Math Weekly Participation Rubric - Freebie

In more and more of my rubrics over the last year, I am trying to emphasize effort.  From the reading I have done on the growth mindset, I think it is important to encourage students to challenge themselves and be self-reflective. I also want students to make the connection between what behaviors and habits lead to certain results.

I have been thinking more about how I want to break down my grading structure for math next year.  I decided I wanted to make a math participation rubric that students could use to evaluate their own habits and effort.  Using the rubric, they will be able to earn up to 20 points per week based on this self-assessment.  I then will also grade their effort and behaviors in math, and we can discuss how my assessment of them compares to their own self-assessment.

This version of the rubric I made for a teacher who is teaching our 3rd and 4th grade students. She will be using Xtramath with her students, so I included that as a component of the rubric.  I will probably change the rubric slightly for myself for next year.  The rubric is a word document, so it is editable.  You can get a copy HERE.

How do you break down your grade in math?  Do you use standards-based grading? Do you grade just based on performance on daily work and tests?  Do you ever give your students opportunities to grade themselves and reflect on their own habits and academic behaviors? How do you try and encourage a growth mindset in math?

Fun Ideas for Spatial Reasoning

The last few weeks have been so busy as I know they are for everyone. Grad school, being a teacher, and Christmas makes for the most crazy month of the year.

All teachers know that in the week or two before winter break the kids are so full of energy and excitement, it can make for chaos.  I try to do some fun, hands on things and creative projects in December to harness some of that energy and excitement into something productive.

One of the skills in Math I really want to work on this year is spatial reasoning.  It is a skill that is easy to overlook, but one that many kids today I think lack.  I am finding many students even in middle school still struggle with underdeveloped fine motor skills and spatial reasoning.

Well, I found this project on TeachersPayTeachers that looked like a lot of fun.

The project is for the kids to design a model of the North Pole and build a 3D model of their design.  The packet also comes with Language Arts extensions to do some writing assignments and a presentation. We used it for math, so we just did the design and the model.  It also had a great alternate assignment to use the South Pole for the kids who do not celebrate Christmas.

They came out really cute though, and they had a lot of fun with it.  It was a great hands on project that required logic, creativity, and spatial reasoning.  They have this whole big list of requirements to meet that really challenge them.

My next goal in the Spring is to some type of project with Architecture.  I am hoping to incorporate some real world examples and maybe some photography and end with building something.  How do you incorporate spatial reasoning in your classroom?

Common Core Math Websites

I thought I would share some of my favorite Common Core Math websites and how I use them.  I teach math grades 4-6 in one room at the same time, so access to easy differentiated practice is awesome.  My students work on lessons through our curriculum, but I supplement with a lot of websites and paper practice.

IXL

IXL is amazing for practice from pre-K to Algebra.  The students can click on the exact links they need.  It works really well because it tells students what they did wrong, and they can find exactly what they need. I also can send specific links to students via edmodo. The only downside is that I cannot assign links to kids. They just added grammar for grades 2-4 as well.  They are supposed to be adding the grammar for grade 5 in January.

Sumdog

Sumdog is a great website that is common core aligned with math practice up to grades 6.  They can play games, so it makes spiral review fun.  Sometimes my students act like they don't like Sumdog as much anymore, but it seems like it would be more fun as a game.  They have grammar practice as well.

Prodigy

Jen Runde mentioned this website on Facebook last night.  I checked it out.  I couldn't figure it out after like 5 minutes, so I gave up but it seems like it could be a more involved game instead of just small games.

Scootpad

I love Scootpad because for the $5 a month subscription you can assign specific skills to specific students.  I am going to use Scootpad as more of an assessment and IXL as more practice.  I love that Scootpad is one of the few with reading practice by standard as well!

Xtramath

Xtramath is great for math fact practice, and it is free.

BuzzMath

Buzzmath is a website for Common Core practice for grades 6-8.  They have missions and little tutorials.  My grade 6 math class likes this website. It is all led by a little mad scientist.

What are your favorite common core math websites?

Thankgiving take-home project idea for a real world application assessment

I can't believe my first semester of my PhD is almost over. It is almost over, but there is still so much to do. Tonight I just have a quick post.  I want to share a Thanksgiving Break take-home project idea.

