Giveaway Winner!

Hey Everyone!

I'm back from sunny Florida, and definitely enjoyed the short getaway to visit friends from college. We had a blast and I'm recharged to rock out an abundance of new products for back to school.

Like the title states, I announced my giveaway winner on Periscope last Thursday morning.  Let me tell you, Periscope is a fun social media platform to watch and learn from other teachers; however, a nerve-racking experience when the camera is flipped and you're the person doing the talking.  If you missed who won, it was Alison from Rockin' and Lovin' Learnin'.  She chose the Black/White Baby Dot Flats from Ja-Vie and the Fraction Bundle and Context Clues Task Cards from my store.  Click the pictures to be taken to my store. :)

So fun!!  I appreciate the enthusiasm and participation in my first giveaway.  I learned from the experience to shorten the contest to maybe just three days to keep the interest up.  I guess you have to get a contest under your belt to be better at it next time.  :)

If you would like to try out the Ja-Vie flats, you can use my link to save 10% and get free shipping. My discount link is: http://r.sloyalty.com/r/ulK4Lp4Y6Hpn
They definitely are the "teacher shoe" and anyone who's already ordered a pair will tell you how fabulous they are!  You can't go wrong with any of the prints.  Below are pictures of the ones I chose from winning a contest for the start of summer with Ja-Vie.  I'm LOVING all of them and as you can see, little nugget wants a pair in her size as well! ;)

Thanks for hanging with me and definitely let me know if you order a pair of Ja-Vie flats!  I think you will be extremely happy with your purchase!  Until next time! :)

2nd Quarter (another 9 weeks of fractions) Now Available at my TPT store!

Happy Tuesday Night!

My first blog hop was a success.  I'm looking forward to future hops/linky parties this school year. I was so inspired by the response of the blog hop that I FINALLY completed the 2nd volume of my newest TPT product "Fraction of the Day"!  Honestly, I had no idea creating fraction problems would be such a time consuming task!  I'm super proud of the product I'm creating and hope it's something you can use as well.  If you missed grabbing your freebie version of this monster, you can grab it by clicking here.  If you like what you see, consider purchasing the first two quarters by clicking the picture below.  Thanks so much for all of the support!  I'm beginning the 3rd quarter pack later this week.  Stay tuned...

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Fraction of the Day Freebie!

Happy Tuesday!  I only happen to know what day it is because of my gym schedule.  Don't you just love the summer?!  Anyway, I'm back again with another freebie as I occasionally think about school.  This year the only changes I plan to make are to my math instruction.  I started Guided Math late last year and it wasn't as effective as it could've been. I will continue Guided Math from the very beginning this new year.  After reviewing my state test results for math from this past school year, I decided I needed to refine my craft and try to do better.  A team member of mine does a daily math problem with team points.  This was the jumping off point for my Fraction Problem of the Day idea.  Also, in North Carolina, a majority of the state testing focuses on fractions; therefore, the two things combined helped inspire my newest product!  I don't believe in teaching "the test", but clearly there are things I needed do better this year.  :) 

I'm planning to use the Fraction Problem of the Day as part of the morning work.  Students will come in, get settled in the morning routine (completing morning seat work, getting homework out, writing in planner, etc), and then individually come to the front of the room to solve on a scrap piece of paper the problem of the day.  This freebie begins with 4th grade problems and will progressively get more challenging as the days go on.  I will have 180 fraction problems (a problem a day for the entire year)!  My hope is that the children will become fraction experts and will be able to apply their knowledge to ANY fraction problem.  The problems will be mixed operation calculations and problem solving.  I'm looking forward to seeing if this new addition to my daily math exposure for students will make a difference.  Ok, back to the table points.  Basically, each student will answer the problem and place the answer in their table group pile, container, or however you want to organize it.  My team member uses the magnetic pen containers you put on white boards (at Dollar General) and has one for each table group. Anyway, to begin her math lesson, she has the class help her solve the problem of the day.  Then, she quickly checks each groups answers submitted.  She gives a point for each correct answer submitted to the table groups. I think this is fabulous because there are no consequences for incorrect answers and only positive rewards for correct answers.  The problem of the day can go in a clear plastic frame or in a page protector on a small pocket chart table stand (how I plan to display them).  I hope you can use this product however it fits the needs of your class!  You can grab your copy of the freebie by clicking the picture above.  The remaining weeks will be available at my TPT store in the near future (by September 1st).  Thanks for hanging in there with me to explain the how and why behind my newest product.  I would love to hear what you think if you choose to download it!  Have a great week! 

Back to School Math Freebie

Happy Monday ya'll!  We are back from our much needed family beach vacation in Isle of Palms.  I've finally created a Teachers Pay Teachers Store where I will now host all of my freebies.  I will also go back through my blog and upload any freebies referenced in older posts in the store as well.

My other accomplishment today is another freebie just in case you're thinking about back to school.  Basically it's a daily math routine to get students to practice fractions and decimal equivalents.  We did this last year after one of my team members shared the idea with us.  My contribution to the idea is the recording sheet and sharing it with all of my wonderful followers. :)  Each day to jump start our math lesson we get out our hundreds board and write the number of days we've been at school.  I know you think this is really basic, but just hang in there with me for a few more sentences.

