Last week, we were focusing on adding and subtracting integers.  If you remember, I wrote a post about how I got the students to understand the process here , but they really seemed to need a bit more this year. So after scouring the internet, I found this really fun game that cemented the idea for them.  If you click here , you can get all the templates for FREE.  Now, let me explain the game to you. This was played in pairs.  The students were each given a game board and recording sheet to share between the two.  They then used some sort of marker (paper clips are the perfect size for this, but my students also used pieces of paper or eraser)  Player 1 rolled the die.  That told them how many spaces to move either up (if even) or down (if odd).  Starting with a point total of 20 points each, the students then set up an addition problem and added their point total with the number they landed on. For example, if the student rolled a 6, that meant they moved up 6 spac...
One of the things I have struggled with for much of my teaching career has been the dreaded reading log.  If you read this post (which was one of my first, so you probably didn't ;) ) you know that I just couldn't take the "Mom, sign this" type logs.  My kids weren't reading.  They weren't practicing their skill.  They weren't responding.  They weren't doing much of anything other than wasting paper.  So, many years ago I decided to make a change....and my Reading Log for Thinking and Responding was born.  It has been going along just splendidly, but I thought that this year, since I am getting more into the inferring and indepth thinking about reading (as evidenced through all of the Core Lit stuff I am doing...and LOVING!) I would add a few more sections to get the kids digging even deeper into their reading. First, I added a "making inference" section.  The kids need to make an inference but then, and here is my favorite part, ...
Here we are again, talking about our book study (can you tell I am LOVING the Core Lit route???)  So today I wanted to share what we did with character traits. In our book, Bridge to Terabithia (Movie Tie-in) , there are two main characters that we follow throughout:  Jess and Leslie.  The first few chapters do a great job of describing them, so I asked the kids to create a foldable with a picture of Jess and Leslie on the front.  They were to take evidence from the story (you know, reading closely and all) and create their character sketches. Then, on the inside, I asked the kids to make a double bubble map about these two. They were to find character traits and then list the evidence underneath the bubble.  I asked for direct quotes, but if you remember this post from a few days ago...we are still working on that. Anyway, what is AWESOME about this is that as the characters change, and we learn more about them and their personalities, we just go back to the sketch and Dou...
Today, I have a little introductory lesson to share with you.  This took one math session, and the kids really seemed to get it when we were done.  We have started our unit on geometry and geometric solids.  To introduce the concept, I played on the fact that the students already knew what a cube was.  They told me there were 6 squares all put together to make the cube.  So I asked the students to make a cube using grid paper.   This was really interesting, as most did what you see in the picture above.  They made 6 separate squares, cut them out, and taped them all together.  There were a select few though that actually did make the net to begin with, but not as many as I thought would have (as they did learn about nets in 4th grade.) Once they had the cube constructed, I then asked them to cut it apart and form the actual net.  (then there were the oohs and ahhs and Oh!  Duhs! ;) )  Vocabulary learned and really, it made a quick transition to nets. ...
We have been really focusing on finding evidence and supporting our answers during our reading of Bridge to Terabithia .  Our discussions, though very lively and thought provoking, have been lacking the "back up" of the book.  The students seem to know what they want to say, and are sticking with the plot of the book, but actually going back into the book and finding where they came up with the answer is a bit tricky. So this past week we did something that really got the kids digging into the book and looking at their evidence.  I think it was pretty successful, so I thought I would share with you.   I gave the students four questions to answer about the chapter (if you are reading Bridge, it was questions dealing with chapter 7) Then, in groups, I asked them to answer the questions, citing at least three different references from the book.  I actually did ask them to quote the story and this is what I got. You can see, some really understood the dire...