Creative Lesson Cafe: Math

Showing posts with label Math. Show all posts

We Love Teachers Sale at TPT!

IT'S HERE! The look on this cutie's face says it all, doesn't it?! I'm SO excited! Time to work on your wish lists and get set to SHOP!

Thank you to Ms. Beatties Classroom for the adorable sale banner!

Everything at my Creative Lesson Cafe TPT store will be 20% off during the sale and with the promo code, the deal is even sweeter!

Each and every one of the items in my shop is something that I have created and used with the first and second grade students in my classroom. These are just a few of our favorites! You can take a peek here by subject/ category for a little preview of some of the items you might like to grab for your kiddos too!

If these resources look like fun and something you can use too, you can find all of them by clicking {here}.

Hope you have a fantastic Teacher Appreciation week!

Happy shopping!

Second Grade Comparing Numbers and Place Value Math Activities and a FREEBIE!

Hello Everyone! I am popping in to let you know that I am blogging over at Primary Powers today to share a favorite ready-in-a-minute math activity using number cards! It is perfect to fill those few extra minutes here or there and a great one to use when you sense the class is getting restless! I also have a little FREEBIE for you all to get something like this ready for your classroom too if you like!

Click on the picture below to head on over!

I hope to see you there!

Math Fact Fluency Scoot Activities for First and Second Grade

We all know that kiddos learn best when they get to move around more during the day. They really need it!

If your kiddos are stuck inside or are getting a little wiggly, you may like a scoot activity. Here are my littles playing the superhero subtraction activity I shared at Primary Powers a few months ago.

I used this as an around the room activity. Notice the blank boxes where she skipped around...The students have to hunt for the task cards a bit. They are placed around the room on tables, desks and taped up here and there.

You can grab that freebie {here} if you missed it!

These are our new math fact fluency scoots.

More for other skills are in the works!

This one is not new, but it is available too!

Don't they look fun? I think my class will love them! Each one has 30 cards, a recording sheet and a self-checking answer key to keep in the tub. After the scoot activity, they can be used as any task cards for a center or for those speedy finishers!

Hope you like them! If you do, just click on the pictures to see them at my store.

Happy teaching!

Fraction Fun with Cookies : Teaching Resource for First Grade

Are you looking for a fun and engaging way to teach beginning fractions? When I was teaching first grade a few years back, I made this item for my kiddos. It continues to be a popular little mini-unit at my TPT store. Many teachers who have purchased this have used it for their observation lesson with great success! It is perfect to introduce the concept of equal groups and fractions of a set with the book, The Doorbell Rang.

Right now, in second grade, we are taking the concept of equal groups to a new level by introducing arrays.

I expanded this item to include some teaching posters that show cookies arranged in rows and columns for beginning multiplication and division concepts too.

The students create a booklet that follows the pattern in the story, where more friends arrive at the door and the 12 cookies Ma baked must be shared equally.

This photo of my first graders making their books is a few years old, but you can get the idea!

These are the booklet pages:

My favorite part of this whole activity is having the Principal come down, in an apron, to deliver a batch of fresh baked cookies! ;)

He's a good sport!

To read more about this item you can find the full description here.

Happy teaching!

Happy Shapes Clipart

Our district has purchased a brand new math series called Bridges in Mathematics.

I just had to add some cute to my work station bin labels and room posters as these will be a big part of the program.

These are the bin labels I made for our second grade team.

Each work station spot also has a matching poster to display.

Each station in Bridges is named by a shape so that students become very familiar with them.
If you use Bridges, please contact me and I'll be glad to share these labels and posters with you.

The challenge was finding a cute clipart set that included a SCALENE TRIANGLE. That was tough.

I searched forever and finally gave up and decided to make my own clipart set to use with all of my Bridges and geometry resources!

Ta Da!

Presenting Happy Shapes Stitched Clipart!

Have a happy day!

Hooray for Arrays! Building Arrays Work Mats for Math Centers

Hooray for arrays and for second graders feeling like third graders doing multiplication and division!

We like candy math in our room as you may remember from my other posts!

Tomorrow we are building arrays with m&m's!

Each student will build an array of their choice on their mat. Then we will number our spiral notebooks, stand up and scoot around to 10 desks that look as if they have an array that isn't already recorded. The class will have to write the repeated addition sentence and the multiplication sentence that each array shows. I will roam the room and be sure they are on track!

We did a similar activity yesterday when I introduced the concept for the first time. I just asked the class to make an array on their desk that shows objects in rows and columns. There were some blank stares and some who already knew what to do. This was wonderful for assessing where each of them were with prior knowledge.

