw what happened to the beautiful river. See THIS BLOG POST for more about this book, and an art activity to go with it.

After reading, I intend to have the children do some opinion writing and/ or explanatory/ informational writing based on what they have learned about protecting the environment.

Here's a collection of writing paper with the Earth Day theme that I'll be using.  

See this link to download this dollar deal: Earth Day Writing Paper

Plus, here's a little song to encourage Recycling! Click the image to download Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle!

 How are you honoring Earth Day this year?

Ten Ways I Have Grown as a Teacher from Blogging

This will be my tenth set of ten!

If you haven't been following my blog, I decided to celebrate my 100th blog post by making ten lists of ten.  I've written about lots of things lately including blogs that inspire me, great children's books, brain based learning strategies,  motivating students, picture prompts,  things for students to work on during reading groups, learning games, things to do with a list of 1,000 numbers, and test taking ideas and strategies.  I have to say, it's been an adventure and an inspiration.  I've had no problems coming up with ideas, and I'm feeling pretty good about these blog posts!  I hope you have liked them as well.

Being a reflective person, I decided I want my tenth set of ten to be a reflection on the blogging experience so far.  Here are my Ten Ways I Have Grown as a Teacher from Blogging!

1.  Blogging has reminded me of the need for teachers to share.  I've been lucky to become acquainted with lots of other teacher bloggers.  (Much of this is due to Charity Preston's Teaching Blog Traffic School, which has given me most of the inspiration and knowledge that I have about this blogging stuff!)  Chatting with other teachers and exchanging ideas and strategies makes teaching so much easier as well as so much more fun.  Within the blogging community, there are incredible teachers who are more than willing to share ideas.  It's always been my philosophy in teaching to share ideas with anyone who asks.  Unfortunately not all teachers feel this way, but I'm always honored when others like my ideas.  I'm also enthusiastic about helping ALL children learn, not just my own class.  I've never been in this for the personal glory, I'm in this for the kids.


2.  I've made teacher friends around the world, at many different grade levels.  As I mentioned, there are plenty of teacher bloggers in this teacher blog community.  Now although I've never met many of these people, I know a lot about them!  Between reading their blogs, and following their tweets, facebook pages, and Pinterest pages, I feel they are friends.  Yikes, that almost sounds like I'm a stalker!  I'm really just a person who enjoys getting to know people, especially teachers!  We share a common bond.  As a lover of social studies, when a place comes up in conversation or in a book, I can tell the kids... I know a teacher from ... and the kids are thrilled!  (Brain research teaches us the importance of making those connections!)

3.  I learn from teachers at completely different grade levels.  I come from a family of teachers, and I always find it interesting to see how much I have in common with my brother, who teaches at the college level, and my sister who teaches at the high school level.  In fact, I'm always amazed at how much I had in common with my Dad, who was a high school football coach!  The size of the student really doesn't matter that much.  Teachers are caring people and have many of the same strategies and concerns no matter how big the student is, or what they are teaching. Since I've been blogging, I do tend to visit mostly blogs of teachers who are in the primary years, like myself, but I visit a lot of other teacher blogs where the content is far from beginning readers and writers.  Yes, I even learn from physics teachers and algebra teachers!

4.  I've learned more computer tricks.  I certainly haven't mastered HTML yet, but I understand it better, and have become acquainted with lots of little tricks and websites since I've been blogging.  There are things I do regularly now that I never would have tried a couple of years ago.  I certainly have a long way to go, but I've really learned a lot, and plan to continue learning!  (The way technology keeps changing, continuing to learn really isn't an option anyway!)

5.  I'm more focused on how children learn.  One of the topics that always catches my attention is brain based learning.  I've found lots of wonderful resources on this topic, and I'm developing an understanding of how the brain works.  In fact, I like to think I'm becoming an expert on brain based learning.  (Although I admit, putting that in writing makes me nervous, as I also know how much more there is to learn, that even scientists don't know yet!)

6.  Putting myself in the place of the learner forces me to think about learning.  As a teacher, I know what it's like to want the learner to learn.  As a learner, I can remember the challenges, frustrations, and successes of the learning process.  Since blogging involves a lot of learning, it gives me a stronger connection with my students:  I know what it's like to be them!


7.  I've been making better materials for my own students.  I've always made things for my students.  Of course, all teachers do this.  But now I find myself making things with a little more care, thinking that there must be other teachers out there who could also use this.  I find myself thinking, how could I make this so that more levels could use it, or so that larger groups could participate, or how could a teacher differentiate for lower/ higher students.  So I make it a little more detailed, with a little more thought, and I put it up on Teachers Pay Teachers as a freebie for anyone who might be able to use it.  Then I find myself looking at other materials on the same topic, looking for ways to improve upon it even more!