I have been thinking a lot lately about wanting to give my students more authentic formative assessments with real-world application.  Last week my students were learning about speed in Science.  Our curriculum wanted them to understand the formula for speed being a relationship between time and distance.  I could have found some problems online and printed them out to practice the calculations.  I decided though I wanted to give them something that might have personal meaning to them.  I told them the assignment was to plan a day trip their family could take here in Texas. They had to pick a city here in Texas that they could drive there and back in a day. We then got on Google Maps and they plotted directions from their house to the city. Even though Google Maps gave them an estimated time to get to their destination, I had them compute the time using the formula for speed. 

For students who picked locations with an hour, they just used an average speed of 40 miles per hour to compute the time to reach the destination. For students who chose a city further away they assumed a highway speed of 60 miles per hour.  We talked about how choosing a lower estimate allows some room for traffic and slow downs. It gave them a chance to practice computing the relationship between speed, distance, and time, but they also thought about what it would be like to plan for that in real life. Students who wanted extra credit then planned out what they would do on their day trip while visiting.

For my students in Math grades 5 and 6, I wanted to give them a take-home project for Thanksgiving that would allow them to think about real-world math applications.  Many of my students are studying fractions, so I thought that Thanksgiving recipes was the perfect at home real world application. Before giving the project, we did a Math warm-up today answering some questions about a recipe. I got the sheet from this Thanksgiving Math pack from the Lesson Lady.  I am using her math sheets as warm-ups all week. She has a variety of skills covered, so it has turned out to be an easy way to get some themed math practice in when I don't have much time this week for more elaborate games and task card activities.

I typed up the directions for the project today and handed it out to my students.  I gave it as extra credit.  They are going to choose a Thanksgiving recipe.  They then have to transform the recipe for a different amount of servings (i.e. double recipe, triple the reciple, or cut it in half).  I told them to really think about their family's needs on Thanksgiving.  They then have to compute the new amounts for the ingredients based on the new serving amounts. The final part is to make the recipe.  They will either video themselves making the recipe or take pictures of themselves making the recipe and type up the directions to the recipe to go with their picture. You could easily turn this into a Math and Language Arts project.  I just assigned it for Math.  Many of my students seemed excited about it, so we will see how many choose to do it. You can get a copy of the directions I handed out here.  They are just simple directions in a Word document, but you can edit them as you need.

What are some ways you try to incorporate authentic assessments with real-world applications?

Why Math Facts Matter

This past year was one my most challenging years as a teacher thus far; it was also one of the strongest growth opportunities I have had as an educator.  I taught a self-contained class for the first time.  I have previously always had several classes of students and focused on 1 or 2 subjects. This year my class was made up of students in grades 4 and 5, who spanned a variety of age levels and ability levels.

At the beginning of the year, Math was my biggest challenge. Our school uses a lot of technology, so that students have opportunities to work at different paces and levels. In Math, I had Gifted students who were extremely advanced and other students who were not ready for 4th grade Math because they still struggled with 2nd and 3rd grade concepts. We spent a lot (and I mean a lot) of time working on building fluency at basic, foundational Math concepts.  From working with many students even in Middle School Math, I have found that for most students who struggle with Math it comes down to not being able to fluently add, subtract, multiply, and divide.  Often when students struggle with fractions or Algebra, it comes down to these concepts.

During the last week of the school year, I was contacted by a publisher to review an ebook.  Compass Publishing asked me to review Laura Candler's book Mastering Math Facts.

I was thrilled with the opportunity.  On a side note, I love Laura Candler!  I discovered her website when I first found out I had to teach using Reading and Writing Workshop at another school.  Her website became my foundation for teaching in a workshop model.  I discovered the world of education blogs through her email Newsletter.  Without Laura Candler, I probably never would have started a teaching blog.

Anyway, this next year we are also adding a Grades 2/3 class.  I was excited to review Laura's book for ideas to help build math fact fluency in my 4th and 5th graders, but primarily for ideas on how to implement it in our 2nd and 3rd grade class. I do believe it is important for students to memorize their facts because it needs to be part of their subconscious.  However, it is vital they also grasp the conceptual ideas behind all four operations and how they work together. Laura does a great job with the lessons and activities in the book of helping students gain a conceptual understanding of math facts. She has a lot of hands-on activities, which is great for all students but especially for your kinesthetic learners.  I look forward to sharing more ways I implement her ideas in my own classroom when school starts.

