Bookish Ways in Math and Science

Monday Science Freebie - Dichotomous Keys

noreply@blogger.com (Tricia) — Mon, 13 May 2013 01:45:00 +0000

This week I'm sharing a packet of materials on using and making dichotomous keys. You'll find a page of informational text, directions for using a key, directions for making a key, and two different student worksheets.

Here's a sneak peak at the contents.

Download Dichotomous Keys.

I hope you get a chance to use these in your home or classroom. Please let me know if you try these and how you like them!

Monday Math Freebie - Pattern Block Builder

noreply@blogger.com (Tricia) — Mon, 06 May 2013 14:07:00 +0000

This week I'm sharing an assortment of activities with pattern blocks. using a game board, students roll dice and take different numbers of blocks depending on where they land and the number they roll. Once they reach the finish they build a shape from their pieces. Then they answer some questions using their pattern blocks.

You'll find two different worksheets in this packet. One focuses on basic counting, graphing, and coin counting skills. The other focuses on fractions and symmetry.

Here's a sneak peak at the contents.

Download Pattern Block Builder.

I hope you get a chance to use these in your home or classroom. Please let me know if you try these and how you like them!

Monday Math Freebie - Coin Counting Puzzles

noreply@blogger.com (Tricia) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:36:00 +0000

While cleaning out my graphics folder I came across some decent coin images, so this week I'm sharing a set of coin counting puzzles. There are puzzles for coins and their denominations, as well as puzzles with values in 5 cent increments from $.05-$1.00.

Here's a sneak peak at the contents.

Download Coin Counting Puzzles.

I hope you get a chance to use these in your home or classroom. Please let me know if you try these and how you like them!

Monday Math Freebie - Spinners Galore!

noreply@blogger.com (Tricia) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 01:18:00 +0000

While I was away last week I received a request to make a plain spinner for a teacher. Once that simple task was done I decided to make several different kinds to share. I have put them all together in one packet. There are 7 copies of each spinner type, 1 large, 2 medium, and 4 small. Here's what you'll find.

Spinner with numbers 1-10
Ten frame spinner
Base-10 spinner with one, ten, and hundred blocks
Pattern block spinner simple (missing square and tan rhombus)
Pattern block spinner complete (all 6 shapes)
Fraction spinner unit fractions (1/2, 1/3, 1/4)
Fraction spinner (1/2, 1/3, 2/3, 1/4, 3/4, 6/6)

Here's a sneak peak at the contents.

Download Spinners Galore.

I hope you get a chance to use these in your home or classroom. Please let me know if you try these and how you like them!

Counting Coins and Skip Counting

noreply@blogger.com (Tricia) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 00:23:00 +0000

I'll be getting a new work computer in June, so I've slowly been trying to clean up my files. I'll admit that I've been pretty lazy and my download folder is a HUGE mess. (Translation: I have more 5000+ files to review!) This means that as I try to figure out what to keep and what to trash that I've run across some interesting things. When I came across coin images from ClipArt ETC, I decided to create these simple coin counting forms.

Download Counting Coins.

I hope you get a chance to use these in your home or classroom. Please let me know if you try these and how they work!

Do You Know Physics?

noreply@blogger.com (Tricia) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 18:31:00 +0000

Yes, I know usually write about elementary science topics, but I'm still coming down from my NSTA conference high and have so many great things to share. Here's some food for thought from Henry Reich, creator of MinutePhysics.

Monday Math Freebie - Race for the Treasure!

noreply@blogger.com (Tricia) — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 04:01:00 +0000

Race for the Treasure is a simple, quick game where students practice basic facts in addition. The first player rolls two dice and finds the sum. If the sum is less than 7, Player 1 moves ahead one space. If the sum is greater than 7, Player 2 moves ahead one space. If the sum equals 7, the player moves back one space. Play continues in this fashion until one player reaches the treasure chest.

There are three slightly different versions available in this packet. They are pictured below.

Download Race for the Treasure.

I hope you get a chance to use these in your home or classroom. Please let me know if you try these and how they work!

Monday Math Freebie - Three to Win!

noreply@blogger.com (Tricia) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 02:27:00 +0000

Three to Win is a simple, quick game where students practice basic facts in addition, subtraction and multiplication while using problem solving strategies. The first player rolls two dice and says the numbers. Then he/she looks at the empty spaces on the board and decides whether to ADD the numbers, SUBTRACT the numbers, or MULTIPLY the numbers. Once a choice is made, the player says the number sentence aloud and places his/her marker over the answer. If a player rolls doubles, he/she must cover one of the images on the board. Play alternates until one player gets three markers in a row, vertically, horizontally or diagonally.

There are several different versions available in this packet. They are pictured below.

Download Three to Win.

I hope you get a chance to use these in your home or classroom. Please let me know if you try these and how they work!

