It's Time for Subtraction!

Who knows the subtraction facts??

Common Core Aligned, this packet will help you keep track of student subtraction fact fluency. It offers flash cards for students to practice at home (or in a math center) as well as recording sheets for you to test your students in subtraction fact fluency.

Included:
~ student flash cards
~ teacher flash cards
~ class recording chart
~ student recording charts

There are directions and pictures included to help you organize and implement this product.

I uploaded the addition set, way back when.  Here are some pictures from that set:

View the full post here on how to set up this packet!  

Pick up the {Addition} and {Subtraction} packets today!

It's a Pot O' Gold!

This post can now be found over at The Colorful Apple!

Geometric Robots

Last week, we started geometry in our class.  As I mentioned before, geometry in second grade - so fun!  Geometry in high school?  Not so much.  Luckily I'm sticking with second grade.

We started the unit with such a fun activity!  A fellow second grade teacher gave me the idea, so I can't take any credit for it!  We made Shape Robots.

The kids were introduced to their Pattern Block template (from Everyday Math):

They then had to create a robot, using ONLY the shapes on the template.

They came out so great!  And everyone's was completely different.  Some students even added pets for their robots!

At the bottom, the students had to write about their robot.  They wrote their robot's name, what their robot looked like and what he/she did.  If they had time, the students got to color in their robot!

The kids had so much fun with this!  They took their time and were very creative with their masterpieces.  I was impressed!

Let's Problem Solve {Freebie}!

     

Problem Solving has made quite an appearance in the Common Core.  Previously, our district had used Everyday Math, which didn't include a lot of problem solving within the program.  So doing a lot of problem solving has been a big change for me.

We decided to do "Problem Solving Fridays."  Every Friday, our math lesson is focused primarily on problem solving (even though it is intertwined throughout the week as well).  This allows the students to practice the strategies they learn every week as opposed to just one short unit in the middle of the year.

Each Friday we focus on one strategy and the students are required to use that strategy when they work independently.  Eventually they will be able to choose a strategy that works best for them, once they have learned all of them.  I created some posters to hang in the classroom as a reference for the students.

This may be bragging, but I LOVE how them came out!!  Oh, and they're FREE!

 

 
   














Grab it for free in my {TpT} store or my {TN} store!

We are also starting something new in math called Math Menu.  I just learned about it last week so once I wrap my head around it and get it going in my class, I'll share more!

Have a great week!

The Money Exchange Game

Even though money isn't really in the Common Core anymore (apparently coins will be obsolete in 20 years - who knew?), we still need to touch on it for the state testing our students will take before we are in full PARCC mode.

Today we threw in a game from the Everyday Math series.  I'm pretty sure it's just called The Money Exchange Game.  Original.

Each pair of students receives a handful of coins.  They divide the coins into like piles (dimes, nickels, etc.).  One student rolls a die and picks up the amount of money to match the die.  For example, if you roll a 4, you pick up 4 cents.

As the students acquire more money, they "exchange" it for larger coins.  The first student to reach $1.00, wins!

I'm sure you have heard of this game before.  The reason behind my sharing this with you is that my students did so well with it!  Not only did they play the game well, but they helped each other out by "teaching" their partners how to exchange their coins.  They were so respectful of each other, it was amazing and wonderful to watch.  I was so so so proud of them!!

Currently...there's a freebie!

Well, hello there December!  Farley reminded me that it's that time again!

Time to link up for her Currently!

And since I'm in the giving mood, lookie what I created!  A freebie just for you!

My students are working on problem solving strategies, so I made some colorful posters to display in the classroom.

Base-10 Names

One of my colleagues found this project online (I'm not exactly sure where it came from) to help students learn more about Base-10 blocks.  The students got to create their name using the blocks and we turned it into a poster.  We then figured out how many units their name was worth.

We built our names with Base-10 blocks.

Then we cut out Base-10 blocks from paper and covered our names with paper those.  The worksheet can be found here.

Then we glued the paper Base-10 blocks onto poster paper.

And decorated!

Then we figured out how many units our names were worth.  We wrote that number 5 different ways (base-10 blocks, words, standard notation, expanded notation, tally marks, etc).

