Five for Friday

Doodle Bugs Teaching

  

TGIF!!! This week had it's highs and lows, thankfully the highs out weigh the lows!  I had a great week with teaching, one of those where everything fell into place and worked out perfectly.  It only make me fear what might happen next week :)

1.  Reading Olympics. My kids are LOVING this program and enjoy mastering each level.  This week I was going over the suffix -or, and it's meaning of someone who.  One of our (my classroom support and I) favorite words to use for this suffix is tutor.  We use it every year now because it really helps students remember the suffix meaning.  After going over a few other examples and practicing with words like doctor and professor I write the word "TUTOR" on the board.  I then lead students through breaking down the word. I circle "or" ask it's meaning, students reply "someone who" then I underline "tut" and they reply "toot", they put it all together and say, "Someone who toots"...and the giggles begin!  Try it out...your students won't forget the meaning of -or...promise :)

2. I Love When That Happens!  Sunday I posted my plans for this week's Reading, we are working on RI. 3, 4, & 7 using Science text.  I pulled out our Science text books and found a passage about how the improvements of technology assisted in the discovery of more planets. Our book noted that there were 9 planets.  Students who read a particular passage earlier in the week, one I discussed in Workshop Wednesday's post, raised their hands and said that their passage said Pluto was no longer a planet...  Yay! for retention and a connection!  I pulled up the passage and discussed the dates of our two text, 2000 & 2010

We discussed how to check the dates of informational text, the importance of looking for current information, and that just because our book was outdated not all information in their books were wrong (this was the hardest for them to understand). Can you believe how OLD our books are!?!

3. Decimals!  I had a moment of "why didn't I think of this before?" during our introductory lesson to decimals.  I found remembered I had laminated flats or 100 boards on my math shelf.  I gave each student a flat and they shaded in the flat using a dry erase marker.  I had problems like 4/10 and 30/100 on the board and students would represent them on their flats.  This REALLY helped them to see the equivalent fractions and how to view a flat as 100 units AND 10 rods.

4. Dr. Seuss.  As you know I {Heart} Dr. Seuss!  Our Media Specialist placed these two catalogs in my box, opened up to these pages.  I now WANT.IT.ALL!  Think I can convince my school to purchase a Dr. Seuss rug for $250 for my classroom library? :)

5. Monster Math!  It's Completed!  I FINALLY finished my Monster Math packet!  I posted about working on it in a previous Five For Friday and many of you asked about it.  I created a review sheet for every week of school.  Each sheet consist of five problems, they each address one of CCS standards (Operations and Algebraic Thinking, Number and Operations in Base Ten, Number and Operations-Fractions, Measurement and Data, and Geometry).  I created multiple choice, written response, and critical thinking questions, along with ANSWER KEYS :)   I use this as a weekly review, but it can be used for nightly review near testing time, morning work, or in a math center.  You can purchase it HERE! 

 

P.S. I am only 8 followers away from 200!  My 2013 blogging goal was to get 200 followers, I am SO CLOSE and in only four months!  I LOVE ALL MY FOLLOWERS!