Create Your Own Math Resource Folder

Math reference folders are the perfect way for your students to have all their math references at their fingertips.

"How do you spell September?"
"What shape has 5 sides?"
"How many days are in a week?"

Math reference folders help students to help themselves! These 3-sided math reference folders are simple to make and will hold up all school year.

 Looking for ready-made reference pages? Check these out!

Introducing Multiplication Conceps

I landed a job teaching third grade right out of college. It seems like I spent the entire year reviewing multiplication facts. We drilled, drilled, and drilled some more. Although it looked like the majority of my students learned their multiplication facts, it was hard to gauge if they actually understood the concept of multiplication. After my first year, I changed schools and began teaching fifth grade. Once again, it seemed like I spent the entire year focusing on our multiplication facts. Once AGAIN, we drilled, drilled, and DRILLED some more.

Now that I am teaching second grade, I have really started thinking about how to teach the concept of multiplication. I don’t start multiplication until later in the school year. However, we address the concept throughout the year.

I have found that discussing real life situations with the kids is the best way to introduce multiplication as a concept. For example, “Sally Sue Pants bought four ice cream cones. Each ice cream cone has three scoops of ice cream on it. How many scoops are there in all?” The first thing we do is to actually draw the picture--we draw four ice cream cones and then add three scoops of ice cream to each cone.

After that, I show them that it is actually a multiplication problem and show them how to write the problem. We repeat this several times. I like to divide a paper into fourths so that we can have eight practice problems (four problems on each side).

After we understand the concept of multiplication, we move onto work that still requires students to draw the problems. Although some may be ready to move on to learning actual multiplication facts at this point, we save those for later. Once we seem to have mastered that, I show them how the problem can be represented as a multiplication problem. The students love being able to write multiplication problems. After adding and subtracting in kindergarten and first grade, it’s exciting for them to be able to write a whole new kind of problem.

Even though we are writing multiplication problems, I really like to be systematic about which problems we start with. I prefer to start with only multiplying by 2’s. Since multiplying by 2’s is a review of adding our doubles, it’s the perfect place to start.

We focus intently on multiplying by 2’s for an entire week. I really like to make sure they have mastered their 2’s before moving on. The eventual target is to have the students solving word problems that require them to apply their multiplication facts. My students seem to solve word problems better when they are allowed to use color pencils. I have always used color pencils while working on the elmo projector. My students asked me if they could use them too, and it has worked really well. They love adding some color to their work.

When solving word problems, we always read through the problem first. Next, we underline the question (this is where the color pencils come in). We then go back and circle any number that we need. Lastly, we solve the problem.

Don’t get me wrong – we still practice our multiplication facts. However, we do not do that until they fully understand the concept. When we start practicing the facts, I only start with 0’s and 1’s. We practice these each morning with our warmup papers for a week. After a week, we test over them (our test day is always Wednesday). If they do well on those, they get a small sticker that they can put on their desk name tag. I strongly suggest starting with the facts that they can easily master. This is the order that I use in my classroom – 0’s, 1’s, 2’s, 5’s, 3’s, and then 4’s. Learning all of these will really help them going into the third grade.

My favorite site for multiplication fact practice pages is Math Drills. I really like this site because it allows you to focus on multiplying by a single number at a time. For example, after we have learned our 0’s and 1’s, we move on to the 2’s. I can easily print pages that contain only x2 problems. I like to print 100 problems a page, but I cut the pages into strips so that they are only practicing 20 or 30 at a time. (This is also great for saving paper).

Feel free to download my Beginning Multiplication FREEBIE to help you get started!

Using the Olympics in Your Classroom

My students have always loved learning about the Olympics. It’s an event that everyone seems to be interested in. I think the fact that students can take what they’ve learned about the Olympics home to share with their family is a big reason. Students also enjoy watching the Olympics at home and discussing it the next day. There are so many ways to incorporate the Olympics into the classroom. Here are some of my favorite ways!

