Category Archives: Math | Science | STEM | STEAM

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

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

September PREVIEW & REVIEW.

What Am I? September assessment game

Red cards. 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???

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?

Students work with manipulatives during guided math .

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 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 with photo

Whole class math lesson with groups.

Independent math practice during guided math groups.

Independent math becomes data for guided math groups.

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

MATH PRACTICE…

Check out …

MONKEY MATH

Monkey Math

Monkey Math preview

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 Discussions.

Math Talk for Math Discussions

Sticks and Stones Place Value

Sticks and Stones

Thanks for following!

Here’s a FREEBIE for YOUR TIME! 🙂

ks and Stones

FREEBIE…Strategy Book for Making 10

- math games

- dice

Morning Meetings

ENJOY!

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…

The garden behind the white fence.

And an extra large 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!

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)

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 is in the coop.

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! 🙂

After we harvest, we can to preserve our produce.

Peaches…yummy!

We made sauce from the garden tomatoes.

Salsa, spaghetti sauce, tomatoes.

ALL kept in storage for WINTER!

And me?

I dehydrate…I dehydrate WELL!

We dehydrate the garden vegetables.

Preserving fruits and vegetables.

I Love my dehydrator!

My new LOVE is

PERSIMMONS!

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

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.

If you are looking for a fun gardening unit for your CLASSROOM…

*click on the FREE PREVIEW..:)

Robby Rabbit’s Garden

Click HERE to see the new packet.

Check out some more GARDEN fun from 1stgradefireworks:

Spring is in the Air!

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…

How do I know if they are ready?

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

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

MATH PRACTICE…

Check out …

MONKEY MATH

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

Holiday Literacy\Math Games and Activities and a FREEBIE

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Are YOU planning 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!

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

Place Value Sorting Cards True or False?

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

Greater Than Less Than Holiday Edition

Math Fact practice activities for December

December Fact Families

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?

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

The Elves are Working Overtime

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

Holiday Noun, Verb, & Adjectives

Wendy

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

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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!

DO YOU WANT TO BUILD A SNOWMAN?

Check out my PINTEREST BOARDS for MORE GOODIES!

Need MORE for Winter in the Classroom? CLICK HERE

Have FUN! 🙂

Wendy

UPDATE! Math Practice for the WHOLE YEAR!

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Really?

Math practice…DONE?

For the WHOLE YEAR???

YEP! YEP!

Math Practice …Common Core Aligned

Daily skills for kiddos to practice!

My newest packet requires..

NO LAMINATING!!!

Really?

I mean REALLY? YES!

I Mean NO! NO LAMINATING!

HOW? Tell me HOW?

First…Print the cards on paper or cardstock.

I choose…FLUORESCENT!

Pink, green, blue, orange , & yellow!

BRIGHT BRIGHT BRIGHT

I have Black walls ( Wal Mart Twin Sheets!)

LOVE THEM!

Bright cards LOOK GREAT!

So how do I put them on the walls?

Sheet Protectors!

Cut them to size….

( I added tape to the bottom of some to make a “POCKET”)

and

VOILA!

To see the whole wall….

Close your eyes! READY??

Love Love Love it!

Here is a preview!

And here is the best!

The kiddos use this printable

doing 4 sets a day, for 5 days

AND THEN…

take the cards out of the pockets…place a new card in front…

AND DO IT AGAIN!

New card…same skill!

Here is the student printable:

YOU SEE?

LOTS of Practice…Little teacher WORK!

Work Smarter….NOT HARDER!

Now available at 1stgradefireworks

Informational Writing

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This week we did some EXCELLENT WRITING!

I have to be honest…I have not taught ALL of my SCIENCE standards.

Somewhere, I have a new Science series, but my new ELA series takes up most ALL of our day…& Math… so, as any good teacher ( who LOVES science & writing) would do INTEGRATE!

We wrote about ANIMALS!

Living things…yaadaa. yaadaa. yaadaa…NO!

WE WROTE ABOUT REAL ANIMALS!

My EL’s had a hard time with the new vocabulary, (Thank You Project GLAD), we did new academic language, made charts, filled out graphic organizers, did shared writing, sloppy copies, and a final draft!