Vocabulary Review Fortune Tellers

Geometry always seems to be a challenging chapter as there is an abundant amount of vocabulary on state standardized testing and many students get overwhelmed with the large amount of vocabulary they need to learn. I was looking on Pinterest for ideas to help with learning vocabulary and came up with an idea after seeing this pin; http://pinterest.com/pin/37858453089758677/. I had my students make fortune tellers to use with their vocabulary words and play the 'fortune teller game' with their classmates. On the outside flaps of the fortune teller the students wrote geometry words. Student A would play the game by selecting a word on the outside flap and then student B would hold the fortune teller and spell out the word at the same time as they would be opening and closing the teller. Once the word was spelled, student B would open the teller to the flap where the fortune teller stopped. The flap would have another vocabulary word on it. Student A would then have to tell the meaning of that word. Once student A told the meaning, student B flipped over the inside flap and revealed the meaning they wrote. The students were able to learn vocab while having fun!!

Design an iPad

I had my students design 'iPads and apps' for a character in a novel we were reading. The apps needed to be design to help or entertain a selected character in a book. The students also needed to construct their own iPad and headphones, display the apps, and their descriptions. I have to say that each student used a lot a creativity when doing this project! I was so impressed that although each of them were given the same requirements, all of their iPads turned out different. Plus, considering the students had to design their iPads to help or entertain a character, they had to use details from the story to support their apps.

What Stuck With You

Instead of using exit strips this year, I decided to use post it notes. I had the students write down one thing they learned from that day's lesson on a Post-It note. Then as they left the room, they stuck it on the wall outside my room. I often saw students pass my room and stop and read the blog. It was also great because the students knew that their response were going to be displayed, so they put more effort into them compared to if I was the only person reading their exit slips. (Yes, I took a photo of myself with my a Post-It on my head reading 'Math Rules' and made it the center of wall of exit notes)

Bubbles

After completing a circles unit, I found this great circle activity on http://www.3rdgradegridiron.com/2012/05/want-to-have-blast.html. I made a bubble mixture using the following recipe: http://chemistry.about.com/od/bubbles/a/Bubbles-That-Dont-Pop.htm. I poured the mixture into a plastic plate for each student and then the students blew bubbles by blowing into straws. After they formed a bubble, they found the center, measured the diameter, and calculated the circumference of each bubble. I loved this lesson because they not only had fun, but they also were able to apply what they learned! Here's a link to the free data recording page-- http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Bubbles-Activity-Data-Sheet-742573

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Bubbles-Activity-Data-Sheet-742573

Mrs. Riggs' Summer Break Olympics

During the last week of school, I was searching through Pinterest for some creative ideas to use with my students. I found some really cute, simple ideas from http://tunstalltimes.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/our-last-day-in-pictures.html. I took those ideas and rolled them into Mrs. Riggs' Summer Break Olympics. The three activities I selected were Cup Races, Cotton Ball Pile Up, and Traveling Wafer.


Cup Races:
You need two solo cups, enough straws for each of your students, and a long table surface.
Two students compete against each other by blowing a solo cup to the other side of the table with a straw. The first person to have their cup fall off the the edge is the winner. I had a stop watch and had the students listen for their time when their cup fell. They then wrote their time down on their time sheet (attached to this blog). Once everyone had competed, we compared times and 'crowned' a winner!

Cotton Ball Pile Up:
You need cotton balls, paper plates, and Vaseline
Simply at one end of a line of desks I had a plate full of cotton balls and at the other end I had an empty plate for the students to transfer the cotton balls. I put Vaseline on each student's nose, then I timed them for a minute to see how many cotton balls they could transfer without using their hands. When the minute was up, the students counted the number of cotton balls they were able to transfer and wrote the number down on their score sheet. Once all of scores were in, we crowned a winner.

Traveling Wafer: 
You need about 7-9 wafers for each student

The students placed a wafer on top of their foreheads and move it down to their mouths by just using their face muscles. I gave them two minutes to see how many successful attempts they could make. This was hilarious to watch and the students had so much fun! There was also a winner crowned for highest number of successful attempts.

For the FREE download of the score sheet
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Summer-Break-Olympics-736667

About Me

Hello! My name is Christy and I am a resource teacher in the northwest Chicago suburbs.
I have a very unique position that consists of two parts; math resource and the Talent and Development Program. Simply for my math resource position, I pull students who typically are tier 2 math students into my room for small group instruction. The math concept that is being taught in the students' classrooms during that time, I teach in my small group, but at a level that fits the group's ability. However, the other part of my position is the Talent and Development Program. Students who are in 3rd through 5th grade and test above the 91%ile come to me for three hours a six day cycle.
(Simply, my school does not have scheduling by days, but by day numbers. Considering the number of Mondays and Fridays schools tend to have off, a numbered cycle eliminates missing the same groups on days there is no school.) These students come to me for reading and math. By time a student finishes 5th grade TDP, they will be able to set algebraic equations to solve challenging story problems.

My 5th grade students had to pass out bananas on field day as part of a project. I attached a photo of myself so you can put a face with the name. :)