8.  I have plenty of free teaching materials at my fingertips.  Sites such as Teachers Pay Teachers, Classroom Freebies, several Pinterest boards and several teacher blogs I visit (see The Cornerstone for Teachers) are constantly giving out freebies.  I'm always amazed by how many games and activities teachers make that practice and develop the same skills my kids are working toward.  There's a whole lot of great stuff out there, and most of it is free!  The more I explore teacher blogs, the more I know exactly where to find just what my kids need!  (If I can't find it, I'll make it, and share it with someone else!)

9.  I've learned about Whole Brain Teaching  With all my reading on how the brain works, I've discovered Whole Brain Teaching!  Visit their site, check out a few of their free videos and free materials, and see how they've taken research on the brain and put it into classrooms for optimum learning.  I'm totally hooked!  I even attend their weekly live Webinars every Tuesday at 8 pm!  (But they can be watched anytime!)  I use many of the Whole Brain Teaching techniques in my classroom, and I couldn't be happier.

10.  I do more reflecting on my own teaching.  I've always been a naturally reflective person, but now that I'm a teacher blogger, I am even more reflective.  My own experiences in the classroom are what inspires my blog posts.  As I go through the day, I'm always thinking... would this be interesting to blog about..?  Would other teachers benefit from reading a discussion on what happened in reading today..?  I'll bet other teachers would love to hear how my students reacted to this book...  and so on.  I'm constantly reflecting on how I can make my classroom the best it can be, and how I can share it with other teachers.

How has blogging or blog hopping affected your teaching?

Ten Things to do With 1000 Numbers

Understanding the concept of 1,000 is a tough one for some children.  

To help them out, I give each child a color-coded copy of the numbers 0 - 1,000.  (Download HERE.) I also have a couple of these posted on the wall. 

I find laminating them gives them more durability, and gives them the opportunity to write on them with their dry-erase markers.  This really helps them keep track of their counting!

I thought I'd share some of the things the little ones can do with this number grid.  

1. Talk about the patterns  

Understanding the patterns of numbers really helps them understand how numbers work.  Brain research tells us that talking about those patterns internalizes those understandings.

2.  Find any number 

The more the children find random numbers on the 1,000 chart, the better they get at understanding the patterns and the way it all works. I'll use cards or dice to find a random number. If the children draw 3 one-digit cards, they can make a 3-digit number to find. So if they draw 3, then 9, then 5, they should find the number 395 on the grid. This is something children can do in a math center.

3. Add or subtract hundreds  

I keep an overhead of the same number chart in order to model how to use the number grid. With some modeling, the children can learn how to jump 100 numbers at a time. For example, if they start at 245, in order to jump 100, the tens and ones will stay the same, and the hundreds digit will increase by 1, bringing them to 345. Modeling this with the base ten blocks really help!

4. Call a number 

Have the children find it on their grids, then tell the number that is 100 less or 100 more. After some practice, they won't need the grids anymore!

5. Follow the leader  

Call a number, then have them add or subtract hundreds, tens, and ones until you're done. Hopefully, they'll land on the right number! For example, "Start on 384, add 200, subtract 30, add 100, subtract 50. What number are you on now?" (This is great for following directions as well as practicing the numbers on the 1,000 grid!)

6. Practice adding ones and tens through those tough transitions   

Transitioning from the 90s to the next set of 100 is always tough. With guidance, they can work their way counting from one hundred to the next.

7.  Modeling random numbers with the base ten blocks  

One child can randomly point to a number on the grid. The other child can act out that number with the base ten blocks. For example, if one child points to 582, the other child puts out 5 hundreds, 8 tens, and two ones. These blocks really internalize the understanding of place value, I use them all the time!

8. Make a game of it  

Children can race from 0 to 1,000. They can place their markers at 0, then with a roll of a couple of dice (making a 2-digit number), they can add that many tens and ones to make their way across the grid to work up to 1,000.  Again, the more they use the grid, the more they become more familiar with the numbers.  If they are having conversations about the numbers, it will help them understand them. (I'm already at 832, less than 200 to go!) Those conversations are important, kids need to talk in order to learn!

9. Another game  

A variation of the above game. Children can use cards to make a 2-digit number. This gives the possibility of numbers higher than 66, which is the highest they can make with 2 dice. The game could move faster. Again, this game encourages conversations about the numbers, which is exactly what we want!

10.  Number grid puzzles  

Give the children any 3-digit number. Have them fill in the numbers above, below, and beside that number as they would see it on the 1,000 grid.

As you use the grid, you'll think of plenty more things to do with this grid.  I'm sure the kids will, too!

For a "Count to 1,000" booklet, see here: 
Count to 1,000 Booklet

How do you help your students understand the concept of 1,000?