Donors Choose

If you haven't ever taken a chance to look at donors choose you should check it out. I love the whole concept for the site. Last year I posted a project for board games for my class, and it ended up being funded. Right now I have a new project posted for an iPad Mini for my kids to use. One great thing about donors choose is that they match all of your donations during the first week your project is posted. I am 3/4 of the way to having my project funded because of that. I have $148 left to raise, but with the promo code they offer I only need $74 in donations by midnight and i will be funded. Take a minute to go over to my project page and check it out and donate if you can. If you use the promo code INSPIRE before midnight tonight your donation will be matched. If nothing else check it out and consider putting your own project together. Comment below if you have any experience with Donors Choose. 

http://www.donorschoose.org/jasoncunningham?utm_source=dc&utm_campaign=facebook&utm_medium=teacheraccount

A Few Anchor Charts

One of my favorite tools to use is an anchor chart.  I don't know what is about them.  I LOVE to make them, and they are great for my students.  I have read so many different opinions on how to use anchor charts.  Some people say to make new ones every year, and some say laminate them and use them over and over.  I fall in the middle.  Depending on the topic sometimes I laminate my anchor charts so I can hold on to them, and sometimes I recreate it every year.  I also tend to laminate and keep one that I am especially proud of.

I always try to make sure that my anchor charts are vibrant and eye catching.  I give every section or step for solving a problem a different color.  I also try to make sure that the anchor charts match the notes that we put in our math notebooks.

I have a section of my board where I hang the anchor chart for the skill that we are currently working on, and then I move them to a section of my wall that I have set aside just for anchor charts.  I have also found that with my anchor charts that I keep I still hang them up as we study the skill, instead of starting the year with them hanging on the wall.  I find that the kids actually make a connection to the anchor charts if they go up as we study the skills.

This is an example of a temperature anchor chart I made when I was still teaching 3rd Grade.

This is one of my favorite anchor charts that I have made.  I made it when I was teaching time in the 3rd Grade. 

To make this fractions anchor chart I copied some of the fraction pieces from the back of Dinah Zike's Math Foldables book.

 

 

 

 

I will post some more anchor charts as I am able to get back into my classroom to take pictures of them.  I will also post the new ones I make as I go through the year.

 

 

 

Jason

Manic Monday Linky Link Up

I am linking up with Classroom Freebies for their Manic Monday Linky. 



This is a place value war game that I have my kids play during the first days of our place value unit, and then I spiral it back around every so often just to keep it fresh for them.  I like to play using UNO cards, because the numbers are so big, but any kind of cards will do.  You just have to be sure that you assign a card to be 0, since no deck of cards has a 0.

Below you will find the link to the score card and instructions for the game.  I formatted them so that you will have two per page so that you can save paper.  It is a really simple game that the kids love to play.

I couldn't figure out how to include a picture of the file, but I did include a link.

Enjoy!!

Instructions

http://sdrv.ms/16F4NHk

Score Card

http://sdrv.ms/16F4Uml

Battleship!

I had a lot of trouble getting the kids to understand how work with coordinate grids.  I exhausted literally everything I could devise.  In Texas the kids have to be able to identify and place points, move points, and sketch the outcome of geometric translations on a grid.  Being my first year in 5th grade, I had never dealt with the coordinate grid before so I was a little lost on what to do.

One night I was trying to think of an interesting and engaging way to practice working with coordinate grids and ordered pairs.  Suddenly I had an epiphany.... Battleship!! That's right I said Battleship!! It was a perfect idea. Most of my students knew how to play the game AND the entire game is built around a coordinate grid.

I passed out two grids to each student.   We started out by taking notes over the parts of a coordinate grid and how to plot points. I had them take their notes on one of the grids that I had passed out. 

 

 



This really seemed to help the concept of locating the points on the grid stick.  Then we took another blank grid and I had each kid select 4 different points on the grid.

 



Then the kids all partnered up and took turns trying to find each other's points.  They would call out a coordinate and then their partner would tell them if they hit or not.  If they missed their partner would give them a clue like "Move left 2."  Once found the position on the grid they had to call out the new ordered pair.  If they missed the second time then the next player went, if they found the point then they got another turn.

When I was reflecting on this activity I decided that next time I do it I will have the kids plot 4 sets of points, the way the ships in Battleship take up several positions each. I also decided that each person would only get one turn at a time even if they make a hit on one of their partner's "ships".

The kids really enjoyed this activity and it gave me something to relate back to when we began working on sketching the outcomes of geometric transformations.  I can't wait to try it again and see if the changes I want to make will improve the activity.


Jason

Tune in to Technology

I have decided to join my first linky!!!!! I am very excited to join Tune into Technology with iTeach 1:1 and Learning to the Core.

      

I go absolutely nuts for ways to incorporate technology in my class.  One of my favorite and pretty simple ways to bring technology into the classroom is an app that I bought for my iPad called Air Sketch. This app has to be installed on both your computer and iPad.

