Category Archives: Math | Science | STEM | STEAM

Math resources and Science products for including STEM and STEAM into the classroom.

seed germinators

Spring gardening 101 and a FREE CHICKEN DANCE!

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I love SPRING!

DID I MENTION…

I LOVE SPRING!

This Spring I taught my students how to recycle water bottles into seed germinators!

Hello Spring

I Love Spring!

I am an AVID  Gardener!
 
LOVE to get my fingers in the dirt.
 
We call my hubby “FARMER WITHOUT A FARM!”
 
We are “suburbanites” with a backyard farm. Chickens included!
 
Luna our backyard chicken

Black Chicken

Sunshine our white backyard chicken

Sunshine – white chicken

 
 
More on that later.
 
 
This year we installed
 
PALLET  GARDENS!
How to plant in a Pallet Garden

Grow plants in a PALLET GARDEN!

So easy!  
Lay down wooden pallet.
Fill with potting soil & steer manure.
Plant!
 
We did seeds.
And more seeds. (Rotate your crops)
 
We didn’t have a lot of room for “vines”.. so we did NOT grow pumpkins.
 
We did grow some BEAUTIFUL SUNFLOWERS in the back.
They need A LOT OF room. They got 10-12 feet TALL!

                                Check out my Sunflower Seeds Plant Unit.                                                                                AWESOME!

 
Grow vegetables that you eat. I wanted to show the kids
ROOTS, STEMS, LEAVES, FLOWERS, etc.
Choose plants that will help with that!
 
We also made individual planters for the kids to take home.
 
As we had been studying EARTH DAY…
 
We RECYCLED 
water bottles as seed planters!
Water bottles for planting seeds.

Recycled Water bottles for planting.

Start with water bottles.
Cut them in half.
Poke a hole in the lid.
Tie a knot in string & thread through the hole.
When lid is ON…string hangs DOWN.
Flip the  TOP of bottle..into the  bottom.
The bottom will hold the water.
Add soil.

Cut bottles in half. Add soil.

Add soil.
And seeds to top.
Fill the bottom with water.
The string acts like a wick…to water itself!
Water bottles growing seeds.

Recycled water bottles with seeds.

Water bottles as seed germinators!

We have sprouts!

Soon… sprouts!
We took them HOME at OPEN HOUSE!
The kids were SO excited to show off their garden.
Maybe THEY will become MASTER GARDENERS some day!
 
Happy Dance!

Happy Dance!

 
In honor of my 
CHICKENS…
 
Chicken Dance is FREE!
 
Word Game

Chicken Dance Word Game from 1stgradefireworks

Happy Spring to all!

APRIL 25 is WORLD Penguin DAY!

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I know..It’s April

How can it be WORLD PENGUIN DAY?

via GIPHY

I don’t make these up… 🙂

To celebrate

WORLD Penguin Day (APRIL 25)

some bloggy friends and I have “LINKED” up to

give YOU some FUN and exciting ways to celebrate with your

students and your families!

Here are just a few penguin resources to get you started!

Thank You PINTEREST!

 

Earth Day is EVERY DAY

Happy Earth Day & A FREEBIE!

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Earth Day is EVERY DAY!

New packet to help our kiddos understand that

Earth DAY is NOT a holiday!

It is a “lifestyle”.

We take care of  “MOTHER EARTH” and

she will take care of US!

This packet helps young kids understand the “value” …in coins… of  RECYCLING!
They read story problems and count coins! ( 2 FUN things !)

 

Here’s your   FREEBIE!

 

McBlarney TIME Time to the hour and half Hour

The “WEE” Little Ones are a’WATCHIN … What time is it?

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What TIME is it?

It’s McBLARNEY TIME!

 
‘Tis the month of MARCH!
 
The “WEE LITTLE ONES”..
are a’watchin..
 
 
 
(Like my Gealic?) HAHA
 

What TIME is it?

ALREADY?
 
BTW…
There are 294 days 
…until CHRISTMAS! 
Just wanted to  FREAK YOU OUT!!!!!

What TIME is it?

It’s ONLY  MARCH!
Whew!
 
