For students who need extra practice learing place values, or who need to understand the concept in a new way, try making these place value foam cups. Mrs. Shepherd at My Second Grade Journal made her cups by writing the numbers 0-9 on the outer rims.
Giving artists time to think, plan, and evaluate
Jessica at The Art of Education raises a good question about whether students have enough time to practice before making final projects in art class. She fears that she often tries to rush from teaching the lesson to students creating their projects, without time for trying, failing, and deciding on which tools or methods they […]
Story map anchor chart
Help students break down the components of a story with this story map created by Kimberly at Funky in First. You can present the story map before, during and after reading a story so students have the opportunity to add to it as they find new information and make new discoveries. Kimberly also gives each […]
FUN FRIDAY: Gone fishin’
Finally! Preschool teachers have been writing me to ask for a few ideas for their kiddos so today we are featuring an idea especially for our youngest friends. The idea can be adapted for older students but the example featured focuses on letter and number identification. This irresistable game comes from I Heart Crafty Things. […]
Word problem problems?
Have students who cringe at the sound of “If one train is traveling…”? A graphic organizer can help those students who have difficulty working through math problems or explaining how they got their answer. Teacher Deborah at Multi-Grade Matters gives the following example of a problem solving graphic organizer she uses in her classroom. This […]
FUN FRIDAY: Multiplication fortune tellers
Remember fortune tellers from when you were young? Kris at I Heart Teaching is bringing them back into the classroom! She shows how to make “math catchers” with your students as a new way to practice multiplication. For students who are bored with drills, or have not found them effective, these paper, hand-held games will […]
FUN FRIDAY: Anyone can juggle
Adding juggling to your PE curriculum will not only help students work on attention and eye-hand coordination but will provide them with a cool new skill they can show off to friends and family. And since juggling can be adapted for almost any learner, it is the perfect activity for the differentiated classroom.
Hiding and seeking and mapping it out
When Jill at Marvelous Multiagers was presented with the challenge of teaching the compass rose to her students, she decided to come up with a collaborative and interactive way for all students to participate in the learning process. This teacher had one student leave the room while another student hid a stuffed animal somewhere in […]
Spelling with stones
As part of the Daily 5 in her classroom, Laura at The Grade Two Zoo gives students a box of small stones to “write” their words. Students can work independently or with a partner. Try having students spell words individually before revealing their “creations” to a partner or you can have them build one word […]
Differentiating math homework
Homework woes? Let students access differentiated practice by giving them a set of problems with each item assigned points based on level of difficulty. Then tell them how many points they need to complete to get 100% on homework. Elainaan at The Classy Teacher tried this with her students and had great success both in […]
