Multiplication Time!

It's that time of the year where...if you are a third grade teacher...you are diving into multiplication big time!  Sure you've introduced fact families and such but you're about to start division and your students still don't know their multiplication facts!  I used time tests a lot in my classroom to help students track their progress.  It really helped them know which facts they mastered and which ones they needed to still work on at home.

My students always loved seeing their progress as they moved through their facts.  With those that struggled..I would pull them aside and help them practice and give additional practice tests to help them move up at a similar pace as my other students.  I used this in my classroom on a bulletin board to help students. I posted about this a few months ago but wanted to remind you that it's free in my TPT store if you are looking for a cute way for students to move up through their multiplication facts. The flowers each have numbers and students can move their bee up through the flowers.

I created my own timed tests after using several different free tests over the years.  I never liked how small the print showed up on the tests and I never liked how most tests had 50+ problems. That's way too overwhelming for a third grader!  So I created my own that included 35 problems which give you a wide variety and they let you know whether the student has mastered the facts or not.  These are available on my TPT store as well. 

I had questions from some of you about whether or not I had mixed facts tests for facts 1-12 for after you've introduced all the facts.  I hadn't created those yet but those are a great idea to use in the second half of the year when you are trying to continue with mastering facts but you've moved on to other math topics.  I created this unit which has 10 different tests that contain 35 problems each for facts 1-12.  The unit comes with an answer key for each test to make it easy to grade. It also has a tracking chart like my previous unit so you can track how your students are doing on mastering their mixed facts.  If there is anything else you are looking for to help your students master multiplication facts in your classroom, please leave me a comment. I would love to create something new!

Visit my store for these multiplication practice units!

Until next time...

Place Value Fun!

At the beginning of the school year, one of the most important things we teach in the lower grades in math is place value. In third grade, it seems just as important. Many of my students have struggled with place value in the beginning of the year so I've had to include lots of activities and games to practice this concept before moving on to the operations. I love cooperative learning so I created a partner game to practice the three forms of numbers: standard, expanded, and word. I use this game after I've taught all three forms and have done a bit with 4 digit numbers.

This game is called Place Value Match Up! and is played Memory style with a partner.

This game includes twenty sets of cards all with 3-digit, 4-digit, and 5-digit numbers. I like to use the 3 and 4 digit numbers with my lower tutoring groups. I also create math centers with these and include all the numbers so my higher kids can get some practice with 5-digit numbers as well.  It also has a student recording sheet. Centers are fun activities for kids to practice skills but I also like to hold students accountable so we are just "playing". The file includes an answer sheet as well.

Check it out on my TPT store!

What ways do you practice place value with your class?

Back to School Freebie!

Hey everyone! It's that time again where everyone is heading back to school to sit through the lovely inservice workshops while they are busy thinking about how they are going to set up their classroom, when they'll have time to make name tags, and what they'll do special for the first day of school. It's quite a stressful week!  I thought I'd make your week a bit easier by offering a back to school freebie! This is a set of 8 different reading bookmarks you can print and laminate for back to school. I use these to put on desks for the first day of school, for rewards throughout the year and reading groups. I made a few different designs so they could be used in any classroom. If you have a specific theme you are looking for leave me a comment below. If I have clipart to match your theme I can make them and put them up on my TPT store! These will be free through the end of August so download them soon!  Happy Back to School to all my teacher friends out there!  I wish you the best school year yet! :)

Here is a sample of what you'll see. :)

Get your FREE bookmarks HERE at my TPT store!

Carnival Math Fun!

I started creating this math game at the end of last year because I meant it to be a review for third grade. However, my crazy busy life didn't let that happen! So here it is. . . better late than never! This game is a game consisting of 12 word problems including all operations. All of the word problems are multi-step to challenge your students. You could use it at the beginning of fourth grade or even then beginning of third grade with your TAG students. It adds in a little of the carnival fun into word problems that would otherwise be boring! This is available on my TPT store.


I'm wondering . . . how do you make word problems fun? I will give away a copy for free to the first three people who comment on this post telling us how you jazz up word problems with your kiddos. Don't forget to include your email in the comment so I can send you your free game!

Back to School Sale!

Hello everyone! I'm hosting a Back to School Sale on my TPT store from August 15-18. All items are 10% off for 4 days only so stop by and take a look! I'll also be posting some new back to school stuff in the next few days and having a drawing for free stuff so check back soon!

I'm back!

Hey everyone. I've been gone for a while I know! If you haven't heard I had twins at the end of January! I have a sweet boy and girl who just turned 6 months old! To say the least...I haven't had time to blog or create any new items lately because I've been busy with my two little twinkies. :)  I'm staying home this next school year to take care of my two little loves but I love creating school stuff so I've decided to continue creating things for all of my teacher friends and to continue blogging. I may not be able to update as often as I used to but I'll try my very best!

Today I took advantage of nap time and whipped up some fall-themed desk name tags. If you are anything like me you use multiple sets of name tags throughout the school year. I also liked using them to label lockers, cubbies, centers, and even used them for spelling words on the board!

This set includes 11 different tags in autumn colors including stripes, polka dots, flowers, and owls! It's available on my TPT store so stop by and take a look!

Looking forward to making new items for back to school including some freebies! Stop by again soon!

Happy New Years

Happy New Year everyone! Can you believe it's already 2013? What happened to 2012? I thought I'd have a little fun and create some cute winter-themed bookmarks for the kiddos to celebrate the New Year.  There are five bookmarks included in the file which is free on my TPT store. Why not get kids excited about reading this year with a cute bookmark? I recommend printing these on cardstock or laminating them so they are a bit more durable. Happy reading!