Boom Boom Boom, the Daily 5 in our Room!!

 

I have been passionate about the Daily 5 in my room for over 7 years now...I love it! (To tell you the truth some days I get frustrated with it too!) I feel like it is a part of how things work in our classroom. the kids really embraced it this year.... I think...we had to tweak a few things, some of the kids were really practicing their "Kindergarten" skills at first, only looking for easy words in Making Words, or Code Spelling, read to self was a Clifford fest, Read to Someone was too loud and really a way to catch up on how things are going on "Ant Farm'...We had to have a 'family meeting' to set the tone straight on THAT!!!

  

Recently the kids have come to a realization that 3rd grade IS around the corner...or maybe because I have really been implementing the Common Core 'hard core' these past few weeks, with explicit TEXT based questioning and working in pairs to get to the 'meat' of the story...and with this a nice CHANGE has occurred.

 

The kids are REALLY working hard at being the other teacher in the room, helping each other out...studying, jumping ahead with the spelling lists, reading and asking each other the 5 Q's with out ME telling them they need to...maybe it's the FuLL MooN on the horizon or maybe it's actually WORKING, but here is way the kids are doing it these days.... (of course..the day I take pictures they are all about Word Work and Reading to Someone)

 

Here they are putting spelling words in ABC order, these are next week's words...

We usually play 'Hang Mouse' on the Projector, but these girls are inventing their own version of 'Hang Mouse'

An oldie but a goodie, Listening to Reading...WOW he's following along!

Making Words using Rattled, this is a great two player game...but I see he wants to be independent today! Notice he is making 2-letter, 3-letter then 4-letter words BEFORE he gets frustrated and just finds 3-letter words or changes the letters around!

Practice Spelling Test! (That is NOT me in the Rocking Chair)

I was shocked to see this duo actually using Fluency Task cards to 'Read to Someone'

Another duo using Questioning Task cards for 'Read to Someone'

She was riveted by her fluency, you should have seen the way she laughed at 'that Junie B'

My spelling/Vocabulary words are near the floor, so everyone can access them easily!

What are you working on today? Yes he was!

 

All in all today was a hit! I really can't wait to start NEXT year off with the Common Core...it will be fun and new and perhaps the change we all have been looking for! (I hope so...don't you?)

CURRENTLY...the 100 th Day!

WOW..Can you believe it is February already?!

On February 1st we had a fun day. We made some 100th Day glasses, practiced skip counting (yeah I know what we are tackling on Monday!) ...

 

We also had a project due too. I love Read! Write! Think! I found this idea, a few years ago, and have used it every other year since. The children have to write three clues about the 100 objects in their bottle. We have been working on adjectives  and also studying about the properties of Matter...check out these clues...

 

 

After lunch the 100th Day of fun continued..... with Matter Science Centers....

 

...Did I mention only 80 days left?....I love my kids this year, but maybe I just need a little break...or a big break...either way CURRENTLY in February..here's my deal:

 





I have decided that I need a few months to get the Common Core ideas out of my head and into the fire! So much going on, I still need to present some information to my colleagues, then I need to really go through all my "stuff" and decide what stays and what goes according to the CCSS!
(Most of it is file cabinet stuff!-I did a clean sweep of the closet at the end of school last year)

Recently my neighbor at school called me a laminator freak...I laminate almost everything, but in truth I use stuff a lot, math mats, anchor charts, task cards, games...the list goes on, a  lot of little lamination...tho ONLY reason I don't have a laminator is truthfully I don't have the $$ to keep it full! That seems to be the issue with the ink! I need more moola to keep up with all my" Teachers Pay Teachers" trolling!

I need that extra hour to blog, lesson plan, cook, sleep...you know the drill....

I think my pet peeves are self explanatory...can't stand arrogance for no reason, ignorance is not bliss, it's annoying and please please please, do NOT ignore me...it really ticks me off, especially when I am giving you directions/advice  that YOU wanted to know! (rant over!)

On a more positive note...I can't wait for our 3 day break in February...more time with my Sweet Man!

Deconstructing the MATH BOOK

I  LOVE my kids!
We had a great week so far...kids have been on task and really working to understand the strategies for 3-digit addition with regrouping.
So today we C-U-T apart our math text book...yep they ripped out a page and cut out the strategy of how to regroup the ones! Then they cut out three example problems too!

Here you can see, she has cut out the strategy page (Hasn't glued it on yet) but is already working on the example problems.

 

In this activity, I told them that they had to do the example problem using the "adult" strategy, the old fashioned way! (Carrying). Then NEXT to it they had to show the  "Kid Work" (with Math Tools)  and prove that they know how to do the math!

In this picture you can see another one of my Worker Bees, drawing out the problem to make sure the "Adult" way was right.

 

 

 

I love the look on her face, you can just get a glimpse of her thinking in this photo....she really understood the concept of why we regroup!

 



 

In fact, I had them tell me why we regroup the ones  in addition...as a class this is what they came up with:

 

"You regroup the ones in  an addition problem when the sum of the ones column is a 2-digit number."

 

 

I was so in shock of the Math vocabulary and how well they collaborated to get this definition...can't wait for tomorrow's lesson on how to regroup the tens in a 3-digit addition problem!

Here you can see how I modeled the set up on the top! (Using a child's Math Journal, he was absent) and on the bottom is another child's journal...oh do you see that quick assessment on there?

 

On Monday we were discussing problem solving strategies...and I found this cute quick assessment/ helper for key words ( I call them 'code' words , as in 'how many more' is code for subtraction.).....I had them divide a piece of  paper in their Math Journals and label one side "Addition" the other side "Subtraction"...then I gave them a half sheet of paper with 'code' words for addition and subtraction...they had to  "sort, sort sort" then "choose, choose, choose" and finally "glue, glue, glue" (you should be singing it now)

...we checked it before we glued it....

 

I modeled a few choices first.......

 

Here you can see she is choosing where the "code" words go.

 

 

"Glue, glue, glue"

 

I have really been trying to acclimate myself and my kids to the new Common Core State Standards this year, a year ahead of the switch in our grade level. I want my kids to be ready for next year...for the NEW way of writing down your strategy and be able to debate your thinking! I know the more I do this year, will make the transition next year so much easier!!

 

Oh did I tell you, the kids now say to me ..."Ms. Dyer, don't forget to take pictures for your blog!"

 

They are so precious!

 

Stay tuned, I think I am going to start really blabbing about what I'm doing to get CCSS ready!