TPT Sale for Cyber Monday

I love a good sale as much as the next person, but I have to admit that I seriously dislike the battle of Black Friday Black Thursday and Black Friday.  Fortunately for the commercial world, I'm a sucker for cheap prices, so despite my anxiety of getting trampled by a cart, I was still out there digging for the $1.97 DVDs at Walmart after my turkey meal.  I love the invention of Cyber Monday because you still get fabulous prices, but you can do it at home!  Heck, you don't even have to take a shower or get out of your PJS!  The internet knows how I like to spend my breaks.  To join in the fun, I'm teaming up with TPT to give you guys 28% off my TPT store!  This is the most that any seller can give off, so be sure to stop by your favorite sellers on Monday and Tuesday!  You won't be sorry!  I have three new products and one freebie posted today just in time for the sale!  Click HERE to check it out!

I hope that you have had a fabulous Thanksgiving, and that you haven't cracked open your plan book yet for Monday! :)  Thanks for being such great followers (yeah, I know that there are currently only three! but a girl's gotta start somewhere)!

Math Vocabulary - Taboo!

Is it just me, or is it like torture for students to practice math vocabulary?  I have noticed that my little group this year really needs the help with math vocabulary because when the test pops up, they often ask, "Wait, what's a prime number again?" or "What does GCF stand for?"  AH!!!!!  So, to give them a little more practice in disguise, I saw an idea about creating a Taboo game for math.  Brilliant!  I don't remember who I saw the idea from originally (it was a few years ago), but the teacher designed it for a 7th/8th grade class.  I started a round with my 6th graders today, and they LOVED it!  I was so surprised how much they enjoyed it, and how much they actually knew!  This game is a keeper!

Want a copy for your 6th grade friends?  Check it out in my TPT store here!

Sub Plans

I know I'm not alone when I say I HATE SUB PLANS!  Not only do they take forever to compose, but so often I return to school seeing that my students are totally confused in math, or that absolutely nothing got done.  It drive me bonkers!  I recently discovered an app that I seriously cannot live without!  It's called Explain Everything, and it works a lot like any Kahn Academy video you watch, except you can customize it for your kids!  I was at a training this past week (I'm going to an Arts Leadership Academy training through BYU, and I am totally sold that the arts need to show up in class daily, but I'll talk more about that in a later post), so I missed two days of school.  It just about killed me because I don't like getting behind in math.  Our schedule is pretty tight as it is, and I was getting nervous.  I decided to try making a video on Explain Everything.  The day before I left, I pulled one of my students aside.  I told him that in the video I was going to ask him a question, and I needed him to answer it as I went.  It was magical!  My principal happened to walk in right as the video was starting with my sub, and she texted me to tell me that the kids were totally engaged (possibly a bit nervous that they, too, were going to get called on?)!  Not only that, they rocked their quiz the next day when I got back!

Another way I like to use this app is to create videos to post on my class blog.  This way kids have something to reference at home for homework or to catch up on work if they're absent.  Parents LOVE it because they can see how we are teaching concepts in class, so they feel like they are aware of what's going on in the classroom!  Always a plus!  The app connects with a YouTube account which makes it viewable by everyone on every device.  Here's one I used in class with my substitute:

Half Over or Half Left? (Plus a FREEBIE!)

July 16th?  No.  Way.  It seems like yesterday I packed up my classroom for the summer, which means it'll feel like tomorrow that I'll be welcoming the class of 2020 in for 6th grade!  I've been busy doing non-school stuff for the past few weeks, but I finally got to posting two new items in my TPT store.  Huzzah!  I was able to attend Utah Core Academy in early June, and I am pumped for math this year!  I am very excited to be able to release my two newest products, one of which I absolutely cannot wait to use!  I am tempted to rearrange my curriculum map so I can play it ASAP. :)

