Geometry {Polygon Chant Freebie & Giveaway}

We've just started our Geometry Unit.  I heart geometry.  It's one of those things that kids just get excited about.  Shapes are everywhere!  There are so many hands-on activities you can do with geometry.

One of the first things we do is learn the names of common polygons.  That can be trickier than it sounds - pentagons, hexagons, octagons....oh my! 

As a child, I was one of those nerds who came up with mnemonic devices to learn anything and everything.  It just makes learning and retaining information so much easier!  I mean, who doesn't still remember these....

ROY G BIV = Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet

Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally = Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction

In 1492, Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue

I could go on, but you get the point! ;)

So, whenever my students need to learn something tricky, I try to come up with mnemonic devices for them.  That's how this "Polygon Chant" was born.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7-RC8er5CXTRE1fVVV3ZVFla2c/view?usp=sharing


A little more details about it....

Triangle Verse:
The first thing we do when starting Geometry is read The Greedy Triangle.  That's where the "triangle on the hip" comes from in this verse. ;)

Quadrilateral Verse:
We talk about QUAD as meaning 4...my students know about twins, triplets, and someone usually knows quadruplets.   

Pentagon Verse:
I stress that there are 5 fingers on a hand and we hold a PEN with our hand....therefore remember that a pentagon has 5 sides.

Hexagon Verse:
I tell students that HEXAGON has a letter in it that we don't see in a lot of words - X....siX also has this letter....therefore remember that a heXagon has siX sides!

Octagon Verse:
We talk about the prefix OCT as meaning 8.  Where else have they seen this?  Octopus which has 8 legs!

Here's a little video of my students singing it on Day 1...they caught on pretty quickly!


As I was preparing for my Geometry Unit, I realized that had NO geometry centers.  Like none.  Seriously.  Out of all the center packs that I have in my classroom none of them included geometry centers.  I am SO thankful I got the Geometric Masterpieces centers completed before starting this unit.  My students are already eating them up!  They love getting to use their "paintbrushes" (dry erase markers) to draw, divide, and shade shapes!



If you'd like to WIN this set of 10 Geometry Centers for your classroom, just leave a separate comment below for each of the following that you do:

1) Follow our shop on Facebook (Teacher's Clubhouse)
2) Follow our shop on TpT
3) Follow me on Instagram

Good luck friends!

28

How to Teach Students to Tell Time {A Bright Idea}


One of the things I love most about my job is when something unplanned turns out to be the best plan.  I know you know what I'm talking about.  You're up there teaching and instead of teaching exactly what is written in your lesson plans, things begin to go in a different direction.

This happens a lot in my classroom.  Sometimes things work out better than other times, but I usually find that this is when my best ideas happen.


This is exactly what happened a few years ago when I was teaching my students to tell time.  A silly little story was born up there at my Promethean Board in room 205.  That story has helped my students "get" the clock face and how to tell time so much quicker than anything I've ever done in the past.  So, today I'm here to share it with you.  I like to call it...

Step 1: Teaching Students the Hands of the Clock



When teaching the hands of the clock, I introduce them as "The Handy Brothers" - there's big brother Handy and baby brother Handy.  The Handy brothers are good boys and they are very well-mannered.  Therefore, big brother Handy always lets his baby brother go first....EVERY TIME....no matter what.

{From here on out, I will ask my students, "Which hand do we read first?"  OUR baby hand....get it...."HOUR" baby hand.  That also helps them remember that the little hand is called the HOUR hand.}

Step 2: Reading the Minute Hand Using a "Secret Code"



The Handy brothers are, well, very handy.  And, since they're so responsible and well-mannered, mom and dad let them wander all around their "Clockville" neighborhood helping their neighbors with anything and everything.  You see, the Handy brothers live at house #12 and as they travel around the neighborhood they must always follow the one-way street (going clockwise).  The boys can travel on their own, but they have to be ready to tell mom and dad their locations at a moment's notice.  They do this by naming the house they're at or the house they just left.

{It helps if students start at the 12 and move their fingers around the clock, to give them a visual of passing the "houses."  I also remind them that they have to report they're locations using the LAST check-in.  So, even if they're closer to the next house, they can't report that one because they haven't checked-in there yet.}

But, big brother Handy doesn't always want baby brother Handy to know where he is....sometimes he just needs a break from his little brother.  Therefore, he uses a "secret code" to report his location.  The secret code is easy enough so that all of his friends and parents will be able to figure it out (counting by 5's) but not baby brother!