Monday Math Freebie - Addition BUMP!

noreply@blogger.com (Tricia) — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 04:01:00 +0000

I'm working on some resources for spring and for all those folks reviewing basic facts. Here's a set of BUMP boards I made for addition. Students roll a 10-sided die and then add the number on the board. You'll find boards for adding amounts from 1-10 to numbers from 1-10.

There are two versions available. They are both pictured below.

Download Buggy Addition BUMP.

(Yes, I know snails aren't bugs! That's just what I named the file!)

Download Monster Addition BUMP.

If you don't have 10-sided dice, you can download a really nice set of dice templates from the Twinkl web site. Please note that you must sign up for a free account to download.

If you prefer to use spinners instead of dice, here is a set of 1-10 number spinners. In this file you'll find one large spinner, two medium-sized spinners, and four small spinners.

Download 1-10 Spinners.

I hope you get a chance to use these in your home or classroom. Please let me know if you try these and how they work!

Math Freebie - Moo-ve It Games (+/x)

noreply@blogger.com (Tricia) — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 16:22:00 +0000

Here are two different adaptations of a game I found several years ago on the NC DPI web site.

Version 1: Moo-ve It Addition! - In this game players roll two dice, determine the sum, and cover one occurrence of the sum on the game board. Players can bump each other's markers off the board to make room for their own. The first player to get three markers in a row is the winner.

Download Moo-ve It Addition.

Version 2: Moo-ve It Multiplication! - In this game players roll two dice, determine the product, and cover one occurrence of the product on the game board. Players can bump each other's markers off the board to make room for their own. The first player to get three markers in a row is the winner.

Download Moo-ve It Multiplication.

I hope you get a chance to use these in your home or classroom. Please let me know if you try them and how they work!

Paperless Math Strategies

noreply@blogger.com (Tricia) — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 15:16:00 +0000

The blog TeachPaperless began in 2009 as way for a teacher to detail his experience working in a paperless classroom. Then in 2011 it became a "collaboratively written blog dedicated to conversation and commentary about the intertwined worlds of digital technology, new media, and education." While surfing today I read through some interesting posts. Here's one you might like.

Fifteen Paperless Math Strategies

The strategies are grouped into before, during and after instruction. Each one also describes the preferred grouping and optional tech tools. There are many terrific ideas here for mental math, vocabulary, critical thinking, and more. If you have some time, do check it out!

Decimal Place Value Strips

noreply@blogger.com (Tricia) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 13:55:00 +0000

This week my class is working on pedagogy for teaching fractions and decimals. Tonight we are going to explore decimal place value strips.

In this file you'll find three variations of the strip sets so that you can use them to differentiate. The first form includes the words for place value on the strip (ones, tenths, hundredths, and thousandths). The second form includes numbers to show the value of the digit in a particular place. The third form includes no additional information. Each set includes whole and decimal numbers from ones through thousandths and comes in both color and black and white versions.

Here's a peak at the file.

These strips were designed for use in activities that meet the following Common Core Standards for Math:

4.NF.7. Compare two decimals to hundredths by reasoning about their size. Recognize that comparisons are valid only when the two decimals refer to the same whole. Record the results of comparisons with the symbols >, =, or <, and justify the conclusions, e.g., by using a visual model.

5.NBT.3. Read, write, and compare decimals to thousandths.

a. Read and write decimals to thousandths using base-ten numerals, number names, and expanded form, e.g., 347.392 = 3 × 100 + 4 × 10 + 7 × 1 + 3 × (1/10) + 9 × (1/100) + 2 × (1/1000).
b. Compare two decimals to thousandths based on meanings of the digits in each place, using >, =, and < symbols to record the results of comparisons.

5.NBT.4. Use place value understanding to round decimals to any place.

Download Decimal Place Value Strips.

I hope you get a chance to use these in your home or classroom. Please let me know if you try them and how they work!

Monday Freebies - Vocabulary Booklets

noreply@blogger.com (Tricia) — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 04:01:00 +0000

I've been working on interactive notebooks with my students over the last few semesters. In thinking about how they might be used in the classroom, we spend quite a bit of time talking about strategies for vocabulary.

I thought it might be fun to create some strip booklets for students to use in math or science, either over the course of the year or for each major unit of instruction. Each booklet includes pages identified by letter of the alphabet. Most letters are given a single page, but the pages for Q/R, U/V, W/X, and Y/Z are shared. On each page there is a space for the word, a picture, and definition.
Here's what they look like.

Download Science Vocabulary Booklets.

Download Math Vocabulary Booklets.

I hope you get a chance to use these in your home or classroom. Please let me know if you try them and how they work!

BTW, if you're looking for strategy ideas for teaching academic vocabulary, here are a few resources I like.

