Linky: Mathematical Monday!

I am linking up (late) with I Heart Recess for Mathematical Monday!  

I absolutely loved her post and I am super excited to try it sometime soon!  Definitely go check it out!

I want to show off some new task/scoot cards that I made over the weekend and our snow days!  You can find them HERE at my TpT Store!

First, my students have REALLY been struggling with adding and subtracting fractions.  It's not the adding and subtracting part, but it's finding equivalent fractions and then having to simplify.  Some of them have just been going into overdrive and completely shutting down. :-(  So I am hoping that doing these task cards in centers and math small groups instead of doing worksheets will help take some stress off.

Adding and Subtracting Fractions with LIKE Denominators!

Sorry that the stinkin' Smart Ink button is on there!

Adding and Subtracting Fractions with UNLIKE Denominators!

Again, sorry for the Smart Ink button!

Pick up these task/scoot cards HERE!

Five for Friday 1-31-14

I am linking up with Doodle Bugs for her weekly linky party!

1.  I have good news! I have been discussing departmentalizing with my principal recently and she has decided to let fifth grade try it out next year! Next year we are moving to a brand new school and we will be starting all kinds of brand new things and just doing a lot of things differently in general.  The only hard part about this is deciding whether I want to teach Social Studies or Math!  OR BOTH!  My principal is pretty much giving us the option to try out either two teams of two teachers or have each teacher teach a different subject area (plus our own reading small groups).  I am more than excited about this!  Teaching fifth grade is incredibly difficult due to having to take 5 state tests each year.  YES, 5!!!!!  I am excited to do some research and figure things out! \

2.  This week I finished up teaching my students how to compare and order fractions!  I also taught them how to find the greatest common factor.  I used two of my TpT products and they LOVED them! (Check out the links above) It was soooo much fun! I wish I had pics but I didn't take any because I was running around monitoring the whole time!  I also found this super awesome game (that is iPad compatible!!!!) online that helps to reinforce Factors, Multiples, and GCF/LCM!  They had so much fun playing it with a partner!  Check it out HERE!

3.  My husband created a new background, header and button for my blog this week!  I absolutely love it! He is a graphic designer for a hospitality company here in OK and he is incredible!!!!  He has been trying to teach me how to work in Adobe Illustrator lately to help me make things for my TpT store!  It is difficult to learn, but I am really enjoying it!

This is my new button!!!!!! AAHHHHHH!!!! So cute!!!!

4.  Speaking of my TpT store, I have some things that I have been working on for it.  I am making a general rubric that has been in my classroom into a super cute general rubric to hang in my classroom! LOL!  I am also working on activities for fractions and decimals on a number line.  We will see what I come up with! Check my store out HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5.   Lastly, the weather we have had this week has been crazy! No snow as of yet, but we are predicted to have a little winter storm next week.  As for now it is freezing and my allergies are driving me insane from going from warm to freezing within 5 hours!  With all of the crazy cold weather recently we have had lots of inside recess.  :-(  It has not been the greatest week for me because of this.  My students, especially my boys, are really rowdy this year and they NEED to run and play outside.  I can't wait for Spring!

Well, that has been my Monday-Friday in a nutshell!
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Just for the Teacher Tuesday linky party!

I am linking up with Mommy & Me Creations for her first "Just for the Teacher Tuesday" linky party!!!

I have only had my TpT shop open for a few months and I truly enjoy creating engaging activities for my students and posting them in my store!  Today I want to post about two products I've made recently.  The first product I ever made for TpT, my freebie, Decimal Bingo!  

                   The next product I want to post about is my Winter Fraction Scoot/Task Cards!

    Go to my TpT Page and check them out! :-)

Also, link up with the 'Just for the Teacher Tuesday' linky! 

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Take a Peek!

Tonight I'm linking up with Mrs. Laffin's Laughings for her Peek at my Week Linky!

This upcoming week we are beginning our Social Studies unit called "Road to the Revolution"!  I am super excited about it.  Even though my students don't love social studies I try to make it as interesting as possible.  We will be writing lots of essays in preparation for our state writing test next month.  I truly enjoy history and writing, so I hope that I can teach my students to enjoy it just as much!

In math I will be teaching finding the greatest common factor and simplifying fractions.  I am super duper excited to use two of my TpT products this week!  Check them out below!


This one is called "Find the GCF Scoot/Task Cards".  These can be used as a center game, as a class Scoot game or as task cards under a document camera.  Love these!  These task/scoot cards can be found HERE!

This one is called "Simplifying is Fun"!  It's a bored game in which students move their game piece each time they correctly simplify the fraction card they pull from the deck.  I have to do just a few more tweaks on this and it should be up by the middle of the week!

One goal I have for this week is to go to both of my Zumba classes!  One of our kindergarden teachers instructs Zumba twice a week at my school.  I used to go every single week but I have fallen off the wagon.  I've gotta get back into it!

Today was an absolutely beautiful day but we are supposed to get another "Arctic Blast" tomorrow so unfortunately it will be another week of inside recess.  I am sooooo ready for Spring!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!  Don't forget to link up! :-)

A Peek at my Week!!!

Tonight I'm linking up with Mrs. Laffin's Laughings for her "A Peek at my Week" linky!

First, a quick rant about last week...
Well my first week back to school was quite a doozy!  My body didn't agree with my alarm clock going off each morning and each evening I just couldn't fall asleep no matter how tired I was!  I had so much on my mind.  So much I am wanting to get done this semester.  This is the time of year when testing stress starts to unravel me.  Thinking about how much I have left to teach is almost overwhelming!  I've just got to take it one day at a time and do the best I can!

Now for the upcoming week!  I am starting our themed unit called "Road to The Revolution", which I love!  Teaching history is one of my favorite things to teach, especially the American Revolution.  In math we are beginning fractions.  I've made a couple of resources I plan on using this week to support my instruction.

First, I created a set of task/Scoot cards to help students practice Finding the Greatest Common Factor of two numbers! They are yellow Chevron with a super cute tulip and butterfly on each card! I love them!

Check them out HERE!!!!!

Next, I created an Ordering Fractions Sorting Cards game to help students order fractions!  I can't wait to use these in my room next week!

Get this activity HERE!!!

Thanks for reading! :-)

Monday Made it!

Linking up with 4th Grade Frolics for my VERY 1st MMI!  I'm excited!

I've been posting pics of my classroom but I figure I'd add a few more things I made today while up at school!

This is the way I am going to keep track of how many compliments my students get from other teachers and administrators.  Any time they get a compliment my 'chain manager' will add a letter.  When they have gotten all of the letters connected we will have some sort of party.  I love it! :-)

This is my favorite thing ever!  I made this so the kiddos can hold it up to frame their face and I can take a picture of them to put on my big bulletin board in the hallway!  Kids love to see their pictures and I figure it's a fun way to start the year!  

Last year I did this same type of thing and at the end of the year I gave them their picture from the first day and the end of school.  They LOVED being able to look at how much they had changed! 

And this is my small bulletin board out in my hallway.  I figure it's good for my students to know my 'favorite' things.  We instantly build a relationship and my students love looking at the pics of my family! 

Well, that's all for my 1st Monday Made It!  I'm excited to Link up and get more connected in the blogging world!

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THANKS!