I first printed the book out and put it all in a binder.

 

She has a great section at the front of the book that matches the activities to the specific Common Core Standard they correlate to.



I look forward to trying some of her hands on activities that help students make connections between operations like this egg carton activity.  I like that she gives you detailed instructions for the lessons.  I have taught Language Arts more than Math, so I do not have a huge mental list yet of hands-on lesson ideas for Math.  I think the hands-on activities will be great for the kids who are still struggling with their math facts.  For my Gifted kids who mastered their facts long before they came to me will probably still want to do the activities just because they are fun and more interactive.



She also has some great handouts that really help you visualize the operations.



You can get Laura's book Mastering Math Facts as an ebook at her TpT store or in print at her website. You also can get a copy at her publisher's website. Laura also is having a webinar for her book on Tuesday, July 16 at 8:00pm EST. You can read about the webinar at Corkboard Connections.  I would attend, but I will be at the Vegas blogger meet-up.  I do intend to watch the archive though.  If you have not attended one of Laura's webinars, you should.  They are always worth the time.

How do you help your students master their math facts?

Reviews of Common Core Math TpT Resources from Grades 2 through 6

The last two days have been the first good Monday and Tuesday we have had.  Usually, the week gets better by Wednesday.  It is amazing what a difference routine and the teacher feeling organized can make on how the day flows.  The first year at a new school is always a little rough in the beginning, but we are getting it figured out a day at a time and a week at a time.

Just a quick post today to share some Math resources I have found.  I am huge fan of Teachers Pay Teachers, and I have spent a ton of money already supporting teachers like myself and finding fabulous resources for my students.  I teach grades 4 and 5, but I have one student doing 6th grade Math and several others who were struggling with 4th grade Math.  So, essentially I have purchased Common Core Math Resources from grades 2 to Middle School. I am reviewing them for you below, and please don't add the dollar value of all this up.  I would rather not know what I have spent just on Math this year.

Some of my absolute favorite resources for Common Core from TpT are as follows:

Grades 2-3:

Jamie Rector's Quick Math Assessments for Grades 2-3: 
Honestly, these are one of my favorite Math resources I have purchased on TpT.  They are really well done.  She has put together lots of practice pages for the standards, and they are done in a visually appealing way.  They can be used as independent practice, a teaching tool, homework, or as an assessment.  There are lots of other great products for Common Core, but they are used mainly as assessments and not as versatile as this product.  I wish she would make grades 4 and 5, or I might have to make something similar for grades 4 and 5 myself because I love these!

Kimberly Santana's Grade 2 Common Core Assessment Pack: 
These also are great practice and put together very well and can be used multiple ways. I love the way she labeled the standards on each page, so you know what they tie to.

Katie Jones' 3rd Grade Math Assessments:
I like that these are concise.  I actually want to use these as reviews or warmups for my 4th graders.

Grade 4-5:

Ashleigh's Grade 4 Math Assessments:
These also are concise assessments that really are well thought out.  They are versatile and could be used the same way as teaching tools, independent practice, warm-ups, homework, or assessments.

Ginger's Common Core Math Vocabulary Cards for Grades 4 & 5:
These are super cute and fabulous resource!  I looked at a lot of the math vocabulary packs, and this is the only one wanted to spend the money on.  They are visually appealing and really well done.

Runde's Interactive Math Journal:
I haven't used this as much as I would like yet, but it is amazing!  There is a reason it has been the number one seller.  Absolutely, this is one of the best investments you could make.

Miss Nannini's Math Assessments for Grades 4 & 5:
These are very well done.  They are definitely more formal assessments and really make the students demonstate a thorough understanding of the standards.

Jennifer Findley's Grade 5 Math Assessments:
I like that these are still actual assessments, but a little shorter (about 6 questions).  These would make great little check-in quizzes.

Middle School Math:

I bought Lindsey Perro's Middle School Workstations and Beyond the Worksheet: Middle School Math Activities.  Her stuff for middle school math is inspiring.  It is so well executed and presented in a fun way.  It makes math practice a lot more fun and interesting. 

Tomorrow I am going to share some non-TpT Math Resources I have found. If you have specific questions about any of the products above, I can try and answer. I hope your math workshop is more sorted out than mine.  I am working on a week at a time.