As an “official” IRISHLASS.
 Well…kinda…married a McCarty…
IRISH TO THE MAX!
And ..I carry Scottish/Irish genes.
 
So I AM an “IRISH  LASS” !
 
One of my fav. poems..I know it’s a song!
I love the lyrics!
 
 
 
The chorus…
 
When Irish eyes are smiling, 
Sure, 'tis like the morn in Spring. 
In the lilt of Irish laughter 
You can hear the angels sing. 
When Irish hearts are happy, 
All the world seems bright and gay. 
And when Irish eyes are smiling, 
Sure, they steal your heart away.
 
 
Awwww….
Makes me heart HAPPY!
 
I have been to the “EMERALD ISLE”.
I have “KISSED THE BLARNEY STONE”
…kinda gross.
( Story another time )

What TIME is it?

It’s McBlarney TIME!

 I want to share some “Blarney” with YOU!
 
 
 
 
 
And
 
 
 
 
Celebrate the WEARIN OF THE GREEN
on St.Paddy’s DAY!
 
Go n-éirí an bothar leat
(May your journey be successful)
 
* Don’t forget to wear YOUR GREEN on St. Patrick’s Day
…don’t want to get
PINCHED! 🙂
 

Games for Assessments. What will they think of next?

Games for Assessments? Are they CRAZY?

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Can I really play a FUN game to ASSESS?

Oh YEAH!

We have been playing ( YES…PLAYING) 

fun games this month!

And guess what?

I can use them for assessments! 

( Do I hear OH YEAH!)

Sorry …my WBT is going to my head!

My new SEPTEMBER game is both.

It’s a game & assessment.

I use the foldable game cards as a

What Am I? September assessment game

What Am I? September assessment game

Task Cards.What Am I? September assessment game.

Red cards. September assessment game

What Am I? September assessment game

What Am I? September assessment game

I start the month with the cards to see what my kiddos know…

DO I HEAR KWL???

Then I can plan for the month depending on what they DON’T KNOW!

At the end of the month..REASSESS!

Another GAME!

Use DATA for review in small groups.

(WOW!!! I think I am getting this down…sarcasm)

It’s only taken me 27 years..sarcasm

( Some of us have been teaching this way for years!)

Shhhh…don’t tell anyone

Those “young PHDers in Education” may feel sad. 

They think they have created something new..

The education pendulum has swung again!

Smile, nod your head,…and teach!

Do I hear an “OH YEAH!” 🙂

guided math data

Using Math DATA for Guided Math Groups

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How do we use MATH data for Guided Math Groups?

I teach MATH.
I “think”
I teach math well.
 
BUT..
 
HOW  DO  I  KNOW  IF  THEY  “GET  IT”???
 
How do I know if they have mastered ( or internalized )
the concept,
 
BEFORE  THE  TESTING  BEGINS???
 

Student at a computer.

Students work with technology during Guided Math groups.

 
 
I mean…it’s NOT..
I REPEAT…NOT
always about 
 
THE  TEST!
 
But.. my kiddos WANT to do well!
 
Even in First Grade, they KNOW!
 
They KNOW TESTS COUNT!
 
Whether or not we like tests or don’t,
 
TESTS  COUNT!
 
And so..
 
How do I know if they are ready?

How do I use Guided Math data to help students?

 

Girl with cubes.

Students work with manipulatives during guided math .

Boy with cubes.

Boy counting place value cubes during guided math.

 
 
I have a district purchased math curriculum 
I am required to teach.
 
We use  Expressions.
 

Math Expressions

Math Expressions is my district curriculum.

 
 
I have a pacing guide from my district to use as a “tool”
to
Keep ME on track.
 
Mostly to ensure I have taught the required concepts for 
THE TEST!
 
I am NOT a fan of WASTED WORKSHEETS!
 
SOME…I LIKE!
SOME…I DON’T!
 
So …now what?
 
I NEED DATA!
 
SHOW ME WHAT YOU KNOW!
 
And so..
THEY DO!
 
Here is my Lesson on
ADDITION using 3 digits:
 

whole class math lesson.