{At this point, we learn the secret codes for all of the numbers on the clock.  All throughout the day when we have a few spare moments or we're standing in line, I will quiz students by calling out a clock number and they'll respond with the secret code.  We do this until students are quick with those codes!}

Step 3: The Lookout Posts

Once students have nailed telling time to the five minutes, we divide the clock into quarters using the "compass" numbers.  This is what I call the 12, 3, 6, and 9 - those numbers that sit in the North, South, East, and West positions.  It gives the students something to relate them to, making them easy to remember.  We learn that each of these numbers are mom and dad's lookout posts.  This is where they "station" themselves from time-to-time to keep a lookout on their boys...with stations at each of these spots, they can keep an eye on their kids at all times!  These posts have special names to mom and dad - we learn these names and use "parent talk" in our conversations.


I hope this silly story is something you can try out with your kiddos if they're struggling with time.  I'm amazed at how well it always works with my students.  Of course, the sillier you are when telling it, the more memorable it will be!  Do you have any silly stories like these?  I'll be back again soon with a silly, but handy "Polygon Chant" that we are using in our Geometry study at the moment.

If you enjoyed this bright idea, be sure you are following me on Instagram, Facebook, and TpT.

For more Bright Ideas from other bloggers, please browse through the link-up below by choosing the topic/grade level that interests you.
  







8

iPad Wallpapers {Freebie}

I'm in the midst of writing a couple of BIG blog posts (one which will be a series), but geez....it is so hard during the week!  Anyone else brain dead by 6:00pm?  I *might* be counting down the days until spring break! ;)

Anyway, I was inspired by the ever-so-brilliant Amy Lemons when I saw her IG post where she had created wallpapers to number her student ipads.  Duh!  Why had I never thought of doing that??  It might be that "brain dead" thing....thank goodness for smart friends!

So, today I whipped some up using papers from my other brilliant friend, Megan!  Now my student ipads are cute AND organized.


I just used PowerPoint and then saved the slides as images - super easy to do yourself!  But, if you happen to need 5 (or fewer) you can snatch mine up by clicking below.  I hope they help you feel a bit more organized, too!

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/qlsc03xlift0xgf/AAB45OI5R_YP6dBJ2DDKQ82Sa?dl=0


1

Do You Nearpod? {The Best App EVER!}

This is just a super quick post to introduce you to Nearpod.  I posted this picture on my Instagram feed of a Nearpod that I created tonight for my math lesson tomorrow and there were a lot of questions about it.


I may not be able to answer all of those questions because, well, I just discovered Nearpod yesterday!  Ha!  But, I'm the kind of girl that likes to dive right into things. :)

I'll post more about it after I use it in the classroom for a bit, but for now, I'll give you an overview of what I know (which admittedly, is very little at this point)!


Nearpod can be used on any devices - ipads, androids, even computers.  Basically, you would need to have a teacher device of some sort and your students would need to have student devices of some sort.

In my classroom I will use my laptop or teacher ipad as my device and we have 5 student ipads that my students can share in small groups.

The purpose of Nearpod is to have the teacher use her device to deliver a lesson TO her students on their devices.

Think of it as a PowerPoint that's interactive but with SO many more bells and whistles.  You can actually import PowerPoints/images to create your own lessons or use existing lessons available at Nearpod (some free and some that cost).  I used my computer to create the math practice above.  I actually created it in PowerPoint and then uploaded it to the website and made it interactive using the drawing tool.

Here's a brief introduction...


The above picture is the login screen.  As a teacher, I would login "with Nearpod" using the account I created.  Students would login to the lesson I created by choosing "Join a Session."

 
The above picture shows a student ipad mini laying on top of my teacher ipad.  You can see at the top of the teacher ipad (which has a lesson open in Nearpod) there is a PIN (JZIWC) - that is the PIN students would enter into their devices to "join my session."


Then, students are prompted to enter a name.  This will let you identify the responses that are submitted.  You'll know exactly who has submitted answers and who hasn't and be able to do a quick assessment of their understanding.


Above is a slide from a free lesson I found on the Nearpod website.  The most awesome thing about Nearpod is that it lets the teacher have control of the pace of the lesson.  Student devices are "locked" to the screen that matches the teacher device, so until I swipe to the next slide, the students' are not able to move on either.


