Category Archives: Math | Science | STEM | STEAM

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

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

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! 
 
Wendy
 

 

What TIME is it???

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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!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

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 are 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

I SEE PUMPKINS! Meet the “little ones”…

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I SEE PUMPKINS! Meet the “little ones”…

My hubby, AKA  Farmer Without a Farm, is growing
pumpkins!
In our backyard.
On the fence.
Across the lawn.
In EVERY garden we own!
And FINALLY…Yes, I say FINALLY…

WE HAVE PUMPKINS!

2 to be exact!
Meet the “little ones”.
Clara the colorful…
She is turning ORANGE the fastest.
Sidewinder SAM.
He is growing SIDEWAYS ON my ladder!
Just like the “STEPS” he can take to grow!
HAHAHA
Pumpkin  HUMOR 🙂 
And this is Junior!
Junior is was growing in our garden at school.
I work at a TITLE 1 school…someone STOLE him!
RIP junior.
You would have made a great  PIE!   🙂

To help my FIRSTIES get into the FALL  SPIRIT…

I have brought out the FALL GOODIES!
 Remember…it’s 95 degrees in NORCAL this week…
hard to feel “FALLISH!”

Fall BUNDLE

Falling for NOUNS ( Common Core Grade 1 )
and
FALL Fluency
BUNDLED TOGETHER to save $$
FALL  THEMATIC   UNIT
Includes:

Reading-
Reading Passage
Comprehension Printable
Reading Response Printables
Vocabulary Pocket Chart Cards
Poem ( And Cut a part printable )

Writing-
Spelling List Forms
Word Family Charts
HFW Lists
Journal Pages & Covers
Interactive Journal Pages
Flap Book Graphic Organizer

Assessments-
BPST printable
Fluency Assessment
HFW List

Grade 1 / 2

AND…
BRING ON ANYTHING  
HALLOWEEN “ish”…
Fact  Families
Finally,
MORE TASK CARDS
These are  ADDITION ONLY!
Good starting PACKET
Fall ADDITION TASK CARDS
Now…If I could just get the PUMPKINS
to
CARVE THEMSELVES!
( I Hate the SLIME!)
Oh, well.
Stay COOL my FRIENDS!
Wendy

Happy Fall, ‘Yall. Surviving September and October. And a FREEBIE!

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Happy FALL, ‘Yall 

This has been a CRAZY Fall month!

We started in August.

We are SO LUCKY to get 2 weeks FALL VACATION

the first two weeks of OCTOBER.

IF you can survive SEPTEMBER!

We just finished Fall multiple

( and I mean MULTIPLE ) assessments.

Some whole class, some one-on-one.   

AND  then TEACH!

Don’t forget… report cards for ALL.

(Make multiple copies and then some!)

Fall Parent Conferences.

I had 100% attendance this year! 

This has NEVER happened to me before!

I can get close… but 100%???   

( Pat on the back ). 

 

Finish 1st quarter lessons & skills.

Introduce 2nd quarter skills.

And… a new student on Thursday

before Fall Break! 

Of course!

 

And so this Fall Break was WELL DESERVED! #tiredteacher

We have no “BIG” plans.

Family is local ( we are catching up with family).

 

So,  I thought this Fall break,

I would work on my TPT store,

           1stgradefireworks

a “little bit”.

Thank you, Misty Miller and Shelly Rees.

You helped MOTIVATE ME!

1stgradefireworks logo

And so the Fall creative juices started flowing.

I kept asking myself, “What do I need this year?”

I asked friends, “What do YOU need this year?”

And here is what WE came up with.

TADA!

Phonics Morning Work BLENDS, Short/Long Vowels, & Digraphs

Math Morning Work Activity Pages 

Phonics and Math Practice Pages

FOR THE WHOLE YEAR!

Happy Teacher

Preview skills. Review skills. Assess. Interventions. Homework. Centers.

Whole Group. Small Group. Independent.

ALL DONE!  WAHOO!

And a FREEBIE for YOU!

Click HERE

Enjoy your FALL.

Take care of yourself.

You can’t pour from an empty cup. 🙂

                                                                Wendy

                                                                                                                                                       

How to use addition and subtraction math task cards.

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Math. I said it!

Does the word “MATH” make you giggle, or grumble???

If you teach TK – 6th grade, you teach addition and subtraction.

It’s never-ending. 

Teach. Practice. Practice. Practice. Reteach. Over and over.

The numbers change. They get bigger.

But the skills and strategies don’t change.

The vocabulary changes ( occasionally), for example:

3 + 4 = 7 …  Is this “all together” or “in all”?

Is this a math “sentence” or a math “equation”?

I have taught them ALL.

Our newest math program has first graders using the yellow and red foam counters on day 1.

And,  they need to “discuss” with their partner HOW they got their answer.

First of all, some can’t count yet, and they won’t “discuss” their mathematical thinking 

with students THEY DON’T KNOW! Not yet! 

Now I get the idea. Just a little FAST! 

Shouldn’t we allow them to “explore” the math counters first?

Some were poking them with pencils. flipping them in the air, and yes..one student chewed on the foam counter. Ewwwww. 

And so, I am S L O W I N G things down, a bit.

To help my “littles”  with addition and subtraction we are EXPLORING the math manipulatives first.

Then we will discuss routines and procedures for using them.

Last, we will use them to create math experiences. 

Add some skills and strategies, and VOILA!  We will have mathematicians!

To help my littles with beginning addition and subtraction to ten,

I have created some Math Task Cards using our WONDERFUL foam counters, and ten frames.

Math Task cards with ten frames

I have included Addition Task Cards, 

Addition and Subtraction Task Cards with ten Frames

Subtraction Task Cards, 

Addition and Subtraction Task Cards with Ten Frames

And student work pages for accountability.

Addition and Subtraction Task Cards with Ten Frames

Check out the video:

92 task cards for students to practice addition and subtraction with Ten Frames.

For the WIN!  I may use this for guided math centers, interventions, and/or independent practice. We shall see! 

Check out the other goodies for MATH CENTERS:

Think ADDITION to help you SUBTRACT

Halloween Math Fact Families

Pool Party Number Bonds – 232 Task Cards

Number Bonds help students work on number sense. Part Part Whole, Addition and subtraction, and mental math skills.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Math Vocabulary Tools for Success  

 

Math Skill & Strategy Cards for Preview, Review, Minilessons. 6 Cards per Page. 36 math “tool” cards for scaffolding and support. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope this helps YOU with planning

Back-to-School math lessons for your students.  Here’s to a great 2022! Check out all the goodies in my TPT store and here on the blog!

Lots of FREEBIES!   Have a great school year! 

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Wendy