New Product and a GREAT Deal:)

In second grade we spend an extensive amount of time of two areas: Place value and addition and subtraction strategies.  Common Core really allows us to teach these concepts in great depth.  Because this was my first year in second grade, it was the first year that I spent a great deal of time teaching addition strategies for the basic addition facts.  But, I really enjoyed teaching the unit. So, I put it together to share with you! 

This product is a four day unit.  The students learn strategies to solve the basic addition facts. Those strategies are doubles, double + 1, Make a ten, and counting on. Here are some things included in this unit:

-Four Lessons with hands-on activities

-Doubles Facts Posters with real world picture examples

-two games (Doubles Match, and Double + 1 Bingo)

-A Sorting Activity

-An addition chart to copy for students and/or to use as an anchor chart. As you teach the unit, you color code the addition chart. At the end, the students see that there is a strategy for every addition fact.

 

This unit is $6.00 and can be found on my TPT store .

I am also offering a very special deal: Purchase this item, and receive any other item of equal or lesser value from my store for FREE!  Here is how it works: Purchase this item.  Email me (britneycowart@yahoo.com) with your TPT username and the item that you would like for free!  I must receive your email by Monday at Midnight in order for you to receive a free item. 

 

Have a great Sunday!!

My New Favorite Thing

Ok, I am a little torn.  I want to share something wonderful with you. It is a fabulous FREE website that a teacher from my school discovered and shared with us.  BUT, the selfish side of me doesn't want to share it because I am afraid that if it gets too popular, it might not be free anymore!! 

But, I will share anyway:)    I. AM. IN. LOVE. The website is   www.scootpad.com. Have any of you heard of this?!? It is wonderful.  When I started browsing around the website and saw all that you can do with it, I thought to myself, "There is no way that this is free!!" But it is. Totally free.

Basically, you create an account using your email address (and they don't send you tons of emails, which I was also worried about).  You register each of your students.  Then, the students are given a username and password.  When the students log on they go through a series of math and reading lessons.  All of the lessons are aligned with common core! The questions are challenging, and they are not all multiple choice!  I love that!  Some of the questions even have students explain their thinking!  The program does not allow the students to move on to the next lesson until they have scored 80% or more on the lesson. 

Everything that I have mentioned is wonderful, right??? It is free, they don't send you emails, the students are given challenging questions that make them think and are aligned with common core.  But, that is not even the best part! 

This website provides the teacher with wonderful data.  Here is a picture from the "Reports" section of my page.  As you can see it tells you the number of students that have met the target in math and reading ( I haven't gotten too many of my students on yet.  I have only tested it out with a few).

You can also look at data for each concept/standard. This picture shows my class data for each math concept.

 

You can even review specific student data by concept!  



I have thoroughly enjoyed this website, and just wanted to pass it along:) 

It has been a while.....

Hey guys!  So, it has been a while since I last updated!  I hope that everyone is having a happy new year so far!  Since it has been sooooo long since I posted, I wanted to have a giveaway! I will be giving away two products to three lucky winners! 

Valentine's Day is right around the corner!  So, the first product in this giveaway is my Valentine's Measurement and Line Plot Graphing Activity.   

 

I have created a measurement and line plot activity for.every.holiday!  They have been a huge hit: at my TpT store) 

This pack includes: 

• Valentine Owls for the students to measure
• A table, line plot graph, and questions to complete based on the measurement data.
• A set of differentiated worksheets to use for additional assessments.

The next product that I am giving away is a Snowman Geometry and Graphing Activity. 





For this activity the students create a snowman, decorate it with different polygons, and then graph the number of each polygon that they used on their snowman. My kids had a lot of fun with this activity:) 

To enter my giveaway, just comment on this post with your email address.  I will choose THREE winners on Monday January 14!  Good Luck!  

Produt Swap

 

I am so excited about the 2nd Product Swap! The last one that we had was a lot of fun! I loved looking at all of the amazing products that people have created! So, let's get started! 

 

I had the privilege of reviewing a product from Cassandra.

 

 

She has such a fun blog!  You should definitely check it out! 

 

She also has some really great items in her TPT store!  I chose her Halloween Literacy Super Pack.

