Candy Corn Arrays

Did you know there is a National Candy Corn day?  Last week, my kids asked me what my favorite kind of candy was. Of course, candy corn is at the very top of my list! Maybe it's because it isn't around all year or maybe it's just because fall is my favorite season and it's a big part of fall. All I know is that I absolutely love candy corn!  I wish I had know that Dylan's Candy Bar created a box full of different flavors of candy corn. I would have stopped by there when I was in NYC this summer! They even have smores flavored candy corn!

When my kids found out I loved candy corn, they immediately told me about National Candy Corn day. At first, I thought they were joking. They told me to Google it and sure enough it popped up. National Candy Corn day is October 30th. I'm starting to think there is a national day for just about everything!

This week we are learning all about multiplication in my classroom. We start off by teaching students about different things that come in groups of 2, 3, 4, and so on. We then show students how to create arrays for each number sentence. I thought it'd be a lot of fun to create a candy corn arrays game. It's a simple matching game where they have to match the array of candy corns with the multiplication number sentence and a description of the array. I created sets for twelve different arrays in this game. I also decided to create a score sheet so they could record their number sentences and descriptions for each array. This will allow them to play a game and at the same time I can have a finished product to check their understanding on arrays. I uploaded it to TPT and it's free in celebration of National Candy Corn day! I put a couple of the screen shots below so you could see a sample. Click here to download it for free!

We also create 'Candy Shop' books with arrays. I got this idea from my coworker Lynn a few years back. I tell my class that they are starting up a candy factory. This year I may say it's a candy corn factory to go with the spirit of the season! Their job is to create packages to hold the candies. On each page of their booklet, they will draw all the packages they could create for that set number of candies. For example, if they are creating a package for 2 candies they can create a package that has 1 row of 2 and a package that has 2 rows of 1. They do this for each number, working their way up. My class always has a lot of fun doing this activity and they refer back to their book throughout the year as a resource. I'll upload some pictures later this week so you can have a better idea of how we set it up!

Hope y'all have a great week!

Show Me the Money!

This week, I'm introducing money to my class for the first time this year. Normally, my kids already know their coins and they do just fine. This year however, I have a couple ESL students that came straight from another country so they have no background knowledge of U.S. Money. I've been working on a few things so I can keep my higher kids challenged and yet meet the needs of my new students who will be learning about U.S. money for the very first time. I created a money match game for my students in which they play a memory style game with a partner. This game has pictures with coins and bills combined and they are required to match it to the correct money amount. I put it online for free at TPT so feel free to grab it and use it in your classroom! Click here to download it for free!

   

I also wanted to create something where students can work on money activities on their netbooks at their own pace. They love having the opportunity to choose activities they can work on to learn something new, especially in math!  I am a huge fan of Glogster EDU so I created a Glogster all about money. It has some videos I downloaded from YouTube that are all about money. It also has a Brainpop link for the history of money and some different game links where they can actually practice determining the value of coins.  Click here to go to my Glogster. You are more than welcome to use it in your classroom too!  I'm always looking for new ways to teach money, especially online resources! Please feel free to leave me a comment if you know of anymore money resources. Thanks!  Until next time...

  

Welcome to my new blog!

Hey everyone!  So, I'm starting a new blog...dedicated just to third grade stuff! I've had a technology blog for a few months because technology is a huge part of who I am. I love keeping up to date with all the great Web 2.0 tools and enjoy learning how to use these new tools in my classroom. This year, with a 1:1 classroom environment, it seems even more important to me to be on top of all the new technology tools out there.  However, sometimes it's great to use some hands-on activities in the classroom not involving technology too!

I've become addicted to Pinterest and third grade blogs. I'm always browsing blogs until late into the night, gathering new ideas to share with my fellow teachers. One of my teacher friends suggested I start up my own third grade blog because I'm always creating things to share with my team. She thought it'd be a great idea if I shared my ideas with other teachers around the world. I think she might be right! So, here I am. I'm hoping you like my ideas, too!  Until next time...