I'm challenging YOU...yes you... to make your practice more ENGAGING!

A few weeks ago I wrote a blog post on my page called "How to make boring practice... a little more engaging!"  If you haven't checked it out, you might want to, if for no other reason, than there are 2 FREE activities in it, but also because all three ideas are super easy to put in to effect in your next class.  No really.... you can do all of them today!  Consider it a CHALLENGE!

Are you game?  Okay, well first I wanted to share a few more ways to make your 'boring practice" a little more interactive!

Engaging Activity Idea #4 (continuing from the post above!)

Turn the worksheet into a game!

Kiddos love BINGO!  Take a 25 problem worksheet (or even 16!!!) and turn it into a BINGO game.  If you don't want to create all the boards (or if you don't have time!) put all the answers, in random order, on the board and have students fill in their own boards.  By not having bogus answers, students will be able to some-what self check.... "hmmm, if my answer isn't on the board, I must've done something wrong..."

Engaging Activity Idea #5 

Turn the problems into a match-up or sort!

Match-ups and sorts force students to interact with the problems.  They are also really easy to tier for students who get overwhelmed easily.  Below you can see the activity matched 6 different pieces.... overwhelmed?  Have your students match just two of them, then add in a third... keep going!  Read more about this activity HERE

Engaging Activity Idea #6

Break out the dice!  

If the actual numbers don't matter in your problem, have students roll dice to fill in the numbers for their problem set!  Some math idea are more about the concept itself, not the actual numbers.  Need numbers bigger than 6?  Why not roll two dice and add them up, or better yet, multiply them!  Need negative numbers?  use two color dice!  

Check out this FREEBIE by Lauren Booth  - a fun way for kiddos to practice smaller multiplication facts!

Engaging Activity Idea #7 

Turn the review into a relay!

Kiddos absolutely love competition, and creating/drawing (even if they are bad at it!)  Turn you review into an activity where they can do both!  Check out the awesome monsters my kiddos created this week.  There wasn't a dull moment in class.  They were working on the problems, having math conversations with each other AND even helping each other out so that everyone understood what was happening. It's a WIN-WIN!

I hope that at least one of these 7 ideas has inspired you to jazz up your (boring) worksheets a bit!  What are you waiting for?  You owe it to you kiddos to have a bit more fun in your class today!!  Leave me a comment and tell me how you are JAZZING up your room this week! 

 

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A Toy Story (Part Two)

It's time for Part Two of my blog post on using toys in the classroom.

If you didn't read Part One yet, head on back and read that one first.

After reading Part One, you know my rationale for using toys in the classroom... even with students who are eleven and twelve. It's just difficult not to smile and pay attention when a toy is around to symbolize things like:

Good job!

Your team has earned points!

This is IMPORTANT! Listen up!

Isn't this FUNNY?

and most importantly...

Don't zone out! This is going to be FUN!

Let's face it. Teaching punctuation is never the most exciting thing. However, there are some things I do that actually make my students seem to ENJOY punctuation.

One is my partnership with an old favorite, Mr. Victor Borge. Okay, so we're not exactly partners, but I adore him (may he rest in peace). I may be getting up there in years, but he IS a bit before my time. However, I grew up in a household where we knew and sometimes actually liked the things our parents liked. 

Victor was one of my favorites because of his phonetic punctuation. He inspired me to use it in my own classroom. My students laugh from the minute I start introducing it to them. If you don't know what phonetic punctuation is or have never seen the master at work, take a look at this video. It's not one I use for class (not with the kissing part! Haha!), but it's my favorite. You could also take a look at it if you just want to smile. In fact, I dare you to watch him and NOT smile! 

I use this method in my classroom every year, and my students just can't get enough of it. I have changed the sounds a bit to suit my own preferences, but the idea is the same. When we check dialogue practice aloud, students must read it and put in the punctuation sounds. It is so much fun! If you've never tried it, you must give it a chance!

You can also incorporate toys by using some fun noisemakers to represent the punctuation sounds as well! Here are some of my favorite exclamation marks. If you've ever heard these toys make their sound, you know just how perfect they are for punctuation...and how you HAVE to smile when you hear them. 

In facts, kids like just about anything that makes a silly noise or lights up. Why not jazz up your classroom with these types of toys? I sometimes use them to signal double participation points or that an important question is coming up. 

Have you ever seen the wooden toys with the little doors that open or shapes that come off? Melissa and Doug make some great ones! They are for younger kids, I know, but my students are fascinated by them because I HIDE things behind the doors. I can hide questions, point values, challenges, etc. There is just something so magical about opening up a little door and not knowing what you'll find!