I like to use this app when I am working examples for my class or working problems with them. Being a big guy, it can be difficult for the kids to see when I work on the board. This app allows me to stand in the back of the room to work the problems so that I'm out of the way. The kids are also mesmerized for some reason, which helps them to stay engaged. It also allows me to monitor how everyone is working while I work the sample problems with them, as I walk around the room. 

I also like that I can take a picture of a problem and import it to the app and write over it so that I can model the problem solving process for the class with out having to write the problem over and over through out the day. 

 

 

 

I used this app all year and it really made a difference. My principal really liked it when I used it during my formal observation. The one catch is that in order to work you have to have your iPad and computer logged into the same wifi network.

To display the image on your computer you will need to touch the wifi symbol in the bottom left corner.

 

 

 

A menu will appear that gives you a web address.  Type the web address into your Internet browser and it will take you to the website. 

 

 

Now as you write on the iPad the same thing will show in on your computer screen the information will appear on your computer as well.  Just connect your computer to a projector and your are ready to go. 

You can also use this as a makeshift interactive white board, letting the kids write on the iPad to demonstrate how to solve problems. 

I hope you and your class enjoy this app as much as my class and I do. It is inexpensive and very useful. 

CAMT!!!!!!!!!

If you can't tell I am a LITTLE excited.  I am going to go register for CAMT in San Antonio this afternoon, and then the conference starts tomorrow.  CAMT is and AMAZING math teachers' conference that happens once every summer here in Texas.  It is 3 straight days of professional development where you can choose each session that you can attend.  This year Marcy Cook and Kim Sutton are both going to be holding several sessions, and the dorky math fanboy inside me can hardly contain himself.  I can't wait to share some of what I learn at the conference.  I am SO EXCITED!!

I am going to keep working on the posts that I have backlogged in between sessions in the next couple of days and can hopefully keep posting while I am there.

Jason

Math Notebooks

I have been using notebooks for a couple of years now.  I started using them in Science when I was a Self-Contained 3rd Grade teacher.  I loved them so much that I decided to adapt them to Reading and Math the next school year.  I never had a chance to completely iron out how I wanted to use them for Reading because I left that position to teach 5th Grade Math.  I have however had a chance to work out most of the kinks for using them in Math.  I know that a lot of people use notebooks and post about them, but I thought I would go ahead and give my two cents on the subject as well.  I start off using a basic 100-sheet composition book.

I allow my students to decorate the first page in their notebook any way that they choose, as long as it is appropriate for school.  I also allow them to bring stickers if they want and decorate the cover.  I like to have them skip the first 5-6 pages so that we can make a table of contents.  We add the title of each day's notes and the page number as we go.  This helps us when we review for unit tests, benchmarks, and especially the STAAR Test at the end of the year.

As we set up our notebooks during the first days of school I have everyone go through and number their pages.  We always start on the BACK of the page after the table of contents.  We start on the back so that all the notes for the topic can be seen at the same time.  On the right hand side we put the notes that we are taking.  Sometimes I have them write the notes by hand, but I try to do fill-in-the-blank notes as often as possible.  The kids fill in the blanks as we go through the lesson and then they trim the extra paper off and glue them down on the right hand page.  The left page is where we put foldables, models, or practice.  I also let them draw or write something to help them remember the information on this side as well. 

          This page would be on the right side, numbered #R.

        This page would be on the left side, numbered #L.

I try to be sure to use these notebooks as much as possible.  During some units I have been know to use them almost everyday, especially if the topic is new or difficult. 

A few tips:
    
1.  I like to use color in my notebooks.  I have found that colored pencils work better than anything     else.

2.  I always take the page before we start the notes for a unit to list all of the vocabulary, leaving spaces to write the definitions as we learn the words.

3.  For foldables I like to use Dinah Zikes' books, because they have black line copies of other materials (like the fraction models) that can be used in your notes apart from foldables.  I just shrink them down so that they will fit on the page.  You can also google "foldables" or check out Pinterest.

4.  I keep a notebook as well so that if someone is absent they can copy down the notes that they missed from my notebook.  It is also nice to have when I am going to be absent.  I just flag the pages that would be most beneficial to my sub and leave it on my desk for them.  I have found that this helps to stop the confusion that can sometimes happen when a sub has to explain something to the class, but isn't sure how I want it done.

I will post some other examples of the notes that I use.  I will be putting them in my Teachers Pay Teachers store later, and I will post a link to my store and the notes.

I would love to hear from any of you that use notebooks, maybe you have used them and been successful or have a different way. 

If you have never used them and are intimidated by them, email me, or comment and I will get back with you and offer any help I can give.

Have a Great Day!!!!

Jason 



                                                                          

Off and Running

            I started this blog over a year ago as a way to share all of my ideas, activities and materials that I make with everyone out there.  I decided later that it would be a good idea to hold off until I had gone through an entire year of 5th grade.  Now that the school year is over I have some pictures and ideas that I want to share.  I also have come up with a new name for the blog and will begin looking for a new layout.  I will give some materials away, but will also post a link to my Teacher's Pay Teacher's Store.  I am thrilled to share with all of you out there.  I should begin posing materials and pictures in the next couple of days, so stay tuned!!