Layers of Soil

I  purchased this awesome rock/mineral unit from TpT.  It's really a nice supplement to our existing curriculum.

As part of this unit, I decided to use some hands on activities to teach about the layers of soil.  First we watched a video from Brainpopjr on soil.

I paused the video often to ask questions and to review key vocabulary-topsoil, subsoil, bedrock, humus, and decompose.

After that we went to the science lab, where I had plates at each station.  Each station had mini marshmallows, Cheerios, Coco Krispies, and gummy worms.  I asked the children to guess what each food represented in terms of the soil layers.

After that we used the food to make a soil layer model.  The marshmallows on the bottom, topped with Cheerios, then Krispies, then a worm.

After that the kids wanted to eat it, so I allowed them to do so while they completed an exit slip-the had to draw and label each layer of the soil.

Easy and FUN!

Bullying-the scars it leaves

Even though I teach at a Catholic school, my students are not angels.  Like all humans, they sin and sometimes make bad choices.  We constantly instill in the children to treat others with kindness and respect.  We teach them how to be leaders and peacemakers.  But we keep in mind that they are still children.  Children sometimes say things and do things that go against what we teach.  We uee these moments to serve as examples of what not to do.

Lately some of my students have been complaining about being teased and excluded from a couple other kids in class.  We had a class meeting about this and I spoke with the children in question.  A few quiet days passed and the complaints started once again.

Today in class I passed out a sheet of paper.  I told the children to crumple the paper-they could even stomp on it if they wanted-but they could not tear the paper.  The children were slightly confused, but did it anyone.  While they were crumpling it I told them to say mean things to the paper.

After a minute passed I told them to stop.  They were instructed to smooth the paper out and say sorry to it.  The kids did, some giggling, others still confused.  I asked them if the paper was back to normal and they said no.  So I told them to say sorry again and really try hard to get the wrinkles out.

Needless to say, the paper would not go back to normal, even with all of our smoothing over and saying sorry to it.

This lead to a discussion about being kind and how mean words/actions forever scar a person's heart/soul.  I even told them stories about times that I was a kid and teased/excluded.  I told them that all these years later, I still remember and it still hurts.

I think I'm going to start planning anti-bullying/team building each week.  It fits right in with religion!

What do you do to teach kindness in your classroom?

Fair is not equal or the same, it's what that person needs at that time

As in all classrooms, my classroom is full of students with varying needs and abilities.  I have a handful of students in my "below-level" reading group, a couple in my "advanced reading group".  Some weeks I have a couple students taking an advanced spelling list while one student only takes ten of the twenty regular words.  Most of my students take a timed test that consists of 100 multiplication problems while a couple only do 20.  Some get additional support on tests, while I expect more from others.  I even have students writing on all types of paper.  Some can use regular notebook paper, others need that middle dashed line, a couple need primary paper with wide spacing for their writing.  I even have a few students working with an advanced math program as they have caught on quickly with what I'm doing in class and I want to move them on.  The list goes on and on (as I'm sure it does for you too).

My students are very kind and good Christians, but sometimes I hear things such as, "That's baby work" or "why are you only doing ten words?".  I can understand how it would feel if I was working on 100 problems and my neighbor only had 20.

I saw this great idea somewhere (pinterest? another teaching blog?) that helps with this problem.  I decided to try it in my classroom and it worked wonderfully!

First buy a box of bandaids so that there is enough for each child.  Sit with the children in a circle and tell them to close their eyes and think of a time they were hurt.  When they open their eyes tell them you are going to give them a bandaid to make them feel better.  Walk around and put the bandaid on their hand. 

The first child I gave the bandaid to told me, "It was my other hand that was hurt"  The next kid said, "My cut was on my knee!  Can you put the bandaid there instead?"  Around the entire room the children didn't like getting the bandaid on their hand when their injury was elsewhere.  Finally one kid said, "Putting a bandaid on my hand when it's my head that hurts doesn't help me."

There you go...  Exactly.  This led us to a discussion about how some children learn differently.  We talked about how some need more help, how some need less help, and how some struggle with lots of things and need work they can do.  I put some math problems (super hard-high school level) on the board and asked for volunteers to solve it.  No one volunteered.

So I asked, "Would it matter how many of these problems I gave you?  Would 20 be any easier than one hundred?"  One student told me, "If I can't do one, I can't do 100 or 20!"

They really started to understand that sometimes what is fair is NOT equal.  A good lesson for all of us!

Multiplication Sundae Party

Every year it is a struggle to get all my students to master their multiplication facts.  My school requires that 3rd graders master their facts up to 12 x 12 (which is more than what the common core requires).  I spend all year working on this standard (not all the way through.  I do some here and there and keep reviewing).  This year I decided to bribe my students into learning their facts. 

