Math Game Monday: Find Five

If you are looking for a fun way for small groups or partners to work on multiplication skills, the game Find Five is a fun way to get in some practice. There are three different boards for different levels of play. Each board has just a few sets of the multiplication facts so students can review as they master the sets. The sets are 2-5, 6-8, and 9-12. 

If you like the game Sequence, you will love this game. It is based off of Sequence, but with a spy theme and multiplication facts. 

How to Play the Game Find Five

Students will shuffle the deck of cards, placing them upside down. Teams or players will take turns flipping one card over. If the team or player answers correctly, they can cover the product on the board with one of their game pieces. The other team or player will go and play will continue until one team or player covers five spaces in a row. The corners are free spaces and be careful of the word cards, they may remove one of your pieces or allow your opponent to add a piece anywhere. Each product is shown twice on the board, so players can choose the best spot.

Here's a look at the board game and you can find it in my TPT shop over here.  I bet your students will love it as much as mine do. 

How I Teach Students to Play Math Games Independently

Do you ever wonder how to teach students to play center games independently? It comes down to a few different things for me. Let me show you how you can easily and successfully train students to play center games independently. 

1. Teach the Game

When I introduce a new game, I try to give my students a little sample of it by playing through one round with them. I explain how to play and then actually play a quick round. If it is a longer game, I might just play for a few minutes until they get the hang of it. 

2. Include the Instructions

Including instructions for each game at the center is a good idea. Students will be able to refer to the instructions if they forget a rule. 

3. Partners are Best 

I especially like to have students play with one other person. It keeps things quieter during math rotations and the two of them can work out the rules if needed. 

4. Repeat Similar Games with Different Themes or Math Topics

I have a lot of games that follow the same instructions or style. It helps students play them even quicker and easier. I change out the math skill or the theme (for holidays or seasons). Keeping games of a similar style is great for independence. 

Those are a few of my favorite ways to keep things simple at my math rotations and help students be more successful with playing independently. 

If you are looking for some center games to get you started check out these links.

Place Value Game

Rounding to 10's & 100's Math Game

Addition & Subtraction Game

Multiplication Game

Division Game

Fraction Game

Math Game Monday: Tic Tac Toe War

I'm here with another fun and easy game to put in your math centers. This game is called Tic Tac Toe War and it combines the best of both Tic Tac Toe and War together in one game. In this game, students will practice multiplication facts to build fluency. 

How to Play Tic Tac Toe War

Choose one Tic Tac Toe War board to share between two players. Mix up the cards, deal them all out, and place them face down in two even stacks (one for each student). At the same time, both players flip one card and place it at the bottom of the board. Students will each solve the card they flipped over. Whoever has the highest product will place a counter on the board. I like to use two different colored army guys that I found at Dollar Tree. It makes it more fun and students stay with the theme of war. 

Students will continue to flip cards, solve, and place an army guy on the board. The first player with three in a row wins. 

Teacher Prep for Tic Tac Toe War

It's a cinch to set up for this game. Teachers will print whichever boards they want. There are six different color options. There is even a blackline option for ink saving. Print and cut one set of multiplication cards. I like to laminate all my games so that I can use them year after year, but that is totally up to you. Add in some type of counters or mini erasers. I like to use two colors of army guys to make it more fun for my students. 

Give me the link!

If you have students who would love this game, look no further. Just click the link below to be taken to the game. You can find it right here. 

My Newly Designed Sports-Themed Classroom

This year I totally revamped my classroom (at the last minute, as I sometimes do). We had a fabulous start to the new year and the students were thrilled with the new classroom vibe. 

Some of the things I did to make it special:

First, I created a whole vibe with different sports ball paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling. I purchased a soccer field rug to place under my table. I got a basketball hoop that I mounted to my whiteboard. It will be perfect for games. 

At open house, I passed out our team playbook. This was definitely a labor of love and completely matched our theme. The students and families each got one of these to take home. It told all about the classroom and me as their coach (teacher). It told about some of the special ways we will celebrate together. 

For a welcome back, I gave each student a little soccer pouch that was filled with snacks. I placed a World Cup Little Debbie snack cake inside as well as a bag of Pirate's Booty.  These were so fun and the class loved them. On a side note, my dad went to school with the real Little Debbie...Debbie McKey. So fun!

For birthdays, I have tall plastic soccer cups with straws that I will pass out. inside each one will be a soccer ring pop as well as a sports pencil and eraser. They are super cute. This coming week I will be giving these out to all of my summer birthdays. Can't wait to see their reaction to that. 

We are using a mini-economy, so even the classroom money has a sports theme. We are using "All Star Dollars." Each money amount has a different sports featured with an equal amount of female and male athletes. 

It's going to be a great year! I hope your year is just as great.

Math Game Monday: Place Value I-Spy

I am back again to introduce you to another place value game for Math Game Monday. I LOVE this one. It gets the energy flowing with my students and gets them excited. Place Value I-Spy is a fun and easy way to practice those place value skills of the three different number forms: standard, expanded, and word. 

Students start by putting the large board together to form a rectangle. They each choose some sort of colored counter, different from the other players, to mark their spaces on the board. Then they shuffle the deck of cards and place it upside down. The students will then take turns flipping one card at a time and trying to be the first to spy the answer on the board. Whoever finds it first will place one of their counters on that space on the board. 

Students continue flipping cards one at a time and finding the matching answer on the board. Whoever finds the most answers wins the game. 

This is such a fun game that can be played with one partner or even a small group. 

Be sure to snag this one right away for the school year. Your students will enjoy it so much!

You can find it right here.

