I Need To Get In The Habit!

I knew it had been awhile since I last posted, but I was SHOCKED to see how long it really was.  I have no excuses.  I need to get in the habit of posting.  I need to start with one night a week as my blog posting time.  If I start with one post a week and get really good at that, then I can move on and try two posts a week.  Be patient :)

Here's what my students have been up to:

Math 4 - We are finishing up multiplying 2 or 3-digit numbers by 1 digit.  Honestly, I was scared about teaching this.  I wanted to provide the kids with lots of strategies and I wanted them to be able to explain the math behind what they were doing, but I wanted to go slow enough so they didn't get overwhelmed and frustrated.  I found this great FREE resource and used it as my starting point.

http://bridges1.mathlearningcenter.org/resources/blog/201110/multi-digit-multiplication-strategy-posters

To help the kids stay organized I had them create a top tab foldable.  After we learned about each strategy, they did an example in their organizer.

The kids have done amazing with the strategies, but I'll find out for sure on Tuesday when they write their test.

Science 5 - We just started our section on clouds.  After introducing the topic with a RAN organizer activity and a short BrainPop video, we were ready to make our own cloud.  This was my first time making a Cloud in a Jar and my principal surprised me with an observation, so I had my fingers crossed that it would work.  Guess what?  It did work and the kids were engaged the whole time!  You gotta love that :)

Check out Laura Candler's website for a FREE PDF copy:

http://www.lauracandler.com/filecabinet/science/CloudinaJarDemo.pdf

I can't wait for my kids to make the cool cloud viewfinders next week.  I'll post pictures, but until then you can check out the website:

http://www.windows2universe.org/teacher_resources/cloud_viewer_web.pdf

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