Learn NC - Effective Strategies for Teaching Science Vocabulary

Vocabulary Strategies Using Interactive Notebooks (science)

Marilyn Burns On the Language of Math

The Art and Science of Teaching: Six Steps to Better Vocabulary Instruction

Monday Math Freebie - Place Value Game

noreply@blogger.com (Tricia) — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 18:10:00 +0000

Today I have two versions of a game designed to help students understand how the position of a digit in a number changes its value. In each version of the game students roll dice and determine whether the numbers rolled will be used to make tens or ones. The goal is to be the player closest to 100 at the end of five rounds.

Here are a few pictures.

This activity meets the following Common Core Standards for Math.
1.NBT.2 - Understand that the two digits of a two-digit number represent amounts of tens and ones.

1.NBT.4 - Add within 100, including adding a two-digit number and a one-digit number, and adding a two-digit number and a multiple of 10, using concrete models or drawings and strategies based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction; relate the strategy to a written method and explain the reasoning used. Understand that in adding two-digit numbers, one adds tens and tens, ones and ones; and sometimes it is necessary to compose a ten.

Download Closest to 100.

I hope you get a chance to use these in your home or classroom. Please let me know if you try these and how they work!

A Visual for Pi Day

noreply@blogger.com (Tricia) — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 04:02:00 +0000

Visualizing Pi Infographic

Pi Day is Today!

noreply@blogger.com (Tricia) — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 04:01:00 +0000

Photo © Mykl Roventine.

Today, March 14th, is Pi Day. No, that's not a typo. It is Pi day, as in 3.14159... you get the idea. The first Pi Day celebration was held at the San Francisco Exploratorium in 1988.

What is pi anyway? I'm sure you remember it from math in some formula you memorized, but do you really know what it is? Pi represents the relationship between a circle’s diameter (its width) and its circumference (the distance around the circle). Pi is always the same number, no matter the circle you use to compute it. In school we generally approximate pi to 3.14 in school, but professionals often use more decimal places and extend the number to 3.14159.

One activity I loved doing with students was to ask them to bring in a can and lid that would soon be recycled. I always brought in a few extras so that there would be a variety of sizes. Each student was given a lid and directed to measure the diameter and circumference. Students then divided the circumference by the diameter. We recorded the results on the overhead and discussed them. Most were amazed to find that the results were nearly the same, allowing for some margin of error in measurement. This is a quick and fun and provides a meaningful way to introduce the concept of pi.

Are you doing anything special for Pi Day? Perhaps you could make a pi necklace or a pi bracelet. Can you find your birthday in pi? My birthday begins with digit number 7669! Since any day is a good day for poetry, you could try reading some pi poems. If you're looking for more ideas, visit the Exploratorium pi site or try this middle school math newsletter.

Learn more about pi at Ask Dr. Math FAQ: About Pi.

Not a fan of pi? Check out my post entitled Pi Day is Tomorrow! But Should We Celebrate It? for a bit of information on the pi/tau wars.

Monday Math Freebie - Multiplication BUMP!

noreply@blogger.com (Tricia) — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 04:01:00 +0000

My class has just finished multiplication and division. Here's a set of BUMP boards I made to practice basic facts. You'll find boards for facts from 1-12. Students roll a 10-sided die and then multiply by the factor on the board.

There are two versions available. They are both pictured below.

Download Multiplication BUMP.

Download Multiplication BUMP - Australian Animals.

If you don't have 10-sided dice, you can download a really nice set of dice templates from the Twinkl web site. Please note that you must sign up for a free account to download.

If you prefer to use spinners instead of dice, here is a set of 1-10 number spinners. In this file you'll find one large spinner, two medium-sized spinners, and four small spinners.

Download 1-10 Spinners.

I hope you get a chance to use these in your home or classroom. Please let me know if you try these and how they work!

Two Great Finds for Interactive Whiteboards

noreply@blogger.com (Tricia) — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 20:43:00 +0000

Don't you love the way you stumble across things you aren't expecting while searching the web? While looking for dice nets today I came across two sites that will be great for use on interactive whiteboards.

Virtual Dice

BarryFUNEnglish Teaching Tools

What interesting resources have you stumbled upon lately?

Encouraging A Love of Math

noreply@blogger.com (Tricia) — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 22:28:00 +0000

Encouraging and nurturing the love of mathematics can be a challenge both at home and in the classroom. Here are some of the things I do to support reluctant math lovers of all ages.

SOLVE PUZZLES.
By puzzles I mean not only logic puzzles and Sudoku, but jigsaw and geometric puzzles. Jigsaw puzzles help develop skills in orientation and visual discrimination. Geometric puzzles also help students to think deeply about the orientation of shapes in space and how they can be put together to make new shapes. Here are some of the puzzles I like to provide.

Tangrams - Tangrams are an ancient Chinese puzzle made from a large square cut into seven pieces. The seven shapes include a small square, two small triangles, a medium-sized triangle, two large triangles and a parallelogram. The linked site provides a good description of tangrams. When I use these I actually solve the puzzles, trace the outline of the finished shape on cardstock, and then laminate. For younger students, these outline shapes help them fit the pieces into the puzzle. Once students are comfortable with using them, I use the shapes to teach area, fractions and angle measure. Try them out online at Cyberchase Math Games. Then fold your own set or print a set and try to build some shapes. You can also print some tangram puzzles as well as shape outlines for young children. Here's another good resource.

