Bye-Bye Beach Blanket: A Math Mini Book Freebie

Are your students ready for word problems in math the first week of school?  Absolutely!  

Of course depending on your students' age and ability levels, some may need your support more than others.  If you are looking for a fun way to introduce word problems to your students, checkout my FREE mini book below.

Each page features a different way to practice numbers and counting, as well as pattern making and telling time to the hour.  

You can click on the picture for your own free copy.

*My Tips for Word Problems*

1.  Mini books are one of my favorite ways of working my word problems in my first grade class.  We usually work on them together as a whole group for the majority of the year.  I use my document camera and work right along with the students.  (Please, note I give my students lots of think time and work time before I start sharing solutions with them.)
2.  We share ideas and strategies.  I want students to see all the different ways to solve word problem.  When I see variation in student work, (and I always do) students will come up and put their mini book under the doc camera to show and explain how they solved the problem.
3.  The first time we work on word problems I focus on circling the "important" information and underlining the question.  From that point on, that's what I want the students to do.  I stay really consistent with that expectation.

Word problems can be rewarding when you see students applying the various strategies they have been working on in your class.

If you would like to see more ideas and suggestions for teaching word problems or better yet you would like to share something you do with word problems, visit Amber at Synonym Rolls & Antonym Moments.  She is hosting her first linkup and I'm sure she would love for you to join in.

Thanks for reading.

Three Little Words I Dare Not Speak and Throwback Thursday

B a c k   t o    S c h o o l .  

I know, I know too early.  But I also know there is a lot of printing, laminating, cutting, and organizing that goes on during the summer.  One packet you may want to check out is my (hot of the press) Bright Beginnings (10 Math Centers).

This packet includes work with number words, ten frames, number bonds, tally marks, number order, part part whole, and more.  I plan on using it during the first month of school in my first grade class.  It would also be perfect for kindergarten throughout the year.

If you are interested, check back tomorrow I'm planning on posting one of the centers as a freebie.

Speaking of centers, (I call them math boxes in my class) I wanted to share again how I organize mine.  First Grade Parade is hosting Throwback Thursday to highlight a past post.  What better excuse do I need?

Originally published on April 29, 2013

I love peeking into other teachers' classrooms and seeing how they organize their classes and materials.  I wanted to give you a little look at my math box organization and storage.

We call them math boxes in my class.  But you may call them math stations or math centers or math tubs.  Whatever you refer to them as in your class, I'm sure you know they are a great addition to your math time.

I try to use them everyday.  I partner students together during their math box time.  I usually partner a stronger student with a weaker student.  If I have an odd number of students, one will just work independently.  I leave the partners together for as long as that set of math boxes are out (usually about a month).  When I change my boxes, I also change the partner arrangement in the class.  

This arrangement has worked well, but I continually remind the students to take turns so that one student is not doing all the work.

So there you have a brief explanation of how I organize my students.  Below you can see how I setup and organize my boxes.

My students really like to do math box and I love the constant review I can work in by having them as part of my math time.  If you do not use them, summer is coming up.  You will have some time to think about how you can work them into your class' routine.

Thanks for reading and have a great evening.