Social Studies

The Olympics are a great way to talk about “Then and Now.” The first modern day Olympics was over 100 years ago. What was the Olympics like back then? How has it changed over the years? Here are some things to think about:

·         Compare the number of events back then and now

·         Compare the number of athletes back then and now

·         Compare who can compete compared to who could compete then

·         Compare the medals of the past to the current medals

·         Compare the length of the games from the past years to the current years

·         Compare the number of countries (and their medal counts) to the number of countries now competing

There are so many fascinating events in the Olympics! Students absolutely LOVE learning about the various events! I like to show them a presentation about the different events. There are sooo many that it often takes a few class periods to discuss them. We are all familiar with the popular events, but there are some really unique events!

We also cut out fact cards about each event. Each card has a short summary of each event. We placed these in pockets. They could be used in interactive notebooks, but we saved ours for making a lapbook about the Olympics.

The Olympics are also a fun way to learn about geography. We can look at the maps of ancient Greece as well as the current map of Rio.

We use the Olympics to discuss timelines. We discuss how the modern day Olympics has changed over the years. Then we complete an Olympics timeline for practice.

Reading

Below are some books that we have been reading while learning about the Olympics.

We also read some nonfiction reading passages to learn more about the Olympics.

Math

Keeping up with the medal count is a great activity during the Olympics. The medal count is also a super way to practice your data and graphing skills!

Along with reading the medal count in a table, we construct:

·         Tally charts

·         Bar graphs

·         Pictographs

Complete Olympic Unit

All of the information we learned about the Olympics went into our lapbooks to take home to share with our families.

It also could have easily fit into an interactive notebook or journal.

All of the activities above can be found in the Olympic Unit below!

  

Olympics 2016 No Prep Unit

You can find the presentation at:

Olympics 2016 Presentation

Or you can buy them as a BUNDLE and SAVE!

Olympics 2016 BUNDLE

The ONE Thing that Revolutionized my Math Class!

Since I started teaching second grade 10 years ago, we have used several different Math curriculums. No matter what curriculum we are using, this daily “Math Meeting” has been the one constant thing that has helped my instruction. Seriously, it has revolutionized my math class. I have simplified this Math Meeting time throughout the years and have adjusted it to fit our changing standards. By using this format, I am able to do a mini lesson on the date, time, place value, money, writing equations, problem solving, and skip counting – every single day (and usually during a span of 10 minutes)!

This simple “Math Meeting” enables me to cover concepts before we even get to those concepts in our curriculum. Throughout the year we will start new concepts with ease because we have already covered them on a daily basis in our Math Meetings!

I simply write all the parts of the Math Meeting on my white board each morning. This following recording sheet (link below) is used for the students to follow along. I also fill in one of the recording sheets on my elmo while they are filling out their recording sheet. There are 5 spaces on the recording sheet that enables students to complete the Math Meeting each day of the week.

Math Meeting Recording Sheet FREEBIE

The first thing we fill in for the day is the date. We start the year by writing out the date using the month, day, and year. After a few weeks of school, we move to writing our date in numbers.

After the date, we write in the time. This is an excellent way to teach time before we even get to our unit on time!

Next, we fill in our secret number. For the secret number, I draw ten blocks for place value practice.

We start the beginning of the year just counting dimes and pennies. After we’ve mastered that, we add nickels and eventually quarters. Money has to be practiced everyday if students are to master it.

The word problem that I write on the board always varies depending what we’ve been learning. I usually write a word problem that is similar to something that we learned the day before or that they had on their homework. The recording sheet has workspace for the students to show their work and write their answer.

The number of the day is the section that the students seem to like the most. One of my student jobs in my classroom is “Math Meeting.” That person gets to go to the board for the number of the day section. They call on someone to give them the number of the day and they get to record the number on the board. My only rule for the number of the day is that the number cannot be larger than 10. The math meeting person also gets to call on four other students to give them an equation that equals the number of the day. Their job is also to write the equations on the board. You’ll be amazed by the equations that your students will generate by the end of the year. Many of my students will begin to think of multiplication problems as well as two-step problems.

