Each new year I set a few goals, some personal and some professional, that I try to work towards throughout the year.  Well, it's only two weeks into 2015 and I've completed a goal!!  My new and improved blog is up.  Thank you so much to Albemarle PR for the amazing work.  I LOVE everything about it.  I'm hoping with the new look that I'll be more motivated to blog on a regular basis (which is another goal of mine).

Step-by-Step

My Grade 5s have been mastering 2-digit by 2-digit multiplication using the distributive property this week.  While at the "Teacher Table" during math rotations today, I checked their understanding of the steps with a simple activity.  I posed the question and the students wrote each step of the process on a separate strip of paper.  

The final addition step was done on the Boogie Boards.  Easy peasy!

Introducing Fractions

We used Legos and our new Boogie Boards to write fractions 3 ways.

Prime & Composite Numbers

My Grade 5s learned about Prime and Composite Numbers this week.  Here are a few photos of the activities they did:

QR Code Activities are always a hit with my kids.

A whole class activity.  Each student was assigned a set of numbers and they had to decide which of their assigned numbers were prime and which were composite.  We used pink stickies for the prime numbers and yellow for the composite.  This is a great visual in the classroom.

A simple sorting activity.  I wrote random numbers up to 100 on milk jug caps.  I asked the small groups to sort the caps, then I challenged them to do it as fast as they could.

Who doesn't love making an avatar and teaching their friends about prime and composite numbers?

This free app was a real crowd pleaser.

O Canada!

My Grade 5 class knew very little about Canada's geography when we started the year.  We did a carousel activity the opening week where they made lists of the provinces/territories, cities in Canada, bodies of water, and so on.  There were more wrong answers than right.  

Another teacher and myself came up with a Canada map puzzle project. Students were given pieces of the country that they needed to assemble.  This lead to a lot of discussion among the students about where things should go.  I liked hearing the students say the actual names of the provinces/territories, as well as directional words like east and west.  After the puzzle was assembled, they simply coloured the provinces and territories.  We did a few side activities on the provinces/territories and their capitals before they returned to their maps to label.  

There are six geographical regions that we need to cover, so we started on the east coast with the Atlantic/Appalachian region.  Students recorded what they think they know about the region's climate, vegetation, natural resources, bodies of water, animals, and landforms on little pieces of paper attached to toothpicks. I was pleasantly surprised with their comments.  Most responses were bang on with the region, so maybe they were paying attention when I showed them a Canada film the first week of school.  After learning about the region, we'll return to the map and add new learning with different coloured paper and taller toothpicks, so they stand out a bit more.

I'm excited to see the final product.

Boogie Boards

I'm excited to give Boogie Boards a try with my Grade 5 math class.  I've been saving my Scholastic bonus money and have my fourth Boogie Board on its way. My kids will be thrilled to use the boards at one of the math centres.

Is It Friday Yet?

This was how I felt all day!  Anyone else?