Multiplication Word Search FREEBIE

To quickly fill up one of my 3rd grade math centers I made up this little multiplication word search. I thought I would share it here with you. Click here and it will take you to Dropbox where you can down load it for free.

The border used was from Paula Kim Studio.  

I hope this might give you a little something fun to fill your math centers.

Don't forget to swing by my TPT (Teachers Pay Teachers) or Teacher's Notebook store for a lot more goodies!!

Standardized Tests and Word Problems

Right now I am teaching a remedial math class for 3rd graders. With the big state standardized test around the corner, I was racking my brain trying to think of new and fun ideas to get them ready.

Years ago with my old 3rd grade math team we had put word problems around the room like a scavenger hunt. So I took this idea tried to expand on it.

I was given a resource of math problems that were similar to the test. BORING!! Both for the kids and me. I cut them apart, glue and laminated them, and made a worksheet to help them show their work and also cross out the wrong answer choices. This was on green so I gave it a "recycling/green" theme. I added a clock for the time problem. I also added the graph because I want them to write all over the graph to show their work. Ill tape the problems around the room and they can go find them and solve, or you can rotate them.

Then I became a little more creative (I use that word loosely) and involved the dicut machine. Since it is close to Easter and the bunny dicut was one of the largest. I glued the problem to the bunny. For the large problem, I used two. I also created a student response page (it is at school, not home for me to take a pic tonight, but it was really cute).

 

My final idea is an actual Easter egg hunt with word problems in the plastic eggs hidden around the classroom or outside if the weather permits. They can use notebook paper or teacher made response sheet and clipboards.

Summer Fun with Numbers & Letters

One way to reinforce letter and number skills is to use shaving cream. My kindergartener is still having trouble with number reversals and my preschooler needed practice writing his name and letters. We headed outside (to the shade and picnic table) and had some fun and secret learning time.

Note: I suggest having them in their swimsuits so you can hose them off when you are done.

QR Codes and Multiplication Center

Technology sure has advanced in the 6 years since I have left teaching to be a stay at home mom.
I recently had been sick and eventually had surgery. With that I have not created any new things and I was really getting the "itch". So with my recovery time I taught myself how to create QR codes (that didn't link to the internet).
I made this cute Bee themed multiplication center.

 

It has 17 pages. Teacher directions page, student directions page, teacher answer key, student recording sheet (front and back), and 20 different multiplication questions. Each of the 20 multiplication cards has its own QR code for students to scan and self check their answers.

Students are able to choose 10 of the 20 cards. Some cards are easier multiplication questions such as 23x5 others are 723x7 and even a few that range into the thousands (ex: 2,435 x 5=). Students can choose cards they feel comfortable with and others can challenge themselves.

This is great for end of year 3rd grade or beginning 4th graders.

Don't forget to "buzz" by my store to see what else I can offer you for your classroom. If you want to see my newest creation click here or here.

Create Your Own Summer Vacation & Travel Project

One of my biggest sellers since I began selling teacher items online has been "Create Your Own Summer Vacation".

Teachers Pay Teachers (this one only uses the word "vacation" to make it usable all year round) or also Teachers Pay Teachers (this one only uses the word "summer vacation")
*I also have it listed 2 different ways because I had people buy it and tell others about it and certain code words did not work to same. So choose summer or regular vacation and have fun!

This math project has the students plan a SUMMER vacation for their family or friends. They budget gas, food, entertainment, etc.
* Teachers, you do need to plan ahead and collect restaurant "to go" menus, a map, and travel brochures. (Teacher directions are given with the lesson).
I used with my 3rd grade gifted and talented students. Other years I used it for a long term fast finisher project. Great for an end of the year activity...plan a summer vacation.
It covers: map skills, mileage, estimation, rounding, addition, calculator skills, and much much more with "real life" elements. Higher level and critical thinking skills are needed.
Students use a map to choose a destination. Estimate the cost of the trip, find how much they will spend on hotels, food, gas, entertainment, etc. Internet use is needed.
Depending on how you use it in your classroom it can take anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months, it is up to you on the duration of time. I also used it with other (non-GT) students and omitted a few of the sections that may have been too difficult for them. But ALL had a great time and were excited about this activity.
Each year my students thought this was one of their favorite activities because it was so "real life". 
It has been used in grades 3rd-6th in varying ways.

