Math Manipulatives Scoot

What do you do at the beginning of the school year to get your students excited about math? How about letting them play?!? I've heard of other teachers allowing students to explore the various manipulatives they will be using in math and I thought it was a great idea! That's why over the summer I created Math Manipulatives Scoot.

I like the idea of giving my kids a chance to "play" with the math manipulatives they'll be using for their learning, but I definitely wanted it to be structured and standards-based. I do not want a free-for-all where kids are allowed to just play with the materials for no educational reason. Maybe during indoor recess on one of our below zero winter days, but not during my sacred math block and certainly not during those vital first few days of school. Like I said in a previous post on establishing routines and procedures, that time is too important to waste.

Math Manipulatives Scoot uses 8 different manipulatives (in 8 stations) that are common in most 2nd/3rd grade classrooms:

I've come up with stations that use these materials in engaging ways. All of the stations are a review of 2nd grade standards except for the fraction station. In both the CCSS and MN Standards fractions are new in 3rd grade. I wanted to include them, but did so in a way that won't be overwhelming or frustrating for end-of-year 2nd graders or beginning-of-year 3rd graders. Students will practice addition, place value, comparing, fractions, geometry, creating bar graphs, telling time, and collecting data.

This activity was designed to be used as a back-to-school review/preview for 3rd graders - a fun way to get back into a math mindset by reviewing what they learned in 2nd grade (and previewing fractions), but it could definitely also be used by 2nd grade teachers at the end of the year to review learning from the school year. Heck, you could even leave the fraction station in there, borrow some fraction bars from a 3rd grade friend, and let the kids know they will get to learn about fractions next year.

I plan on using it after a lesson on following directions when it comes to manipulatives and treating classroom materials with care and respect. It's controlled play to let the class know that in this classroom we will have fun, but we will also work hard.

You could also separate out the stations and use them as centers during the school year. I plan on doing these as my first centers once I launch guided math. I know the kids will know how to do them and be successful with them and they're a great review!

Thanks for stopping by to learn more about Math Manipulatives Scoot!
-Interventionista

Educational Names for Groups.

How do you name your groups in your classroom? You know, when you want to dismiss a group to head back to their desks or line up by the door. Do you use colors? I know a lot of teachers who do. There's nothing wrong with using colors. It's easy and you don't have to put a lot of thought into it. But, unless you teach kindergarten, your students know their colors. What if there was an even better way to name your groups?

What if you could help solidify some content knowledge while naming your groups? It's simple and powerful, and once you do it you'll wonder why you ever used colors. In third grade, we learn about polygons in geometry. I decided to name my groups using polygons. Let me tell you - my kids know their polygons. Not only are they hanging from the ceiling all year long, but we refer to them every day! I am always dismissing my groups by their polygon names, and since the kids move around throughout the year, chances are they will be in each group at least once. I do think that eventually the kids get used to where the groups are around the room and start to just listen for their group name to be called. That's when you throw them a curve ball, "The 5-sided figure group may line up." Whoa!

If you want my polygon group signs you can find them here. They're free and they come with labels to easily label caddies, supplies, or anything else!

And here's the thing. It can be anything you cover in your grade level! Do you study regions of the U.S.? What a great way to name your groups! Are biomes taught at your level of science? Group names! Get creative and think about what content you could use.

It doesn't even have to stop at naming your table groups. In geography we learn about the cardinal directions, and since I have 4 guided math groups they are... (drum roll please)... North, South, East and West.

Guided reading groups? Name them with your favorite author's last names! This year mine will be:
The Blume Group
The Lewis Group
The Dahl Group
The Cleary Group
The Silverstein Group

The possibilities are endless! Spice up your group names this year. Your kids will love it and you will notice how much better they internalize whatever content knowledge you use.

Have you been creative with your group names? Let me know in the comments?

Thanks for stopping by!
-Interventionista

How to Introduce Rules and Procedures

Let me be honest and say that before last school year I didn't do this very well. And, last school year I was working on retraining some established habits, so despite my best efforts, I didn't get every procedure down pat. But, my experiences have taught me the importance of putting a lot of thought into my rules and procedures, which is why as the school year is approaching this is the first thing on my mind.