Whole Class math lesson with photo

Whole class math lesson.

Whole class math lesson with groups.

Independents math groups.

Independent math practice during guided math groups.

Independent math

Independent math becomes data for guided math groups.

Differentiated math data.

Differentiated math. The data becomes our groups.

So..  NOW  WHAT?
 

Now I have LOTS of DATA  (Student information)

 to put students into

  guided MATH groups!

I have noted students who need scaffolding in:
number sense
subitizing
numbers beyond 10
addition
grouping numbers
writing numbers
expanding numbers
place value
shape recognition
 
AND ALL OF THIS..
 
with 2 pieces of white paper & some crayons!
 
But…  
in the next few weeks
 
when we
 
“TEST”
 
My kiddos will “GET IT”!
 
I know they will!
 
If YOU need any help with 
 
Check out …
 

Monkey Math

Monkey Math

Monkey math

Monkey Math preview

Monkey math centers

Monkey math centers

 
for  GRADE  1
 
See how I use it  HERE  and  HERE
 
AND
 

Buggy Math

Buggy Math for Second Grade

 
For  GRADE  2
 
See how I use it HERE
I also have MORE MATH Products…
 

Math Talk.

Math Talk. Math Discussions.

Place Value

Sticks and Stones Place Value

Thanks for following!
 
Here’s a FREEBIE for YOUR TIME! 🙂
ks  and  Stones

Strategy Book

FREEBIE…Strategy Book for Making 10

 
ENJOY!
It's time to get the gardens started. You might get your hands DIRTY!

Get YOUR Hands DIRTY in the GARDEN!

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GET YOUR HANDS DIRTY IN THE GARDEN!

The SUN is SHINING!
The birds are “chirping”.
My chickens are laying EGGS!
It’s almost SPRINGTIME folks!

It’s time to plant the garden!

We gotta get ready!
So …how?
What do I do first? Then? Next?
( Sound familiar? )
We in NORCAL are ready to…
GET OUR HANDS DIRTY!

We have 3 raised gardens…

Grapes growing on the white fence.

The garden behind the white fence.

And an extra large garden.

The windmill for looks, in the garden.

The windmill in our garden.

 Yes…We have our own windmill.
( NO..it does NOT pump water…BUT IT LOOKS SO COOL!)

A twelve-foot sunflower grew in our garden.

Our twelve-foot sunflower in the garden!

Last year… 12 ft. tall SUNFLOWERS!

The garden has vegetables growing.

Our garden has tomatoes, onions, corn, and peppers.

Corn, tomatoes, garlic, onions, tomatillos, cilantro, peppers,
green beans, squash, pumpkins, grapes

Our garden has sunflowers beginning to grow.

The sunflowers are beginning to grow in the garden.

In the beginning…(sunflowers)

The little kids love the garden worms.

Our granddaughters found worms in the garden.

And our helpers…
Our granddaughters  &  grandson   LOVE DIRT!
Best friends with WORMS!
(Put your coffee grounds into your garden…worms LOVE THEM!)

The black chicken helps in the garden.

The black chicken is in the coop.

The white chicken likes the garden.

The white chicken likes to eat the vegetables from the garden.

We also have 2 chickens…
Snow white (Black..I know…SNOW WHITE has BLACK HAIR)
and Rapunzel (  She used to have yellow feathers..)
Granddaughters named them…
Thank You, Disney!
We also live in the suburbs…NO FARM!
We just grow what we use & use what we grow!
So Valentine’s DAY is usually the “day”.
START YOUR SEEDS!

Plant your garden!

HUH?
How? Where?
HUH?
We use seed starter kits.
( Lowes, Home Depot, etc)

Seed starters help us get the plants for the garden.

We start the seeds for the garden in small starter kits.

We put one seed in each “pot”, water daily,
and keep in the sun…
INDOORS!
(Usually on MY kitchen table for a while). 🙁
As the seeds sprout…we move them into a small greenhouse outside for acclimation.

The greenhouse helps get out garden plants started.

A small hothouse helps the small plants grow.

