Two for Tuesday ~ Phonics Games

Hi everyone! I'm linking up with Cyndie from Chalk One Up for the Teacher for 2 for Tuesday! It's a great day to stock up for upcoming school year since these are only $2!

I've got two of my favorite resources for you guys today.

I have just revised one of my students' favorite phonics games, the Magic E game. I love using games with my students in small groups and as an independent center. This game is perfect if you have students who struggle to read words like can and cane. I have included 32 pairs of words like this. To make this multi-purpose in my classroom, I've also included sorting header cards and a recording sheet.

I'm also marking down my Touch Point Math Posters to $2. Using touch points has been a life saver for some of my students who really struggled with fact fluency! I keep these posters up all year long, and many of my students refer to them frequently.

Make sure you check out some of the other awesome $2 for Tuesday deals!

An InLinkz Link-up

Groundhog Addition and Subtraction FREEBIE!

With Groundhog Day coming up, I wanted to give you all a little freebie!  I made these cut and paste printables to help students practice their addition and subtraction facts and finding unknown numbers.

There are 2 pages for addition and 2 for subtraction.

Students will need to manipulate the numbers and use some critical thinking skills to solve each equation correctly.

It's a good idea for students to move the numbers around and figure out where they will all go before gluing them down.

I hope this is something you can use with your students!  I'd love to hear your feedback.  :)

You can download it {here}.

Updated Fall Freebie

Hi everyone!  I hope the majority are off today.  We're finishing up fall break here in Hawaii, and I've really enjoyed my time off with my family.  :)

Sometimes I look back at things I made a year ago or even longer and think, "It really could be much better!"  A lot of my earlier stuff is on my revamp to-do list.  There's always something to be said for practice and time improving the things we do.

I decided to update my Fall for Odd and Even Numbers freebie.  You can download it by clicking on the picture below. 

I'd love to hear your feedback after downloading.  

A Winner and Everything Pumpkin! Math Centers! for

My Pin It to Win It giveaway is over, and we have a winner!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks to all that have entered!  Erin, please check your email and think about what item of mine you would like from my TpT store.

I've been working really hard on my latest math centers.  I know a lot of classrooms can't use things that are Halloween related due to school policies or students who are not allowed to participate in those types of activities.  I created this Everything Pumpkin! Common Core Aligned Math Centers unit.

These math centers showcase pumpkins (but not jack-o-lanterns), pumpkin pie, and pumpkin patches but nothing Halloween related.  It's 119 pages and perfect for 1st or 2nd grade students.  You can easily differentiate for your higher and lower students, and it's Common Core aligned.  

I've discounted them for half off today only.  You can get them from my TpT store for $3.00 {here}.

I'm on fall break right now, so I'm off to enjoy some beaches and do some hiking! 

Daily Math Routines

I know it's the end of the year, and we're all tired.  Or at least I am!  But I've been meaning to post about my daily math routine for my Kindergarten students for awhile and never got around to it.  So maybe it'll give some inspiration for next year or at least I can come look back at this and remember what I did!  ;)

Since I teach students with disabilities, I have learned (the hard way) that they often need constant review and repeated practice otherwise they seem to forget everything!  If I had a typical classroom, I would probably do a lot of math review during calendar, but I don't have that opportunity.  I spend about 20 minutes of math block doing review.  I know that's a big chunk of time, but it's soooo needed.

A few weeks ago, I stopped going over 2D and 3D shapes everyday, because I just KNEW my kids had it!  Sure enough, my kids forgot their shapes.  That cemented it for me that the daily review was essential.  If my students benefit from this type of review, maybe some of your struggling students will also benefit.

We always start with a quick review of 2D and 3D shapes.

Then we move onto identifying how many on 10 frames and how many more do we need to make 10.

We're still practicing identifying numbers up to 30.  This has been pretty tough for my kids.  Even though we practice this every day, many of my students till make mistakes identifying numbers in the teens and 20s.  We go through the cards and then play Number Zap! for 2 minutes.  You can read about the Sight Word Zap! game {here and get a freebie}.

My kids LOVE the Zap! game and never get tired of it.  Plus, I like that it requires my students to be able to identify the number correctly and quickly while playing.  At some point, I should probably make a cute Zap! game but these flash cards work just as well.

