Mrs. McDonald's 4th Grade: Common Core

Showing posts with label Common Core. Show all posts

A 5th Grade Update!

Hey guys! So I have made it almost three full weeks of 5th grade! I can't tell you how much I have enjoyed it! I'm so excited to be focusing only on math, my favorite subject, and getting to know my students. We hit the ground running by learning procedures and expectations while also working on our fluency multiplication standard! We did a Kahoot.it quiz to review expectation and procedures! --- The kids LOVED this and are BEGGING me to do it again! I can't wait to find something else to use it for---

We have also started into our new math series that will help us prepare for the new state test TNReady. We are currently working on multiplying and dividing with powers of 10! Here is my first Anchor Chart for the year! --- Actually it's my first anchor chart ever!!---

I hope to make some new 5th grade products for my teachers pay teachers store once I have a little free time!!

Review of Preptoon

Hey guys! Today, I have the opportunity to review a new math program called Preptoon! I am very excited to share this website with you! Next week, we will be doing a giveaway for 1 FREE year subscription to Preptoon, so make sure you come back to enter! Let's get started...

Preptoon is an online math resource for 4th, 5th, and 6th grade. The website uses engaging videos to help students better understand math concepts. Below you will find some of the features that I really enjoyed!

Everything is very organized. You can easily find a video that goes with what you are teaching. You can search by grade and by topic, for example, 5th grade Measurement. You can even search for a specific standard under the Common Core Standards tab. Being organized is highly important to me! I don't want to spend a ton of time trying to find one video to use with my students. Preptoon quickly allows me to find a video that is relevant to what I am currently teaching.

In this picture you can see tabs at the top, which allows for easy searching.

This is a video I found after searching 5th grade measurement. I love that the standard is clear!

The videos are animated and I think my students would enjoy them. My only complaint is I wish the narrator had a little more inflection in her voice. This is very nit picky coming from an overly animated reader! (I tend to have 20 different voices and all kinds of hand motions while reading.) The videos are based on real life situations. This is great for helping students to understand how they will use math in the real world!

Here is the beginning of a video, you can see the standard is easily visible again!

The video pauses every so often to ask questions. Sometimes these questions will be multiple choice and sometimes they will be fill in the blank. It then gives students instant feedback as to what the correct answer is! I love that it asks both kinds of questions and I love that it gives instant feedback! I think feedback is vital to students making and correcting mistakes!

Here is an example of a question the video's would ask.

After a video is completed they can be asked additional questions to help make the math concept more concrete in their mind!

Over all I was highly pleased with the program. You could use this whole class and discuss the questions together, or you can create individual student accounts and have them do the videos independently. If you create student accounts you can see student responses to questions! This program is interactive with students, engaging to watch, and is highly aligned to common core standards. I can't wait to use this in my classroom this year!

For more information you can watch this quick 2 minute video!

I hope you have enjoyed! Don't forget to check back next week because we will be giving away 1 free year membership to Preptoon!

5 Things I Want to Try in My Classroom This Year!

Hey guys! Today I want to share with you the 5 things I want to try in my classroom this year. Last year we went full common core in math and reading. After a year of getting my feet wet, I'm now ready to dive in and see how it goes. Here are the 5 things I'm wanting to try during my "diving in" process!

Number 1: Number Talks

During a recent math conference this book was brought to my attention as a great way to work on fluency and math strategies with students. This book has common core connections and is for grades K-5. I have talked my school into purchasing the book and am waiting very impatiently to get my hands on it!

Number 2: A Carpet

This one may seem strange but hear me out! In my school only K-3 grades have a carpet in their classrooms. It was always thought to be "too young" for 4-5 grade. To better implement number talks from above I need a "meeting place". Thus I would really like to get a carpet this year. I have read many blogs about intermediate grades using carpets successfully. Of course when I go searching for them again, I can't find them. ::sigh:: Once I have implemented the carpet and number talks I promise to come back and report how it is working!

Number 3: Desk Organization

I found a blog that had a really neat idea on how to keep desks organized when students switch classrooms. I am really hoping to try this this year to help keep the desks from becoming black holes. This idea can be found here: http://www.ashleigh-educationjourney.com

Number 4: Fractions

During a recent math conference, this book was recommended to me for teaching fractions. In 4th grade CCSS fractions are a major focus. I really want to make sure I am teaching it in a way that my students will understand and comprehend, not just know how to find an answer.

Number 5: I Can... Bulletin Board

I am really wanting to turn my small bulletin board into an I Can.. CCSS Bulletin Board. I have been posting my standards on my white board, but now that summer is here, I am ready to tackle the bulletin boards. There are MANY cute ideas on how to decorate or organize an I Can bulletin Board. I'm juggling ideas around in my mind and have decided that I will decided on July 1 (when I am allowed to go to the teacher store and purchase items for the new school year) what route I want to go.

What are some ideas that you are hoping to try this school year?

I hope you enjoyed!

New Products and a Freebie!

I have recently added several new scoot games to my Teachers Pay Teachers store. If your following my store you may already be aware of the new items, but if you aren't here is what you may have missed.

Multiplication Comparison Scoot Game

2-Digit by 2-Digit Multiplication Scoot Game

4-digit by 1-digit Scoot Game

Addition & Subtraction Scoot Game

And last but not least don't forget to grab this cute free bookmark!

Fall Into a Good Book bookmark FREEBIE!

Accountability Talk Posters

With common core implementation, we as teachers, have been asked to have our students use accountable talk in the classroom. To help implement accountable talk, our Special Education teacher created these posters to help prompt students during lessons. She has been so gracious as to allow me to share these posters with you also.

I printed my accountable talk posters on colored card stock, cut them out, and hung them around my white board. I hope you enjoy.

Click here to download the posters.

Mathematical Practices Common Core Posters

Hey guys! This summer I have been doing lots of work to prepare for the upcoming Common Core implementation for our county. I found these cute mathematical practices posters that correlate with the 8 mathematical practices of common core. There are posters for K-1, 2-3, and 4-5 that are written in kid-friendly terms. I've included the links below so you can check them out! These would be great to help explain to the students what test graders are looking for on their constructed response assessments!