As the seeds gain height and leaves…
We plant them in the gardens.
We try to plant/ sprout / acclimate/ plant in the gardens
at different times.
That way we always have produce ripening.
I also have herbs:
cilantro, parsley, basil, rosemary, chives, mint
growing year round.
This year we are trying something new.
( In addition to what we already have..)

We can plant our vegetables in the straw bales.

Straw bales for the new garden.

Straw Bale Gardening!
Researching it now.
Looks promising!
(I think I may propose this one at school too).
Great for growing plants in a small space!
A NEW garden!
OK..then what?
We have ALL of this summer produce!

What do we do with it?

(You can only eat so much…so fast!)
Well…
Hubby cans!
(Yes…HE  CANS!)
* This year SANTA brought him a new pressure canner!
Happy hubby…Happy  wife! 🙂

We can our produce from the garden.

After we harvest, we can to preserve our produce.

Peaches…yummy!

We made tomato sauce.

We made sauce from the garden tomatoes.

Salsa, spaghetti sauce, tomatoes.
ALL kept in storage for WINTER!
And me?
I dehydrate…I dehydrate WELL!

Dehydrated garden vegetables.

We dehydrate the garden vegetables.

Our garden produce is preserved.

Preserving fruits and vegetables.

I Love my dehydrator!
My new LOVE is
PERSIMMONS!

Orange persimmons from the garden.

Persimmons can be preserved.

I can’t wait to dehydrate them this fall.
Persimmons to snack on…ALL YEAR LONG!
YUMMY!
And ALL from the gardens!
According to 2018

2018 US Farmer's Almanac

The 2018 US Farmer’s Almanac

IT’S  TIME  TO  PLANT!

According to FARMER folklore,
The farmer’s timetable for planting is:
“When you can put your bare behind on the soil
& it is WARM…
time to plant!”
I haven’t actually tried that…
I  think I will wait for a little more SUN and make a good GUESS!
It’s almost time!
Get your gardens ready..it’s time to
GET YOUR HANDS DIRTY!  🙂

The farmer and his wife.

The farmer and his wife.

If you are looking for a fun gardening unit for your CLASSROOM…
*click on the FREE PREVIEW..:)

Robby Rabbit's Garden

Robby Rabbit’s Garden

Click  HERE to see the new packet.

 

Check out some more  GARDEN fun from 1stgradefireworks:
To see the SUNFLOWER UNIT
click  HERE

Teach your students about seeds with SUNFLOWER SEEDS A Plant Unit

Sunflower Seeds plant unit

Using Math Data for Guided Math Groups

Leave a reply

I teach MATH.

I “think”

I teach math well.

BUT…

HOW  DO  I  KNOW  IF  THEY  “GET  IT”???

How do I know if they have mastered ( or internalized )

the concept,

BEFORE  THE  TESTING  BEGINS???

I mean…it’s NOT…

I REPEAT…NOT

always about 

THE  TEST!

But.. my kiddos WANT to do well!

Even in First Grade, they KNOW!

They KNOW TESTS COUNT!

Whether or not we like tests or don’t,

TESTS  COUNT!

And so…

I have a district purchased math curriculum 

I am required to teach.

We use  Expressions.

I have a pacing guide from my district to use as a “tool”

to
Keep ME on track.

Mostly to ensure I have taught the required concepts for 

THE TEST!

I am NOT a fan of WASTED WORKSHEETS!

SOME…I LIKE!

SOME…I DON’T!

So …now what?

I NEED DATA!

SHOW ME WHAT YOU KNOW!

And so…

THEY DO!

Here is my Lesson on

ADDITION using 3 digits:

So..  NOW  WHAT?

Now I have LOTS of DATA 

(Student information)

 to put students into

I have noted students who need scaffolding in:

number sense

subitizing

numbers beyond 10

addition

grouping numbers

writing numbers

expanding numbers

place value

shape recognition

AND ALL OF THIS…

with 2 pieces of white paper & some crayons!

But…  

in the next few weeks

when we

“TEST”

My kiddos will “GET IT”!

I know they will!