We practice counting to 100, counting by 5s, and counting by 10s with these AWESOME free Math Mats by F is for First Grade.  Look at this tracking!  Oh it makes my heart so happy.  Having a visual in front of my students as they count has REALLY improved their rote counting skills.

Everyday, we practice writing our numbers.  A few weeks ago, I came across a fabulous way to differentiate number writing for my students and get some daily practice.  These Number Writing Fluency Books  by Mrs. Miner's Kindergarten Monkey Business have been super helpful for my students.

I started using these booklets in April and started everyone on the writing to 10 book.  Out of my 5 students, I have 2 who are now working on the 50 book, 2 who are working on the 20 book, and 1 still on the 10 book.  I don't let them move to the next book until they can write the numbers on the blank page without any reversals or looking at the completed chart for help.

So that's it.  It's not really groundbreaking, but this has helped my students remember some of these rote memory skills and increased their learning.  

Do you have any tricks for getting daily review in?

Five for Friday!

It's time for my favorite post of the week!  I love Doodle Bugs' Five for Friday link ups.

1.  This week, we worked on some of phonemic awareness skills which is a skill my students really need to practice.  We sorted syllables from my Heart Felt Valentine Unit.  

2.  We also practice matching up some rhyming words from the same unit.

3.  We practiced word problems and writing equations with my still in development Circus Math unit.

4.  I'm super excited about my new Story Elements Unit that my students started this week.

We sorted characters and setting.  Next week, we'll be working on drawing and writing about the different characters and settings in books.

5.  The best way to spend an afternoon after work is like this!  :)

Happy Friday everyone!  I hope you all have a 3-day weekend!

Let's Talk Behavior, Valentine Centers, and a Freebie!

Well, I have a lot to say today so be prepared for an post with a bunch of different stuff in it!  LOL.

First, I'm linking up with Ashley from The Resource Room Teacher for her Special Needs Sunday.  

Let's talk about something that can be the most difficult part of teaching.........behavior problems.  Ughh, behavior problems can really drive a teacher crazy and make it so hard to teach.

The crazy thing about students with behavior problems is that every one is different.  They are so individualized and what works for one child might not work for another.  So here are some general tips that I've been using with one particular student.

1.  A schedule, a schedule, a schedule.  Kids need consistency and routine.  Students with behavior problems probably need it even more so.  If they don't know what is happening next or what is expected of them next, be prepared for behavior problems to increase.  The first thing I did at my new job was make a schedule and stick to it.

I tried to use actual pictures of the student when possible.  My student uses a dry erase marker to check off the schedule as we go through the day.  The back side has the afternoon events.  This has evolved since I first started teaching this class to fit the needs and changes I've made.  Having a visual schedule has really helped.  If he says he wants to do _________, I bust out the schedule and show him what has to happen before recess or whatever it is he wants.

2.  Consistency - This is sooooo important.  Everyone who is working with the student needs to be consistent.  A few weeks ago, we had a meeting with all the teachers and the aide to discuss expectations, consequences, and reinforcements across ALL settings.  That has made a huge difference.  With everyone on the same page and reacting the same way, we are seeing improvements in behavior.  My big focus is the academic work MUST be done.  It doesn't disappear.  No matter how bad we misbehave, the work stays and must be finished before we can move onto something else.  

3.  Reinforcement - This can be really tricky.  I really want my kids to follow class rules and expectations because that's just what they are supposed to do at school.  However, some kids need more.  It's important to find reinforcers that will work for the specific student and ones that don't take away from the other students in the class.  Is it really fair if Johnny can't do anything without a meltdown but then is rewarded for 5 minutes of work when the rest of the class does all their work with no reward?  Not really.  I think this is where you really have to think about your students and your class to find the best answer.  

For my student, I made a sticker chart that coincides with his visual schedule.

In the morning, he chooses what he is working for: recess, legos, or drawing.  These are things he really likes, so he is motivated to do these things.  In the afternoon, he does the same thing on the backside of the page.  I split the day up into different activities that he can earn a sticker.  The first task is SUPER easy.  All he needs to do is put his backpack away.  He can typically accomplish this task without any problem.  This means he gets a sticker first thing and starts his day off on a good foot.  If he doesn't earn a sticker, he has to x that box out and we talk about what behavior caused him to not earn the sticker.

