I know, I know...you are NOT even thinking about school. Either you are already out, or you're in pure survival mode for the next two days! We are still in school until Wednesday. When I say we, I mean my kids and my sweet student teacher! I am off to Indiana to spend some much needed time with my family and to celebrate the life of my precious grandmother! Since I am sitting here in the airport waiting for my connecting flight {for the next FIVE hours}, I figured that this would be a great time to catch up with my blogging buddies! (We missed our flight in Washington, D.C. by two minutes! I love it when I am forced to get things done!)
Ok, onto school things! We have been working like mad men {and women} in third grade! Seriously...third grade is something fierce! I may say that every time I post, but honestly, y'all...it blows my mind...all of the time! I am trying to keep it fresh and spunky, but sometimes I feel like I teach a million miles a minute and there is still not time to cover everything I need to cover. I am just so sure I have had about a million amens by now! I know that we all feel the crunch at some point in the year. My crunch just tends to come every day! MAKE. IT. GO. AWAY! Ha!
So, this past week, we began our multiplication unit. I covered some multiplication in second grade, so the kiddos caught on pretty quickly. We have been skip counting between every transition time. Honestly...if you teach third grade...this is a MUST! This has made all of the difference in the world. A sweet teacher friend of mine made up songs for skip counting 2's -12's and we literally sing the chants ten times a day. It takes about two minutes to get through all of the songs, so it is perfect for those transitions {You know, the ones where the kiddos think it is time to talk and jabber on about anything and everything.}
Along with skip counting, we have been getting our hands all into multiplication. Here are a few of our favorite activities!
Marshiplication:
During this activity, the students use marshmallows and fruit loops to create a visual of a multiplication problem. Then, they write a repeated addition sentence, and skip count to find their answer. A class favorite for sure!
If you want to grab our recording sheet for this activity, click {HERE}!
Four Square Multiplication:
Next, I wanted to make sure that the students understood all of the different ways that they may see multiplication. We completed a sample four square multiplication problem together, and then, I passed out a specific set of unifix cubes, and the students had to create their own four square.
This group blew my socks off!
We ended the week practicing our second strategy! The kiddos loved using different objects to make arrays!
This activity was perfect to introduce the inverse property of multiplication. Once they finished their first array, many of them figured out that they could flip the array and have the same answer. I think it is safe to say that they are all about multiplication!
Last week, we were also able to review some of our ELA skills using my Fall into Literacy Centers. Here are a few of their favorite activities that they worked on during our enrichment time.
If you need some extra activities to get you through the next two days, both of my fall center sets will be on sale for $5.00. Click on the pictures below to pick them up at TPT!
Now for a little Reader's Workshop Update!
I just wanted to keep those of you that have been sending emails a little update! I am *almost* finished with my first RWS unit. This unit will provide all of the resources necessary to completely launch Reader's Workshop in the classroom. I swear this pack may be about 300 pages...literally, but will include a large amount of resources. I am hoping to have it up and ready for you all by this weekend! Here is a sneak peek:
If you have made it this far, bless your heart! Maybe if I could find time to blog a little more often, I wouldn't have to squeeze it all in to one post! Hope you all had a super fabulous weekend!