After students write the whole number we talk about what the fraction would be.  Once we've landed on what the fraction would be we write it in the box.  We then talk about what the decimal would be.  After a few days of class discussion after each entry most students get the hang of the number pattern.  On days the fraction can be reduced we talk about how to reduce fractions and how to do it.  A week or so into the routine I turn the discussions over to the children and they share their entries and thinking.

Recording Sheet

Example of a sheet being filled at the beginning of the year so you can better visualize what I 'm talking about

The fruits of my labor became evident when we dove into our fractions and decimals unit.  We do place value at the beginning of the year so this routine was a good jumping off point for decimal place values.  The idea and recording sheet are simple; however, the impact it made on student understanding was total worth the 2-3 minute routine each day.  Last year I just did it until the 100th day, but this year I'm making the copy double sided to use the entire school year.

I hope you enjoy and are able to use it with your kids this year.  What math routines do you use to help students practice more challenging concepts?


~Amanda                                                  

5.NF.3 Task Cards Freebie

Happy Saturday!  I hope everyone is enjoying the weekend.  Last night I created these task cards to use in the classroom on Monday.  I tried to use the borders, but nothing seemed to cooperate with me late last night.  That being said, they are simple task cards I plan to dress up with colored card stock and of course a laminator!  You can grab your copy here.  I really like the calculator task card recording sheet inspired by Traci Bender over at the benderbunch.  You can grab my version here.  They're labeled calculator task cards; however you could use them without a calculator.  They have QR codes on them, but leave a comment with contact information if you need task cards without QR codes.  After our practice EOG last week I've reflected on things and decided we need lots of practice with calculators!  Our state test is divided into calculator inactive (paper/pencil only) and calculator active (students have the option to use a calculator).  I realized there's no point in having the calculator as a resource unless the children know how to use them.  This week we are going to be calculator maniacs to make sure they are comfortable and ready to use them on the state tests.  I hope you enjoy the task cards and can use them in your classroom.  Have a great weekend! :))

~Amanda

I'm Back with a QR code Fraction Review Freebie-Common Core NF.6 and NF.7!

Hello Everyone!

I'm back with another freebie.  I took the past week off to enjoy our spring break with friends and family.  We didn't do much...just shop, play, and run a 10K!  The 10K was my first ever 10K race and we had so much fun in Charleston, SC.  I'm now continuing my training to run a half marathon at the beginning of summer.  Running has been a much needed way to take a break from the classroom and mommy/wife duties.  If you don't run, I highly recommend you trying it out...you may surprise yourself!

This is after the race while we enjoyed some Starbucks.  I'm the one on the far left. :)

Anyway, on with the freebie-After our last benchmark testing I was a little frustrated with the areas my children weren't as successful as I thought they could be.  My frustration was the inspiration for these short review practice problems using QR codes.  Like I've mentioned in previous posts, my kids LOVE the QR codes!  It's like they crave them!  You can get the QR code slips here for your children to practice.  The directions are on the slips and it's a super quick way to assess who is understanding what.  If you don't have an "i device" but would still like the practice problems you can grab the actual sheets here:  NF6 Sheet, NF7 Sheet, Combination Sheet  The QR slips will take you to the same document, but it's more interactive for the children if they can write on the picture to solve math problems. 

Screen shot of the QR code slips-Three different versions for differentiation or multiple center use.

Screen shot of the recording practice sheet the QR code will take students to.

I would love any suggestions on other ways you have students review math concepts.  I'm new to the testing grades and appreciate any and all suggestions.  Have a fantastic week! 


~Amanda :)))

Food, Fractions, Freebie

We are wrapping up our primary focus on fractions next week, well until it's time to start reviewing for our state tests anyway.  That being said, I thought it would be fun to bring some more of what I loved in the lower grades to 5th grade.  Hence the creation of Food Fractions!  Late next week we are going to make Rice Krispy treats as a class.  The children are so pumped to "cook" at school during math time.  I created a fraction recording sheet  (click the name of the doc to get your "freebie") with the original recipe from Kellogs.  Basically, the children will have to work independently to figure out they need to double the recipe for everyone in the class to have a piece of the action.  Once they figure it out, they will work with a partner to double the fractions.  After all children have completed the task we will make the treats.  Should be a fantastic time had by all.  What do you do to complete a unit on fractions?

100th Day Freebie!

Whew!!!  I'm finally finished with my first 100th day freebie for upper elementary teachers.  If you're like me and want to bring magic into the classroom with fun themed days from time to time then I have a few ideas for your 100th day of school!! The freebie includes a fraction and decimal snack mix learning task with a recording sheet.  It also has four different writing prompts for the 100th day and recording sheets for those as well.  You can download this freebie here.  If you like what you see, please join my blog.  I'm just getting started with creating freebies and would love new followers.  I'm currently creating 5th Grade Common Core Task Cards for Math.  I will be giving away this freebie to all of my followers when I reach the magical number of 100 followers!  Please share the blog and the freebies will come your way! Cheers!  ~Amanda