Show What They Know

We are taking the CRCT (Criterion Reference Competency Test) this week and next. This is the test that the state of Georgia uses at the end of each year to determine if students have mastered what they should in order to move to the next grade. Third graders must pass the reading portion and fifth graders must pass reading and math. Needless to say, there is  a lot of stress placed on teachers and students alike.

I am not going to even get started on my feelings about the injustices of basing a child's pass or fail on one test given on one day where any one thing could have thrown the child off for the whole day. What I am going to do is share some tips and great videos we found to pump our kids up for the test.

One thing I do to motivate my students is to give them a ticket the day before the test. The ticket has my "Fab Five" test taking strategies:
1. Read Carefully
2. Circle key words
3. Prove it!
4. Take your time
5. Check, check, check...and check again

Each day students have the chance to get 2 stickers (1 for each section of the test). If they use our strategies, they get a sticker. If they don't, they get...nothing. One the final day of the test, we have a celebration in the afternoon. There is a movie, popcorn, dessert, and coke. They get the following for their stickers:
6 Stickers=Just the movie
7 Stickers=Movie and popcorn
8 Stickers=Movie, popcorn, and coke
9-10 Stickers=Movie, popcorn, coke, and dessert
Not getting a sticker one time, does amazing things for motivating a student to change their tune about not doing their best.
Download my card free.

These helped to calm them down and actually get pumped up for the test.

I play these before school starts as students are coming in. They sing along and enjoy the lyrics, which help them to remember test taking tips. Then after the morning announcements and a trip to the bathroom, we mediate and calm our nerves with a visualization video. I found a great one on Youtube and you can see it below. After the video, the students are calm, focused, motivated, and ready to Show What They Know!

Detecting Key Words

To go along with my Wonderful Problem Solving PowerPoint presentation, I have created a packet of Key Word goodies. This packet has everything you need to ensure that students completely understand how to use key words in problem solving. It includes an attractive Key Word poster.

It also has a blank graphic organizer for students to fill in and student and teach notes. It uses acrostics and other mnemonic devices to help students remember the key words for addition, subtraction, and multiplication problem solving. There are 4 different printables which focus on addition key words, subtraction key words, multiplication key words, and a mix of key words. These also include word problems for students to solve. 

The final part of the packet is a Key Word game, which asks partners to sort word problems into the operations of addition, subtraction, and multiplication. It includes 24 word problem cards, which partners are to read and decide together which operation the key word is asking them to perform. 

You can download a preview of the packet or purchase it at my TpT store.

Incredible Invention

Here is a great Linky Party being put on by Best Practices 4 Teaching. There are so many things teachers wish they could have. Here is what I would invent. I know cell phones work, but so many of my parents numbers are disconnected. This would be a good way to get in touch with them.

What would you invent? Link up!!

Multiplying by Multiples of Tens

Third grade begins multiplication. Whereas in years past, students only had to learn their multiplication facts, they are now required to take those facts to a whole different level. Third grade students are required to, also, master how to problem solve with multiplication and to multiply 2 and 3 digit numbers by a 1 digit number.

One way to help make the transition from basic facts to "big" multiplication easier is by taking it step by step. One of those steps is learning how to multiply by multiples of tens, hundreds, and even thousands. Over the years I have developed, with the help of some students, an easy way to teach this concept.

The first step is to circle the basic fact. EX: 40 x 6=   The basic fact is 4 x 6. Once you know the basic fact-4 x 6=24, then just count the zeroes and add them to the basic fact-24 + 1 zero=240.

My students even helped me make up a song to help students remember the steps:

Zero is the Hero
He just won't stop!
All you do is count him,
At the top!
You add those zeroes,
To the basic fact,
And you will get the answer,
Just like THAT!

We use Zero the Hero to help us any time we are multiplying by multiples of tens and hundreds. It comes in really handy when multiplying with partial products and estimating.

I have a fabulous PowerPoint presentation that takes students through multiplying by multiples of tens and hundreds step by step. It even includes the song with me singing :) It provides examples, activities, and test practice.
Check it out at my TpT store.

Here are some of the videos and games that I embed into my presentations:

The Properties of Multiplication

One of the keys in problem solving is to understand the fundamental properties of operations. I swear, I would give anything for kids to understand that they already know that 9x3=27 because they know that 3x9=27. But,for some reason, it is a hard concept to grasp.

When I teach the Properties of Multiplication I focus just on the identity, commutative, and associative properties with my third graders, and I take one property at a time. To guide us through our learning I use a PowerPoint presentation which you can download at my TpT store. It is full of concrete examples, activities with manipulatives, real life examples, and much more.