I also have a magnetic fishing one where you use a fishing rod. I put review questions on fish-shaped cards, and then teams have to fish for their bonus points. They get SO EXCITED as they find out how many points are hidden behind each fish!

A colleague of mine always uses a basketball hoop in his room during review games. He divides the students into teams. If the team gets the question right, someone from the team comes up to try his/her hand at the basket (they take turns). He creates lines on the floor with masking tape and each student who shoots decided where to stand. This determines how many points the team gets. Each line is worth a certain number of points, and if you make the basket, you earn that amount of extra points for your team.

I found some fun and REALLY INEXPENSIVE hoops at a site called Office Playground. They have the kind that mount that you could rig up on your chalkboard, etc. and the kind that are freestanding.

I hope you will be inspired to bring some toys into your own classroom this year! It is so much fun to watch your students' eyes light up from the wonder of it all!

Before I end, I would like to mention a new product which was created because of requests from some of the readers here on All Things Upper Elementary. A few months back, I wrote an ATUE post entitled Short Stories in the Classroom. You can read that post if you like by clicking the photo below.

After I wrote this post, many people contacted me looking for a short story packet similar to the one I talked about in my blog post. That packet was specifically for the story I used in the post, so I wasn't much help in sending it to them. Many people wanted one that would work for ANY short story. 

Well, I have finally created one that will work for any fictional short story. What's great about it is you can use it all together like a packet (which really helps with organization while covering a short story) or just use individual sheets for certain stories. It's called Short Story Sleuths (A Comprehension/ Reading Skills Packet) and it's now available in my TpT shop. Thanks, ATUE readers, for the inspiration!

Until next time, happy summer, friends!

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A Toy Story (Part One)

My classroom is full of toys. Yep, I said TOYS. Yep, I teach middle school. Even though my kids are 11 or 12, they still love toys. Heck, I am an "almost old" lady and I still love toys! Toys are colorful, fun, and they make us smile. I have also found that they can add a spark to lessons.

Whenever I have a toy out that I will be using as part of a lesson, my students' eyes light up.

"What's that for?" they ask curiously as they enter the room. 

"Do we get to use that?" they wonder. 

"Is that for OUR class?" they hopefully question. 

There is something about toys that heightens their curiosity, and their immediate attention is mine as they silently wonder, "How is she going to use that?"

I never worry that things will be "babyish" or beneath them. Anything can work if you use it the right way. We teachers know that. We know we can make a popsicle stick or a cardboard box fun with the right plan. We are magicians! We are miracle workers!

My last post was about how I use my police toys in English class to reinforce proper writing. If you want to head back and take a look at that post in case you missed it, you can find it HERE.

I wanted to share just a few more toys from my "bag of tricks" and discuss how I use them in my classroom. Toy stores offer a wealth of teaching ideas if you just walk in with your eyes open and your creativity switched on.

I love music in the classroom. I think instrumental music is very motivating for students. I play classical music while they are working, techno music when we are having races, etc. 

One of my favorite things to do is have a "detective search." They may be searching for adjectives in sentences or underlining all nouns...whatever we are working on in class will do. While they do this, students become the detectives, and I play music as a timer for the activity. I try to make the music fit the activity, so for our detective searches, I have a favorite song. When students enter the room and see this little guy sitting at the front, they know we are ready for a detective search activity! I play the theme from The Pink Panther as students work to complete the task given. It's a lot of fun! He is kind of our "mascot" whenever we do this.

Humor is a big part of my lessons. I am always looking for toys or accessories that will make my students giggle. When we talk about writing, I do a whole unit on boring, overused words (good, bad, etc.) I have found, though, that students often want to replace these words with words that are just as boring but longer. They choose words like wonderful, awesome, etc. 

My whole lesson focuses on using words that actually give us some information. For example, instead of a "wonderful" hamburger, tell us it's a "juicy, mouth-watering" hamburger or a "flavorful" hamburger. Let us know why it's wonderful! I call these words like wonderful, terrific, etc. by the name of "boring words in disguise." They make you THINK they are better because they are BIGGER, but the truth is, they're NOT. I teach the whole lesson wearing my "teacher in disguise" glasses. They get such a kick out of it!

I also just found a very cool sound machine that I can't wait to incorporate next year! Some of the sounds are just downright funny!

Speaking of writing, we've all seen the hamburger as a model for writing an essay. The top bun represents the topic sentence and the bottom bun represents the conclusion. All the good stuff in between is the delicious part of the essay. Well, I found this great prop at a yard sale and knew I had to have it for my writing lessons!