Math, chemistry, physics, and earth science have ALWAYS been my favorite subjects since kindergarten.  I do love writing, social studies and reading, art, music, etc, as well, but math and science have always clicked.  I think that is why I love teaching them so much.  Math is everywhere.  Not a single soul can go without it in a 24-hour period.  One of my favorite math-related items are board games.  The amount of probability in there is phenomenal, and, quite frankly, they are fun.  Hence my most recent product: Sugar-opolis!  (Yes, it's a generic name for Candy Land!)  It doesn't have anything to do with Candy Land aside from the fact that cavities abound.  The game is designed to practice fractions, decimals and percent.  Some require converting between the three, others require comparing different notations, some focus on the new common core standard to find percents of a number.  I've added a fun element: the Sour Apple Cards.  If you've ever played Quelf or Curses, you have a bit of an idea of the game.  The Sour Apple Cards require players to do things like keeping their elbows straight, keeping your wrist to your forehead during your turn, speaking in a British accent, etc.  This is definitely not a game for days where you need the class quiet and serious.  But it is a FABULOUS game when math can be a little more laid back and selling the idea that school is (dare I say) fun!

The other product incorporates QR codes to multiplying decimals!  Wahoo!

Anyway, I am so excited to use this product that I want to give out a few!  I will be giving three free copies away!  Here's how it works:

1. Follow my blog.
2. Follow my TPT store: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Esther-G
3. Leave a comment on this post letting me know you did both and your email address so I can send it to you!
4. Stick around to see other freebies in the future!

Hands-On Math

With the switch to the common core, I am so excited to see a shift in our math instruction!  One of the biggest and most important messages came from a stellar teacher named Dan Meyer.  He was featured on a TED talk a few months back.  His concern is that we are dumbing down math WAY too much for our students.  Amen!  I know that I often saw my students freak out during a word problem because they had no idea what to do with the numbers.  They would guess on operations to use to solve the problems, and it drove me crazy that my students didn't have the critical thinking and problem solving skills, let alone the patience, to solve a more intricate word problem unless the problem held their hand all the way through it and told them how to solve it.

Needless to say, this year will look a LOT different in my classroom.  I've never been a big fan of the math book day-by-day instruction because I know when I had classes with that model I had a hard time connecting information.  (I'm not anti-book.  I think that there is a place for it all in a math class, it just needs to be balanced!  I'm also all for the book when I have to call a sub in at the last minute as well!)  I think there needs to be time for students to discover, explore, and practice.  This includes a time for the teacher to step back and let the students battle it out.  Is it ok for students to struggle sometimes?  Yup.  One of the huge differences between Japan, Singapore, and the US is the amount we expect of our students.  Give it a try with your students.  Give them a task that doesn't have an obvious answer and let them go for it!  You'll be quite surprised what they can come up with!  

Back to Dan Meyer, he is the king of connecting math to the real world.  Basically, this was his inspiration:

Seriously, who buys 60?  It's no wonder that our students have a hard time connecting math to the real world outside of class when we are talking about buying an unrealistic amount of fruit that most kids don't even like anyway.  Let's present kids with stuff that they will actually come across in life, regardless of what they choose to pursue as a career.  Let's give them a reason to spend 60 minutes or more in math each day, and "you'll need it for college" isn't a valid answer for them.  Will they need it?  Absolutely.  Is math important for college?  Yes.  But even while I was at college, there were kids who struggled to use math in the real world.  We have to sell kids on math and make them realize that math will help them each and every day.  

Check out Dan's ideas here at www.threeacts.mrmeyer.com.  His approach is intense.  When he gives a problem, he often leaves out key information.  As students begin solving the problem, they begin to notice what they need and do not need so that it's not a crap shoot of random numbers with assumed operations.  When they are analyzing on their own, a magical math book will not appear with a sample problem.  :)  They need to figure out what is important.  So, his initial problem may seem harsh and impossible, but with time, you will see a lot more perseverance (which is one of the key mathematical qualities as outlined by the NCTM).  If you're interested in implementing more of this in your class (don't worry, every day in your class does not need to be like this, but it is a great way to anchor a unit/concept/idea), look into the CMI model for math instruction.  It's AWESOME!  Brigham Young University is HUGE into training their pre-service teacher in this model, and you can find more here: http://education.byu.edu/news/magazine/cmi/