Sight Words

We have been spending some extra time on our sight words each week and I'm excited to say that the kids are knowing them when I test them on the words at the end of the week.  YAY!  We begin our week by introducing the sight words and talking to our shoulder buddy about what they mean and they try to use them in a sentence.  Then the practice is on!  Here is what we have been doing to master those sight words:

1.  Quiz Quiz Trade-This is a Kagan strategy that is very simple.  I make the flashcards of our sight words and give each kid a sight word.  They walk around the room and find someone to read their sight word.  Once they both have read the sight word, they switch cards and move on to someone else. 

2.  Around the World-The kids never get tired of doing this one.  They form 2 lines and see who can read the sight word first.

3.  Tic Tac Toe-They get a tic tac toe board with their words on it.  To put an X or O down they have to say the word first. 

4.  Connect Four-They always love playing the connect four game that we have several on TPT.  If they say the word correctly then they get to mark it.  Whoever gets 4 in a row wins.  

5.  Superspeed-I type out the sight words several times and we line up on the floor and the first student says the first word, second student (second word) etc.  They have one minute.  We do this every day and they try to beat how far they get each day. It has also helped them to listen and track each word that is said by the other students.  (sorry I didn't get a picture of this one).

6.  I Have Who Has-they always love playing I Have Who Has.  I time them and they try so hard to beat their time.  (sorry I forgot to get a picture of this one as well).

They love practicing the sight words with all of these and the best thing about it is that they are starting to master the words!

Have a great day!

Five for Friday (and Free Math Resources)

Hey there! 

I'm linking up with Kacey at Doodlebugs for Five for Friday again! Lots of math stuff this week--hopefully you'll get a few ideas. :-)

1

This Five for Friday has to kick off with pictures from last night's KU game. We decided it was time to take our kids to Allen Fieldhouse for a game--before their basketball seasons got started. The Jayhawks did not disappoint!

 

This picture actually made it on the big screen! I'm pretty sure we are famous now. ;-)

 

This was our attempt at a family selfie. The usher felt sorry for us and took the one above. Ha! And yes, if you're keeping track, I am now a "coppery" brunette.

2

Math Rotations!

They are in full swing! 

I just love it. 

The kids love it.  

Here's how it works in my room:

 

I have three rounds of math rotations each day. 

This PowerPoint is projected on the board. It is a basic pie chart and I just added the names to it. Easy Peasy!

The activities change daily and are written on the whiteboard (in the example - Math Game, MM/ML (Mountain Math/Mountain Language), and Mrs. R. When I change slides, the groups move to the next activity.

We rotate groups every 15-20 minutes.

3

Here's a snapshot of one day of math rotations (including links to some great free math resources):

 

 

Comparing Numbers Task Cards (freebie from ChiliMath)

 Double Digit Addition (w/o regrouping) Word Problems (freebie from Step Into 2nd)

Rounding With A Number Line (freebie from Rachael Parlett)

Note to Self - rounding to 10 is okay this time of year...100 not so much. 

4

I was asked to make sheet cakes for the Booster Club to sell at our theater production--Wizard of Oz. I can't wait to see it tonight! I couldn't resist tasting them, so I made minis for my family and me.

 P.S. Peanut butter wins for me, but hubby says chocolate!

5

We're rocking and rolling on our HOTSHOTS! 

We do one 2-3 times a week and the kids are pretty much working by themselves now. They get excited when I tell them to get out their "Hotshots" folder.

Our first grade teacher has a math smartie who needed an extra challenge, so she is actually using the 1st grade HOTSHOTS designed for later in the year.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, here's a snapshot: 

Sometimes I project on the screen so we can work through it together or to explain a challenging problem. 

These are a great way to get some daily math review along with a "Fix the Sentence." Easy to differentiate too. LOVE them!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Wisdom for Wednesday-Knowing Versus Doing

Welcome to another week of:

I saw this the other day and had to reflect on this statement.  As I thought about it, I realized that there is a huge difference between knowing something that is right and actually doing it.   The more I thought about it, the more I realized I need to work on it.  It is one thing to know what is right and know what the bible is teaching, but it is a totally different thing to actually do it.  I can read the bible, but if I don't apply it then it doesn't mean as much.  I have to apply it to my life and do what it is telling me to do while I'm here on this Earth.  

John 13:17  If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

Have a great day!

Making Instruments

We read the story Beth and the Band in our reading book.  In this story, the kids make instruments out of things they have and they play in a band with them.  The kids got to make an instrument at home out of things they had and brought it to school to show and play.  They were very excited about doing this and we had some very creative instruments that came in.  During Music class, they were able to play their instruments.  They were all smiles!!  Check them out:

Have a great week!

Number Lines

Hey there!

I'm popping in to talk number lines today.

We worked on number lines last week. First we learned to recognize patterns and fill in missing numbers. Then we used the number line to solve simple addition problems.

When we progressed to an "open number line," things got a little tricky for my second graders. After struggling through one assignment, I decided to reteach the lesson with a little movement to try to increase engagement and trick those little brains into learning.

The kids certainly enjoyed the lesson and we had more success with the second open number line assignment. It was still a little tricky for them, but I was excited to see things start to click when we moved on to use these task cards. 

We worked on the task cards together in small groups because they were pretty advanced for my kiddos. They enjoyed the challenge and I heard many comments about loving this "hard math." ;-)

Next week, we're moving on to using number lines to round to the nearest 10 and 100 and comparing numbers!

Hope you had a great week and enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Wisdom for Wednesday - Irritated

Happy Wednesday!

I've had one of those days…well, one of those afternoons. 

A few small things happened or were said to me that by themselves are not really that big of a deal. Then I started to think about them…and well those things just started to add up and before I knew it, I was very irritated (maybe even a little angry). Anyone else ever have that problem?

So when I got home and checked my Facebook feed, I saw this quote and since it is exactly what I needed, I thought I'd share it with you as well.

Enough said.

Thankful I'm headed to church for a recharge this evening! 

And I'm planning some extra time in The Word and prayer before I head out again tomorrow. ;-)

Thanks for stopping by for this week's:

November Currently

I have linked up with the November currently with Farley at Oh Boy 4th Grade.  

Listening- to Casting Cares on the computer. I love this song.  It talks about casting all your cares on the Lord.  Right now, I feel like I need to be doing that.  :-)

Loving-the weather was a little cooler over the weekend, but we were back up in the 70's today.  I love that the weather is staying nice.  I'm not looking forward to the cold weather.

Thinking-WOW!  Where has this year gone.  I can't believe that it is already November and we just finished parent teacher conferences. 

Wanting and Needing-I haven't been able to sleep very well for the last 5 days.  :-(   So I am really wanting and needing some sleep!

Yummy-I love stuffing especially if it is soaked in gravy!!!

Make sure you link up for your November Currently.  

Have a great week!