The kids loved it and they turned out great!

I May Have Promised a Freebie...

So here it is!

A vocabulary book for your students to use to keep track of all those terms they need to know for Common Core.  It works perfectly for any grade!

Get it here for free!

It also works really well in conjunction with my 2nd Grade Common Core Math Vocabulary Words.

On another note, my friends and I went apple picking this morning!  It's my favorite part of fall!

I may have spent more time taking pictures than picking apples!  If you want to see more, head on over to my photography blog, Sara.Elizabeth.

But, now it's time for dinner for me!  My wonderful husband is not only making dinner (chicken parm - yum!) but he has made oatmeal-chocolate chip cookies and apple crisp for dessert.  The house smells amaaazingg!

P.S. ~ My giveaway is still going on!  Click the picture to enter!

Sunday Smorgasbord

So I let the cat out of the bag and my co-workers now know that I create and sell products on TpT.  They offer to buy my stuff but I won't let them - they're my colleagues so they get stuff for free!  The funny thing is, now they have started making requests.  Ok by me!  So you get to see what I am making for them now.

I spent all afternoon Friday and all day yesterday working on this baby.  I was sick, so it made it that much more challenging!  We are going to be creating Math Word Walls in our classrooms.  Studies show that students who are exposed to the vocabulary in class, will perform better on tests.  And, ladies and gentlemen, isn't that what teaching is all about?  Those @#$%^& tests.  Moving on.

Here she is, in all her glory!  There are over 100 words with colorful picture definitions.

They can be picked up in either of my stores:

{TpT}

{TN}

Be on the lookout for a freebie that goes along with it in the near future!

Also, don't forget about my Birthday Giveaway!  Just click on the picture to enter.

And here's my Sunday randomness...

My birthday is coming up next week so my mom took me to buy a new pair of Danskos this weekend since she had a coupon (gotta love coups!)  I wanted the metallic, shiny ones but they didn't have any :(

However, there was a Dansko rep at the store and he told me about a pair that hasn't even been released yet, called Shooting Star.  He had one in his car (not a pair, just one shoe) and showed me.  And, oh goodness, I fell in love!  I had to order them because the store won't get a shipment in until the end of the month.  I found a pic online, so check em out:

How awesome are those?!  I am so excited about them!!  My students love my plain, shiny black ones, so I'm sure they will be ecstatic abou these.

It's a chilly damp day here in RI (helloo Fall) so my husband and I picked up some delicious soup from a restaurant down the street.  It is sooo good and was perfect for today.  Yum!

And it is Sunday, so that means Patriots day!  Sporting my jersey and we are on our way to my grandmother's house to watch the game.  Go Pats!

And her is my poor helper of the day:

Sad, little man had "the surgery" done this week and is stuck in the cone for two weeks.  Let's just say that Raleigh doesn't like it and neither does Mom.

If you have a 3-day weekend like me, enjoy it!

Learning the Facts with a Donation

One of the most important concepts in the Math Common Core for second graders is fact fluency.  They need to have those facts memorized!  I put together a product to help the students practice and to keep track of how the students are doing.

You start with a binder:

Inside, is a chart for the whole class.  Each time a student successfully memorizes a fact set, the teacher marks it off on the classroom chart.  It is a quick visual to see where each student stands.

I created a tab for each student:

Behind each tab, is a page for each set of facts.  I test the students in one set of facts each week.  I check off the facts that they get correct.

If a student gets all the facts right twice, they bump up to the next set of facts.  If they get one or more wrong, they get to take home a set of flash cards to study from the file bin:

Here are the flash cards that I use to test the students:

And I organized them in an index card bin:

Check it out!

{TpT}

{TN}

Today, my husband and I participated in our 8th Walk to Defeat ALS walk together: 

We met at the walk 8 years ago.  A few months prior, my grandfather had passed away from ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease.  A couple years later, his father passed away from this horrible disease.  Needless to say, it is a cause near and dear to our hearts.

Since I finished my "Who Knows the Facts?" product today, I am going to donate all the proceeds that I make from this product through the end of September to the ALS Association of RI.  Please consider purchasing it, if only to donate to this cause.  I thank you so much!