Last year I was on maternity leave at the beginning of the school year and didn't return until November. It took a lot of work to re-train my students in my expectations and the way I wanted things done. In fact, I still had kids turning their math homework into the "To Mrs. Douglas" drawer instead of the math drawer in May. It just goes to show how important those first few weeks... days... hours of school are for establishing your expectations. When students learn a routine, whether it's right or wrong, it sticks and it's hard to change it. (This goes for academics as well).

I am excited to start this year being very clear about what I need from my students, and you should be too. Maybe you're new to teaching and you aren't really sure how in depth to teach your rules and procedures, or maybe you've been teaching for a while and could show me a thing or two. Either way, it never hurts to give this important aspect of the new year some intentional thought.

Make a List

My best ideas come when I make a list. When I sit down with my trusty blue notebook and write out what's in my mind I end up with a chain of ideas. One thing reminds me of another which makes me think about something else in a new light. It's marvelous and you should do it. After doing this for ten minutes or so, then again, then again, I came up with what I thought was a pretty good list. Then I made it pretty. You can find my list here, but you should definitely add to it because my room and my style is not your room and your style. It's free and it comes with a back to school checklist as well!

Decide How and When You Will Teach Each Item

I've created a Rules and Procedures Booklet that I'm going to use on the first day of school. It covers up to 5 rules and the most important generic procedures that almost all teachers have (walking in line, entering the room, finding materials, etc.) I am NOT going to sit down with my students and work through page by page. Can you say BORING? After I teach each rule or procedure I will be using these booklets to have students work in groups and reflect on what was learned, write, and color. Then we can discuss and review as a class. Most of the spaces are pretty straight forward... "I should walk into the classroom____________." Silently, obviously. Or they are open ended to fit any teacher's specific procedure. The point is to get students interacting with the rules and procedures I'm teaching them and taking ownership of them. Let me also say that I am not a fan of coming up with the rules together as a class. I tend to follow a Smart Classroom Management approach and I think it's important that students know that I have a certain set of standards in the classroom that are immovable.

Here is a peek at a few of the pages:

Think About How You Will Explain, Model, and Practice

Before you bring in any sort of reflection, like the Rules and Procedures Booklet, there a few things you have to do first. Explain what you're going to do before you do it. "Right now I'm going to show you how you will walk into the classroom in the morning and get started on our morning routine. Watch closely so you know exactly what to do." Then model the routine EXACTLY, in excruciating detail. Walk in how a student would, put an actual backpack in a locker, say hello to a few "classmates" while you sign in and make your lunch choice. Make it funny by accidentally dropping a pencil or almost tripping over a chair a student didn't push in. Once you've modeled it perfectly, ask your class if they have any questions about what to do in the morning and answer them thoroughly. Have a few students model how to do the routine and discuss as a class if they did it to a T. When you are confident your students understand it and can do it, have the whole class practice. On the first day of school I have my students go directly to their desks without putting their backpacks away (and if they did put it away, I make them go get it) because I want them to practice this routine first thing. It might seem petty, but the morning is such a big indicator for how the day is going to go and I need it to be done exactly the way I taught.

Follow this for every rule and procedure you teach. I will be spending a lot of time on the morning routine and less time on others like getting a drink or throwing away trash. The importance of the routine determines the amount of time spent. Some important routines to spend a good chunk of time on are:

• Rules & Consequences
• Taking a Break
• Morning Routine
• Coming to Sit for Whole Group
• Lining Up
• Voice Levels
• Anything Related to Technology
• End of the Day Routine

I'm sure there are others, but these are the ones that really jump out at me.

They say that the more time you spend practicing routines on the front end, the less time you'll spend fixing them later, so whatever you do, be sure to teach your rules and procedures clearly right away so you can spend the rest of the year teaching, not babysitting.

Take care!
-Interventionista

How to Launch Reading at the Beginning of the School Year

How many times have you heard it, "The great thing about teaching is the chance to start every year new." Well, it's true. Every September we get a refresh button, a pass go and collect $200, a do-over. But, with that comes the pressure to do it right. Don't leave this new school year to chance by pulling random, fun activities to launch your core reading. Be strategic. Here's how.

Make a List

Decide what routines and skills you need your students to know right away. Make a list in no particular order, but add bullet points to clarify your ideas while you're thinking of them. Leave some space between ideas to add to later when you complete your thoughts.