When we first started the sticker chart, he only needed to earn 4 stickers out of 6 opportunities to earn his reward.  Once he started mastering 4 stickers, I bumped him up to 5.  At first, I also had more easy tasks that he could earn a sticker for that weren't so academic related.  My goal was for him to feel some success.

I also use this page as notes throughout the day.  I write comments on it if he has a meltdown, says something inappropriate, or does a good job.  I keep this for my records and send a copy home for mom each day.  

He can earn his reward right before morning recess (when my other resource students leave to go back to their gen ed class) and again in the afternoon right before dismissal.  This way it doesn't disrupt the other students.  He only gets his reward for 5 minutes and I set the timer to keep track.  If he doesn't earn the reward and has a meltdown, all he really does is hurt himself.  He can't go to morning recess if he's having a meltdown so he has to get it together.  My big goal was that if he doesn't earn a reward and has meltdown I didn't want the meltdown to be away to get out of more academic work.

4. Data - If behavior problems are becoming serious, you're going to need data.  The data can be useful for RTI, Behavior Support Plans, IEPs, Special Ed services, parent conferences, etc.  The tricky with collecting data is that you still need to teach.  How can you keep up with data if you're teaching 20 other kids?  Maybe you're lucky and have an aide or volunteer or somebody in your room who can keep up with data.  Or it might be up to you.

I needed more data on my one student so I made this easy chart.

I broke the day into 15 minute increments and put 2 behavior problems that I knew I needed to track.  Every time he shows noncompliance or I redirect him, I just put a tally mark.  I try to make some comment about the activity in the comment box just so I remember later what we were doing.  If for some reason I can't remember or get too busy to keep the data during a certain time period, I just leave that box blank.  This has worked for me as an easy way to collect data.n

So there we go, that's one way to handle behavior problems.  Oh and one other thing I would to mention is that free time, down periods with nothing to do, and transition times can be really difficult for behavior students.  Free moments without a task are always good settings for behaviors to start.  I try to keep mine busy every second of the day.  He just cannot handle idle moments.

Now that I've rambled on FOREVER about behavior, let's talk about these Valentine Centers that I have been working on FOREVER!  Oh my gosh, I didn't think I'd ever get these things done but they finally are done and uploaded.  If my kids really didn't need to work on these skills this week, I would have given up!  

I've just posted my A Heart Felt Valentine - Literacy & Math Centers to TpT.  I've marked them half off for $3 between now and Valentine's Day.  If you're looking for some last minute stuff for Valentine's this might work out for you.

Since my class has been working on problem solving, I included 3 free word problems in the preview file.  It's your lucky day!

We are using the P-E-A strategy to solve problems.  We draw a Picture, then we write an Equation, and  finally write the Answer.  To help my kids, I've been scaffolding our problem solving to make them more successful.  Here are the word problems you can download for free in my preview file.  The Heart Felt Valentine unit has 6 addition and 6 subtraction word problems that follow this same format.

Wow, that was one long post!!  Thanks for sticking through all that!  :)

I Can Measure Anchor Charts (freebie)

Well, I seem to be on a roll lately with anchor charts.  I've been making charts left and right for something or another.  The visuals really do seem to help students as a reference point.  In case you missed out, earlier this month I posted my 2D and 3D Shapes Anchor Charts and my Good Learners freebie chart.

My class has been learning about measurement lately.  They're really good at telling me whether something is bigger or smaller but using measurement words (longer/shorter, heavier/lighter) has been a tougher challenge.  I created these charts to help my kiddos out.

If you're like me, you sometimes need to save on the color ink.  And while I love Surfin' Through Second Grade's Hand Drawn Rainbow papers, I had to print these off at school.  So I also included a set of papers with a white background.  They look like this.

Click {here} to get yours!

Time Machine Addition and Subtraction Freebie

Our district uses Go Math for our math curriculum.  This is our 3rd year since textbook adoption.  The curriculum is aligned with FL's Next Generation Sunshine State standards (NGSS); although, we are in the process of adopting the Common Core Standards.  One of the NGSS standards for 2nd grade is:

 MA.2.A.4.5: Recognize and state rules for functions that use addition and subtraction. 