Common Core - 3.OA.B.5, 3.OA.C.7, 3.OA.D.8, 3.NBT.A.1, 3.NBT.A.2, 3.NBT.A.3

 It does have clipart and makes it appealing to kids, but does not go overboard on clipart. I also tried to combine and not waste paper. This is more for upper grades. The students should be able to fill in the different pages and charts on their own. There is also a rubric for the teachers to use and also for the students to see what will be graded and is expected.

*** PLEASE take time to go over this project with your students ahead of time and walk through each of the different sections. Don't print it off and throw it at them. :) This can be a great long term project and real life lesson, but invest in the 15 minutes up front and walk through it with them!

Here is a preview of the teacher page.

 

Here is page 8 of additional questions and extensions.

 

Beginning Math Skills & Free Printable Beginning Sounds Game

It has been a busy and sickly last few weeks. Needless to say, preschool has been put on the back burner. It's bad when your son asks to do preschool. (I never said I was perfect, nor do I ever pretend to be). Since I had not really been making lessons and nothing was printed and ready to go, I had to get creative.

I remembered seeing this little gem online somewhere. So I whipped that up for him. He did it so quickly and easily. I was blown away!!!!

I made this for my 4 year old. He is the one who would get frustrated when counting when he got to 13-19 and completely shut down and not do ANYTHING and refuse. With the help from his Daddy (who is obviously not Mommy so its different) he let Dad help him count through those teens and next thing I know he is counting to 50. All this time I thought he could only count to 12. In reality he can count to 50 now. Sometimes it take someone else to help get them over a bump in the road.

To take this idea even farther I created a beginning sounds games for him.
On one side of the plate I used blue and picked clipart that begins with different letters. Then with blue I wrote the matching letters on the clothespins. 

 THEN on the back I added more letters using red. Notice the letters on the clothespins are red. 

*Also this is self checking. Red for the red side & blue for the blue side, but when you flip the plate over the clothespins also match the letter on the back. Pretty neat huh!

Most of the clipart I have taken from a free clipart site called: mycutegraphics.com   It is worth checking out!!

How to get it for Free:
I have given you the clipart I used HERE that you can download through "DropBox" Or if you have an account through Teachers Pay Teachers you can access it Here for free.
Or if you have an account through Teachers Notebook you can access it Here for free.

Don't forget to sign up as a follower at either of my stores for other Free items or notifications about sales. 

Math & Number Recognition Game

Remember that old card game called "War" or "Battle" where you flip over two cards and who ever has the biggest number wins those cards? 
This has been a really fun game for my boys (ages 4 and almost 6). Surprisingly, my 4 yr old caught on really fast at comparing number values. We played this a lot during our Texas off and on winter...I don't know how you Northern people have even survived the "polar vortex" this winter! Kudos to you!!!!


Directions:
Deal ALL the cards face down to the two players.
At the same time, each player flips over a card.

 

The person with the highest value card collects both cards.
If two of the same cards are displayed, then 3 more cards are placed face down. Then flip up one more card to compare values. Largest value collects all the cards.

 

Once cards in your hand run out, collect and reshuffle all your cards. You can continue playing until one person has no more cards left. Or for my 2 boys we set a timer and whoever has the most cards when the timer goes off wins. 

* I first began with number cards only, but we quickly moved to the J,Q,K, A cards and they have learned which beats which face card.

Get FREE Math Centers for the LIFE of my store!!

I've had this great idea! I have bundled ALL my math centers (for 3rd grade) together and I am selling that as one bundle now.

BUT, the great thing about it is that once you buy this bundle, you will get every other math center I create for FREE. Yes, FREE! 

This is how it works, when you purchase this bundle you will have it listed in "your purchases" section from the website when you buy it from either TPT or TN.
As I make more math centers, I will be adding them to that zip file. You can then check "your purchases" section for an update. All you have to do is download the file again for the newest math centers. So log on to Teachers Pay Teachers or Teachers Notebook to see this MEGA Bundle.