You can pair this puzzle with the books Grandfather Tang's Story: A Tale Told With Tangrams by Ann Tompert and The Warlord's Puzzle by Virginia Pilegard. Both are stories that use tangrams in a way that encourages kids to build along with their own set of tangrams as they read.

Pentominoes - A pentomino is a polyomino composed of five congruent squares connected edge to edge. Can't picture them? Look to the right. You can download a set of your own or try out this terrific starter activity online. Since the area of all twelve pieces equals sixty squares, a challenging puzzle is to try and cover a 6×10 rectangle. Pieces can be flipped and rotated, but this isn't as easy as it seems, and that's surprising given that there are actually more than 2000 solutions! Students can then try to fill rectangles of similar areas (5x12, 4x15, and 3x20). I regularly use pentominoes to teach area and perimeter.

Chasing Vermeer

print your own set

Scholastic site

Geometric Puzzles - I own a number of puzzles created by Kate and Dick Jones, owners of Kadon Enterprises. They are all challenging and extremely well made. You can even try some online before you buy. All puzzles come with books explaining the math and offering many variants on play.

You can find more resources for dissection and shape puzzles on my Pinterest board for Tangram/Pentomino/Shape Puzzles/Mazes.

Sudoku - If you like puzzles and numbers and haven't tried sudoku, you're missing out. For kids just starting out, try a scaled version of the puzzle (4x4, 6x6, etc.) or something more concrete, like a sudoku board. If you want something even more kid-friendly (less abstract) to develop reasoning skills, try a version with pictures. Go ahead and try an online version of Picture Sudoku.

Kakuro and KenKen Variations - Whether you try Kakuro or KenKen/Mathdoku, these games all take the basic rules of sudoku and add in the element of calculation. In Kakuro puzzles (also known as Cross Sums) the numbers 1-9 are used in combination with addition. In some vairations multiplication is used. Here's a good basic guide for solving Kakuro puzzles. In KenKen or Mathdoku, the puzzles can focus on a single operation or all 4. To get started, check out these guidelines for helping kids learn to solve KenKen puzzles.

Logic Puzzles - You know the ones I'm talking about here. John, Karen, Tim, Ellen and Sam attend a party. The gifts they bring include a car, a giraffe, a watch, walkie-talkies and blocks. The information keeps coming and it is your job to figure out what each person wore, brought and ate. Phew! These can be great fun! Here's an introduction to logic puzzles and how to solve them. You can begin by solving some simple logic puzzles.

You can find several boards devoted to number and logic puzzles at my Pinterest site.

Two great sites with a wide range of number puzzles (printable and online) are Krazydad and Conceptis Puzzles.

CONNECT MATH AND ART.
Using art in math class is one way to develop visual and spatial skills, as well as pattern recognition and basic geometry skills.

Origami - Paper folding is a great way to develop spatial reasoning abilities. It's also fun! You can get great paper at Origami Corner. Try making an origami crane or origami frog. If you have trouble reading origami directions in print, try following along with the videos from Origami-Fun or the Origami Instructor's channel on YouTube. For inspiration, visit the site of artist Robert J. Lang and check out his origami compositions. I'm crazy about his arthropods. Better yet, check out his TED Talk.

The Origami Master

Lissy's Friends

Fold Me a Poem

Origami for Educators

Teaching Mathematical Thinking Through Origami

Spirograph - If you haven't seen a real spirograph, look here. Kids love making art with these kits. Klutz has simple Spiral Draw book/kit that includes 4 plastic drawing wheels and directions to get you started. Or you can try this Hypotrochoid Art Set. Once a few designs are made, consider the ways to color the design so that a pattern emerges.

Tessellations - Tessellations are all around us in the natural world. Here are few examples. If you like the art of M.C. Escher, then you already know all about tessellations. Creating them from cut paper or drawn shapes can be challenging and fun. The Can You Believe THIS Is Math? project has a good introductory set of directions on making tessellations. Tessellations.org has a terrific gallery of examples, as well as a lengthy section with detailed directions on different ways to make tessellations. Tessellations can be used to study the types of symmetry in a plane.