Well, I don't see anything similar to that in Common Core Standards, but it's still in our textbook.  So I will be muddling through this part of the chapter next week.  It's a tricky one.  My kids have a tough time with things that aren't concrete.  They also have a hard time consistently adding and subtracting.  We've also been struggling with remembering the signs to add and subtract.  I'm not exactly looking forward to this week's instruction, because I remember the past years of doing this part of the chapter.

I decided that this year I needed to create something to make it easier for my students to understand the concepts and hopefully the week won't be too painful for us all.

I made this cute Time Machine Addition and Subtraction mini-unit for my kids and I'm offering it as a freebie in my TPT store.  You can click on the pic to download it.

Basically it works like this, you give the students a rule (use a highlighter to write on your mat if you're at home) and some counters (or pennies if at home).  Then tell them how many counters they need to put in the machine.  They then record how many went in and how many would come out.

If your students need it to be even more concrete, you can use counters for the number going in and the rule.  

You can also use this for subtraction.

Is anyone else required to teach this?  Do you think this would be useful to you?  The Time Machine Addition and Subtraction mini-unit comes with the work mat, the in/out recording sheet, 32 task cards with recording sheet and answer key, and 2 worksheets with answer key that could be used for assessment or practice.  If you can use this in your classroom, I'd love if you would leave some feedback! 

October Currently, Made it {some}day, & Other Stuff!

Well, that's one heck of a title, huh?  Since school started, the blogging has obviously dropped!  Just too much to do and not enough time.  That's why I'm loving October's Currently from Oh' Boy 4th Grade.  She's gotten me motivated to make a post!

So I'm super excited about the changes in my body since I started going to boot camp in July.  It's a GOOD problem that I need new clothes.  It's not good that I feel kinda dumpy and like I have a saggy rear end all day.  I think a shopping trip needs to happen ASAP!

Can you believe our district doesn't give us Columbus Day off?  Ughhh!  My husband (a Marine) even has the day off.  I'm going to try and see if I can find a sub and maybe take Monday off, too.  Anyone else have to work on federal holidays?  Double ugh!

I know I'm breaking the rules with my book......but it was just released at the end of September.  So that sorta makes it almost an Octoberish book, right?  I LOVE J.R. Ward and this is her latest in the Fallen Angels series.  I've just started reading it and so far so good!

I've also been meaning to do a Made it Monday post hosted by 4th Grade Frolics.  But I can never seem to get it together to actually make the post.  So today, I'm having a Made it {some}day post!

At the beginning of the school year, the art teacher sent out a school-wide email saying she had some free easels to give out.  I was ALL over that.  I've been needing an easel to use during whole group and to put my chart paper on.  Well, this is what she had to give away for free!

 Well, I knew I could make it into something great!  I took the paint covered chalkboard and white boards off.  I went to Home Depot and bought some new whiteboard (it was like $13 for a sheet).  They'll even cut it for you for free!  I then sanded the frame down, primed it, and painted it white.  I bought the cute polka dot duct tape from Wal-Mart and put it around the edges.  Then my husband helped me screw the new whiteboard onto the frame.  And now VIOLA!  I have an awesome chart that I can write on as a white board or use for my chart paper.  Which is great because I use the heck out of some chart paper everyday!  This is the new and improved easel!

 Another thing on my to-do list FOREVER was to make these Making Words folders, which I saw on Pinterest.  Teacher Bits and Bobs has the template for the letters for FREE!  I used these today in one of my small groups and it was so much easier than finding/counting out the letters that everyone needed.

I know it's sideways, but you get the idea.  I made the front cover and you can download it for free by clicking on the picture.

I've also been working on some Halloween and Thanksgiving stuff for my classroom.

I made this super cute Hocus Pocus sight word game.  It has words that are typically taught in 1st grade.  One of my dear followers requested I made some games with harder sight words.

I also used the same words to make this Gobble, Gobble sight word game that I just finished today.

And I'm really excited about these Common Core aligned Candy, Candy, Candy math centers.

And wow, I should really post more often!  That was a WHOLE lot in one post!  I hope everyone is hanging in there this school year!