As I create more centers and add them to the zip file, I will slowly increase the price. So grab it now while the price is at its lowest.
* Since I have originally posted this bundle, it is up to 24 centers and 150+ pages.

The most recent additions are 3 new fraction centers which I have pulled from this fraction packet I created. This packet includes 3 centers, 2 activities and 1 fraction multiple choice worksheet.

Valentine's Day Tic Tac Toe Board for Centers

With Valentine's Day quickly approaching I wanted to share a fun way to do centers.

 

For this set of lessons click here.

 

Many moons ago, when I was teaching (or so it feels like many moons ago) I used a tic tac toe board similar to this one for my centers during Valentine's week. Since then I have updated it and improved on it. 

Students would get this board of 9 different activities.  (Notice it has a combination of math, reading, writing, crafts, etc). Students had to choose at least 3 activities in a  row to complete. Then they could do more for "bonus points"...but that was just me who liked to give bonus. 3 points added to a low grade can make a difference. :)

The kids loved these because they felt like they had such a choice in the matter. They didn't get these very often because they take more brain power and time.

Set up: What I would do is I would have 9 different file folders. Whatever supplies or copies they needed were in each folder. The front of each folder had a tic tac toe board and there was a smiley face, heart, star, or whatever symbol I chose in that certain spot on the board. 

For example: The supplies for the writing center were in a folder marked with a smiley face in the bottom right section.

*I would keep these 9 folders and reuse them each time I did a tic tac toe board center. 

I hope this gives you some idea of something different and creative to do for centers.

2014 Winter Olympics - Sochi

I bought the most adorable Winter Olympics clipart the other day from Educasong so I have been busy making some fun things. See, isn't that just adorable!!

I've never been hugely interested in the Olympics. I watch the opening ceremony and a few of the events when I stumbled on them. To be honest, I had to do LOTS of research about Sochi and the Olympics to create these items. This took WAY more time than I had planned. :)

Here is what I created. I first created a "My Winter Olympics Book". The first few pages give information about the first Olympics, a map of Sochi & Russia, city facts, the sporting events, the medals, etc. Then there are other pages that you can include in the book to keep everything Olympic together, or you can use them separately as worksheets, activities, etc. There is a ABC order cut and glue page, a parts of speech cut and glue page, a venn diagram, research pages to learn about your favorite 3 sports, a medal count chart for your favorite countries, create your own medal, and I even threw in a memory game for fun. There are 25 printable pages for you.

To find "My 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics Book" click here.

The other item I made is a math center based on 3rd grade Common Core and TEKS. It covers a large variety of skills: place value, rounding, word problems, multiplication, addition, subtraction, reasonableness, time, etc.  This one also took me awhile. First, I hate writing word problems. But to make this even better I spent tons of time online reading Olympic webpages. Once I found any type of information based on numbers, my brain began spinning and I turned it into a math problem. So each math problem is based on real Olympic facts. This way the students will be learning about the Olympics along with practicing their math skills. There are 16 cards/word problems, a directions page, recording sheet, and answer key.

To find my "Winter Olympics Math Center" click here.

Last, but not least, since I have had such a huge amount of traffic for these Winter Olympic Centers, I made 4 Language Arts Centers.  

To purchase my LA centers click here.

 
Included are:
1. "Gold Medal Synonyms"- 12 sets of synonym cards cards to help improve vocabulary. Comes with student direction page, 24 cards, recording sheet for accountability, and answer key.

2. "Olympic Analogies" - 12 analogy cards and 12 matching gold medal answer cards to those cards. Comes with 24 cards, student directions page, recording sheet for accountability, and answer key. * Also an extra analogy worksheet/homework page and answer key with an Olympic theme.

3. "Olympic Main Idea and Details" - 6 different paragraphs that all contain Olympic information and facts. Students choose an Olympic paragraph and complete a Main Idea and Detail graphic Organizer. Comes with 6 paragraphs, student directions page, and graphic organizer.