• Should they know how to come to the carpet quickly and quietly? - yep. Great, how will you teach that?
• Are you going to be using any kind of response journal during independent time? How will you introduce it? What will your expectations be?
• What are you going to do to familiarize your students with your classroom library?
• Is there a skill that you need to teach ASAP so you can build it into every lesson - for me it's visualizing.
• How will you make sure your students know what to do when they pick up a book? Teach the reading process.

My rough notes while designing My First 2 Week Plans

Order Your Lessons

After you have your list of 10 or so top routines and skills, start prioritizing them in order. Be ready to shuffle. Think about what items need to be taught before others. Coming to the carpet and whole group expectations should no doubt be covered on day 1. Should visualizing be day 2 so you can refer to the strategy during the rest of your launch? Start numbering your lesson ideas, but be ready to make changes as you go along.

Assign Mentor Texts

The thing I love about back to school is all of the great mentor texts I get to read. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy many mentor texts throughout the year, but my back to school picks are some of my favorites. Assign mentor texts to your lessons. If there isn't a book screaming out to you for a specific lesson, do a quick search on Pinterest (i.e. "mentor texts for making connections"). Some of my favorites are:

 

Mr. George Baker - Amy Hest (Day 1)

Molly Lou Melon - Patty Lovell (I use this the day I introduce reader's workshop, but the message is to be yourself)

The Tin Forest - Helen Ward (Visualizing)

Plan Out Anchor Charts and Any Activities

Finally, plan out your anchor charts and activities. I know many teachers start here, but in my opinion this should be last. If you start with your objectives in mind, you'll hit them every time. If you find a cute craft you want to do and try to jam it in somewhere, it may be fun but have little to do with what you're trying to accomplish. The first 2 weeks of school are so critical, make sure every lesson is wholly designed for setting your students up for success.

The First 2 Weeks of Reading Lesson Plans and Resources

This is the exact process I followed when I planned out my First 2 Weeks of Reading. If you would rather just snatch up my plans, you can find them here. Remember, the most important thing is to learn and grow each year and develop a little bit more into that teacher you've always wanted to be.

Happy back to school!

-Interventionista

Back To School Checklists

You know that feeling you get when there are just so many things to do, but you haven't made a list so you're not exactly sure the extent of the pain. You just know it's A LOT!

That's what I've been feeling like lately when it comes to back to school. Seriously, you should see my notebook. They're mostly little things... organize my math centers, print and attach labels, update my class brochure for back to school night. But little things add up in my mind until they are just whizzing around, bouncing from right ear to left (nice imaging - eh?) and doing who knows what kind of damage to my mental heath. I just had to better organize these thoughts. Lucky for you, I'm not just uploading my notebook doodles. And even luckier for you... it's free! Here's:

Back To School Checklists

Now, get your organizing on! Enjoy!

Interventionista

Back To School Product Feature

Well... I've seen it. Have you?

Back to school is back at stores across the country. It's August and many teachers are taking that mental leap from summer vacation to thinking about starting the school year.

I've been getting into the mindset, too. I've created two new products for back to school that I'm really excited to use this year, and I've redesigned one of my old ones that really needed some love.

The First 2 Weeks of Reading

I don't know about you, but in the past my beginning of school reading lessons have been less than perfect. I had lessons planned that covered important concepts in reading like introducing kids to my library and how to take part in turn and talks. But, they were missing a sense of cohesiveness. This summer, I've put a lot of thought into what really needs to be taught in reading during those first 2 crucial weeks. After mapping it out, adjusting, planning lessons, and adjusting some more, I've come up with my First 2 Weeks of Reading unit.

It covers important concepts like:

• Whole Group Expectations
• Stamina
• Visualizing
• Turn and Talks
• About My Classroom Library
• Concept of Reader's Workshop
• Making Connections
• Revisiting the Classroom Rules (they would have originally been taught within the first hour of the first day of school)
• The Reading Process
• Whole Group Sharing
• Partner Sharing
• Growth Mindset

There are suggested mentor texts, anchor chart examples, posters, sort activities, a reading response journal, and printables for a growth mindset bulletin board. It's really an all-in-one packet of greatness that includes everything but the easel! I'm hoping to add pictures of the product and anchor charts as I get myself into gear for the school year.