Afterward, we took a gallery walk and looked at all of them. We had a great discussion about which arrays were correct and which were not good examples and why. We also had a quality number talk about the ways in which an array is like (or not like) fractions (as a way to introduce division concepts).

I know it's not February, so please excuse the candy hearts, but it's all that I had enough of at the time. The kids didn't seem to mind revisiting Valentine fun. My little sweethearts know teacher keeps candy counters of all kinds as manipulatives! We never eat them, of course!

After building the m&m's arrays, the kids will each get to visit the bingo marker station that is set up to dot up their own colorful array project to take home!

You can get a copy of the workmat and bingo page here.

Hershey Bar Fractions

Do you have a favorite unit of all time? If I had to choose, I would say that this sweet one tops them all! It's fraction fun in a chocolate bar theme without the mess!

This pack contains all of the printables you may need for a really fun fraction unit that your students will surely remember!

At the end of the unit, I always give my students a little sweet treat to reward them for their hard work!

You can see more of this item at my Kidsrcute TPT shop!

What is really sweet, is that it is on sale for one more day!

If you have already purchased this, be sure to download the update!

Have a super sweet day!

This Week in Second Grade: Earth Day and Counting Coins

I might be one of the last to get out this Five for Friday post, because I just got home from...

1.) The big Ice Cream Social event! This year was a Fiesta theme! I was secretly hoping there would be some ponchos, mustaches and sombreros to wear for a photo shoot, but no such luck.

Let's hear it for staff shirts, ponytails, jeans and comfy shoes on Fridays!

The PTO goes all out for this one~ there were coney islands, raffles, games, prizes, a DJ, karaoke and ice cream of course! We have several big events like this one spread out during the year. This is one happenin' place! My buddy went to school where I teach so he loves to help out at these events too. We got to work at the popcorn, pop and cotton candy tent. What fun! He refuses to pose with his mom for a picture but did a great job as official photographer! I'll take it!

2.) For Earth Day, my class took a paperless challenge! We did not use one sheet the entire day. It was a little challenging to fill a day this way, but we did it. Our school is a designated Green School. We document our activities such as this to submit in our report.

Here the kids were given dice in dice from Lakeshore to roll. They rolled two, 2-digit numbers, and used the calculators to find both a sum and a difference.

The day after, we went back to using paper but had some great discussions about the three Rs using this Earth Day PowerPoint and a cute and educational booklet from Aimee Salazar's Earth Day Unit.

3.) The class always loves a guest speaker. One of my favorite classroom parents works as an environmental consultant. She consults with companies and acts as a government advisor in the event of a toxic spill. She did some neat demonstrations for our second graders to show how a spill can effect the groundwater supply and how a clay barrier can help. She illustrated the drilling process for sampling using straws.

4.) One of our sweet young students is battling cancer and is homebound right now. Our school has had several fundraisers to help the family. These thoughtful students regularly send videos to our Lucas. Each class delivered a special hello. On his birthday, the whole school gathered to sing to him via video.

5.) We are reviewing for MAP testing next week. We put together this adorable money sorting wallet project for a last hurrah and to review those zeros they seem to get tripped up with.

Adios Amigos!

April Math Centers and a Freebie

In case you missed my post from last year, I wanted to let you know about a cute math center that would be perfect if you are looking for some last-minute Easter activities for the next few days or even to use after returning from the holiday.

My firsties used to need a lot of practice with fact memorization!

They learned them in the context of fact families.

I used this activity with a yummy Peep theme as a center! They LOVED it!

The set includes 42 cards, so you can switch them up and use it for several days.

Each marshmallow bunny card has 3 fact family numbers.

The kids took turns picking a card from an Easter basket which just made it even more special.

Then, they had to create four related facts from their bunny card and write them on the recording sheet.

If this is something you might be interested in, you can find it at my TPT store here.

This fun bunny center is great for reviewing telling time to five minute intervals.

It's a card matching center and also includes some good old black and white practice pages you could use for morning work or homework.

You can download this freebie here if you like!

It's always nice to hear from you and get some feedback at my shop on freebies too!

Key Words in Math and Math Symbols Clipart Freebie!

The key to math problem-solving success is the ability to identify important words~KEY words. I love to use props of any kind in the classroom. They are a great way to spark interest and excitement. Anything novel is also memorable! These kiddie keys come out whenever we work on problem-solving. One shake of the rattle helps to draw my second graders' attention to an important word or phrase. The next time you are passing by the baby aisle or going through your little one's toys, think classroom props!