How I Teach Multi-Grades: Tips & Tricks

The other day, a teacher acquaintance on Instagram mentioned that she was going to be teaching in a multi-grade classroom this year. I reached out to encourage her and tell her that it is not as hard as it might seem and that I have taught in multi-grade for 27 of my 29 years. She asked me a little bit about it and I was able to give her some advice. So then I thought maybe this would be a great thing to share here on my blog. 

A Little Background on my Experience Growing Up

When I went to school, it was at a small two-room school that included all grades from 1-9. I went there for all nine years before moving to a more traditional classroom. The class sizes were generally small and it was a nice "family" atmosphere in the school. Everyone knew everyone. The teacher would rotate us through our lessons one grade at a time. It was great for kids who were ahead, like me because my first year I was able to do reading class with the second grade class since I was not a beginner like most. Kids who needed extra reinforcement could also get help by doing class with the younger kids. It just seemed normal to me. 

 College Life

In college, I began my studies as an elementary education major. It was assumed that when I graduated, I would get a job for the same private school system I had gone to since first grade through college. This system is the largest parochial system (next to the Catholics) and has schools world-wide. Most schools are small one or two teacher schools with a few larger schools in big cities. 

My First Teaching Placement 

I began my teaching career at a small three teacher school in Delaware. That year I started with seven students (which grew to nine second semester). I taught first-third grades. I also had fourth grade for a couple of classes. My multi-grade teaching experience started right out of the gate and continued for most of my teaching career. There have been just two years that I have taught one grade level...second grade. 

How do you Teach Multi-Grade?

If you are not used to it, this can sound like a super complex and even foreign concept. The secret is there are many schools that purposely use this model, including pricy Montessori, private schools, and even some public schools. So it is definitely NOT unheard of. 

I currently teach a combo class of third-fifth grades and quite a bit about those levels goes together nicely. 

First, there's the math. In my grade levels the curriculum basically follows the same plan. Students begin with place value & rounding, move to addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Then they go on to fractions, area/perimeter/volume, measurements and conversions, geometry, etc. The great thing is that I can teach the same topics for each grade level and just go a little deeper and deeper as the levels go up. Many classrooms use the structure of small groups and in multi-grade teaching that is a MUST. I give each math class about 20-30 minutes with me and then they move into independent work. That also means that I must have math centers that they can work at when they are not with me, or when they are done with their work or are waiting for their class. I have a whole post about math centers over here.

I do the same for reading. In a regular single-grade classroom, students do not read on the same level and so that is where reading groups come into play. Students are grouped according to level and taught for 15-20 minutes at a time while the rest of the class practices through the use of centers. The same is in play in a multi-grade classroom. It is great that advanced students can be bumped up to more challenging groups and students who are struggling can be placed in groups for remediation. It just works. 

In writing, I teach one writing class, but differentiate the expectations for third, fourth, and fifth grade levels. I do not expect the same quality of writing out of a third grader that I would from a fifth grader. Spelling and handwriting activities are done generally independently. Third grade starts handwriting with me since they are learning cursive, but as the year progresses, it moves to a more independent activity. 

For the rest of the classes, we do a rotation. One year students do 3rd grade Bible, social studies, and science. The next year they do the 4th grade and the final year in my room they do the 5th grade. The topics are similar enough that even if they do not finish in our system, they continue to circle back to many of the same topics year after year, and it is not a huge deal.  

That's how it works. Not too bad. It is very similar to a regular classroom with just a few adjustments. 

Benefits of a Multi-Grade Classroom

It is crazy to me how some people view multi-grade classrooms as somehow less than. It is completely a myth. There are actually many proven benefits to this system. 

• Peer-to-Peer learning: Younger students learn more by listening to older students and older students are reinforced in their learning by listening to the younger students.
• Flexible Pacing: Students do not have to be held strictly to grade-level content. They can bump up if they are ready or get extra time if needed.
• Pre-Teaching and Re-Teaching: Students in these classrooms get continuous exposure to upcoming and past topics. This helps to build stronger comprehension.
• Strong Leadership: Older students mentor the younger ones. This boosts their confidence and sense of responsibility. 
• Better Social Skills: In a mixed-age classroom, competitive pressure is reduced. There is a sense of family, and it is more cooperative.
• Reduced Anxiety: Students feel less pressure which can lead to a healthier emotional well-being. It can reduce behavior issues. 
• Extended Relationships: Students and families get to work with the same teachers for multiple years enhancing the student/teacher/parent relationships and allowing a deeper understanding of how each child learns and what he/she needs.
• Real-World Environment: Classrooms mirror the real-world. Just as future jobs will have many people of different ages, students in multi-age classrooms have the opportunity to learn to work with other children of differing ages.   

Math Game Monday: Place Value to the Thousands Place

I am always surprised each year at just how difficult students find place value to be. To me, it seems straight forward, but to them, well...they just struggle. That's why I LOVE to use learning games to get students engaged and practicing these important place value skills. This game is quick and easy, can be played multiple ways, and is very low prep. 

One way you can play this is as a scoot game. Place one card on each desk. If you do not have enough desks, you can place the rest around the room wherever you choose. Give each student a recording sheet. They will be given 30 seconds to 1 minute at each of the spots. As they rotate, they take their scoot sheet with them and record each answer on the matching spot. When the students have visited each spot, they are done. 

Another way that I love to play this is with whiteboards. I give each student a whiteboard, read the clues aloud, and have them try to figure out my mystery number. I love involving the whole class in this activity. It is fun and easy. 

You could also do this around the room (tape them to the walls and allow students to walk around answering and writing down their answers. You could have students work on these in centers or even small groups as well. There are so many ways you can use them.

This game comes with 24 mystery number cards. Students simply follow the clues, writing down one digit at a time until they have written the entire number. 

I love simple games that involve my entire class. This is one of those games. What are you waiting for? Give it a try this year. You can find it right here.