4. "Winter Olympic Facts and Opinions' - 20 different fact and opinion cards that include information about the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Students sort the cards then complete the recording sheet. Comes with 20 cards, student directions page, recording sheet for accountability, and answer key.

THEN I had so many hits on these Winter Olympic items I cranked out a few more after everyone went to bed at night.
I made a PowerPoint, because every teacher loves a good PowerPoint to get the facts across, plus it is a great introduction.

Here it is for you. Click here. It is 25 fact filled pages.

The last thing I made was a similar Winter Olympics Book, but this one is geared for the PreSchool- Kindergarten age. It is 29 pages with a few little facts for them, coloring pages, making a gold medal activity, and a few other cute things for the younger ones.

Click here for the Pre-School & Kindergarten Book.

 

Here is a picture of my son doing one of of the activities in this little PreK book.

Creating his own Olympic medal.

*** Don't forget to go over to my Pinterest page to see my collection of Olympic Crafts and Ideas I have put together.

Halloween Color by Number & Addition FREEBIES

I was adding some older 3rd & 4th grade Halloween pages to TPT and TN. But I was looking at it and I  made it friendly for my age boys (3 and 5). So as a FREEBIE to you.  Here are my 2 worksheets I made. One is addition and one is number recognition (color by number).To get them you will need to click here.  That will take you to dropbox where you can download it in pdf. :)

Fall Themed Lessons

I was on a roll with my fall themed teaching items. Here are some of my things I have made so far. Once again, as I do these with my own children I will add more pictures and ideas. I thought I would let you know that these are out there in case you are a big prepper like me. I like to know what I'm doing and be prepared. :)

I decided to add another FREEBIE to my blog just for you. Otherwise, you can buy it at Teachers Notebook or Teachers Pay Teachers. Here is a fun ABC Ordering Center. Included is a student direction page, a student recording sheet, and 30 different pumpkin cards with fall themed words.

For my FREE ABC Ordering Center click here for dropbox.

#1 Pumpkin Thematic Unit - 51 pages of ideas, websites, printables, centers, and more. Phew! That one was a lot of work to pull it all together for you!

The link to purchase this pumpkin unit click here for TPT  or here for TN. 

#2 Candy corn themed lessons for 3rd graders. It is a mix of centers and worksheets.

To purchase from TPT click here  and to purchase from TN click here. **** You may want to check out each place because I run sales at each place differently. 

Included are: 

Math Centers:

Candy Corn Rounding (Directions, Recording Sheet, & 24 Cards)
    -Math TEKS 3.5a/Common Core 3NBT.1 and 3.0A.8
Greater Than & Less Than (Directions, Recording Sheet, Candy Corn Symbols, and Answer Key)
    -Math TEKS 3.1b, 3.3a, 3.5ab/Common Core 3NBT.1, 3NBT2, 3.0A.8
Math Addition and subtraction Worksheet (Missing Numbers)
    -Math TEKS 3.3ab,3.14a-d/Common Core 3.NBT.2, 3.OA.8
Reading & Writing:
Candy Corn Graphic Organizer – for any story.
    -ELA TEKS 8a, 11, 22a-c, 23a-c, 31e/Common Core RI3.2, 3.3
Candy Corn Haiku Poem Worksheet
     -ELA TEKS 1b, 18b, 23a
Candy Corn ABC Order Center (Recording Sheet and 20 Cards)
   -ELA TEKS 4e

I have to pat myself on the back because even though Texas is not "common core" I looked up all the common core standards and added them. Adding common core and TEKS is a huge PAIN, so it won't happen often, but I was trying to help. :)



#3 Spiders - More Math and Reading themed activities, centers, and worksheets for 3rd graders.

 

To purchase from TPT click here and from TN click here.

Included in this set are:

Math Skills- Multiplying by 8s craftivity
Measuring in both centimeters and inches (with center printables & answer key)
Subtraction across zeros (center w/ answer key)

Language Arts- 4 Types of Sentences (worksheet w/ answer key)

Reading – Comparing and Contrasting (worksheet)


#4 Compound Words Pumpkin Literacy Center 

 

To purchase from TPT click here or from TN click here.