Skip counting is the last thing that we do during our Math Meeting. I usually pick a number to start with and use that same number to start each day during the week. However, what we count by changes every day. We usually count by ones on Monday. On the other days of the week we may count my 2, 5, 10, or count backwards.

When we are done with our Math Meeting the students place the papers in their “Math Meeting” folder so that they can find it the next day.  On Friday, all of the papers are turned in for a daily grade.

This simple Math Meeting has revolutionized my math class!

Math Resource Folders

 How do you spell September? How much is a quarter worth? How do you skip count by 3’s?

…these are all questions that elementary teachers hear all year long. To solve this problem, and to teach students at the same time, I’ve started using Math resource folders. They actually serve as our “privacy folders” for all subjects all year long. Making them is one of the first things that I like to do during our first Math lesson of the year (and it also makes a great first day of school activity). I have made these folders both ways: 2-sided and 3-sided. Last year we made 2-sided folders (made with one file folder).

This year I am going to make the 3-sided folders (made with 2 file folders). They just seem to be less crowded with information.

If you are making a 3-sided folder, you will need to assemble the folder using 2 file folders. Last year, all of mine were made out of plain manila folders. However, I found a bright blue (our school color is blue) that is sold in a large quantity at Staples. The colored folders seem to be a little thicker than regular file folders and they should hold up better.

How to construct a 3-sided folder from 2 file folders:

1. Place one file folder on top of the other. 

2. Line up the left side of one folder on top of the right side of another. 

3. Glue the overlapping sides together.

To make either the 2-sided or 3-sided folders, we simply cut out all of the information that we need for references. All of the references that I use in my classroom can be found in the link below. It’s important that the students arrange all the information before they glue it all down to make that it all fits. When they are happy with their arrangement of information, they can glue it all down. 

To ensure that the folder lasts all year, I laminate them. My second graders keep them in the top slot in their desk. We seem to use them throughout the day. They are great to use during fact tests, during Spelling tests, and when little darlings can’t seem to act pleasant to one another ;)

You can find my templates for our Math resource folders below!

Math Resource Folders

Multiplication Games - Making Math FUN!!!

My kiddos absolutely love this flyswatter game! I can’t take credit for making this game up, but I have used it for years. I’ve used it in grades 2-5 and it has been a hit in all the grades. I’ve used it for addition too (you can see my addition chart showing through behind it).

It was really simple to make. For this one, I just used yellow butcher paper. This chart is actually in three parts (which makes it easier for storage and it allowed me to laminate it). I staple them all on the wall to look like it is one large chart. To make the numbers, I just used precut stars since I already had them on hand. IMPORTANT, only use numbers that are products!!! This chart is easily 8 years old. At the end of the year I take it down, roll it up, and store it for the next year.

The rules are simple – divide your class into teams (we often do boys v. girls). Give each team a flyswatter. Mine are labeled for each team.

Have some flashcards ready. I usually pick through mine and pick only the ones that we have already learned.

Both of my lines stand behind my rug. You could easily make a line on the floor out of tape for them to stand behind. The first person in each line stands on the rug (or in front of the line). I show both of the students a flash card and the first person to tap (not slam) the correct answer gets one point. The winner gets to stay for one more turn. The person who did not get it, goes to the end of their line. The first team to 25 is usually the winning team in our class.

 Guidelines before starting:

·        Make sure that they know they cannot smack the flyswatters too hard. I always joke and tell them that the teacher next door doesn’t want a new hairdo from them knocking through the wall.

·        Explain that they cannot simply hold their flyswatters close to the chart before finding the answer - this blocks the other person and they will automatically lose their turn if they do this.

·        When their turn is over, they have to gently hand the flyswatter to the next person in line.

·        If it is not their turn, they have to stay off the rug (or behind the rug).

That is it -  you’re ready to practice your facts and have fun!

Below is my FREEBIE for teaching the beginning multiplication facts!

Teaching Multiplication Facts FREEBIE