PLAY BOARD AND STRATEGY GAMES.
Playing games is a great way to develop problem-solving skills as well as practice skills in arithmetic. I had a game corner in my classroom where students could play games when their work was finished. We also had game day on Friday for 20-30 minutes if we'd had a good week. While I know most of these can now be played electronically, there is something to be said for actually sitting down on the floor with kids, rolling dice, and moving pieces around a board. Some of the games on my shelf include:

Battleship (You can also play a paper and pencil version. Here is a strategy guide.)
BINGO (In addition to traditional bingo, you can use Bingo boards to practice computation skills, identifying fractions, geometric shapes, and more. Here are some additional ideas.)
Checkers
Chess
Chinese Checkers
Connect Four
Dominoes
Farkle (Download the rules of play and score sheets.)
Mancala
Mastermind
Monopoly (For additional ideas, check out How to Use Monopoly in the Classroom.)
Othello/Reversi (You can make your own game with a set of two-color counters and a checkerboard.)
Pente (Download the original directions.)
Rack-O
SET (Play SET Download the math workbook on using SET in the classroom.)
Shut the Box (You can also play a paper and pencil version.)
Sumoku
Yahtzee (Download the rules of play and score sheets.)

READ BOOKS THAT CONNECT TO MATH.

I've already mentioned a number of books that connect to the ideas shared above. Using children's books is a great way to explore math with kids. Here are some titles that include mathematical content or challenging puzzles that will encourage children to stretch their mathematical muscles in a different way.

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster - Take a journey with Milo, a young boy who drives through a magic tollbooth into the Lands Beyond and embarks on a quest to rescue the maidens Rhyme and Reason from exile and reconcile the estranged kingdoms of Dictionopolis and Digitopolis. This is a great book for kids enamored of words and/or numbers. If you are a fan, check out The Annotated Phantom Tollbooth.

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart - Eleven year-old Reynie Muldoon is intrigued by an ad in the paper that asks “Are You a Gifted Child looking for Special Opportunities?” Reynie and dozens of other children show up to answer the ad and take a mind-boggling series of tests, but only Reynie and three others are left at the end. Puzzles and mysteries abound in this adventurous tale. Sequels include The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey and The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma. After reading the books, try your hand at solving the puzzles in The Mysterious Benedict Society: Mr. Benedict's Book of Perplexing Puzzles, Elusive Enigmas, and Curious Conundrums. You can also play games for the gifted at the Mysterious Benedict Society site.

Books by Greg Tang - Greg Tang has written a series of books that encourage children to look for patterns in math and find more "economical" ways of solving problems. Titles include:
The Best of Times: Math Strategies That Multiply
Grapes of Math: Mind Stretching Math Riddles
Math Appeal
Math Fables: Lessons That Count
Math Fables Too: Making Science Count
Math for All Seasons: Mind-Stretching Math Riddles
Math Potatoes: More Mind-Stretching Brain Food
Math-terpieces

The Man Who Counted: A Collection of Mathematical Adventures by Malba Tahan - Orginally published in 1949 as O Homem que Calculava, this book of mathematical puzzles was written by Júlio César de Mello e Souza and published under the pen name Malba Tahan. The book is an enjoyable series of "Arabian nights"-style tales, with each story built around a classic mathematical puzzle. In each tale, Beremiz Samir uses his mathematical powers to "settle disputes, give wise advice, overcome dangerous enemies, and win for himself fame and fortune."

The Puzzling World of Winston Breen by Eric Berlin - Winston sees puzzles everywhere. Imagine his dismay when he gives his sister a box for her birthday, only to learn that it has a secret compartment containing four wood sticks with puzzle clues. Readers will solve puzzles right along with Winston and his sister Katie as they try to solve the mystery. You can download puzzles from the Winston Breen books to try them out. There are two sequels to this book, The Potato Chip Puzzles and The Puzzler's Mansion that are also highly entertaining.

The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventure by Hans Magnus Enzensberger - With full color illustrations, this book tells the story of a twelve year old boy and math hater named Robert, who meets the Number Devil in his dreams. Over the course of twelve nights, the Number Devil illustrates different mathematical ideas using things like coconuts and furry calculators. Along the way he also takes Robert to Number Paradise where he meets different mathematicians.

Alright, that's it for now. I hope you'll find these ideas helpful in your classroom or at home. If you have a great idea of your own for encouraging a love of math, please share!

Monday Math Freebie - Function Machine Fun

noreply@blogger.com (Tricia) — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 21:38:00 +0000

I've been trying to find a fun way to practice basic facts while working with patterns and function machines. I think this idea works well. Player 1 draws a Function/Rule card and hands his/her partner the number cards that correspond to the input numbers. Player 2 selects one of the input numbers and places it on the inbox of the function machine mat. Player 1 reads the rule on the Function/Rule card and places the correct output number on the outbox of the function machine mat. Player 2 records the information on an Input-Output Chart and tries to determine the rule. Play continues in this fashion until the rule is determined or the player runs out of recording spaces. After each player has taken four turns guessing the rule, players total their scores (total number of guesses needs) and the lowest score wins.

Here are a few sample images.

Download Function Machine Fun.

I hope you get a chance to use this in your home or classroom. Please let me know if you try it and how it works!

Closing in on 10,000 and a Giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (Tricia) — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 15:11:00 +0000

For some reason unknown to me, my son has been fascinated these last few months with watching my Pinterest numbers. I'll admit that I'm not usually a numbers watcher, but this too has me a bit surprised. Here's this morning's screenshot of my Pinterest site.

