Powerful Prefixes!

I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving and enjoyed a few days off to spend with their family and friends! We made the trip over to California to spend Thanksgiving with my brother and his wife. The weather was beautiful and we had a wonderful time!  I can't believe it's already December...this year seems to be flying by.  I normally start teaching prefixes and suffixes as part of my vocabulary study this time of the year so my kiddos have a preview of it before we dig deeper into them after Christmas break.

I made a prefix packet called Powerful Prefixes to start off the unit. I focused on five prefixes: pre-. re-. un-. in-. and dis-. These are the more common prefixes and most of my students already know un- and re- so it gives them some confidence to start with the more familiar ones. In the unit there are prefix graphics which show the prefix and meaning. I enlarge these to use as posters in our room and I shrink them up to glue into our reading journals. I normally introduce one prefix each day of the week and have students glue in the graphic at the top of their journal page. We then brainstorm words we already know that include the prefix along with meanings from the prefix. I also sometimes have students work with a partner to come up with a sentence using a word with the prefix. The harder part is being sure they include context clues to help others figure out the meaning of the word. We get into that a lot more in January but it's fun to start a bit early...especially if you have a higher group.

The unit also includes a matching game that students can play in the style of Memory. It includes directions, 15 word cards (with prefixes for each word), 15 word meaning cards, and an answer sheet for students to check their answers. Included also are two worksheets you can use. One has sentences with missing words and a word box for students to pull from. The other has a paragraph where students must fill in the five missing words using the word box. I like to use these as a pre and post assessment to find out where my kids are in the beginning and to find out who still needs more help at the end of the week.

The unit is available for a discount at my TPT store. I hope it helps you get started in your vocabulary study this year. Have a great weekend!

Christmas Freebie!

I can hardly believe Thanksgiving is only a week away!  Time seems to be flying by so quickly. If you're like me...the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas seem to fly by too! I like to get a head start and get Christmas stuff ready before Thanksgiving so I'm ready to go for the whirlwind before Christmas break. Last year I came across a great Santa behavior incentive chart which my kids really liked. I can't remember where I got it and can't find it anywhere. So...I made a new incentive chart with a Christmas theme to help my kids keep on track these next few weeks.

I print out the Christmas tree and hang it up on the board. I also laminate (so I can use them more than once) the ornaments and have them ready to go. Every time my class is on task or gets a compliment, I hang an ornament on the Christmas tree. Once they have 10 ornaments on the tree, I let them pull an incentive out of a paper bag I have. I included some of incentives I've used in the past but also left some strips blank. My kids have also enjoyed creating their own incentives (with my approval of course) and adding them into the bag to be drawn. We normally get a couple of incentives in before the break and the kids get really excited about being on their best behavior...a plus for me!

This is FREE for download on my TPT store. I hope you can use it to help you with the craziness of the holidays! Don't forget to follow me on TPT because I'll be adding several Christmas games and such this next week or two. :)

Let's Round It!

It's that time in math that I sometimes dread...teaching rounding. We use the cute little chants and songs and do a lot of hand on practice but some kids just struggle with rounding and need that extra help. I created two games you can use when working with rounding numbers. These games can be used as a whole group, with a partner, or individually in tutoring. They can also be used as take-home games for kids who need a little extra practice. Each game has an answering sheet included so kids can check answers when finished playing.

The 'Round It!' game focuses on rounding to the nearest ten. It includes both two-digit and three-digit numbers. It can be downloaded on my TPT store and is half off right now. :)

The 'Round To Hundreds!' game focuses on rounding to the nearest hundred. It includes three digit numbers and rounds numbers to nearest hundred all the way up to 1,000. This game is also available on my TPT store at a discount price.

What ways do you practice rounding in your classroom? Feel free to leave a comment and share with others!  Happy rounding everyone!

Multiplication Time!

It's about that time when we start learning our multiplication facts. I have those boring $1 flashcards from Walmart but I decided it was time to add a little fun. I've made a set of multiplication fact cards for 0-12 that are colorful and inviting. The set I made includes a whole set of cards with small answers (students can cover the answers with their thumb while figuring out the problem). I also made a complete set of cards without any answers and included a one-page answer sheet that has all of the problems and answers on them.

I like to use the cards with answers in partner activities. My kids love quizzing each other on their multiplication facts. You can either have students use all cards, or introduce the cards one family at a time. We normally start with 0 and 1 and then move onto 2s, 5s, 10s, etc. I also like to print off the blank cards onto cardstock for students to take home and practice the facts they are struggling with. I used to have them make their own cards on cardstock or index cards but it's always taken soooo much of our class time that I think it'll be better to copy the cards onto cardstock for them. :)  All sets are bundled together and available on my TPT store. Thanks for stopping by!

Halloween is Near...

I can't believe October is halfway over! It seems it has flown by this year. With Halloween only a couple of weeks away, I decided to make a Halloween themed math game to use as a partner game with students when they are finished with their math assignment early. This game is called 'Halloween Sweet Shop'. Even though the graphics are fall colors and it has Halloween in the title, it can be used anytime. I tried to keep the word Halloween out of the game itself so students can use it even if you don't mention Halloween in your school. It's just a fun way to get kids thinking about math!

The game includes 16 word problem cards and can be played as a memory style game or students can take turns pulling a card from a stack. Sometimes it's fun to let them choose how to play!  The word problems are designed for third graders but can be used with struggling fourth graders or even high achieving second graders. The problems include addition and subtraction and involve single-step, multi-step, and word problems with extra information. You can download it here on sale from my TPT store! Below you'll find some images from the game to get an idea of what it looks like. Happy October everyone!

 

Cupcake Math

I've started creating some partner games to use for math. Kids love being able to pick out a game to play with a partner when they get done with their regular math lesson! The first one I created involves multi-step math problems mixed in with single step math problems. The game includes 16 word problems and can be played with 2-4 players. All word problems involve addition and subtraction with some money mixed in. And...who doesn't love cupcakes? Students will pretend they are in charge of a cupcake shop called 'Sweet Cupcakes' as they play the game. You can get it at my TPT store. Enjoy!

  

Place Value Madness!

One of the best ways to start off math in third grade is learning all about place value. After all, you can't really add, subtract, multiply, or divide if you don't know the value of numbers. Right?!? I'm always looking for some quick ways to assess my students on different forms of numbers during our place value unit. I created a quick unit that can be used along with your curriculum resources to give students some practice with standard, word, and expanded form of numbers up to the hundred thousands. I also included a couple of games in the unit to add some fun. My students always love the popular "I Have...Who Has?" game so I created one that incorporates all three forms of numbers and can be used with a classroom of up to 25 students. I also created a quick place value memory game that can be played with 2-4 players. We always have partner games available in my class so students have something to do when they get done with an assignment early. Feel free to stop by my TPT store to download. Hope everyone is having a great start to the year!