Task Cards

We love task cards in my classroom!  We use them for many different things, but many people struggle to organize them.  Honestly, it is all about preference.  I started by putting my task cards on binder rings.  This worked great until I had to store them and I started to have many cards.

Then I tried something like these.  I had found some that were single compartments and about the size of an index card.  I really like these as well.  There were easy to store as well.

This year, I have really stayed on top of my centers and I am working really hard to organize my centers.  I want to be able to pull my centers and go.  So here is where I am now.

This is what it looks like in my center.  The students grab a recording sheet and that is what they turn in to me for accountability.  Instead of spending time cutting and sorting all the task cards, I print them and laminate them.  Then I put them in a file folder for storage.

On the front of my file folder, I glued on the title page, so that when I pull it out, I know exactly what I am pulling out.

 

On the back of my file folder, I put the recording sheet.  There are a few reasons I did this.  First, I will always have a master recording sheet, ready to copy more.  Second, I laminate my folders.  So now a student can use this with a dry erase marker, if I am working with them one-on-one, or they are working independently.

This is what it looks like when I put it in the center.  Super easy for me.  All my task cards follow this format, so the kids know what to do even when I change the skill.

You can find some of my task cards at my TPT store.  The ones in the pictures are being uploaded as we speak.

Rounding to the Nearest 10

Rounding to the Nearest 100

14 Days of Freebies - Day 1

Happy February!  In honor of me keeping up with my blog this year, I have decided to do 14 days of freebies on my TPT store.  That means for the first 14 days of February, you can check out my TPT store for a new freebie.

Grab this math freebie {HERE}.

I had a really fun time making these freebies.  I am thinking that I might have to do more of these in the future.

In the comments, let me know what your plans are for Valentine's Day in your classroom!

Small Group Reading Comprehension

I have been able to present how I do my small groups using McGraw Hill's Wonders program.  The program comes with leveled readers.  Many people want to know what it looks like in my classroom when I am implementing these.  The biggest question I get is: "HOW?  How do I implement these?  There are just so many components to this program!"

Let's start with what the students are doing.  Each week, students get one page back-to-back.  Pages look similar, but they are leveled and match the color of the books.  Each page has the unit, the week, and the color of the leveled reader on the top right corner.  No confusion here!

The front of the page tells the students what they need to work on for that day.  There is not a Day 3, but you can put an activity in there.  We have weekly early release days, so we loose our small group time on those days.  You may want to use this day as a catch up day or meet with a struggling group.

The back of each page has a graphic organizer that aligns with the skill for the week.  I use this an the activity I use when I meet with each group to ensure they are understanding the skill. 

The questions are broken down into days.  I only give two or three questions a day because I want students to find textual evidence and really discuss the questions.

I meet with my students as follows.

• Day 1 - Orange Group - Approaching
• Day 2 - Purple Group - English Language
• Day 4 - Green Group - Beyond
• Day 5 - Blue Group - On Level

I meet with my approaching group first because I want to make sure they have the support they need to work independently for the week.  They way our schedule works this year, they get small group before I do my whole group lesson, so it becomes a pre-teaching experience for them.  They build confidence for the lesson I will teach later that day.

I meet with my EL group the second day because I want them to attempt the questions and then do my small group based on how they are doing.  This allows me to teach them the skill and review they questions they have completed.

I meet with my high fliers on the fourth day because I want to make sure they are understanding what they are doing and to make sure they are getting challenged.  While their questions are more challenging and higher DOK levels, they need me to guide them to higher level thinking.

My on level group meets with me at the end of the week because I know they've got it.  Obviously, I check in on them in the beginning of the week and throughout, but they usually know exactly what I expect.

The next biggest question I get is "How do you ensure students are doing what you want?"  It is all about setting your expectations!  Classroom routine is key here.  The worksheets allow you to hold students accountable, but they need to know the expectations.  Each of my groups has a reminder that I made for them.  When you grab my worksheets, I included the page shown above, so you can leave a reminder for students.

Lastly, teachers want to know how I keep this all organized.  Each group has a basket.  They are color coded to match the leveled readers.  In the basket, students keep their materials for the week, which includes these pages, the leveled readers, and a reminder of what the small group expectations are.

At the end of the week, students turn in their worksheet.  Before I go home for the day, I change out the baskets.  I put the new books in and the new worksheets.  This is also when I change out the vocabulary wall and everything else.

It only takes me a few minutes and everything is set to go for the next day.  Here is how I store my leveled readers.

I keep everything in my filing cabinet.  Each week within each unit gets it's own file.  Not only do I keep my leveled readers in here, but I also keep my vocabulary cards, essential questions, and everything else that goes with that lesson.

Grab your copy of my small group units.  I have Unit 4 for 3rd grade completed at this point.  More are coming as I use them in my classroom!