The slide above is an interactive one.  It wants students to write the time shown on the clock.  They use their fingers to write this on their ipads and then click the "send" button.  It will have them confirm that they're ready to send and then....


VOILA!  It pops up on your device so that you can check students' work!  Instantly.  They're held accountable and you're able to check for understanding.  You can see that since I only have 5 ipad minis, my students enter their team colors, so this response was from "Blue Team"  - I'm still waiting on the other responses to arrive.


Drawing is just ONE of the cool ways you can make the learning interactive.  The slide above wants students to use the keyboard to type an answer.  You can also take polls, create quizzes, insert websites and videos...the possibilities are endless!


I know this was a SUPER quick overview.  I'll be back with more once we have more hands-on practice with it in our classroom.  My brain is spinning with wonderful ways we can use this amazing app!  I love, love, love the way the teacher is in control, but students are engaged and interacting with their devices.  They can't leave this app and hop somewhere else, if they do, you will receive an instant notification that the student exited the lesson.  It keeps them on task at all times!  #teacherheaven

If you want more information, hop on over to Nearpod yourself.  They have lots of videos and guides showing/explaining how it all works.  Or, go ahead and create yourself an account and just dive in like I did! ;)

Amber over at Peppy Zesty Teacherista has a great blog post about it, too!  Check it out!

http://peppyzestyteacherista.blogspot.com/2015/01/nearpod-create-engage-assess.html







9

Maximizing the Minutes {Word Study}


All Posts in This Series:



If you're new to this series and starting here, I'm going to show you how I utilize the first few minutes of each instructional block to "pack in learning."  Today is all about Word Study.

To start each Word Study block, my focus is on vocabulary.  I don't want to just teach my student a new word and what it means, however.  I really want to get them THINKING about words - utilizing their schema and what they already know about words to THINK about words.

I find that my students do really well with this beginning the second half of second grade, so this is the perfect time to jump in and get started with it.  By that point, they've really built up their knowledge of parts of speech, synonyms/antonyms, and the elements they'll be asked to pull from.

So, again, this few minutes is a valuable spiral review as well as a time to build vocabulary - so much learning packed into 3 minutes!!

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Word-Superstars-Vocabulary-of-the-Week-1262288
For this time, I use our Word SuperStars pack.  It has enough words for 40 weeks.  Here's how it works.

At the beginning of this block, we spend about three-minutes on the task for the day.  Each day's task is guiding students to discover the weekly mystery word while THINKING about words.

MONDAY: The students receive a clue telling them the part of speech and number of letters in the word.  Of course, there are LOTS of possibilities.  That's the point.  I let students work in groups of 2-3 so there is lots of discussion.  They make a list of all the words they can think of that could be the mystery word for the week.

TUESDAY: Next, students get a clue telling them the number of syllables in the word.  They can now eliminate some of their words and possibly go back and add others.

WEDNESDAY: The next clue gives a sentence that the word could be used in.  Again, this provides a context for the word and lets students rethink their choices.

THURSDAY:  Students are given a synonym or antonym for the word.  By now, their list should have dwindled down to just a couple of choices at most - hopefully they have a good idea as to which word is the mystery word!

FRIDAY:  Finally, students are given all of the letters (scrambled) that make the word.  They can now check to see if they were able to discover the mystery word for the week!

There are a couple of ways you could use this in your class room.  It could be printed out and a new clue posted each day (above).

Or, if you're a paper-saver like myself, we included one of those handy-dandy interactive table of contents that we love so much!  This lets me just pull it up on my board and click to that week's word super quickly.
As for the students, I have them record their answers in a journal where they can easily cross out, add to, and revise as the week goes along.

We also provide an organizer page that you could choose to use instead.

Then, a fun element that students love is that they can earn "tags" each week that they discover the correct word by Thursday!

These can be given as tags to wear on a chain.
Or as "stickers" to glue to the back pages of their journals.  I've done it both ways, and either way, the kids eat it up!

That's it!  3-minutes at the beginning of your Word Study block to squeeze in a ton of spiral review and vocabulary building!  I hope you've enjoyed this series.  I plan to start at a new blog series on Lesson Planning {The Smart Way} later this week, so I hope you'll be back to check that out!


5
Back to Top