If you can't read that teeny tiny type, here's what you'll find.

135 Boards
5,057 Pins
9,880 Followers

Before winter break William asked if I'd ever make it to 5,000 followers and I basically laughed. Why would 5,000 people want to follow me? I'm not laughing anymore.

If you haven't been to my Pinterest site, you'll find these aren't your "typical" boards. There are no recipes, clothes, or any personal items. The boards are all about teaching. About 75% are related to math, the rest mainly to science, with a bit of social studies thrown in. Since I'll be picking the social studies piece of my class back up this summer, I'm sure I'll be expanding this area in the future.

This is all a very long way of saying that 10,000 is a milestone that should be celebrated. Knowing that I'll reach this number sometime before the end of the month, I've decided to giveaway a few of my favorite science poetry books to one lucky winner. Here are the titles.

a Rafflecopter giveaway Good luck!

Monday Math Freebie - Equivalent Fractions BUMP!

noreply@blogger.com (Tricia) — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 05:01:00 +0000

Even though my class is starting multiplication and division this week, I'm already thinking ahead to fractions. Here are two versions of a BUMP game on equivalent fractions. In the first, students must find equivalent fractions for one-half, one-third, and one-fourth. This board contains numerical fraction equivalents, as well as pictorial equivalents. In the second version, students must find equivalent fractions for one-half, one-third, two-thirds, one-fourth, three-fourths, and six-sixths. This board contains only numerical fraction equivalents. Both boards are pictured below.

Download Equivalent Fractions BUMP.

I hope you get a chance to use this in your home or classroom. Please let me know if you try it and how it works!

What's Eating You? - Food Chains and Food Webs

noreply@blogger.com (Tricia) — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 02:01:00 +0000

A food chain shows the ways in which the organisms in an ecosystem interact with one another according to what they eat. When a series of food chains weave together in an ecosystem they are collectively known as a food web. While there are many good nonfiction books about food chains (just ask your school librarian for some suggestions), I am partial to picture books and poetry on the subject. Here are some books and web resources that can support instruction in this area.

Books

Horseshoe Crabs and Shorebirds: The Story of a Food Web. By Victoria Crenson. Illus. by Annie Cannon. 2009. 34p. Marshall Cavendish, (9780761455523). Gr. 2-5.
While mainly about a shoreline food web on the Delaware Bay, this book also does a fine job describing the life cycle of the horseshoe crab. Horseshoe crab eggs serve as an important component of a web in which migrating shorebirds, fish, and other animals feed on the eggs. While these animals feed on the eggs, they are in turn eaten by predatory birds (herons and a falcon).

Pond Circle. By Besty Franco. Illus. by Stefano Vitale. 2009. 32p. Margaret K. McElderry, (9781416940210). Gr. 1-3.
Using a form that follows "The House that Jack Built," this rhyming text explores a food chain around the pond near a young girl's house. Here is an excerpt. "This is the frog / the loud bullfrog / that gobbled the beetle / that ate the nymph / that nibbled the algae / that grew in the water / that filled the pond / by Anna's house."

Secrets of the Garden: Food Chains and the Food Web in Our Backyard. By Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld. Illus. by Priscilla Lamont. 2012. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 40p. (9780517709900). Gr. 2-5.

This book opens in the spring with a family of four (mom, dad, son, daughter) preparing to plant a garden. The soil is prepared, seeds are planted, and then watered. Narrated by Alice, the young girl in the story, readers are lead through the many stages of growth of in the garden. The two chickens, Maisy and Daisy, appear throughout the book and provide information on everything from composting, to the plant parts we eat, to food chains and food webs, and more.

The Story Goes On. By Aileen Fisher. Illus. by Mique Moriuchi. 2005. 32p. Roaring Brook Press, (9781596430372). Gr. preK-3.
This book begins with a seed, which sprouts and is then is eaten by a bug, which is grabbed by a frog, which is swallowed by a snake, and so on, and so on up the food chain. In the end, it's the decomposers that get to work on what remains.

Trout Are Made of Trees. By April Pulley Sayre. Illus. by Kate Endle. 2008. 32p. Charlesbridge Publishing, (9781580891370). Gr. 1-4.
What happens when leaves fall from a tree and land in a stream? "They ride in a rush above rocks and over rapids. They snag and settle soggily down." From here they become food for bacteria and a home for algae. They are further broken down by little critters, like crane flies, caddisflies, shrimp and stoneflies. These critters are eaten by predators. Guess where those leaves are now? When the predators are eaten by trout, the trout are made of trees.

Vulture View. By April Pulley Sayre. Illus. by Steve Jenkins. 2007. 32p. Henry Holt and Co., (9780805075571). Gr. K-3.
Scavengers and decomposers play a very important role in maintaining the balance of the ecosystem. In helping to break down dead organisms, they are responsible for returning basic nutrients to the soil so that they may reenter the chain. In this book, we get a glimpse of the scavenging role that vultures play, along with some poetry and interesting facts about these oft maligned birds.

