Free Interactive Math Notebook

This week Lisa from Pawsitively Teaching is sharing another awesome freebie for the third week of  Primary Peeps: Tips and Tools for Back to School.  I know, it's hard for me to think about going back to school when we just got out. But the purpose of this weekly post is to give you some FREE goodies so when the time does roll around to go back, you'll have some new things to implement.  

Here is the product Lisa is offering for FREE, but for THIS WEEK ONLY!  It's an interactive notebook that works on number sense and would be perfect for any 2nd grade class. Parts of this notebook could be used in 1st and even 3rd.  Lisa wrote a fabulous post about this product, so CLICK HERE to be taken to her post to learn the details of the product. 

Here are some other pictures of her product:

And if you're not following Lisa's blog or TpT store -- make sure you do.  She's really talented and you'll love the things she shares. 

I wonder what next week's Tip and Tool for Back to School will be...

Number Strings and Cent Signs

Here's a fun and simple (yet very effective) math game to practice adding multiple numbers and using the cent sign correctly.  

Step 1: Split students into groups of 4 and make sure each student has 9 pennies.  (You can give each student a small cup or ziploc bag to keep their pennies from getting mixed up.)

Step 2: Have each student set some of their pennies out in front of them for everyone to see. (I give each student a different color of paper to keep each pile easily separated.)

Step 3:  Each student creates a number sentence based on the groups of pennies. Make sure students use the cent sign when writing their number string. 

Step 4: When everyone in the group has found the total value (or sum), count to 3 and have everyone share their answer.  If each person in the group has the same answer, start over and play again. If the answers are not all the same, everyone must recheck their work to find the error.  

This game is a lot of fun and it gives students valuable practice with their math facts (2.OA.2), adding multiple numbers (2.NBT.6), and using the ¢ sign appropriately (2.MD.8).  

This game is one of the daily activities I have included in the Math Planning Pack for 2nd Quarter. If you teach 2nd grade and follow the Common Core Standards, this document will probably become your best friend. CLICK HERE  to be taken to the product.

CLICK HERE to download the 1st Quarter Planning Pack for FREE. 

Tips and Tools for Parent Volunteers

Welcome back to another week of:

This week Missy from The Dirt Road Teacher has an awesome FREE product to help you effectively incorporate parent volunteers into your classroom.  She offers great ideas and different forms to make the process as easy and productive as possible.

CLICK HERE to download Missy's Classroom Volunteer Management product. 

Here's a sneak peek at the Volunteer Contract included in this FREE product. I love this item because it establishes boundaries and sets guidelines.


Here is a to-do list. All you need to do is fill in prior to your volunteer arriving.

And if you don't follow Missy's blog or TpT store, I highly suggest you do! She's a wonderful teacher and is always offering some great suggestions or ideas.  

Don't forget to come back next week for another round of Tips and Tools  from a fellow Primary Peep!

Math Planning Tools for Back to School

I'm so excited to announce that I'm the first to post in a NEW blog hop (I can't believe they trusted me enough to be the first blogger to post).  This blog hop is organized by a group of amazing teachers that call themselves the Primary Peeps -- and I'm one of them. Each week throughout the summer, a different blogger from our group will blog about various tips or tools to help you to prepare for the upcoming school year.

So, without further ado . . . the tool I want to share with you is my 1st Quarter Math Planning Pack for 2nd Grade.  This product is FREE and packed full of goodies for anyone who teaches 2nd grade math.  CLICK HERE to download this amazing product for free.


So why is this product soooo amazing?  Let me show you...

The first thing that makes it awesome is I have done ALL the planning for you.  I have included the Common Core standards, activities that will teach the standards and extra information that is very valuable.  In addition to the daily lesson plans, I've also included a quarterly pacing guide to help you easily view the specific standards taught throughout the entire first quarter.

The daily math sheet is my ALL TIME FAVORITE part of this document. I copy it on cardstock and also laminate it -- one for each student in my class. My kiddos complete this sheet every day as part of their morning routine. This sheet incorporate NUMEROUS skills that are taught throughout the quarter. I have seen so much growth in my students' math abilities and I attribute most of the growth to this activity. In order for your kiddos to truly establish a firm mathematical foundation, it's essential for teachers to have their students practice foundational math concepts on a daily basis. And this sheet does exactly that.