Are you implementing small group in your classroom?  I'd love to here how you do that!

Classroom Organization

This time of year, I am really into cleaning and reorganizing.  That includes my classroom.  So I have a few pictures of how I keep my classroom organized.

First off, how can you organize your classroom if you are not organized as the teacher?  I know these have been around for a while, but I made mine years ago and it is amazing.  When I have to put my classroom together every summer, this is where I start.  I keep all my materials for putting up the bulletin boards and every day use items.  I made mine to match the colors of my classroom.

People ask me all the time how I store anchor charts.  Here is my answer.  I used to keep them in a drawer and then I never used them.  These are only the ones I have laminated.  Most of my anchor charts are made each year with the students.  The ones I keep on the wall, I put on binder rings and they hang on a push pin on the wall.  We flip back though them as needed throughout the year.  SO essentially, I keep my anchor charts up all year for students to reference.

This is a quick look at how my students get home.  The first week or so is stressful for students when it is time to go home.  I keep this on the wall all year.  If a student's way of going home changes, they just move their clothespin.  During "Meet the Teacher," I have their names on clothespins ahead of time.  I have students find their name and clip it in the right place while their parents are filling out forms and meeting me.

This is my job chart.  I just write the student's name with dry erase marker each week or when it is time to change jobs.  I also make my students "apply" for a job.  They have to tell me why they are qualified for the job they want.  They love it and it makes them really take responsibility for their job.

Lastly, this is my work in progress.  I am working on organizing our math curriculum.  My goal this year is to have all of the lessons, with activities for the centers, and all printables put together so that next year, it is a "grab and copy" concept.

I am sure there are more organization tips I have, but these are the main ones I took pictures of and get asked about.

How do you keep your classroom organized?

Speaking and Listening During Math {FREEBIE}

Speaking and listening is a big component in the Common Core Standards.  It is important to understand that speaking and listening should occur in more than reading and ELA time.  Students should be speaking and listening during all subjects, especially during math.

Much of the math standards require students to explain their thinking.  It also requires them to realize that there may be more than one way to solve a problem.

But as the teacher, how do you get them to engage in meaningful conversations without having them give each other the answers?

Here is my solution, and it works!  Obviously you will need to model it and set expectations, but I am at the point where students pull this out and hold each other accountable.

Here is how it works:

In my classroom, I refer to it as our "math mat."  I printed and laminated it for durability.  Each student on the team has a role.

The first student reads the question to the team.  In their own words, they tell the team what the question is asking them to do.  I have included sentence stems on the math mat for my EL students and my shy students.  Their job is to make sure everyone understands the questions.  If they don't, it is their job to explain it again, maybe in a different way.  Then everyone solves the problem independently.  This is where they may see that there are different ways to solve the same problem.

The second person shares their answer with the team.  The rest of the team should be actively listening.  I have included a place for academic vocabulary that I change out with a dry erase marker for the lesson or unit.  It is important that students are using the correct vocabulary.  Everyone on the team shares their answer and explains WHY and HOW.

The third person agrees or disagrees with someone at the table.  Each person gets to do this step as well.  If the team cannot come to an agreement, they need to look at their work and see where the mistakes were made and how they can fix it.  Most of the time, my students come to an agreement.

The fourth person is in charge of telling the group what the answer is (the one they agreed to).  Then everyone either adds to or fixes their answer.

Then you need to hold students accountable.  You need to provide them a rubric on how you are going to grade them.  Don't forget this step.  Remember, students need to be held accountable for their learning.

Here is a sample rubric I have used for word problems, but you can make your own as well.

Remember that you will need to make a rubric for each lesson/unit.  It is all about expectations.

You can grab a copy of my math mat here for FREE!

Fact Fluency to 20 {FREEBIE}

As followers are growing, I have decided to do some more freebies.  Today I have 11 fact fluency worksheets for you to use for practice.  You can grab them here.

Please remember to leave feedback and follow my TPT store for updates and more freebies!

Planning for February

I love the month of February!  There is Groundhog Day, Valentine's Day, and President's Day!  It is a great month to review kindness and being a great classmate.  Grab these free kindness coupons for your classroom.

Many classrooms across the country will focus on Valentine's Day, and likely have a classroom party.  We will be too!  But, the educator in me has to make it more than passing out valentines and eating candy.

Need some No Prep writing?

Writing About February is for younger writers.  You can grab it {HERE}.

Daily Quick Writes are for older writers.  You can grab it {HERE}.

Don't forget to check back on February 1st for my 14 Days of Valentine's Freebies.  I have finished making them and, while they are not ALL specific to Valentine's Day, I am sure you will love them!

Join the event here to get updates and links!  Invite all of your teacher friends!

Happy Planning!