What's For Dinner?: Quirky, Squirmy Poems From the Animal World. By Katherine Hauth. Illus. by David Clark. 2011. 48p. Charlesbridge, (9781570914720). Gr. 2-5.
This collection of 29 poems examines what animals eat and are eaten by. Not for the faint of heart, or squeamish, the poems provide a realistic, albeit humorous look at the natural order of things. Included in the back matter is an explanation of some of the more difficult concepts and vocabulary (symbiosis, mutualism, commensalism, etc.). Readers will also find includes information on the subjects of the poems.

Wolf Island. By Celia Godkin. Illus. by the author. 2006. 32p. Fitzhenry and Whiteside, (9781554550081). Gr. 3-6.
What happens when a top predator in well-balanced ecosystem disappears? This story highlights the changes that occur on an island after a family of wolves accidentally leave the island for the mainland. Without predators, there is nothing to keep the deer population in check. When it swells, the deer eat so much grass that rabbits and mice have fewer young. This results in less food for foxes and owls. This is a terrific resource for demonstrating how the balance of an ecosystem can easily be upset. It also does a fine job of explaining why the top predators in a food chain are so important.

Videos

Antarctic Ocean Food Web

This site contains a series of short videos that describe different organisms in an ocean food web.

Energy Pyramid
This page includes a video that describes the energy pyramid in an ecosystem. It defines producers, herbivores, and carnivores. Once students review this information, they can learn more about energy pyramids of the forest, prairie, and ocean.

Scholastic StudyJams - Food Chains

Here's a video from Scholastic on food chains. Also includes links to key vocabulary and a "Test Yourself" feature.

Scholastic Study Jams - Food Webs

Here's a video from Scholastic on food webs. Also includes links to key vocabulary and a "Test Yourself" feature.

Wild Kratts: Up the Ocean Food Chain!

This short, entertaining video from PBS describes the organisms in a simple ocean food chain.

Web Sites
BBC Bitesize Science - Food Chains Activity

In this activity, kids try to discover the organism at the top of the food chain in a land and sea ecosystem. As the parts of the chain are filled in, information about the animals appears on the screen.

BrainPOP Jr. - Food Chain Lesson Ideas
This page includes background information on food chains and food webs, as well as ideas for teacher activities and family activities. Links to BrainPOP videos are included, but keep in mind that even though one video a day is free, these are generally available only to subscribers.

Chain Reaction - Build a Food Chain
After reading a bit about the organisms that make up the food chain, kids get to try building a chain that might be found in a forest or a northern ecosystem (think Arctic).

The Food Chain Game
Kids drag parts of the food chain into the correct position. Once the chain is complete (and correct), kids can watch it come to life and see the chain in action.

Food Chains
In this activity kids learn about various living things, sort them into different categories and discover where they fit into the food chain. Habitats explored include ocean, forest and desert.

My Science Box - Food Chains
In this food chain lesson, students review the concepts of food chains and the roles of organisms in a food chain through a sorting activity. Cards representing different organisms in a California ecosystem are first sorted by what they eat (herbivore, carnivore, etc.) and then are reordered to create several food chains.

Science NetLinks: Cycle of Life - Food Chain
This lesson focuses on the food chain by helping students understand that almost all kinds of animals’ food can be traced back to plants and that the sun is the ultimate source of energy needed for all organisms to stay alive and grow.

For Teachers

Background Information from the VA SOL Curriculum Framework

Grade 3

A food chain shows a food relationship among plants and animals in a specific area or environment.
Terrestrial organisms are found on land habitats such as deserts, grasslands, and forests. Aquatic organisms are found in water habitats such as ponds, marshes, swamps, rivers, and oceans.
A green plant makes its own food using sunlight, air, and water. Green plants are producers.
A consumer is an animal that eats living organisms (plant or animal).
Certain organisms break down decayed plants and animals into smaller pieces that can be used again by other living organisms. These organisms are decomposers.
A food chain, which shows part of a food web, can have an animal that eats only plants (herbivore). It can have an animal that eats only other animals (carnivore). It can also have an animal that eats both plants and animals (omnivore).
An animal can hunt other animals to get its food (predator).
An animal can be hunted by another animal for food (prey).

Grade 4

Populations of species that live in the same place at the same time together make up a community.
The organization of communities is based on the utilization of the energy from the sun within a given ecosystem. The greatest amount of energy in a community is in the producers.
Within a community, organisms are dependent on the survival of other organisms. Energy is passed from one organism to another.
All the populations and the nonliving components in an environment that interact with each other form an ecosystem.
The sun’s energy cycles through ecosystems from producers through consumers and back into the nutrient pool through decomposers.