In addition to the presentation and the activities included in it, I use several other tools in my classroom when teaching about the properties of multiplication. I have an interactive bulletin board where students can sort the properties using index cards. I also use several of the following Internet games:
Math Playground Basketball
AAA Math
CoolMath Games

At the end of the unit students create a book about the properties. To create this book the fold their papers in quarters and cut along one of the middle lines. Next they place the 2 halves together and fold them to create a book. Each page of the book is used to write and illustrate about the properties of multiplication.

Here are some of the videos that I embed into my presentation to make for a smoother lesson:

Pencil Problem Solved...FINALLY

There are somethings that take years to figure out. This is especially true when it comes to teaching. It takes years to perfect a lesson, years to organize your classroom perfectly, years to become an expert at dealing with parents, and years to figure out what to do about the dadgum PENCIL PROBLEM. 

I know you know what I am talking about! Kids lose pencils. Kids break pencils. Kids need to sharpen pencils in the middle of your lessons and grind away while you are trying to talk. Kids bring their own pencil sharpeners so they can sharpen quietly only to have all of the shavings fall onto the floor!! Then there are the kids that never, ever bring a pencil through your door!

Needless to say, it is a problem. In fact, I am pretty sure that at some point in time I have heard every teacher I know complain about the Pencil Problem. Here are some of my solutions, the tried, the trued, the failed:

1. Just keep asking for more pencils and start screaming every time someone gets up to sharpen a pencil during your lesson. I think in my early years I might have even thrown a pencil across the room in a fit of sharpening rage!

2. Provide everyone with pencils and their own sharpener. Problem #1: expensive (I mean I really think they eat pencils) and Problem #2: The blasted shavings all over the floor!

3. A central pencil cup. Everyone is to sharpen their pencils at the beginning of the day. If during the day your pencil breaks, you can trade it out for a pencil from the cup. The problem arose when kids brought no pencil to school or lost theirs.

4. A central pencil cup. Everyone is to sharpen their pencils at the beginning of the day. If during the day your pencil breaks, you can trade it out for a pencil from the cup. If you don't have a pencil to trade in, then you have to leave your shoe and to get your shoe back you had to put the pencil back.

5. Mechanical pencils for all. And then came the lead and more lead and more lead that none of them could ever get loaded into their pencils.

At this point I was ready to throw in the towel and just go completely to pens which doesn't seem to work to well in an elementary school classroom!

Then my partner teacher last year came up with a marvelous plan. We attached cups to each of my desks. When the kids came in, there were 2 sharpened pencils in their cup. If during the day, both pencils broke they could trade them out for newly sharpened pencils that were sharpened every morning and afternoon by my Equipment Helpers.

This was the key, and works exceptionally well. Especially since we trade classes four times a day and I have four differently groups rotating in and out of my classroom. Each time a child sits down at their desk their first task is to check their cup and each time they leave my room they are to check their cup. If at any point (no pun intended) a pencil is missing, they are to tell me immediately. The person who walked out of my room with my pencil will, no doubt, rue the day! Trust me, after one time they don't leave again with my pencil. Now our cups not only hold our pencils but, also, an Expo marker and eraser.

Where do I get the pencils from? Well, at the beginning of the year we require all students to bring in 2 boxes of 24 pencils. Instead of letting the kids keep them and lose them (or eat them as I swear they do). I take up the boxes from the children leaving them with 6 or so to keep in their book bags. Then I store all of the rest of the pencils and pull them out as needed to replenish our supplies.

I do the same thing with notebook paper. They each bring in 2 packs. One goes in their folders and one goes in my paper drawer. When anyone runs out of paper, I give them more from the paper drawer.

I have found that handling supplies like this saves sanity and embarrassment. It keeps the kids whose parents won't keep them supplied with what they need from being embarrassed, and it keeps my sanity. Now, instead of getting frustrated when kids don't bring pencils into my room I point to their cups. And instead of nagging them to bring in more paper, I just had them a stack.

Pencil Problem Solved!!

Ancient Greece Jeopardy

Talk about something that is hard to find info on! It is near about impossible to find material with which to teach about Ancient Greece. Our standards call for us to teach ancient Greek architecture, democracy, and the Olympics.

Like so many other topics, our text book has limited to no information. So I have scoured the Internet and found a few things and then created many other things.

One of these is a Jeopardy PowerPoint presentation that I use as a review. It covers democracy, the Olympics, voting, architecture, and maps. It is a wonderful resource!

Check it out at my TpT store. It would be a great review for you state exams that are coming up oh so soon!


Since the information is so hard to find, I thought I would save you some time and add a few of the videos I use during my unit on Ancient Greece.