Reading Websites for Parents and Teachers

A lot of parents ask me ways their child can practice reading at home. Below is a list of reading resources shared by my reading specialist that supports student learning in school and at home. I have used a lot of these resources. My personal favorite for teachers is Readworks.

Free Subtraction Worksheet

When teaching skills such as addition and subtraction, many websites provide free resources to help students practice their math skills. Education.com is a website I use when looking for homework and classwork.

One of the best features about education.com is that you can build your own custom worksheet.  This is a great feature for teachers who want to modify the number of problems or type of problems they are giving their students.

If you do not want a custom built sheet, Education.com provides many choices for teachers to choose from. Challenge your mathematicians with this FREE fun school-themed subtraction worksheet below.

Free Subtraction Worksheet from Education.com

Answers To Free Subtraction Worksheet from Education.com

Here is a subtraction poem I use in my classroom to help students remember the steps to subtraction.

math charts, resources, anchor posters

Enjoy more math worksheets from Education.com.

Regrouping: Adding and Subtracting Posters

In our math centers, we have been focusing on adding and subtracting two and three digit numbers. To help my kids remember the steps, they reference these posters at our centers.

Adding:

anchor posters, chart

 

Subtracting:

math charts, resources, anchor posters

Since students need different levels of support, counters, number lines, and pictures are used to help students understand the concept. In particular, I found that using a 0-20 number line was very helpful for my students who were having a hard time. The other number lines featured can be useful if you teach students to estimate their answer.

manipulatives, regrouping

 

Story Elements

When reading, students need to think about the different elements that make up a typical story. Here is a poster we use when we do a read aloud or read a story in a small group. Students can write right on the poster or write on post-it notes. This poster uses the images found in the reading and writing program, Framing Your Thoughts, which is created by Project Read. The graphic symbols remind students of the different elements found in a story.

read aloud, comprehension, setting, characters, problem, wish, solution,

 

 

 

 

Rounding Using A Number Line

Rounding is a difficult concept to master for students who do not have strong number sense. In our classroom, we use wipe-off numbers lines for students who have a difficult time visualizing how a number fits within a framework of different numbers. The number lines that skip-count by 10s and 100s are used when my students are rounding to the 10s or 100s.The last number line, featured blank, is used for students who want to make their own number line to help them round.

elementary tips, visuals, manipulative img_4006

Back-to-School Highlights

I find the first week of school to be one of the most exciting parts of the year. Teachers are fresh, students are ready to learn, and the upcoming year is filled with endless possibilities. I wanted to highlight some of my favorite activities my classroom participated in during the first week of school.

This year, I decided to start each day with a morning meeting. I am following the responsive classroom approach, which outlines the morning meeting time with a greeting, sharing time, an activity, and a morning message. My kids and I have loved this time to connect! I am using Roxann Kriete’s Morning Meeting book to guide my practice.

responsive classroom, classroom community, teaching, early ed

My first homework assignment was for students to create a “Me Bag”. This gave them something to share during our morning meeting the second day of school. Students generally feel comfortable talking about things they like and activities they are good at. Students brought in gymnastic medals, dance shoes, toy cars, pictures, and special monuments bought while traveling.

homework, new teachers, back to school, first day

Next, we talked about how we wanted our classroom to run for the year. Together, we created “the great classmate is” chart shown below. Students in higher grades can write their ideas and children in lower grades can draw pictures of the words written on the chart. We had students drawing people being responsible, helping others, and saying kind words to others. After we completed the chart, we acted out different scenarios in which students could practice being a great classmate. The next day, a student in our class had the opportunity to do one of the scenarios we acted out the day before. It was a great moment for all!

back to school activities, community building, kind classroom ideas

During our professional days before starting the official school year, our administration emphasized the importance of goal-setting. My classroom used BrainPop’s “setting goals” video to introduce what a goal was and how to set a goal. I had to break down each SMART step for my students, but felt it was a good video to help my students set their own goals for the year.

brain pop, videos about goal setting, SMART goals, back to school activities

One of the goals for our classroom this year is to think before we speak. Our classroom talked about the importance of good communication and speech. I posted this acronym on a bulletin board close to my desk to help guide all of our talking for the year. This “think before you speak” practice is helpful when doing partner or group work, and creates a safe and friendly classroom environment for all.