We have always taken timed multiplication tests.  Their goal is 80% (they have 100 problems and five minutes).  As they master each fact they will earn something to go on a sundae.  My bulletin board is all set up for the new year for this incentive.  I have sent home letters explaining what I'm doing.  The children are excited and I am excited.  I hope this helps with getting the children to study at home.

Now only if I knew how to add some documents to this I could share the letter and chart with you easier!  If you want a copy, please let me know in the comments section and I will email it out to you.  I also have the excel document for each child to keep track of their progress. 

This is what the letter states:

Dear Families,

            Part of the third grade curriculum is learning multiplication facts 0-12.  Students will be taking timed tests a couple times a week starting in January.  There are 100 problems and the students have five minutes to complete the test.  Their goal is to correctly answer 80 of those questions.

            Here is the incentive plan I will use to encourage students to work hard on their multiplication facts:

            As students pass their timed tests, they will earn the following items for an ice cream party:

2s: a bowl

11s and 10s: a spoon

5s: whipped cream

3s: one scoop of ice cream

4s: a second scoop of ice cream

6s: cherry

7s: topping of choice

8s: hot fudge (homemade by your teacher-so good!)

9s: topping of choice

12s: topping of choice

We will spend about two months working to meet our goals.  The best way to study multiplication facts is with flashcards at home.  Flashcards can be purchased at Walmart, CVS, and Dollar Tree; or you can help your child make a set using index cards.  It is best to only study three at a time, until those three are mastered (then add 3 more as the previous 3 are mastered).  There are also several multiplication games you can play online and I have included websites where you can print worksheets.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.  Good Luck in your study efforts!

                                                                                                                                                                                

Websites: 

http://themathworksheetsite.com/

http://www.math-drills.com/multiplication.shtml

Spelling Activities

I don't spend much time on spelling.  I "do" spelling in every subject, sounding out the word, learning about spelling rules, finding the word in the dictionary, etc.  But I don't set a period aside each day to do spelling.  On Monday we take our pretest and we work on the skill for that week.  I give them some kind of activity to do based on the skill for that week.  If the skill set is long and short vowels, they might be dividing up their list.  If it's compound words they will separate the word and draw a picture for each part.  If the skill set is multisyllable words, they would write the word and how many syllables it has.  You get the idea.

I do not use the worksheets that go with the series.  I find them to be very boring and more busy work than anything.  Sometimes they are helpful and I will use them then.  But other times I find them pointless.  I certainly don't want to use my precious time looking over work that I find pointless and I don't want to do that to my students.

I give spelling homework twice a week.  Mondays and Wednesdays they just have to study.  Tuesdays and Thursdays they get an actual assignment.  Below are some assignments I give.  If you have any to add, please do in the comments.  If you want to know more about the assignment, let me know and I'll send you a copy of the sheet I give the children.

Five times each
ABC order
Cursive words
How many syllables?
Colorful words
Words in a sentence
Forward/backwards
Pyramid words
Phone spelling
How much is your word worth?
Word searches
Word scramble
Word within a word
Blue vowels
Font words

Make reviewing definitions FUN!

The other day we were adding words to our math journal...  As we were adding them I was also reviewing old words.  Copying down definitions is so very boring, but very much needed.  So what do you do to make it a little less boring?  Reward with treats!  YUMMY! 

You can use anything to reward.  I was using Reeces Pieces (and before you say anything, I am aware of all allergies in my room and we are NOT a peanut free school).  I was giving one piece to each participating student with the right answer.  Man did that turn the lesson around quickly!  They were VERY excited. 

You could probably do this with erasers (the fun ones) or stickers too. 

Eight year olds gone WILD!

Have you ever had those days when you know that little to no teaching is going to get done?  Friday was one of those days.  It was the last day before a week break (which includes Thanksgiving).  The children knew they had earned a movie day (Charlie Brown Thanksgiving).  My student teacher brought in popcorn to teach a lesson on scarcity.  We had an assembly and a prayer service.  It was cold and the kids were convinced it was going to snow (it didn't).

It was also someone's bday and she brought in huge homemade chocolate cupcakes (so good!). 

We actually manged to get through everything except math (which was a lesson on arrays using jellybeans-I wasn't going to go there). 

The last five minutes was utter madness.  The birthday girl was blowing up a balloon someone gave her and letting it go.  The remaining children (the bussers leave earlier) were screaming and chasing the balloon around the room.  One girl (my "golden child" lol) was sitting at her desk looking like she was WAY too mature to be in that room.  Watching them was like watching wild animals in their habitat.  I felt like eight year olds on the wild should be a show on TLC. 

Finally the bell rang and it was time to leave.

Did I mention I get a week off for Thanksgiving?  I am so very thankful!