If YOU need any help with 

Check out …

for  GRADE  1

See how I use it  HERE  and  HERE

AND

BUGGY  MATH

For  GRADE  2

See how I use it HERE

I also have MORE MATH Products…

Math Talk for Math Discussions

Sticks  and  Stones

Thanks for following!

Here’s a FREEBIE for YOUR TIME! 🙂

ks  and  Stones

ENJOY!

Wendy

Are YOU ready for DECEMBER?

Holiday Literacy\Math Games and Activities and a FREEBIE

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Are YOU planning for December?

Are YOU ready for DECEMBER?

Get your first-grade math games & activities ready for DECEMBER!

Are you ready for holiday first-grade math games and activities?

Do you have your holiday reading and writing centers ready for December?

Do you need help finding them?

Easy Prep?  High student Engagement?

I have HELP FOR YOU!

This ROUND-UP is to help YOU get organized,

NOW!!!!

The FREEBIE is at the BOTTOM! 

KEEP  READING!   🙂 

Get your guided math centers ready to go!

Math games and printables prepped, organized, sorted.

 Students can’t wait

for the exciting activities

to help them get through DECEMBER!

Place Value Ture or False Sorting

Do your kids need extra help with place value? How about a sorting activity?

Place Value Sorting Cards True or False?

 

Greater then Less Than Holiday Edition

How to help your students practice greater than and less than with game activity.

Greater Than Less Than Holiday Edition 

 

December Fact Families

Math Fact practice activities for December

December Fact Families

10 more and 10 less for math centers

10 more and 10 less task cards for math games using the hundreds chart! Fun game!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Elf is NOT on the Shelf

Now  it is time for those literacy

( reading, writing, phonics, word) 

centers! 

Are YOU ready? 

The Elves are Working OVERTIME!

Literacy activities and games for reading, writing, and grammar for December.

The Elves are Working Overtime

Reading Word Trees for Fluency

Helping students read using Word Trees. Reading activity for fluency practice.

Sight Word Trees Holiday Edition

And for a FUN combination of Literacy and MATH…

The Winter Wonderland BUNDLE!

More games and fun activities to help your students practice grade-level standards in a highly energizing way! What a fun way to support learning through the HOLIDAY season!

Winter Wonderland Holiday Literacy & Math BUNDLE

Reading, writing, phonics, grammar, sight words, place value, task cards, and student practice pages to support learning through DECEMBER!

Winter Wonderland HOLIDAY BUNDLE

Do not forget to take care of YOURSELF! 

Get planned and prepped for December

and then enjoy the season!

Laugh, giggle, give hugs & high-fives.

The holidays are for making memories.

MAKE YOURS!

Here are some posts that can help YOU, too! 🙂

When do YOU put up YOUR Christmas Tree?

What Does Read At Home Really Look Like?

Don’t Blink!

Balanced Literacy

Happy December!  Take Care of Yourself and ENJOY IT!

THANK YOU for hanging in for this LONG POST!

Here is a FREEBIE for YOU!

Click BELOW

Holiday NOUN, VERB, & ADJECTIVES

Wendy

Do You want to build a PLACE VALUE Snowman?

Do YOU want to build a SNOWMAN? A Place Value Snowman? YES!

Leave a reply

I know…

more FROZEN! And Frozen 2

Sorry if the song will NOW be in your head…

ALL DAY!

So…let’s add some FUN!

DO YOU WANT TO BUILD A SNOWMAN???

I DO! I DO!

My firsties are working on place value.

Struggling a little with the different variations on representing numbers.

So, what is a teacher to do?

BUILD A SNOWMAN!

My newest packet allows kids to build a snowman

 AT THEIR LEVEL!

Snowballs available in 

base-ten, expanded notation, math mountains, & ten sticks.

If they are working on building a number in base-ten blocks

then only use the base-ten blocks snowball.

Want to extend?

Add a “expanded notation” snowball.

Challenge students?

Add a few more….mix them up & have them sort…use as an assessment!

WOW!  All in one!

Here it is!

Check out my PINTEREST BOARDS for MORE GOODIES!

Need MORE for Winter in the Classroom? CLICK  HERE

Have FUN! 🙂

Wendy