Grade 5

Plankton are tiny free-floating organisms that live in water. Plankton may be animal-like or plant-like. Animal-like plankton are called zooplankton. Plant-like plankton (phytoplankton) carry out most of the photosynthesis on Earth. Therefore, they provide much of Earth’s oxygen. Phytoplankton form the base of the ocean food web. Plankton flourish in areas where nutrient-rich water upwells from the deep.

Monday Math Freebie - Oldies But Goodies

noreply@blogger.com (Tricia) — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 23:01:00 +0000

I've only participated in Manic Monday at Classroom Freebies a few times, so that means I have lots of freebies folks may not have seen before. I'm highlighting a few of those today.

Addition Fact Strategies - I have created a packet with two versions of a chart for students to track their progress in mastering addition facts by the strategy used. You'll also find an explanation for each of the strategies presented. They are arranged in the order I generally teach these facts/strategies to students. Here's the page on my favorite strategy, "two apart."

Download Addition Fact Strategies.

Phases of Matter Sort - They might be called "states" of matter in your text or curriculum standards, but in the newest revision of our standards, "states" of matter was replaced with phases. If you want a copy with the word states, shoot me an e-mail and I'll send you one!

Download Phases of Matter Sort.

Steal the Treasure! - This game is based on a game called Walk the Plank that Aimee of Primarily Speaking wrote about. I got her permission to adapt it, so I have both an addition and multiplication version of the game. Each file comes with teacher directions, student directions, and three different game boards. The addition version is shown below.

Download Steal the Treasure!: Addition Version.

Download the Steal the Treasure!: Multiplication Version.

Everything on my site is free, so if you're looking for more freebies, try these links.

Math Freebies

Science Freebies

I hope you get a chance to use these resources in your home or classroom. Please let me know if you try them and how they work!

Strategies for Learning and Remembering Basic Addition Facts

noreply@blogger.com (Tricia) — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 02:59:00 +0000

I started teaching about addition and subtraction this week. We spend a lot of time thinking about how we get kids to master basic facts. When students first begin to work with addition, they use concrete objects and need to count all of the objects in the set beginning with one. Eventually they move on to counting up from the first addend. Our ultimate goal is to get them responding automatically to basic facts. The question is, how do we get there?

In helping students work through the operation of addition, we need to help them think about patterns and relationships so that basic facts are derived from number sense and thinking skills. Yes, they do need to be memorized, but I want my students to have a strong sense of number so that if they don't remember a fact quickly, they have some mental strategy for getting there.

To that end I spend a great deal of time reviewing strategies for addition facts. These should all be familiar to you, but there is one that seems to surprise teachers when I share it with them. Here's what it looks like.

I call these the "Two Apart" facts. That line on the addition table represents doubles facts. The "two apart" facts are in the shaded blocks. To use this strategy, students must know their doubles facts. When the addends in a sentence have a difference of two, the sum is the double of the number between them.

5 + 7 = ?

The number between 5 and 7 is 6.

6 doubled is 12.

5 + 7 = 12

This works because we've used compensation to adjust the addends. When we add one to the smaller addend and subtract one from the larger addend, we get two equal addends. This is the doubles fact!

Here are a few more examples.

6 + 8 = 7 + 7 = 14

7 + 9 = 8 + 8 = 16

See? This is simple and elegant and based in a strong understanding of numbers.

I've put together a packet with two versions of a chart for students to track their progress in mastering addition facts by the strategy used. You'll also find an explanation for each of the strategies presented. They are arranged in the order I generally teach these facts/strategies to students.

The ideas presented in the packet are designed to help meet the following Common Core Standards for Math:

1.OA.3. Apply properties of operations as strategies to add and subtract. Examples: If 8 + 3 = 11 is known, then 3 + 8 = 11 is also known. (Commutative property of addition.) To add 2 + 6 + 4, the second two numbers can be added to make a ten, so 2 + 6 + 4 = 2 + 10 = 12. (Associative property of addition.)
1.OA.5. Relate counting to addition and subtraction (e.g., by counting on 2 to add 2).
1.OA.6. Add and subtract within 20, demonstrating fluency for addition and subtraction within 10. Use strategies such as counting on; making ten (e.g., 8 + 6 = 8 + 2 + 4 = 10 + 4 = 14); decomposing a number leading to a ten (e.g., 13 – 4 = 13 – 3 – 1 = 10 – 1 = 9); using the relationship between addition and subtraction (e.g., knowing that 8 + 4 = 12, one knows 12 – 8 = 4); and creating equivalent but easier or known sums (e.g., adding 6 + 7 by creating the known equivalent 6 + 6 + 1 = 12 + 1 = 13).
2.OA.2. Fluently add and subtract within 20 using mental strategies. By end of Grade 2, know from memory all sums of two one-digit numbers.

Download Addition Fact Strategies.

I hope you get a chance to try these strategies in your home or classroom. Please let me know if you try them and how they work!