think before you speak, classroom, kind, back to school activities

Another importance aspect of a great classroom is putting up functional posters and schedules that guide student learning. The “I love reading” bulletin board in my classroom outlines what great readers do, highlights our small group schedule which will eventually showcase our different stations and has a poster that records how many books each student will, in time, read throughout the month. During our goal-setting activity, my students’ individual goals are to read between 8-12 books by September 30th. To help achieve this goal, we are using our “We love reading” chart to record the number of books each student reads in class and at home.

bulletin board ideas, back to school, classroom decoration

We have had a great first week and I am looking forward to learning with my students throughout this school year. I am thankful for all the ideas I was able to pull from the internet and hope this post can guide your second week of teaching! Thanks as always for reading. 🙂

Teaching Units of Measurement

Teaching units of measurement to elementary school children can be a challenge without using exciting visuals and videos that can help students remember the difference between very similar words. Here is a list of tools I have used in my classroom to either introduce, repeat, or reteach the units of measurement.

Video Resources:

  1. Units of Length

2.Units of Capacity:

3. Units of Metric

4. Converting Units of Metrics: http://study.com/academy/lesson/how-to-convert-units-in-the-metric-system.html#lesson

5. Units of Metric

 

 

An Introduction to ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis)

What is applied behavior analysis (ABA)?

Applied behavior analysis is a field that works with individuals to determine the function of behavior as well as environmental reinforcers that encourage or discourage the likelihood of individuals displaying target behaviors.

What is a target behavior?

A target behavior is any behavior that is being addressed or talked about by a professional, parent, or client.

What is a problem behavior?

A problem behavior is an action or verbal statement that is deemed inappropriate.

Why do people engage in problem behavior?

According to the field, there are four functions (or reasons) individuals engage in any behavior: attention seeking, access to a tangible (item), sensory stimulation (produces a good feeling), or avoidance (of a task, person, or environment). In short, individuals engage in multiple behavior to get what they want or don’t want.

What is a replacement behavior?

A replacement behavior is an agreed upon appropriate behavior that serves the same function as the problem behavior displayed by the individual. A replacement behavior must be: developmentally appropriate, context appropriate, and provide the same access to the desired function of the behavior. Essentially, it replaces the problem behavior in exchange for a more appropriate behavior.

What is the ABC approach to understanding behavior?

When a behavior takes place, professionals consider what takes place before the behavior occurred (the antecedent) and what takes place after the behavior occurred (the consequence). The ABC approach allows analyst to track behavior for patterns, trends, and other factors that may provide insight on why an individual is behaving in a certain way. An example of a familiar chart using the ABC approach is below.

***all scenarios are made up

behavior monitoring, function, shaping, identifying

Why is ABA helpful?

Behavior analysts can help individuals adapt to their environment as well as train care givers various effective ways to prevent and react to problem behaviors displayed by an individual. It also can help individuals achieve personal goals and shape their behavior in a way that is beneficial. ABA is used in public and private schools, hospitals, group homes, mental care facilities, rehab centers, self-help institutes, and specialized disability learning centers.

Helpful Free Math Review Websites

Reviewing for math can be a drag for some students, but with the use of new technology and software, students can practice skills using the following websites.

Our school uses EnVision (a great math program!). Many resources are available online, but here are some additional sites students can use to reinforce skills previously taught in class.

1. Fractions (Topic 11) Review:

2. Topic 12 (adding and subtracting fractions): games 2-8 will be a great review:

4. To review division, please visit:

5. To review multiplication, an engaging site is:

Review Games-Kahoot

Reviewing for a test or a quiz can seem like a drag for some students. To avoid students losing focus, there are fun apps that can help students review in class or at home.

My new favorite is the website kahoot. Students log into the game code and are asked questions and answers in a format that gives points for answering the question accurately and quickly. Students choose from different choices predetermined by the teacher and gain points for choosing the correct answer in the least amount of time.

Students love this game since it is colorful, engaging, and fun. The game allows students to enter their real names or nicknames and shows who has the most points after each question answered.

This website is highly recommended to anyone who can access tablets or computers in the classroom. It is appropriate for any age, any subject, and any moment when wishing to create a review that is meaningful and fun.