I also look for "Dollar Store Deals" that I can use during review games. My students love the mini frisbees I sometimes use. I found the set at a dollar store, and each color represents a different team. I create some "bullseyes" to lay out on the floor, and I use the frisbees to see how many extra points each team earns. Landing on a bullseye earns you that extra point amount (whatever the bullseye is worth). If a team does not land on any bullseye, they receive the standard number of points.

You can see just how tiny these frisbees are in the photo with my finger!

I saw this idea on Pinterest for using hula hoops when creating Venn diagrams. I think my students would really enjoy it, and this is something I hope to try this coming year.

I will be back on July 31 with Part Two to share some more classroom toys with you. 

Until then, I would love to know if you have any favorite toys you like to incorporate into your lessons. 

I'd love to hear your great ideas!

Until we talk again on July 31, happy summer, friends!

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ready...SET...match!

Do your kiddos have problems paying attention to details?  Mine sure do!  So, I'm in the process of tricking them into paying attention with a super nerdy math logic game called SET!  

SET is a game of attributes.  Each card has 4 different attributes: number, color, shape and fill.  A card can have 1, 2, or 3 shapes.  The shape is either a RHOMBUS, an OVAL, or a SQUIGGLE.  Each shape can be RED, PURPLE, or GREEN.  And each color can be SOLID, LINED, or OPEN fill. 

The object of the game is to create a SET.  The difficult part is actually making the SET! A SET is a grouping of 3 cards that either have all the cards the SAME within a given attribute or all the cards DIFFERENT within a given attribute.  The kicker is you have to take into account ALL 4 attributes at the same time.  A great rule to remember - if two of the cards share an attribute, but not all three, then it is NOT a set. 

The card game starts by laying out 9 cards (I use 12 when my kiddos are first learning)  Within 9 cards there is almost always a set, but with 12 it is almost guaranteed to have one which makes it easier for them to spot in the early game.

Whenever a kiddo chooses a SET I make them explain their reasoning, whether the cards the cards are a SET or not.  This helps them work through the details more in their head.  Also, I tell them right away, the more you play this game the better you get.  

Let's look at a few cards my kiddos chose to determine if they are a set or not (this will help you too!)

Hmmm....
Attributes:  All 3, All Green, All Different Shapes
BUT  two are solid, and one is lined.
Verdict- NOT a set!

How about this one....
Attributes:  All Different numbers, All Green, All Different Shapes,
BUT, again, two solid, one lined.
Verdict - NOT a set!

Is the third time a charm?
Attributes:  All Different numbers, All Green, All Different Shapes,
All Different fills.
Verdict: Set!

Getting it yet?  Like I said earlier, the more you play the more you start to "see" the SETS.

SET:  same number, different colors, same shape, same fill

SET: different numbers, same color, different shapes, same fill

SET: same number, different color, same shape, different fill

Sometimes you get a board like this.... So I asked my kiddos, what can you tell me about this board?  They told me it was a lot of red.  After more questioning, they realized there wasn't any green.  We chatted some more about what this would mean for a set.  They discussed multiple ideas but concluded that any set they found on this board would have to be the SAME in the color attribute. 

Sometimes you can't find a SET in the cards, so you add 3 more cards.  I have never added 3 more cards and NOT found a set almost instantly.  Can you find any sets in the above 15 cards?  I see at least 3!  (the top middle card is a purple, open rhombus - it's hard to see the color in the pic).

As I was playing this game with my kiddos, I started to come up with ways to help them "see" the SETS.  Sometimes I would pick two cards out of the group of 12 (I already could see these were part of a set on the table) and ask them to find the missing set piece.  Once they got really good at this, I would hand them only one card and ask them to make a set around it.

I could see playing this game with much younger kids and changing the rules a but.  Maybe they only need to have 2 attributes in common - number and color; or maybe color and fill.  You can always work your way up to the full game.  I decided just to jump right in with my kiddos.  It was actually quite amazing to sit back and watch who could just "see" the attributes popping out at them - most of the time it was NOT the students I expected it to be.  

My kiddos currently ask to play this daily.  It's super awesome and they are getting really good at it.  The best part is watching them teach each other how to play.  I've also introduced them to the online version, so now they play at home!  

Want to check out more but don't own the cards?  Check out http://www.setgame.com/
OR
purchase the cards here on Amazon!  AND.... well, because everyone likes something FREE here is a little something I came up with to 1) hold your kids accountable at a center and 2) help with writing out their justification and get them ready for proof!  I'm leaving it pretty generic so that it can be used at an grade level with any set of rules you choose to use with your kiddos!  ENJOY!

Click HERE for the FREEBIE!

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