I don't want to ramble on and on about this product, I want you to CLICK HERE to download it for FREE and check it out for yourself.  However, here are some other things included in this product:

Send this letter home to parents at the beginning of the quarter so they know exactly what their child will be learning in math.

Use this checklist as a way to keep track of students' progress. Once they've mastered a skill, sign your name and give them a smiley face. At the end of the quarter, each students' checklist will give you valuable information about their abilities.

Post these cards on your wall so students can see exactly which skills they are learning in math. These cards are phrased with 'I Can' statements to help students easily discuss what they are learning.

And this is only the beginning of the great products I have to help you effectively teach math all year long!  Head over to my Teachers pay Teachers store to check out my other products.

Here are all the FABULOUS teacher bloggers who make up Primary Peeps. If you're not familiar with them, you MUST check 'em out (each and every one of them).
 
Remember, we will be posting new tips and tools EACH WEEK for the entire summer.  I can't wait to see what Missy from The Dirt Road Teacher decides to share next week. 

Free Math Worksheet

I'm linking up with The Teaching Tribune to share a FREE math worksheet.

I just created this worksheet to use next year. This sheet is a 2-in-1 because the top half requires students to complete subtraction problems and the bottom half turns their work into a bingo board.

CLICK HERE to download this worksheet for FREE.

The top part requires students to complete subtraction problems (within 50) using a number line, their fingers, or a hundreds board.  Once the work is done, they cut out their answers and glue them on the MATH-O board. When everyone is completed, play MATH-O and have fun.  

You will need to randomly call out letters (M, A, T, H, O) and then one of the possible answers (sorry, no answer key included). Since there are only 15 answers, it shouldn't take too long for someone to earn MATH-O.  

Enjoy, and if you use it, I'd love to hear how it goes. 

Wrapping Things Up

Only 3 more days. We're soo close but summer still feels so far away. I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for the Five for Friday (or should I say Saturday) Linky. 

I realized my kiddos were having difficulty subtracting with zeros, so I made these task cards. CLICK HERE to download them for free.  

 I also taught them this really cool trick. 

It's difficult to subtract with zeros because you have to regroup, so if you need to subtract from 700, take 1 away to create 699. However, you must KEEP THE DIFFERENCE THE SAME so since you took 1 from 700 you also need to take 1 away from the other number. Then subtract. Since you kept the difference the same, your answer will be the same as well. 

 

We also worked on different shades of meaning for verbs and adjectives. I introduced it by showing them four different shades of blue. They quickly caught on to the word "shade" and easily applied it to different verbs and adjectives. 

These cards come from Teaching and Tapas Charades of Meaning product. We had a blast with all the different activities in this product. Click on the picture below to check out the product -- it's fantastic. 

We also completed one of my favorite writing activities. I give my kiddos this prompt on one of the first days of school and I collect their papers. I hold on to them until the end of the school year and I have them complete the same writing prompt (they always forget that they did this at the beginning of the year). When they turn their papers in this time, I surprise them with the beginning of year version. We compare the two pieces of work and discuss how much they have improved as writers over the year. I have them bring the two papers home to share with their family. This activity brings so many smiles and sense of accomplishment -- I'll do it every year.

I've always wanted to use arrow cards to teach my kiddos place value. I came across this great blog post from Tara at the Elementary Math Maniac blog (she actually did a guest post on Kids Math Teacher blog -- which is where I found the info) and she wrote about using magnetic arrow cards. MAGNETIC arrow cards --- LOVE IT! So I made one set of magnetic arrow cards and slapped them on my white board.  I have stayed away from paper arrow cards because of the management aspect (I just think it would become too much).

I went to Wal Mart and bought a pack of magnetic paper that contained 3 pieces ($6). Then I used a ruler and permanent marker and started creating.  I cut them out and added color around the edges (red for the hundred cards, yellow for the ten cards, and green for the one cards).  I'll take a pic of the completed cards and post it on Monday. 

This is totally random, but I came across this on Pinterest and it has been wonderful. If you're a praying momma, it's a must have. If you want to be a praying momma, it's a great resource to help you get started.  I've been using it to pray for my own children AND my students.

CLICK HERE to download your own copy for FREE.