Tangle Tables: Multiplication FUN!!

Hello, all! Hope you had a MERRY Christmas! This break has been so relaxing, yet productive for me! I hope it has been for you as well. :)

So, have you ever heard of a tangle table? Here is an example:

These little tables are FUN, FUN, FUN. Like, adult fun, too! (I would LOVE to have a book of these!) If you enjoy Sudoku, you will enjoy this game. If your students enjoy playing games, then they will enjoy this game!

In this game, students are given a multiplication table that is all TANGLED UP. The factors 1-12 are still in the first row and first column, but they are NOT in the correct order. The objective?? Figure out where the factors are in the first row and first column by using the existing clues. Some of the factors may be visible; products are there to help as well. The students will have to use knowledge of the basic facts as well as a little bit of logic to get the whole table filled in. Here is the solution, for those of you working on it in your head!

Sounds fun, right?? You can give them a try by checking this out:

Students can complete these independently, in a math station, in pairs, in a small group OR as a whole group. ALSO, I have included a Promethean ActivInspire flipchart that can be used to complete the tables as a whole group. Don't have a Promethean board? You can still download the software to use with the flipchart FOR FREE. Instructions are included.

I'm holding a Flash Freebie for this new product! You'll have to follow me on Facebook and/or Instagram in order to know when to download the freebie. :) 

I hope you and your students enjoy! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Target Number: A Number Sense Activity

Hey, friends! I hope your week is off to a great start!

Let's talk about number sense:

Do you spend time teaching number sense in your classroom? Number sense isn't just a skill that the primary grades need to practice; older kids need practice too! To practice number sense in my classroom, I've used number of the day, number talks, counting around the circle, number riddles, worksheets, etc. I've done scoots and have used every possible manipulative. No matter what I use, children always seem to enjoy the activity.

Here is one of MANY ways for students to build number sense (add it to the bank):

In this activity, students will have a target number that they must make by following different directions.

Here is one of the target number pages with directions:

The file comes with three different levels of target number pages and optional recording sheets. Easy peasy and you could implement it in your classroom TOMORROW! Come check it out on TPT!

And here are a few tips for using the Target Number pages...

1) Print the page you are going to use and place it in a report cover. Students can write on it with a dry erase marker and wipe it clean when finished! (like the picture below)

2) Have students use dry erase boards to do the work for the target number.

Need a few other resources to teach number sense? Here are some that I have (including some freebies!):

          

"O Geome-Tree" Activity UPDATED

Happy December! I can't believe ANOTHER year is nearly complete. WHERE does the time go??!

I just revisited and updated one of my math activities that I posted about a loooooooong time ago (from 2011, to be exact). My 4th graders helped me create an interactive bulletin board for Christmas. Here is the original post:

***BEGIN OLD POST***

Our bulletin board for the month of December was entitled "O Geome-Tree" (after the ever-so-popular "O Christmas Tree" song). This was a good opportunity to talk with my students about what geometry is (since, for whatever reason, my students said they had never heard the term). Geometry is something that students have had experience with all the way back to when they were learning shapes. Don't be afraid to introduce the term to them in the early grades! Anywho, here is the board!:

This was a very simple introductory activity. We actually will not get into geometry until late March (other than reviewing what was learned in past grade levels) so I kept it simple. All the students had to do was make a polygon, write a fact or two about the shape and decorate it. They then got to staple it to the board as an ornament for the tree (this was their favorite part). Here is the sample I made for them:

The activity gave me a little insight into what they already knew about polygons; it was NOT a good sign that half of them had to ask what a polygon was :/. Anyway, some students did a really great job while others decided to do a very basic job. Here are some student examples:

***END OLD POST***

Activities like this make me miss being in the classroom! :)

Anyway, I updated the file today--all activity directions and a grading rubric are included PLUS a set of task cards and recording sheets to use with your bulletin board.

This activity is PERFECT for this time of year! Enjoy the freebie!! :)

Parts of Speech Menu Project

Helllooooo! Happy Sunday to you and happy late Thanksgiving! Hope it was a great one! :D

I'm just going to go on as normal and pretend like I haven't been away from blogging for like, 10 months... :)

Parts of speech--one of my favorite things to teach! I love grammar anyway, which makes teaching this concept to children even MORE fun! Children need to know that grammar is more than just circling and crossing out on a worksheet or gluing words into a parts of speech sort. One way to bring parts of speech to life is connecting it to real life.

Think about the last time you were at a restaurant and you looked at the menu...

What did the menu have that made you want to order what you did? A picture? Probably, but even more common than that are descriptive words. Did you order a nice burger or a juicy patty on a toasted bun, smothered with cheese? Introducing a new creation...

In this project, students will study restaurant menus from familiar places and then create his/her own menu for his/her own restaurant using various parts of speech. In Texas, some of our ELAR standards deal with media and advertising techniques--this is a PERFECT tie-in because menus that students create will need to be attractive and appealing to anyone viewing it.

 

This project is a great enrichment activity, perfect for GT students OR can be used with your entire class. I like a versatile project! ;)

Sadly, I don't have a classroom of students to try out my creations anymore so I don't have any action shots to share. (If you purchase this and take some pics, please send them my way!) Maybe I can convince one of the teachers at my school to use it so I can get some pics. :D :D

Check it out in my TPT or TN store! (And head to my Facebook page or Instagram page for a chance to get it for free! A flash freebie is coming!)

It's Been a Minute.

WOW, it's been a minute since I've been on here! FEBRUARY was my last blog post--geez, that was long ago!!! :O A couple of things took priority over me from dedicating more time to my blog, namely a classroom of children, my own child and husband, a job change and a PREGNANCY that lasted practically the entire school year!

My new little cupcake is now 1 month old, so life is (kind of) getting back to what I would consider normal. I really hope to get back to blogging on a regular basis.

So did ya hear? I'm leaving the classroom! I accepted a position at another school in my district as an Instructional Coordinator, which means I get to work with and support teachers in their classrooms--SO EXCITED to get to do that!! :)

Summer has gone WAY too fast. I actually have been quite productive and have crossed off MANY items on my TO DO list. However, that list is never-ending so I always feel like getting a lot done is never really enough. :P

In other news, the annual TPT Back to School Sale in heeeerrrre! Time to finally purchase those items on your wishlist!!

Over the weekend I was busy updating some of my most popular products:

Check out those products and many, many more in my store!

And since you visited and read through all of this, please go pick up this brand new freebie!

Teaching Money

Two blog posts in the same month--WHOA! What is going on?! ;)

So one main thing we have been learning about in my classroom lately has been MONEY, MONEY, MONEY.

We have been looking at money for a few weeks now, studying the features of each coin and its value:

Here is a money chart I made with a previous class:

We have also done many activities to make equivalent sets of coins:

I have some kids that can count coin collections by 2s, 5s, 10s, 20s--and then I have kids who cannot point out a nickel. With such a wide range of knowledge, I have to make sure that I have good, quality activities that meet the needs of all levels of my learners. Since I teach math in small groups, I am able to easily differentiate for the different levels.

In the Math with Technology station, my students have been playing these games:

Here are our FAVORITE money videos to watch:

And today I created this fun little station activity to use next week!!

In SWAP!, students will match cards that have the same value. There are 5 sets of cards that include 3 levels of play.

 *BONUS* Each set of cards also includes a QR code version!

Check out SWAP! here:

And since St. Patty's Day is coming up, now is a good time to check out this fun, little activity:

It is part of this pack, which includes MORE money activities:

Adios! :)