Category Archives: Math | Science | STEM | STEAM

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

WHAT TIME IS IT?

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WHAT TIME IS IT???

How many “times” today have you been asked…

WHAT TIME  IS  IT???

 
For me…
WAY  TOO  MANY!
 
And so…
WE  TEACH!
 
Hour hand.
Minute hand.
O’clock.
Thirty.
 
And OVER…And OVER…And OVER!
 
Big ones for WHOLE Group. 
Little Ones for Small / Independent Practice.
 
(Practice  MAKES   Perfect!)
 

To help out…

 

                                        I have created a much-NEEDED Packet…

 for ME AND  For YOU!

 

Snowmen TIME

 

 

 

 

 

WHAT  TIME  IS  IT  SNOWMAN?

 

These games will help my kiddos practice

Hour & Half-Hour

in 

MULTIPLE GAME  Formats!

 
We LOVE  GAMES!
 
Those who like SORTING…SORT!
Those who like a MATCHING GAME…MATCH!
Those who like to write…WRITE!
 
And so we work..we play…we practice!
 
And then…
 
WHAT  TIME  IS  IT??
 
RECESS!  LUNCH!  TIME TO GO HOME!
 

I also have a MARCH goodie to practice telling TIME!

 
 
  
Check out my WINTER Pinterest board!
LOTS  of Winter GOODIES!

First Grade Writing – NONFICTION

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First Grade Writing

So…we have taken the step  jump  LEAP into writing

NON-FICTION.

As a Title 1 teacher

with half of my class CELDT Levels 1&2 ( low English),

I am ALWAYS trying to give my kids more vocabulary, visual clues, and

FRONTLOAD information

…before we WRITE!

So this week…was

REINDEER  WEEK!

I was going for REAL REINDEER.

We read books, watched VIDEOS, did real research ( yes, ONLINE!)

We even attempted to watch the

REINDEER.CAM

Can’t show kiddos in my district…

TOO MUCH SANTA!

I know…don’t go there!

So …I kept it real!

ONLY REAL REINDEER!

I was going for NON-FICTION!

They did great!

As an adult, I felt they had mastered

 a LOT

of information!

What do reindeer LOOK like?

Where do they LIVE?

What do they EAT?

( One of our movies mentioned MUSHROOMS…

BOY did they pick up on that!)

And then…

what makes them different

 (special )

from

other ANIMALS?

Here are some of our writings…

(Don’t judge….we have NOT edited for CONVENTIONS..

Just  CONTENT!!  🙂

Sorry pics are turned…

Can’t get them to TURN! UGH!

No where…no how…

did I   MENTION

SANTA  or   RUDOLPH!

99%  of my students wrote

that the important thing about REINDEER is…

THEY PULL SANTA’S  SLEIGH

AND

THE LEADER IS…RUDOLPH!

And THAT is NON FICTION!

HAHAHAHA

But that is their

 PRIOR  KNOWLEDGE!

SO CUTE!

They brought it into their writing!

Let their VOICES be heard!

And so…

ADULTS  BE  AWARE!

The little ones WILL be HEARD!

I LOVE TEACHING FIRST GRADE!

They make me GIGGLE!

If you need some writing help…

WRITE  ON!

ENJOY!

Write On! Journal Pages with Support!

 

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!)

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

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)

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.

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..)

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

Sunflower Seeds plant unit

APRIL 25 is WORLD Penguin DAY!

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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!

PENGUIN PALS

What do Penguins do in the Winter? DANCE! 

 

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 !)

 

EVERY DAY IS EARTH DAY
Here’s your   FREEBIE!

 

EARTH DAY IS EVERY DAY…Math Story Problems

Spring gardening 101 and a FREE CHICKEN DANCE!

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I love SPRING!

DID I MENTION…

I LOVE SPRING!

And I Love to GARDEN!

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

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!
 

Black Chicken

Sunshine – white chicken

 
 
More on that later.
 
So…I have instilled my LOVE of gardening into my students!
 

This year we installed

PALLET  GARDENS!

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)
Pick your seeds carefully.
 
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!
It’s SPRING!
Time for new growth!
 
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!

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.

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!

Recycled water bottles with seeds.

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!

 
In honor of my 
CHICKENS…
 
Chicken Dance is FREE!
 

Chicken Dance Word Game from 1stgradefireworks

Happy Spring to all!
Wendy

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?

MARCH?
 
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” IRISH LASS.
 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!
 
“When Irish Eyes are Smiling“
 
 
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!
 
 
McBlarney Time on TPT
 
 
 
And
 
 
Making Ten with an IRISH JIG! on TPT
 
 
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! 
 

 

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. And yes, animal classification is a standard.

 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 informational writing about animal classifications!

And then we PAINTED them! 

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!

We had to edit for spelling, handwriting, complete sentences, punctuation, AND IT HAD TO MAKE SENSE!

All of that in 5 days!

AND THEN….. They got to make a “tear art” bear head.

 ( They HATE  tear art… “Can I PLEASE use my scissors?” “NO!”)

Simple…tear construction  paper, glue to small paper plate, add ears (with torn paper..they need FUR too), add eyes, nose, & mouth.

Tear BEAR! 

As a culminating activity, we painted out animals & added our reports for sharing. ( see above)

SO….here are the units we used to RUN the MARATHON!

Animal  Classifications 
Animal Classification GAME!

Enjoy! Check it out on my TPT store!

Word Work

Guided Reading

Balanced  Literacy

Low-Stress December Math Centers

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This will help your math centers for December!

I don’t know about you, but I have WAY TOO MANY things going on in December!

I want my classroom to run like a “well-oiled” machine…independently.

I need to ASSESS, read with kids, check those who need “help” are getting it, and TEACH!

( Makes me tired looking at this!)

MATH. It is like a GIGANTIC ROLLERCOASTER!

Somedays they are UP…they know it ALL!

and the next day, they are down, down, down,

( can’t do ANY math!)

WHAT HAPPENED?

 They need practice. DAILY practice. 

Daily math center practice with both addition and subtraction math facts.

Kids love to play games. I want them to practice math facts.

Hmmm 

  Games + Practice = SUCCESS

Here you go! My newest BFF.

Addition and Subtraction Math Task Cards to 20…Winter Edition

464 Task Cards

                                                            and

20 Math Mats for Sorting

You can PRINT individual Math Sorting Mats

        ( There are 21)

or… You can PRINT 2 to a page and save INK & PAPER!

Teachers LOVE CHOICES too!

Need MORE Practice math Centers?   I’ve got your BACK!

Place Value Sorting Cards

Do your kids need extra help with place value? How about a sorting activity?  Place Value True or False? 

If you are NEW to MATH Games, this blog post might help:

                           Math Games & Activities for December

Ask for help, don’t get too much on your plate, it’s ok to say “NO!”

Check out my December:

Are You a Helper Elf?

December in Room 3

How to Have a “NO STRESS” December

Enjoy, the holidays, stay safe, keep yourself healthy, and have fun!

Stop by in 2022 and say HI!

                                                                      Wendy

1stgradefireworks

 

 

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

 
ENJOY!