 

 

There is a lot included in this pack! 

 

There are Halloween themed writing prompts, really cute writing paper, and words on a ghost template.  You could have these ghost words at a writing center, and the students can choose these good, interesting words to use in their writing. 

 

 

Also Included included are:

 

*Two acrostic poem templates

 

*Making Words (Students make as many words as they can from the words "Halloween Night"

 

*Two recipes to make with your class (kids always LOVE that....they are engaged right away if they know your are making a recipe)

 

*How to writing template for students to complete after you make the recipe.

 

 

You should definitely check out this amazing product:)  You can pick it up from her store by clicking here.  Normally this product is only $3.50, but it will be on sale today! 

 

Don't forget to check out her blog by clicking on the links above!! 

 

Happy Browsing:)

 

 

It's Fall Ya'll!!

Ok...pardon the southerness of that title, but hey, I'm from Georgia! I think I have said it before..I LOVE fall!  Since it is officially here....I thought I would have a sale to celebrate!! 

 

 

Beginning tomorrow all items in my store will be 20% off.  The sale will end on September 26th at midnight!

 

Enjoy:)  Have a great week!

 

Morning Work Idea

So, I am going to be very honest here!  I have been completely overwhelmed learning a new grade level!  I taught third grade for five years, and I knew the curriculum and the kids so well.  I could predict the mistakes they would make and misconceptions they would have, so I would plan for that in my lessons.  Not so much in second grade...I am learning the curriculum, so I don't feel like my instruction is as deep as it should be.  And just about everyday I have been completely surprised by a misconception that my kids have.  They are very sweet kids, and I love that I don't have all the testing demands that I did in third grade!  I am just learning, so it is a bit overwhelming!  Sorry...I just had to get that off my chest!  I have been struggling with it all week:) 


I did want to share something that is going well in my room. I made this page for morning work. 

 

 

I included five problems that I feel like students need consistent practice with.  I made a math board for the problems.  However, if you have a smart board or promethean board, you could project this on there, and just change the problems each day. 

 

Here is a description of each problem:

 

1.  An open number line-give the students an addition problem.  They use the open number line to solve the number sentence.  The open number line is great because it gets kids to practice mentally adding tens and ones in their brain, and they don't have to use the traditional regrouping algorithm. I started with just adding one digit numbers on a number line, and I will move to two digits soon.

 

2.  A chart that the students complete for place value. The chart includes standard form, word form, expanded form, and base ten model.  I give one part of the chart each day, and the students have to coplete the other. 

 

3.  On the third problem the students have to balance an equation. For example 5 + 4 = _____ + 6.  I included the visual of a scale so that they remember that each side has to equal the same thing. Right now we are just using one digit numbers.  As the year goes on, I will include two digit numbers.  

 

4. Number four is a space to solve a daily word problem. My school uses a program called Target The Question. They have a word problem each week.  Each day of the week the students answer a different question about the problem.  I love it!  I makes them really think about what information they need/don't need when answering questions.   You could use or make up your own though. 

 

5. The fifth problem is a part/part/whole box.  I fill in two parts and they have to find the missing part.  We have a lot of discussion about related facts/fact families when we go over this problem each day. 

 

I like this morning work beacuse the students get used to the structure, and these are skills they can practice all year.   As the year goes on, I can just make the problems harder. Depending on your class, you may want to have them do a couple of problems each day. You can totally use your judgement though:)   I started having my students only complete 1-2 one day, and 3-5 the next.  We have worked our way to all five!  I love going over this morning work each day because I feel like we have a lot of rich discussion about the strategies that the students used/could have used.  It has been very helpful to me, so I hope you find it helpful also! 

 

You can pick up your copy for free by clicking here!  I hope you enjoy!  If you have any questions, let me know!  This all made sense in my head, but if something is confusing, let me know! 

 

Enjoy your Saturday!!



Giveaway Winner!

Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway!  The winner is......

 

 

Lisa R. !

 



 I will be emailing you tonight with your prize:)  If you didn't win, you can pick up a copy for only $3.00 by clicking here!   I hope everyone has a happy Friday:)