Be mindful that it does not include teaching rules. To me, teaching rules is outside of a core block like reading. Rules should really be taught within the first hour of the first day of school. So, if your school day starts with reading, you may have to fudge the days and make day 1 your day 2 and day 2 your day 3... etc. My school day starts with writing, so I'll be using that time to teach expectations (along with other times throughout the day) and writing will start on day 2.

Ok...Next.

Classroom Scavenger Hunt

We all know that kids learn best by doing. That's why I've put together a scavenger hunt for my class this year to find all of the necessary materials they will be using all year long. I want my kiddos to know where to find the glue sticks, the extra crayons, and the Clorox wipes. I even want them to know that the extra boxes of tissues are stored in a cabinet under the cupboard. If they know where to get them, then they can replenish them without my assistance. It won't interrupt a lesson and it's one less thing I have to add to my already overflowing list of things to do.

This is a really fun way to do it. It's a scavenger hunt! Before the activity, I will place number cards on items around the room. Students will be given a recording sheet with the names of those items in boxes. Their job will be to walk around and find each of the items listed and write the number that is posted, proving they found the item. Then viola, they know where each of these common classroom items are in the room! No more, "Mrs. Douglas, our tissue box is empty!"-grab a new one, stick it out. Or, "Mrs. Douglas, I don't have a blue crayon!"-you know where to find the crayons. Complete and utter independence... Okay maybe I'm dreaming there, but I think you get the idea.

Rules and Procedures Booklet

We all know modeling rules and expected behavior is critical when it comes to those first few days of school. This year, I wanted to take it a step further and really give my students a chance to discuss, reflect, and write about the important new procedures I'm teaching them. And, I wanted them to have something to show for it. I created a Rules and Procedures Booklet that includes 13 pages (plus a cover) for students to complete after I thoroughly model and we practice each rule and procedure.

Here's how I decided what went into the booklet.
I made a list of all of my important routines and procedures in my trusty blue notebook a student gave me for Christmas last year, narrowed it down to the ones that are nearly universal to every teacher, and narrowed it down even further into the procedures that:
a) Are Most Important
b) Lend Themselves to Student Reflection
c) Would be Handy for Students to be Able to Refer Back to

The list went from a crazy two pages to this:
Rules and Consequences
Entering the Room
Morning Routine
Quiet Signals
Voice Levels
Lining Up
Hallway Expectations
Leaving the Room
Gathering Supplies
Where to Find Supplies
When May I...?
Turning in Homework
What to Do When Finished
End of the Day Routine

It's pretty versatile, too. It could be used as a booklet like it's laid out or you could cut apart the pages to use in an interactive notebook or just as loose sheets.

On top of that, there are covers to match any teacher from 1st on up, (sorry kindergarten, but with all the writing I didn't think the product really fit your level). From any grade level (1st-5th), to Music, to Intervention, to specific subject areas, there's a cover for everyone. And, if there's not a cover for your unique little niche, there's even a cover with a blank line.

Get to Know You Scoot

I always know school is coming when I start getting multiple notifications a day that one of my products - Get to Know You Scoot - has sold.

This was one of my early products that I made when I first started teaching 3rd grade. I did my darnedest at the time - but let's just say my formatting skills have gotten better since then (insert lifted eyebrows here). I made this original product in Word... WORD! I had no idea at the time how much easier it is to make products using powerpoint - which is what most TPTers use. No Idea. Anyway, I took some time to redo the product and class it up a little. It's a good product and deserved some love.

I use Get to Know You Scoot in the morning on the first day of school after teaching my rules, consequences, and some basic procedures. There are 16 writing prompts that ask students to identify something they have in common with a partner and write it in a complete sentence. The questions range in depth from favorite foods to something they are both nervous about this school year. What makes it unique is that students partner up and work together to find a commonality for each card. Sometimes they're obvious, but sometimes they really have to use some problem solving skills. When it's time to switch, they find a new card and a new partner.

It's great to use after teaching voice levels and movement expectations. The kids and I all really enjoy it. They get to get up and move around while learning more about each other, and I get to listen in on their conversations. I have them complete the response sheet and turn it in, so I can see what they wrote. It gives me more authentic information than an interest inventory would, although I still use those as well.

I tend to follow a Smart Classroom Management approach, so it's imperative that I show my students how much fun 3rd grade is right from the start. Get to Know You Scoot is perfect for this.

So that's what I've been up to!

Until next time,
-Interventionista