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Clip art by Whimsy Clips My students are so engaged by the changing of the seasons and learning with a theme that I try to incorporate the seasons into what we do each day.  Because some members of our school community are not really into celebrating holidays in the classroom, I try to stick with lots of activities around the different seasons rather than specific holidays.  Fall is a great time to bring pumpkin, apples and leaves into the classroom.  When I saw this great set of 10 frame clip art by Graphics From the Pond  I knew I wanted to make a new set of 10 frame cards .                  When I made a set of cards and spend time and money putting them on cardstock or laminating them, I want them to serve more than one purpose.  Ten frames (and twenty and five frames) have so many uses in the classroom, so I put together 10 ways to use these cards with kids.  These activities work great in Kindergarten and ...

I have been asked many times for more details about how I use partial quotients to move kids from a concrete model for division to an abstract one .  I am happy to announce that I have finally written a detailed post about how I introduce and connect partial quotients to a visual model for division.  I have been very lucky to be able to share this as a guest post over on Corkboard Connections .  This is an amazing blog by one of my favorite educators, Laura Candler .  If you haven't seen her resources, you will definitely want to check them out! If you read my guest post and are just checking out my blog for the first time, welcome!  It is great to have you here and I hope you find a lot of useful ideas.  If you want to learn more about me you can find me on Facebook , Pinterest and TPT .  Here are a few posts you might want to check out to get you started.  Using QR Code Scavenger Hunts to Practice Math Push in or Pull Out Intervention   A ...

We are over half way through our book study on Whole Brain Teaching and I have gotten so much good information.  In my discussions with colleagues and folks commenting on my blog and Facebook page I have heard great things about implementing these ideas in the classroom.  It is not to late to join in!  If you want to catch up, just grab a copy of the book and pick up where we are or go back and comment on past posts.  Here is the posting schedule. September 3 First Words, Chapters 1-3 September 10 Chapters 4-7 September 17 Chapters 8-10 September 24 Chapters 11-14 October 1 Chapters 15-18 October 8 Chapters 19-22 October 15 Chapters 23-26 October 22 Chapters 27-29 October 29 Bonus Chapters 30-32 Whole Brain Teaching for Challenging Kids (and the rest of your class, too!) \\ Today we are taking a look at some of the higher levels of Scoreboard Chapter 19: The Guff Counter This chapter was full of ideas for turning a students' allies in bad behavior against them. ...

As many of you know, I have a huge collection of math literature that I love using with students.  Recently, I got a new book to add to my collection and it has already become one of my new favorites.  A few months ago, I shared You Can Count on Monsters  with you which is a fantastic book to use when talking about multiplication and prime and composite numbers. Richard Evan Schwartz , the author of You Can Count on Monsters has written another book. Really Big Numbers This is not your average Math Literature book!  The first thing that is very different about this book is the length.  It is the longest picture book I own at almost 200 pages.  Another thing that is very different is the pictures.  They were made with a computer drawing program called Inkscape which makes them engaging and bright.  It also makes the diagrams and other mathematical pictures blend in nicely with the more traditional illustrations.   The book starts out with the...

Welcome to week 5 of our Whole Brain Teaching Book Study.   This week we are talking about chapters 15-18 which cover some of the big ideas related to Scoreboard.  I enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts on last week's post.  It is not to late to join in!  If you want to catch up, just grab a copy of the book and pick up where we are or go back and comment on past posts.  Here is the posting schedule. September 3 First Words, Chapters 1-3 September 10 Chapters 4-7 September 17 Chapters 8-10 September 24 Chapters 11-14 October 1 Chapters 15-18 October 8 Chapters 19-22 October 15 Chapters 23-26 October 22 Chapters 27-29 October 29 Bonus Chapters 30-32 Whole Brain Teaching for Challenging Kids (and the rest of your class, too!) Chapter 15: The Super Improvers Team The idea of creating a system where everyone is rewarded for improvement is great.  "The race is more rewarding and motivating when we stop racing each other and race against ourselves."  School w...

Here we are on week 4 of our Whole Brain Teaching Book Study.   This week we are talking about chapters 11-14 which certainly cover a lot of big ideas.  I enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts on last week's post.  It is not to late to join in!  If you want to catch up, just grab a copy of the book and pick up where we are or go back and comment on past posts.  Here is the posting schedule. September 3 First Words, Chapters 1-3 September 10 Chapters 4-7 September 17 Chapters 8-10 September 24 Chapters 11-14 October 1 Chapters 15-18 October 8 Chapters 19-22 October 15 Chapters 23-26 October 22 Chapters 27-29 October 29 Bonus Chapters 30-32 Whole Brain Teaching for Challenging Kids (and the rest of your class, too!) Chapter 11: Scoreboard (Level 1)      This chapter is all about using the scoreboard in the classroom.  What first might seem like a deceptively simple idea seems to really work with kids of all ages.  I have worked with a teache...

I love teaching fractions!  I know they are a subject many struggle with in elementary school and beyond but there is just something about them that make them super fun to teach.  Over the years, I have read some great books and learned a lot from my colleagues and students about making fraction instruction effective. One of my goals for last year was to find more computer and iPad based games to add to my collection of practice materials for fractions.  Today I want to share with you one of the games my students and I really enjoyed for practicing comparing fractions. Fraction Feud This game is from NCTM''s Calculation Nation .  If you haven't checked out this website you really should!  Don't be put off by the "log in now" to play page you will see.  You can quickly and easily create a log in for free.  If you don't want to go to the trouble of creating a log in, just click on guest pass and you will be ready to play.   Once you have clicked gu...