 Don't forget to check out all my giveaways going on.  They are finishing up this week.  Enter for Starbucks and Cheesecake, an Erin Condren giftcard, prizes from 10 bloggers, and prizes from 12 bloggers.

How a Pirate does Math

So in case you want to carry the pirate adventures on for a day or two.  We are...  I found some more resources tonight. 

Here is a website with lots of pirate links:
http://www.teachingideas.co.uk/themes/pirates/index.htm

Here is a PE game to act like you are on a pirate ship:
http://www.teachingideas.co.uk/pe/pirateship.htm

Here is a National Geographic link to go on a pirate adventure:
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/pirates/index.html

Take this quiz to see how much you know about pirates:
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/games/puzzlesquizzes/quizyournoodle-pirates/

Play Deadman's Chest Hangman:
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/games/moregames/dead-mans-chest-hangman/

This game is to practice latitude and longitude:
http://www.abcya.com/latitude_and_longitude_practice.htm

Find out what happened to the pirates in London:
http://www.portcities.org.uk/london/server/show/ConNarrative.57/chapterId/997/London-and-the-pirates.html
Today we did a lot of the activities from my unit I made last night.  One of my favorites was to create an illustrated list of the things pirates don't do from the books How I Became a Pirate and Pirates Don't Change Diapers.

For math I put the students in groups and they made posters to show all the ways pirates would use math.  My favorite was to count how many limbs they have lost.

Then, they had to write word problems about pirates and create an answer key for the problems.  They then had other students solve their word problems.

We practiced our journal writing where we picked Pirate names and then wrote like a pirate. My name be Squid Walker.
Here was mine:

Here is a video to teach you how to talk like a pirate:

Science Ideas and Math Workshop Checklist

First, I would like to announce the winner of my Technology Tips giveaway:  Kristin.  

Congratulations!  You are a much deserved winner.  Kristin has been a great inspiration to me for technology, so I am glad Rafflecopter randomly selected her as the winner.

I have spent like the entire night trying to plan out my Science activities.  My brain is beyond tired.  My students will be studying "Life on Earth" this week. I made a little organizer to go with a video we are watching.  In case it might be helpful to you, you can get it here. It is a doc file, so you can change it.

We are also going to read a short article on the layers of the earth and students will label a diagram of the layers. (The diagram is from Science Penguin's Elementary graphic organizers).  We are going to read Magic School Bus: Inside the Earth during our "Listen to Reading" read aloud. 

For their writing journal entry, students will write about what it be like to journey inside the earth or even discuss what they learned about the Earth. I also grabbed several nonfiction books on Earth from the library to have available for students to read during independent reading.  If I get a chance, I will put together a review of some of the books and how I would use them to share.

I also researched ideas for Science activities.  We are going to start out Thematic discussion of the Olympics this week.  I found this great free Science Olympics activity on TpT.  We are going to do one Olympic Scientist activity each time we have science.  I wanted to discuss the different branches of Science and this seemed a fun way to introduce it.  I am essentially linking up the activities with our Science lessons as best as I can. We will also be working on my Scientific Method menu I made last week. 

Next week, we are going to discuss landforms and complete Science Penguins Weekly 5 activities on Landforms as follow ups to this week's lesson.

I have been trying to figure out how to make my Math Workshop work since I have multiple levels of Math.  I want to try the "MATH" acronym management strategy I have seen on many blogs.  It originated, I believe, with Clutter-Free Classroom. Instead of a rotation board, or maybe just in addition, I want to try a weekly checklist to help hold my students accountable.  They will have a list of "must do" activities for the week for each rotation (Math Facts, At Seat, Teacher Time, Hands On).  In addition, they will have a list of "may do's." I like the checklist because since I am trying to incorporate more technology, it gives me an easy way to provide my students the websites they can use and when. 

Each day, students will fill out what they did in each rotation and end by summing up what they learned and what they still need help with. We will be doing Math on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, so I have set up my checklist this way.  You can download it here.  It is a doc file, so you can change it to be what you need.  I am going to create a similar checklist for my version of Reading&Writing Workshop/Daily 5. I ran out of steam tonight.

Tomorrow, I want to review some products for you I am excited to share and recommend some great sites I have found that are helping me get organized.